Today I gave my travelers a little break. They have been going non-stop since our departure and so today I let them sleep in, enjoy the houses and we only have one stop that being the tranquil and spiritual town of Assisi – the hilltown of St. Francis.
We start the morning by relaxing and enjoying our coffee and view from the country houses along with a visit from the compound cat, Rafeallo. It is definitely a relaxing way to start the day. No fog in the valley below so far as it has been dry. You can hear the occasional distant and faint gunshot as it is hunting season here in Umbria.
We gather our troops and make the one hour and forty minute drive to Assisi. We used to stop in Perugia along the way but it always was a driving and parking fiasco and why add the stress when we have a great parking and rendezvous spot in Assisi.
With our convoy all parked and situated at the top of Assisi we make our way down to the central Piazza which will be our rendezvous spot. From there it is right to the St. Francis Cathedral where we take our group shot and then everyone is free to explore or in our case and several others – grab lunch.
Today it was time for some pizza and we found a gorgeous restaurant with a well appointed room with a nice view of the valley below and Isabel and I dined with Phyllis and Doray. I was able to get my pizza fix which was delicious.
From there the ladies and my crew took of for a tour of the church and I went and took pictures and found a nice outdoor café with good wifi to do some work at our rendezvous spot. At the same time I was able to say hello to some old friends that gather at the same bench each day. They have been there at that same spot for the last ten years. I thought it was time I join the club. Slowly as the hours went by my travelersgathered over a glass of wine, a beer and/or a gelato. Once all assembled it was time to hike back up the hill to the cars.
With dusk approaching, it is always beautiful to make your way down the hill from Assisi and catch the hilltown in the sun drenched glow from the setting sun. It is so picturesque. We then drove about an hour back to the road to our homes and stopped at the top of the hill in Gasparini for vino and the sunset followed by a nice simple dinner. Despite the lighter itinerary, everyone was ready to catch up some more on the rest so we made our drive home and fell into our post truffle pasta comas.
