Castello di Santa Cristina!
My favorite trip in Italy so far was definitely the weekend Amy and I had at the Santa Cristina Castle in Grotte di Castro. We left on Saturday, October 13th, and took a train to the city of Orvieto. I have been on 2 trains now, and I will admit that they are not as bad as I thought they would be. Still hate planes, though!
Once we arrived at the train station, there was a lady named Francesca who was holding up a sign with my name on it, just like in the movies! Haha that made me happy. She then drove us in a fancy Mercedes Benz to the castle, but unfortunately, we hit a deer on the way there! Don't worry- we were all ok, since deer in Italy are rather small. The curvy road was not the best place to hit one, but luckily Francesca is a good driver and didn't swerve or anything. The car was fine, and it was even kind of funny because after asking if we were ok, she exclaimed "Was a Bambi, a BIG Bambi!" It was quite the start to our trip!!
At the castle grounds, Francesca drove off and left us quite alone in this absolutely gorgeous place. A man showed us where our room was (in a beautiful building covered in vines and furnished with antique-looking awesomeness) and then he disappeared, too, leaving us to wander around the castle grounds and take pictures. It was all so beautiful and it felt like we were in England instead of Italy. It felt like that even more when we finally met the lady who was going to take us on the ride the next day- her name was Ms. Vicki and she was British. She was super nice and had an adorable dog named Molly.
Eventually we were given a tour by the reception man, and then after playing badminton and having a wonderful chat outside, we ate dinner in the restaurant on the first floor of the building our room was in. We were not even sure what the meal would be, but it was very good and since we were the only ones there, we got wonderful service and it was just delightful. That night we watched movies until we went to bed.
The next morning, we enjoyed a delicious breakfast on the first floor of the castle, which we had not yet been in. Later we would get a tour of the castle, but for breakfast we just ate in a little restaurant area they had. Then we met Vicki by the riding arena, where she introduced us to our horses for the day. Her horse’s name was Moo-ka (since she is patterned like a cow!), Amy’s horse was a dark bay named Pabo, and my horse was a chestnut Irish Hunter (actually from Ireland!) named Frederico, or Fred for short. All of the horses were gorgeous, and so well behaved!
To start, we rode for a bit in the arena just so Vicki could see where our riding level was at. Then we set off on our ride, and to say the least it was incredible! The landscape of the beautiful forests and farmland were so cool to see, especially from the back of a horse. It felt like we had gone back in time on these old trails through the woods, and it was wonderful to have such nicely-trained horses that actually enjoyed the trip as much as we did. Vicki’s dog Molly even came with us, and she would run ahead and wait for us to catch up, being as perfect as any dog could be! We even saw some sheep at a nearby farm, and I just love all the lambs. It wasn’t at all like a pony- ride, which is a lot of what tourist horse-back riding opportunities in Italy are like. We got to trot (quite fast!) and traversed hills and everything. I LOVED IT!!! I couldn’t stop smiling when we were trotting in the sunshine along the green fields…every moment was so wonderful. I could tell that Amy was having a great time too, and I am so glad she went with me. She used to ride and have horses, as well, and is a great friend to hang out with.
Our ride was about 3 hours or so, and then Vicki drove us to a restaurant by Lake Bolsena for lunch. There we met some of her friends, who were also British, and a man named Peter, who was from Australia. Everyone was so nice, and the food was great! Peter even joined us for our afternoon ride, which was just as wonderful as the first one! Before we left, I even got to canter Frederico in the arena, making me feel pretty special. We rode English, which I am not used to, but to my credit I did quite well and remembered most of my equitation from my lessons. During the afternoon ride, Vicki also took pictures with Peter’s camera, and later he shared those photos with us.
Following the ride, we groomed the horses and got ready to leave. However, right before we left, the man who owns the whole place gave us a tour of the castle, which had been passed down in his family since the 1700s. Everything inside was in perfect condition, and once again it was like we had gone back in time! I absolutely LOVE castles and old stuff like that, so I was freaking out!! It was so amazing to be there and see everything as it was in the 1700s when the original Caterini family owned it. He even took us up to the tower, where we watched the sun set. It was a perfect end to a wonderful day, and I was so extremely happy that I had planned the whole thing for Amy and I. It was so great to get out of the city with a good friend and to do something that I love. Planning the whole trip myself also gave me more confidence about everything, and hanging out with Amy brought us closer, too. I will remember this trip forever, and I hope that I will go to other places in Italy that fill me with the happiness that I felt at Santa Cristina Castle.
