Rieti

Originally published on: Sep 28, 2008

After leaving Orvieto, I had a challenging journey to reach Ascoli Piceno, and learned that traveling east to west in the central part of Italy can be exasperating. From Orvieto, I took a 30-minute train to Orte, where I had to wait an hour for another 30-minute ride to Terni. At the Terni station, I had a 90-minute wait for the connection to Rieti. Fortunately, I struck up a conversation with a nun, Suore Maurizia, and we continued talking all the way to Rieti, a 45-minute journey. Each train was smaller than the last one, and the final one was only two cars, traveling through many tunnels cut into the hills of the countryside that we passed through.

The Ruggeri family.

I had a nice time in Rieti with Monica, a woman I met through the Italian club in KC last year. Monica and her family lived in KC for two years and I had only met her once before, but she was very welcoming and generous to me while I was in Rieti. I had to stop there to get a bus for the last part of my trip to Ascoli, and it gave me the chance to visit Monica.

I spent the afternoon with Monica, her mother and three children: Virginia, Camilla and Tommaso. I really enjoyed observing the life of this Italian family. The girls arrived home about 1 pm, the usual time that school ends for the day. (In Italy, children often attend school six days a week. ) Monica's mother fixed us a fabulous meal of pasta, meat, salad, bread, and wine, followed by a dessert of fresh fruit. After this, Monica served us coffee on the terrace in delicate espresso cups made of hand-painted china.

Roofs in Rieti.

Then we took a tour on foot of Rieti, walking around the center of town while Monica pointed out the highlights to me, and then treated us all to gelato. All in all, I spent six hours in Rieti before I had to catch the bus. I really don't know how I would have managed getting from the train station, finding the place to buy the ticket for the bus or get to the correct bus stop without Monica's help. She even waited with me at the bus stop when the bus was fifteen minutes late. I feel fortunate that every time I get in a tight spot like that, someone shows up to help me out. What's more, Monica has an American friend who lives in Parma that I will contact while I'm there next week. I keep making more connections as I go.

The Velino river, with the Sabine mountains in the background.

I didn't get to Ascoli until 9:30 pm, after a two-hour ride in a crowded bus, and the owner of the B&B came to pick me up at the train station...another gift, as otherwise I would have had to find my way in the dark and the cold across town. I haven't had that kind of service anywhere else in Italy before, but it sure was nice. My cell phone has also really come in handy...for connecting with my Italian friends and the places I'm staying, either by making calls or sending text messages. All in all, today was a long but interesting day of travel.