After a stay mostly in my family's house in Umbertide, I will spend a few days in Bologna, then take the train towards Rome Friday, June 30, the night before my return flight. I'll have spent a couple of nights in Rome at the start of the trip, including a SlowTrav GTG (see the GTG forum). I'm thinking that may be enough in Rome for this time, and it might be nice to spend that night in Orvieto.

The train from Bologna takes less than three hours; I can be in Orvieto shortly after noon. My previous trips there have mainly been lunch and a stroll to the Duomo; this stay doesn't offer the chance to do as much as one could, but it's something. It would mean taking the train at 6.50 a.m., connecting at Roma Tiburtina, and getting to the airport at 9.03 for my 11.30 flight. Flying
Economy, I wouldn't be entirely comfortable with this; with similar times a few years ago I
barely made my flight. But this time I'll be in Business Class and have special check-in, so I'm reasonably comfortable with this. The first train won't have had too much chance to build up a delay; if I miss one connection I can take the next one 15 minutes later and still have reasonable time with Business Class check-in, I think.

So if this is a reasonable trip, where to stay? The funicular won't be running that early; my first thought was to stay in Oriveto Scalo by the station. The closest hotel to the station is the Europa, which needs to be contacted directly (some third-party sites show no availability), and as I'm reviewing it the official site at argoweb.it isn't working. Venere doesn't list it; most of the hotels they do list are in O. Scalo, but from what I can tell most of them are convenient to the autostrada more than the station. A couple of places they do list, the Picchio and the Pergoletta, seem to be pretty close to the station, but I'm often unsure about how the streets of Scalo towns are for walking with luggage.

But if I spend the afternoon and dinner in the hilltown, the funicular stops running at 8.30, so for public transport I'd be left with the bus after dinner (PDF for bus 1). I see that the buses run in the early morning as well; I could take the bus at 6.30 and get to the station at 6.40; I'll have in mind that that bus makes it its business to make that train (although I could just arrange a taxi the night before, in addition to the other routines of leaving early: settle the bill the night before, find out about any tricks for unlocking the door from the inside). It would be nice to have a hotel in the centro to go to for a break. Dare I mention it, there will be World Cup quarterfinals that afternoon and evening; especially if Italy is playing, I'd like to see that, although it would detract from my time in town (but I think much activity will shut down).

Now the only hotel in the hilltown showing availability on Venere is the Valentino, which looks good. The Corso no longer shows, so I'm thinking it's time to reserve. So does this seem like areasonable plan (stopping in Orvieto at all, and staying in the hilltown)? It's appealing to have the last night be in Umbria; I was thinking of I Sette Consoli for my good-bye to Italy meal; is it o.k. for a solo diner?

I think it's doable, but you may end up cutting it close.I think I'd taxi to the train. If you arrive as late as 10:30,you'll still be okay.

Thanks, Jim. I'll update this, also bumping it in the hope of getting some more response. I made the request to the Valentino through Venere, and got the response that they were full, and they suggested a few places in Orvieto Scalo. Right now my inclination is to use the Picchio. Venere just gives their address as via G. Salvatori without a number; on www.paginegialle.it I got the number as 17, and Mappy shows it close to the station. With the cost savings I could take the funicular a few times during the afternoon (although it uses up time) and a taxi after dinner, while staying walking distance from the station.