2019 Italy Adventure – Lynn's Travel Adventures

Last Day of the Adventure

June 25

Our country house in Castel Madama. We had the upper floor.

We left our Country House just before 8am as we wanted to get to our first stop at 0830 when it opened to (a) beat the tour busses and (b) beat the heat. We succeeded on both counts. We were the first ones at the Villa d’Este which is a 16th century villa in Tivoli. The villa was beautiful but it is most famous for its Italian Renaissance garden. This is the 3rd Italian garden we’ve seen and while there are some flowers, the garden is mostly terraced evergreens. Very different from an English garden which is loaded with flowers.

The villa is an Italian State Museum and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. It was first commissioned in the early 16th century by a local cardinal (Cardinal Ippolito II d’Este) who was a patron of the arts. The villa is gigantic but only 7 or 8 rooms are open to the public. Every square inch of the walls and ceiling are covered in frescos which, given that they are 450 years old, are in amazing condition.

Here’s also a video I took of this last room.

https://youtu.be/uYWB6LCcjwM Villa

After touring the villa, we went out to the gardens. It is terraced on 4 or 5 levels and has a beautiful view of the surrounding area.

The garden includes fifty-one fountains and nymphaeums, 398 spouts, 364 water jets, 64 waterfalls, and 220 basins. It is fed by 875 meters of canals, channels and cascades, and all working entirely by the force of gravity, without pumps. Not all of the fountains and spouts are working but there was still a lot of water flying around. Here are a few pictures but the best way to experience it is through video. So, I did several of those as well.

https://youtu.be/PFt3Y4qzKiY Garden Part 1

https://youtu.be/VjVUJeqBCvo Garden Part 2

https://youtu.be/i38MLc_8zxE Garden Part 3

https://youtu.be/0bJkhzkTPaI Garden Part 4

https://youtu.be/t1OnJ7pqatg Garden Part 5

These apartments are outside the walls of the garden but overlook the area. Can you imagine how beautiful it must be to sit on your balcony and see this everyday…very cool.

We had the garden to ourselves for a good portion of our visit before 2 other couples who showed up after about 20 minutes. Once we were heading back up the terraces to leave, the tour groups had started to arrive so we were glad we had come early.

Then it was a 20-minute drive to Villa Adriana or Hadrian’s Villa in English. The villa was constructed over 10-20 years in the 2nd Century AD by Emperor Hadrian as a summer palace. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage site. While a little more crowded than the Villa d’Este, it was a huge area so it wasn’t bad at all.

The ruins are in amazing condition, especially the area around the pool.

https://youtu.be/6C5S6f-0ouk Model of the Villa Adriana; it must have been amazing.

We didn’t actually see the entire area as we were getting tired and it was very hot, almost 90 at around noon. So we slowly walked back to the car for the 50-minute drive to the Hilton Garden Inn at Fiumicino airport. We dropped off the bags then dropped of the car. It was a bit frustrating as we had trouble finding gas at the airport, but we finally got the tank filled and turned the car in.

We originally planned to go into Rome for the rest of the afternoon for a final dinner and gelato but we decided against it. It would have cost about $70 round trip on the train but the bigger reason was that by mid afternoon it was in the upper 90s and we just didn’t feel like dealing with the crowds in Rome in that heat. So….we ate lunch at the airport but couldn’t find any gelato. But, we had some delicious gelato on Sunday in Volterra so that’s okay. For dinner we’ll just have something at the hotel. We’re hot and tired so it will be nice to just relax tonight. We have a long day tomorrow, including a 10 1/2 hour flight, so an early night is in order.

So….our 2nd Italian Adventure is pretty much over. We covered a lot of territory, putting over 5600 km (3400 miles) on the car. Here’s the route we traveled but I couldn’t get it all on one map. The route mostly includes the places we stopped for the night. The route is a lot bigger if you add all the stops and day trips.

From Rome to Gaeta to Paestum to Messina to Mondello to Trapani to Licata to Catania and finally back to Messina.

After crossing the Straits at Messina, we went to Matera, then Lecce (via Taranto), then Trani, then 3 days at the beach in Martinsicuro, then Assisi, Bologna, and Florence.

Finally it was Florence to the Tuscan countryside (via Volterra) all the way down to Castel Madama and finally back to the airport.

Including the 18,000 steps we walked today, our total step count is about 600,000 with our biggest day being Day 1 in Rome (when we were totally jet lagged and my ankle was killing me) with just under 25,000 steps. What does this mean in miles….254 miles. To put that in perspective, we walked from Chicago to Louisville KY on this trip which is a 5-hour drive. And for the last 3 weeks we’ve been walking in 90 degree temperatures so that made it even more difficult.

Alberobello gets my vote as the coolest town we visited.

Even though this trip was physically a little harder on both of us, we did very well. I didn’t have to buy a cane and or call ahead to make an ortho appointment so we’re way ahead of last year. While we didn’t see everything we planned (Malta was too expensive, about $750 for 3 days, so that got crossed off the list fairly early in the trip) but neither of us is disappointed. We met some wonderful people including an Australian couple who are now Peter’s friends on Facebook and another Aussie couple today who are on day 7 of a 14-week trip. Yikes!!

Just one of the many delicious meals we had.

And of course there were the wonderful Italian people, the food and the gorgeous country. We found several places that we’d like to stay for a while including Lecce, Florence and the lake we saw yesterday. But, just like our other adventures, the absolute best part was experiencing it together. While being joined at the hip for such a long time can have its challenges, for the most part we did very well.

So what’s next? We have a mini-adventure coming up in the fall when we go to Arizona for a month. Of course we’ll stop at as many National Parks as humanly possible….gotta fill up my book with stamps. Our next European adventure is planned for August/September of 2020. This one is super-special as it is our 5th wedding anniversary trip and we’re headed to the UK for a month and then back to France and the Benelux countries for another month. Not quite time to start planning but that will come soon enough.

Thanks again to all our faithful followers for continuing to share in our adventures. It’s great to have you travel with us. Love to you all. Arrivederci, alla prossima volta.

Under the Tuscan Sun

June 24

We were in 4 different regions today. We started in Tuscany and when we got to Cortona we were on the border between Tuscany and Umbria but I guess “Under the Umbrian Sun” didn’t have the same ring to it. We were in Perugia when we were at the lake, we drove through Umbria again after leaving the lake and finally tonight were in Lazio.

Yesterday (Sunday) was pretty quiet. After sitting by the pool for a couple of hours we went back to Volterra for lunch. But that was pretty much it.

Today started out with a trip to the northern suburbs of Florence to mail home a box. It was the closest Mail Box Etc., and was only about 10 minutes out of our way. We wanted to mail the alabaster lamp as we (well really me) was paranoid about trying to get it on the plane. I didn’t want to deal with security rejecting it so I thought the best thing to do was mail it back. As long as we were mailing a box we sent our jackets (which we haven’t used in 4 weeks) and other things we bought. So our two carry-on sized bags are almost 16 pounds lighter. Yeah!

Then it was on to our last Airbnb home in Castel Madama, near Tivoli. But since we our route took us within 25 km (about 15 miles) of Cortona (the town from the movie Under the Tuscan Sun), we decided to take a detour. We’re so glad we did as it was a really cute town. It seemed like an artist colony as we saw quite a few galleries and workshops. The town is on a hill and was beautiful from a distance but we couldn’t find anyplace to pull over to take a picture. Here are a few from town.

Delicious looking gelato; we didn’t have any because we were full from lunch. The presentation is always so beautiful.

Main town squ;are with the town hall. This was the square where the movie producers added a fountain for a couple of scenes. It’s not there any longer.

Ate at the restaurant just through the arch.

Tuscany is famous for sunflowers; this was so pretty.

The side streets are so beautiful. This one looks like a post card. This was actually a pretty steep hill.

As I said, there were a lot of artist workshops and we found one shop we really liked. The art was almost abstract, which neither one of us like, but they were so different they were actually very pretty. We bought a couple of very small pieces that easily fit into our suitcase.

Posing with the artist. You can see some of his work in the background. We liked the ones in neutral tones rather than the full color.

After lunch we started back on the road south, but detoured once again to Lake Trasimeno, only about 25 minutes south of Cortona. It was a beautiful drive and the lake looked amazing. We wouldn’t mind staying for a few weeks someday. It’s on our list, but as you know, our list is pretty long so who knows when we’ll actually get there again.

Have no idea what town this was but thought the building was pretty cool.

Beautiful Tuscan countryside. That’s a different lake in the background but don’t remember the name.

Once we stopped detouring it was only about another 90 minutes to our country house in Castel Madama. The house is very nice and our host was amazing. She drove us to pick up a few groceries as she didn’t want us to drive into town. Now that we’ve been there we understand. It’s a typical hilltop town with streets barely wide enough for a horse cart let alone a car. We were very appreciative of the ride.

Tomorrow, we’re seeing our last few sites….Hadrian’s Villa and Villa d’Este both of which are only about 15 minutes from here. Then it’s back to the airport to drop our stuff at the Hilton before taking the car back. It will be a busy day.

Lazy Day at the Beach

June 22

We drove about 45 minutes northwest of the resort to the beaches in Pisa. We rented an umbrella and chairs for 15 euro for as long as we want them. The water is pretty cold, about the same as the pool at the beach resort on the Adriatic but it was still fun.

We’re in a protected cove which is good because the current is pretty bad here.

When we leave here we’ll go hang by the pool until it’s time to make dinner. Not sure what we are doing tomorrow; maybe just hang by the pool all day. It’s our last day to relax as we have about 4 hours of driving on Monday then on Tuesday we have to take the car back and get ready to fly home on Wednesday. So resting tomorrow sounds like a great idea.

Delightful Dinner in Tuscan Countryside

June 21

Without GPS we would have never found the restaurant as it was down a hill and on an unpaved road. Even once we arrived I thought we were in the wrong place. We weren’t and ended up having a wonderful dinner. We sat with 2 other couples staying at the resort. The first 5 days they were in Italy the took a Vespa tour around Tuscany. That’s not something on our list of things to do but they loved it.

Dinner was a traditional Italian 4-course meal beginning with the Antipasta.

Starting at 12:00: Procuitto crudo (smoked ham); bruschetta with sausage (actually quite good); empty bowl that held olives (Peter took them off my plate immediately; I hate olives); typical bruschetta; pecorino cheese and I can’t remember the name of the salad but it contained barley and other things.

Then it was on to the prima patti which is a pasta dish. This time it was pasta with a simple ragu sauce like the kind we learned to make at our Italian cooking class in 2016.

By this time I was pretty full but we still had two more courses to go. The next was the secondi patti, which is the second plate, and could be meat or fish. We had very thinly sliced roast pork with roasted potatoes. This is a typical Tuscan secondi patti that we also made in our cooking class.

Only ate half of this as I needed to save room for dolce.

Finally it was time for the last course, the dolce. There were about 10 to pick from so it was a tough choice. Both were delicious.

My dessert was hazelnut cream topped with chocolate and pistachio.

Peter’s was custard, cream, strawberries topped with dark chocolate.

Then of course there was wine and Peter finished his dinner off with coffee American which turned into an expresso. Dinner last 2 1/2 hours which is the only way you can eat so much food at one time. Roberta, our street food tour guide in Bologna, said it is rare for Italians to eat a full meal like this. She said they usually have either a prima patti or a secondi patti but not both. A full meal is saved for special occasions. Peter and I had talked about doing this before we left and since this dinner was arranged by the resort with other guests, we thought it was a great time to do it. We’re so glad we did. It was a lot of food late in the evening but it was a ton of fun.

Ancient City of Volterra

June 21

Happy Summer everyone!! Although we’ve had very hot weather (at least 90 every day) for the last two weeks, today it’s officially summer. As you can see from the map, we went a little out of our way today but we couldn’t check into the resort until 4pm and it was too far to go, so we decided to visit Volterra before coming to the resort. We are so glad we did. What a cool town!!

Volterra has its origins in the 8th century BC and has been home to both the Etruscans and the Romans. There are still quite a few structures left from those olden days.

We went to the Etruscan Museum and there were lots of examples of funeral urns as well as the usual pottery, coins, jewelry, etc. Here are some examples.

Can you believe this is about 2500 years old. What great condition!

This tile floor is also in amazing condition.

Volterra is famous for its alabaster. It is a mined stone and is only found in this area. The most abundant is white alabaster and the brown is much more rare and, therefore, expensive. We found just about everything you can think of in the stone….jewelry (was tempted but I resisted), bath items like soap dishes and toothbrush holders, picture frames, wine glasses, vases small and large, chandeliers, bowls, etc. Peter found a small lamp that he loved so we got that. It cost more to ship than it did to purchase so I’ll figure out how we’re going to get it home. It’s mostly white but has a little brown in it. We saw one in another shop that had a lot more brown and even though it was the same size as ours, it cost more than double. Guess the brown is more expensive.

Peaked inside a workshop; the large rocks haven’t yet been cut into anything.

One of the larger shops; these items were beautiful.

Of course there was also lunch. Peter had pizza and I took a walk on the wild side and had a calzone…very delicious.

Here are a few pictures from the town.

After leaving Volterra, it was a short 30-minute ride to the Hilton Grand Vacation Resort in the Tuscan countryside. It’s in the middle of nowhere but that’s not a problem with the car. After getting settled we headed down to the pool. The water was lovely, cool and refreshing but not cold. That’s a nice switch.

Tonight we’re going to an authentic Tuscan dinner in town. It was arranged by the resort and it’s a traditional 4 course meal. We had an early lunch so we’re hungry. Have a great night.

Day of di’Medici

June 20

We spent the bulk of today touring the Pitti Palace, the Palatine Gallery and the Boboli Gardens. We took a tour which was wonderful. If you ever go to Florence (and it should be on everyone’s bucket list) we recommend checking out florencepass.com. The is a tour company, not the 24 hour pass of the same name. Even though we bought the tour on Viator, the tour was organized by the tour company. Our guide, Roberta, was incredibly knowledgeable but the best part was that we didn’t have to follow a flag. In fact, since all of their tours are limited to no more than 12 people, they don’t ever use flags. The first part of the tour, which included the Palace and Gallery, had 9 participants. But the second part where we toured the garden only had four.

The middle section of the front of Pitti Palace; the place is gigantic and contains 8 museums.

The Pitti Palace was first built in 1458. The Pitti family were rivals of the de’Medici family and built the palace to demonstrate their wealth. Unfortunately, once they built the palace they didn’t have their wealth any more so they had to sell. Of course, the only family with enough money to buy it was the di’Medici family who, throughout the years, enlarged it. It is now the largest museum complex in Florence.

The first place we toured was several rooms of the actual palace.

Room filled with 16th century tapestries.

Ceiling and part of a wall froom the white room which was a waiting room for guests.

Then it was on to the Palatine Gallery. This was the di’Medicis’ private gallery. Every painting, table, stature and vase is in the exact spot that it was when the di’Medici lived there. There are over 1800 paintings in the gallery, 90% of which the di’Medici bought. Only 10% were actually commissioned by the family. There was so much to look at it was almost sensory overload but Roberta pointed out the most important pieces. Here are a few of my favorites.

Sandro Boticelli was a good friend of Lorenzo the Magnificent (grandson of Cosimo the Elder) and benefited from the patronage of the family. We saw many of his paintings but this was the only one I took a picture of.

There was an entire room dedicated to Raphael.

This frame was commissioned specifically for this painting.

This is a portrait of Raphael’s fiancée.

And then there was Rubens.

Self portrait; Rubens is the man on the far left.

There were incredible ceilings.

And a 16th century floor.

Looks like a wall but it’s actually the floor.

And a door.

Every room was floor to ceiling art work.

There were magnificent tables hand made of marble and semi-precious stones. There are master craftsmen who still make tables the way they did 400 years ago. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to own something so amazing!

Can you believe this is a 400 year old table top?

The Palace was taken over by the Hapsburgs in the early 18th century when the last male descendant of Cosimo I (a cousin of Lorenzo the Magnificent who took over the rule when the last of Lorenzo’s family died out) died without heirs. Why the Hapsburgs (Austria) you ask? Well….the eldest son of Cosimo I married one of the Hapsburg, so they took over the rule of Florence. In the late 18th century, Napoleon made the Palace his headquarters.

Napoleon’s bathroom; the tub is made from a solid piece of Carrera marble.

After the tour of the Palace and Gallery, we took a short break before heading out to the Boboli Gardens. The land is adjacent to the Palace and was bought from the Boboli family so Cosimo the First’s wife (Eleonora) could have a garden.

One of the lakes had an island filled with lemon and orange trees as well as rose bushes.

This was a gigantic roman bath and an Egyptian obelisk.

Lemon House where they store the fruit trees during the winter.

There was a beautiful view of the Dome from the garden.

There was also an amazing grotto carved into the rock.

The tour ended about 1:45 by which time we were hot, tired and starving so off to lunch we went. After lunch we slowly made our way back to the train station passing by many of the unique sites of Florence.

Ponte Vecchio from the inside; as always it was crazy crowded. It’s lined with dozens of jewelry shops and is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Florence.

Palazzo Vecchio (tower on left) was the town house of the di’Medici.

Given that we were here less than 48 hours, we packed in quite a bit. We knew we weren’t going to stay long but I’ll take any opportunity to visit Florence, even if it’s only for a few hours. What an amazing city!

Tomorrow we’re off to the Hilton Resort in the Tuscan countryside. It will be a nice place to relax for a few days.

My Favorite City in the World

June 19

Before we get to our two days in Florence, let’s finish with Bologna. Before we left town, we drove to the Sanctuary of San Luca which sits high above the city. A church as existed on this site for a thousand years but the present church was constructed fairly recently in the early 18th century. Of course we managed to get there just in time for Mass but since we’d driven for 30 minutes up a very windy road, we decided to stay until Mass was over so we could get a better look at the beautiful church. We could have walked up the 100 stairs to the top of the dome (and paid 5 euro each for the privilege) but as you might guess we took a pass.

Beautiful carving at one of the side chapels.

It’s about a 15 minute walk to the tram and a 10-15 minute ride to the Central train station; not as cool as last time when we lived right in the city center but with a car it was the best we could do; parking is impossible in the historic center.

Then it was time to head back down the hill towards Florence. This is the 4th time I’ve been here and am excited that I can see different things this time as Peter has done all the “must see” attractions.

By the time we got settled into the flat (which is in the suburbs; the only way with a car) and we made our way to the tram and into the city center, it was after 1pm so the first thing we did was find something to eat. After lunch we headed towards the Casa Buonarroti, which is one of the homes of Michaelangelo (did you know his last name was Buonarroti??) here in Florence. It is now a very nice museum that includes some of the artist’s work.

After the museum it was a 2-block walk to the Basilica of Santa Croce which is the largest Franciscan church in the world. It was built in the late 13th century and legend has it that it was founded by St. Francis.

Think this is part of a cloak worn by St. Francis

I took a zillion pictures but here are just a few.

One of the 16 side alters; Crucifix was carved by Donatello

Oldest painting in the church; dates back to 13th century.

The Basilica is also known as the Temple of Italian Glories as there are many Italian greats buried here.

Composer Rossini (William Tell Overture)

Galileo; was only buried here 80 years after his death as he had been excommunicated.

Dante is not actually buried here as he was exhiled from Florence; this is a memorial to him.

For some reason there is also a memorial to Florence Nightingale.

The outside courtyard was just as beautiful as the inside.

By the time we finished touring the church, which took well over an hour, we were hot (90s again today), tired and in desperate need of gelato. Luckily, there was a cafeteria with gelato right on the corner.

Peter’s (on left) was chocolate chip; mine was my favorite combination…wild cherry and strawberry

On our way back to the train station to catch the tram home, we wandered through the Central Market. This is several blocks of stalls selling all the usual stuff….leather goods, tee-shirts, scarves, etc. We’ll go back tomorrow when we’re not quite as tired.

It’s almost 9pm and I’m too tired to proofread so hopefully there aren’t too many mistakes. Tomorrow we get to follow the flag as we’re signed up for a day trip to the Pitti Palace. We’ll let you know how it goes.

Beautiful Evening in the Park

It’s just after 8pm and it’s still 85 degrees. We went for a walk and found a nice park. There’s a cool breeze so we’re enjoying a nightcap. Night everyone.

Exploring a New City

June 17-18

Wasn’t quite this direct as there was an accident on E45 which shut down the road. Ended up detouring through the countryside for an additional 30 minutes of travel. It was a pretty drive, though.

Bologna is the 7th most populous city in Italy. It is a beautiful city that is one of the most prosperous in Italy. By the time we arrived on Monday, checked into the apartment, and washed a load of clothes, it was mid-afternoon before we finally got to the city center. Our flat is only about 750 meters away so it was a pretty easy 20 minute walk.

Our first stop was to the main square in town Piazza Maggiore. Dominating the piazza is the Basilica of San Petronio. St. Petronius is the patron saint of Bologna and is buried here. This church is rather odd in that while construction began in the late 14th century but the façade was never finished. It was only consecrated in 1954. It was gigantic inside with towering gothic style ceilings. Here are some pictures.

Looking at main altar from about 2/3 of the way down the church.

Everything was big, even the pulpit. How does the priest get up there?

Beautiful stain glass windows in one of the side chapels

Adjacent to Piazza Maggiore is the Piazza del Netunno with the famous fountain that was completed in the mid-16th century.

After lunch (my tortellini soup was amazing) we took a ride on the tourist train to see what else is in the city that we want to visit. The first thing on the list was the Basilica of San Stephano. This church is actually a complex of buildings also known as Seven Churches. According to legend, St. Petronius, a bishop of the city during the 5th century, built the basilica over a temple of the goddess Isis. He was originally buried here but moved to the Basilica of St. Petronio.

Main altar; crucifix dates back to the 8th century

18th century Compianto sul Cristo morto which translates to Lamentation over the Dead Christ. Sculpted by Angelo Gabriello Piò.

Crypt used to contain remains of St. Petronius, patron saint of Bologna but he was moved to the Basilica of San Petronio. This is located in the Church of the Holy Sceplchre, adjacent to the main church.

Interior courtyard connecting the different churches.

As we headed back to the flat we discovered that Pisa isn’t the only town with a leaning tower. There were up to 180 towers built in the 12th and 13th centuries but only about 20 remain.

Tower in foreground (Garisenda Tower; 48 m) is leaning back; the one in background (Asinelli Tower 97 m) is leaning forward.

Then it was a leisurely walk home where we spent a quiet evening.

Today (Tuesday 6/18) is the 21st anniversary of my retirement from the Navy. I can’t believe it’s been that long! I’ve actually been out of the Navy longer than I stayed in….that’s weird.

Anyway, the day started by walking back towards Piazza Maggiore, stopping at the Basilica of San Francesco which was completed in 1263. Of course, it is dedicated to the founder of the Franciscan order…St. Francis. They were in the middle of Mass so I don’t have any pictures of the inside but here’s the outside.

Then on our way to tourist info in Piazza Maggiore, we ran into this church…Chiesa di San Salvatore. It was small but very pretty. Construction started in the early 1600s meaning it was built in the Baroque style which was popular at that time.

There were only 3 side chapels on each side of the nave. This one was the prettiest.

The highlight of the day was our 2 1/2 hour food tour with our local guide Benedetta. We were the only people registered so it was a private tour and was absolutely wonderful. We visited two markets, stopping at 5 different places to eat. At each stop we tried Benedetta’s recommended dishes, sticking with local specialties. Bologna is most famous for “inventing” tortellini, mortadella and lasagna. My personal favorite dish was the tortellini stuffed with ricotta cheese and figs with a light butter and cream sauce. I know you’re making faces and thinking it sounds horrible but it was delicious. I’m not sure we’re going to be eating dinner tonight but we brought home a doggie bag of meat that was left over from our 4th stop. We could have finished but we had to save room for gelato, which of course, was the last stop. Bologna actually has a Gelato University that offers over 500 different courses lasting from a few days to 5 weeks in length. How fun would that be. Anyway, the gelato was delicious; the best we’ve had since Licata in Sicily.

After gelato, we strolled back to the house where we will spend the evening relaxing. There is a movie festival here and we thought about walking back to Piazza Maggiore tonight to watch the movie “Rocky”, but decided we didn’t want to walk back at midnight when the movie ended. Also, Benedetta said the seats fill up quickly and we didn’t want to sit there for hours before the movie starts at 9:45pm. So, we’ll take a pass and have another quiet evening at home.

Tomorrow we’re off to the cradle of the Renaissance…Florence. Can’t wait.

On the Road Again

June 16

Before we move on to today, here’s a video I took last night when we found a place to dance. It was a lot of fun. https://youtu.be/sKYzKTbmDhE

We had a nice break at the beach but this morning it was time to hit the road again. Today we headed inland to Assisi. I was there with mom and dad in 1994 and in 1997 it was hit with a devastating earthquake. It only took two years to rebuild and now is a major tourist attraction in the Umbria region.

We parked at our Airbnb flat, which was supposed to be 900 meters from the town walls, so we decided to walk. Well….it might be 900 meters from the wall but it’s 1.3 km from the gate that lets us into the city. It wasn’t too bad getting there, but coming back had some pretty steep hills. And Gracie led us astray, which didn’t help. We ended up walking in circles before we finally found our way.

Anyway, we enjoyed our time in Assisi. It’s a beautiful town with many interesting streets and alleyways.

Porta Nuova (New Gate); One of the entrances to the town.

Beautiful little side street with restaurant

And of course we visited a few churches. Two of the most important, Basilica of S. Chiara and the Basilica of San Francesco did not allow pictures on the inside.

The Basilica of San Francesco was an amazing church with both an upper and lower basilica. Here is a link to a google page I found that has some pictures of the inside. https://www.google.com/search?biw=1368&bih=795&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=QGIGXYiADNGTlwSWyY_ADQ&q=basilica+st+francis+assisi+pictures&oq=basilica+st+francis+assisi+pictures&gs_l=img.3…165756.170190..170716…1.0..0.248.2681.9j13j1……0….1..gws-wiz-img.wVlJDm0mNsc

In addition to the two levels of the basilica, we also saw the tomb of St. Francis. It was a concrete tomb above a small altar in a chapel below the lower basilica. It was pretty amazing to see.

We stopped at one more church that did allow pictures. It was a small church but ornately decorated.

Chiesa Santa Maria Sopra Minerva (behind the columns)

Before heading back to the house we stopped for lunch. With the roundabout way Gracie took us back to the house we walked over 16,000 steps today. That’s more than we walked in the last 3 days put together. But we needed the exercise after hanging out by the pool for 2 straight days.

We’re about to head out to find a grocery store. We not hungry for dinner but we want to pick up some things for breakfast. If we found a Gelateria along the way that would be okay too.

Tomorrow we’re off to Bologna. It’s a new city for me so that’s very exciting. We’ll talk again then. Ciao.