Day 5: Orvieto 

We spent the day in Italy's green heart, the region of Umbria, where we have been revitalised by the fresh country air and natural surroundings. We opted for a late breakfast at 8:30 to allow for a much needed sleep-in before boarding a bus to the main town in Orvieto. Once there, we took in the breathtaking facade of the Duomo which was striking in its striped pattern with contrasting dark and light materials. However, the main attraction for us was not the Duomo itself but a subterranean city known as Orvieto Underground which we were fortunate enough to tour. In the man-made caves, we were amazed to discover just how much the Etruscans had succeeded in creating such as olive oil presses, deep wells to find water, and colombari (rooms full of pigeonholes where they kept pigeons to later eat). Even forgetting about that, just the fact that they had managed to construct the caves using volcanic rock was impressive in itself. Most of us were constantly ducking our heads under doorways and ceilings, which served as another reminder that our average height is much taller than that of the ancient Etruscan people. 

Once we exited the cave, we enjoyed the scenery including a magnificent view over the fields of Orvieto before setting off to explore the town and find something to eat. Despite the cave guide telling us pigeon was still consumed in the area, none of us found any dishes featuring pigeon for our lunch. There was, however, plenty of maiale (pork) and cinghiale (wild boar) meat on offer. The streets of Orvieto had a medieval feel as we passed through cobblestoned alleyways which looked like something out of a fairytale. 

After lunch, we met back up ready to catch the funicular (a cable railway) back to the bus. We did have to wait before entering the funicolare as we were all glued to our screens on which we had thankfully found a way to watch Collingwood's preliminary final against GWS. It was a surreal experience to witness celebrations over a game of Australian football in a place like Orvieto. Hopefully these same passionate students will find a way to watch the grand final together with their host families in Bologna next week and introduce the locals to our national sport.

The bus was ready for us at the station so we returned to our accommodation for some recreation time before dinner. This consisted mostly of bathing in the piscina (pool), sunbathing, or playing calcio (soccer). Some of us chose simply to sit in the sun, listening to students playing a game of Marco Polo while their others scored goals and tried their best to avoid kicking the ball down the hill to the horses. 

In the early evening we gathered in the dining hall for a cooking masterclass in which we learned how the pasta we would be eating for dinner was made. First, we watched our teacher Marina knead and roll out the dough before showing us her method of stretching the pasta by hand using only a rolling pin. This was truly home-made rustic style food! We also saw how the soffritto (mix of fried ingredients) was made for the bolognese sauce which also featured a mixture of manzo (beef) and maiale (pork). We then took turns turning the dough into tagliatelle by kneading, rolling, stretching, and cutting the pasta. It was lovely to see our students getting involved in the cooking process and support each other with encouraging rounds of applause and helpful tips from those who had already had a turn.

Since we would be eating food made from scratch, we had to wait for our dinner but filled in the time foraging for fichi (figs) and nocciole (hazelnuts). We all enjoyed our pasta dish that little bit more knowing the effort that had gone into making it from scratch. 

The air is ripe with anticipation now knowing that the next item on our agenda is the homestay in Bologna where we will live with real Italian families and experience what school is like on the other side of the world.