Deruta/Orvieto/Civita  (Days 5 and 6)

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The joy of traveling is the opportunity to absorb the local culture, crafts and food.  Even though I do not consume alcohol, I thoroughly enjoyed the sojourn to Tenuta le Velette winery.  Standing in the hand-dug Etruscan underground wine cellar was an experience I would not forego.  One of my favorite scheduled activities  on this trip was the visit to the family-owned Ceramiche Artistiche Gialletti Giulio in Deruta.  

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Orvieto is my favorite hilltop town on this trip.  I value the time I spent wandering the town on my own; After all, I could not get too lost in a walled city.  Like other towns we visited, Orvieto was entrenched in history.  As I ambled away from the merchant stalls on market day, I happened on an unassuming antique shop in one of the alley ways.  I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the seemingly small shop was actually connected to the adjacent building, an old chapel.  The fading frescoes on the walls rivaled the displayed art works.