Last night I slept the most that I've slept this entire trip. It was wonderful, but 6:00 a.m. still felt very early, and I was wishing for another hour or two to sleep some more. Our room in Florence was small, but nice. The bathroom had not only a toilet, but a bidet. Neither Janice nor I were brave enough to try it out. The shower had a handheld nozzle, but was mounted to the side wall opposite the shower curtain. As a result, I successfully flooded the bathroom floor. Good thing I had already used my towel and didn't need it again. I had about a 1/4 inch of water in some places to soak up. You only get one towel a person and sometimes not even a hand towel, so we have to be very careful about how they are used.
Breakfast was the best breakfast we've had so far. It seems that all of the restaurants provide meats and cheeses, yogurt and some bread. This hotel had all of this plus, eggs, bacon, cooked tomatoes and some type of white beans. The best though was the wonderful machine where you could get many different types of coffee and delicious hot chocolate. The line to the machine never stopped. I think everyone was getting the hot chocolate it was so good. After breakfast, we climbed into the bus for a 2.5 hour bus ride through Toscano (Tuscany). The countryside is gorgeous filled with vineyards and olive trees. We even passed a lovely field of sunflowers and a large lake. The province of Tuscany is hilly with small towns built on the top of the hills. These are the older buildings and the newer buildings are down in the valleys. The green landscape and the stone buildings are serene and calm. With the gentle movement of the bus, we got a chance to relax, reflect, and rest - a nice change from the frenetic pace we have been keeping.
A few kilometers outside of Assisi, we stopped at a little store that sold a variety of food items. They had samples available for us to try and it was fun to taste the different wines, olive oils, chocolate, and biscotti. They also had soaps and cosmetics made from olive oil. It was a great place to spend money, and I did. I bought some strawberry wine which they called baby wine since it only has about 5% alcohol.
Assisi is a lovely little town on the side of a hill. This is where St. Francis lived, served, and died. There is a large basilica named after him that contains the crypt of his remains and very famous paintings by Giotto. Giotto was an important painter during the beginning of the Renaissance. He had influence on many others since he was one of the first to begin to paint with perspective and shadow. Prior to Giotto most paintings have a flat look. The basilica has survived several earthquakes, the most recent one in 1997. Parts were damaged, but have since been repaired. You can see where the repairs have been made. Spots have different colored bricks, and sections of the paintings have been plastered over. It's kind of sad to see, but amazing that so much of this 700 year old building has survived. There are several churches in Assisi. One of them is for St. Claire who called herself St. Francis' first disciple. Because the city and these churches sit near the top of a hill, the views are gorgeous.
We walked through this quaint city with steep narrow streets stopping in cute little shops that sold handmade and painted pottery, leather shoes, food, and of course the standard souvenirs. As we walked along the streets we'd see a friar or monk. They wore brown robes just like the Padres mascot, but they didn't have the same haircut. One store we went in was filled to the brim with pottery. There were stacked bowls and platters, pitchers and bottles, and more. They were all hand painted in colorful patterns. Both Janice and I decided to buy something and we had a lovely conversation with the man at the counter. Turns out he went to school in L.A., as a business major (although he said he "studied economics") and came home to help run the family business. They have one production site in the valley with a shop in Assisi and several around the world. He is in the process of opening a shop in L.A. that is connected with the Pacific Design Institute.
Lunch was the most authentic we've had so far. David took us to a little restaurant that made wood fired pizzas. Aubri ate lunch with one of the girls she has gotten to know on the trip, so it was Janice, Jennifer and I at the table. We decided to share several dishes and it was perfect. We had an antipasto salad, melon and prosciutto, and a four corner pizza. The salad was huge with different types of lettuce, red ripe tomatoes, corn, and chunks of cheese. We had oil and vinegar on the table so we made our own salad dressing. I had never had melon and prosciutto before, and it was so good. The salt of the thin ham and the sweet of the cantalope are a wonderful combination. Our pizza was a thin crust with a very fresh tomato sauce and mozzarella. It was divided into four sections with a different topping on each. One section had ham, the next had artichokes, then mushrooms, and finally black olives (that weren't pitted). Not only was the food delectable, but the atmosphere was warm and inviting with brick walls that formed a unique ceiling and windows that looked out over the hillside.
We spent about three hours exploring Assisi and walking through the basilicas. I would love to go back and stay in a bed and breakfast there. It was such a lovely place. It was a three hour ride to Rome. Along the way we saw more sunflower fields and green hills. Our hotel is about an hour outside of Rome in a tucked away mountain area, so we didn't go into the city, but had a late dinner at the hotel and settled in early. Tomorrow is our last day and it will be action packed as we tour Rome.
No comments:
Post a Comment