Copulating Etruscans

I'm on fire this afternoon. This is my second post of the day. I thought I'd report on our latest sightseeing ventures in addition to my last post about Eli. Our sightseeing ventures have been good on the whole so far, with the exception of Orvieto, but I'll explain our Orvieto debacle later. First, Tarquinia, where we saw a bunch of Etruscan ruins. (FYI, Etruscans were a pre-Roman society in these parts for those of you that aren't up on your ancient history).

I found our day studying Etruscan civilization so fascinating that I'm now reading book about it... no kidding... the things you'll resort to without TV. Anyhoo, Tarquinia is southwest from here, very close to the coast. It's on top of a huge hill overlooking the water. The highlight of our day was the enclave of Etruscan tombs that were open to tourists to oggle. Each one comprised of a doorway that led to a steep stairwell. At the bottom of the stairs was a window or a door that allowed a glimpse into the tomb. They were very interesting indeed. Each one had it's own theme, Burial Procession, Farming and Feasting, Earth and Sky, etc. But one stood out to us more than the rest. As we were perusing our map and the audio tour booklet we rented, we noticed a tomb entitled "Flogging Rights". Well this obviously stood out amongst the group, so we made a bee-line for tomb #10. It was hilarious! Some guy wanted to be burried in an S&M chamber - and now we're studying it in great detail... Ah, those wily Etruscans. Here's a pic of Sam and Eli out front.
The other day trip we made was to Orvieto. A gorgeous town that I highly recommend. Again another dramatic hill town, but this one's in Umbria, which is definitely more scenic than Lazio somehow. A visit to the town even includes a funicular ride to the Piazza. All would have been well if I hadn't had wicked allergies over the previous few days. I finally went to the pharmacy the night before we went to Orvieto and they gave me Zirtec right over the counter (love Europe!). Well I've never taken it before, but they didn't seem to carry the lightweight stuff, such as Benedryl, so I gave it a try. Our day in Orvieto went something like this... Caroline is hungry and needs food NOW, Caroline is cranky and needs to yell at Sam NOW, Caroline is tired and needs to sit down NOW, cranky, tired, cranky, hungry, cranky, cranky, cranky! Before I put two and two together about the Zirtec, I thought for sure I was pregnant. YIKES! You can see from the strained smile on Sam's face (dagger eyes actually) that this day wore on us a bit.

Other than those two trips, we've been going to a lake called Lago di Vico everyday. All of Italy is shut down this week due to the Ascension of Mary holiday today, so there's not much else we can do. Lago di Vico is a lake that is inside the crater of an inactive volcano which is pretty cool. It's about ten minutes away, so we can hurry back for Eli's naps when needed.
Keep in touch everybody!