I had arranged the day with Mary Jane Cryan to find out more about her expertise as a potential colleague for me as well as learning more about the area of northern Lazio. So far, I personally like the area very much...the countryside is attractive and there are some interesting places to visit...but for the most part, the towns do not measure up to their competitors in Tuscany and Umbria--somewhat dingy and unkempt. However they are attractive as "real" towns, not just sets for tourists to visit. I think it will be hard to "sell" to new Italian visitors, but perhaps it could be packaged to experienced travelers who would want to stop for a couple of days when they arrive in Italy or before they leave. The hotel in Civita Castellana is one of the nicest we have stayed at, it is very reasonably priced and it is only an hour to the Rome airport.

Today we are going touring with Mary Jane and Fulvio. She has lived in this part of Lazio for 35 years and is going to take us around to see her world. We head into Vetralla to meet with her. The weather is overcast, and she is afraid that lunch outside is going to be a bad idea, so Fulvio is staying behind to organize lunch at her place. She piles into the back of our car and we take off. She doesn't like my driving. Our first stop is the spa at the Terme del Papi (bath of the Popes) a modern facility built on top of an ancient hot springs. There is a ruined Roman bath here, but we head into the spa and see the Olympic sized pool filled with hot water. They do all sorts of the usual therapy and mud, etc, etc. This doesn't interest me very much, but we do get to go down to the 'grotto'. This is a subterranean steam room, fed with the hottest water from the hot spring. It's din a natural cave and is oppressive. But it's impressive.

Next we head to Viterbo. This is a medieval town that was a home to several Popes. It doesn't get much tourism and is very quiet. There are lots of antique shops and B & B's, but there are no tourists and hotel rooms are cheap....We wander around the oldest quarter and are amazed by the architecture and the tiny tiny streets. It's not a hill town, like Siena or Perugia, but it's really a jewel. There are a few big churches and some small museums, but we just stroll around and admire the buildings. The parents buy a small watercolor from a small gallery.

Then we get a tour of the attached B&B which is freshly renovated and very charming. We start to head over to the old Jewish quarter, but the rain starts, as promised. So we abandon that plan and head back to the car.

Back to Vetralla and Mary Jane's house for lunch. She bought an old palazzo and renovated it. It's amazing. Huge rooms with high ceilings and enormous exposed wood beams, with a terrace with a view of the countryside. It's nice. She also has a ton of antiques, paintings, old maps, and other impressive tchotchkes. (we find out later that her later husband was an antique dealer....) Fulvio has prepared a light lunch....prosciutto and other sliced meats (with kiwi instead of melon....an excellent match), then local canneloni in meat sauce and finally, sauteed zucchini. It's all very tasty.

After lunch and admiring Mary Jane's house, we head out in two cars to see the neighborhood. We circle past lago de Vico (where we had driven a couple of days before) and then head to Caprarola and the Palazzo Farnese. This is a colossal (pentagon shaped...inspiration for the Pentagon?) palace built for the Farnese family (they had a Pope, a Pope's mistress, and several cardinals...and made lots of money from their connections). It's unbelievable. Huge room after huge room after huge room of frescoes. Including one which is an echo chamber and one that is covered with huge maps of the known world. There is also a huge garden, which we take a quick walk through. A few more stops and we head back to the hotel...I take a nap.

Maureen and Franco are coming in tonight to spend the weekend in Civita and hang out with us. They are arriving from separate directions at a train station about 20 minutes away. We find the station, which is not actually in the town of Orte and for which there are few signs and pick up Maureen. Unfortunately, Franco's train is late. We have an intense 10 minutes trying to decide whether to wait at the station, go to Orvieto to pick him up, or whether he should head back to Rome and come up in the morning. Luckily his train finally arrives in Orvieto and we only have to wait for another half hour. We cruise back to Civita and get into La Scuderia by 10:15. Dinner tastes excellent again, but we are stuck in a small room with another large table of very, very loud Italians. at times, we can't hear anything at our table. It's very frustrating. The gnocchi are excellent again and we have a local speciality, tagliatelle cut into small squares and served with chickpeas, hot pepper and olive oil. It's very different, but very good. I have duck confit as a main course. There are several orders of mixed innards called Coratella, I believe (Franco and dad seem to enjoy, no one else even tastes it). The food is good, but the late hour and the loud room, make for a mixed dining experience. We manage to have a very entertaining conversation, telling stories and drinking wine. Dessert is a mixed success, the chocolate mousse is the big winner again. We finally head to bed after midnight.