As we entered Umbrian country side the hills turned into mountains and villages of stony buildings began appearing high atop foothills. The Assisi train stop was about 5 kilometers below the town, so we entered the station's tobacchi store and Kristin obtained tickets with some key Italian phrases (cheers to Kristin). Once we boarded the bus a friendly older Italian woman spoke to us in Italian asking us where we wanted off. She pointed out the right stop for us and we hopped off with luggage in tow.
How can I aptly describe our pleasant stay in Assisi? All I can say is that everything seemed right there. Light pink and tan stone composite buildings lined the streets. Green shutters framed all the windows and flower boxes with geraniums and succulents were perched on virtually all the window sills. We had breath taking views of Assisi from the fortress high above the town--Rocca Maggiore. Walking in and out of tunnels and up upon turrets we were amazed at the severe natural beauty in the surrounding hills. Strong gusts of wind were blowing up over the ridge and I thought I'd witness my wife go blowing over the turret's wall several times. I held on to her just to be neurotic about it all.
We loved Assisi from the moment we laid eyes on it. It struck us as being a small, quiet and friendly rural Umbrian village. Not overly quiet the weekend we were there, though. Calendimaggio (an annual pagan festival held in Assisi) happened to be occurring that weekend and the town was decked out with banners and people clad in renaissance garb. Our hotel was around the corner from San Rufino, the church that St Francis and St Claire worshiped in while they were young. Just down the street was another church, the Church of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva. Originally it had been an 1st century BC temple to Minerva. Later it was re-purposed as a local catholic church. Considering that only 3,000 people reside in Assisi I find it amazing that they have so many cathedrals...I counted at least seven.
How can I aptly describe our pleasant stay in Assisi? All I can say is that everything seemed right there. Light pink and tan stone composite buildings lined the streets. Green shutters framed all the windows and flower boxes with geraniums and succulents were perched on virtually all the window sills. We had breath taking views of Assisi from the fortress high above the town--Rocca Maggiore. Walking in and out of tunnels and up upon turrets we were amazed at the severe natural beauty in the surrounding hills. Strong gusts of wind were blowing up over the ridge and I thought I'd witness my wife go blowing over the turret's wall several times. I held on to her just to be neurotic about it all.
Long about evening we were craving a truffle pizza and we stumbled upon a local's pizza hangout. Here we had our first unsuccessful encounter with the metric system. Of course both of us studied the metric system in school and are completely aware of the nomenclature. However, when a waitress asks you (in Italian) if you are sure you want 750 mL of wine it doesn't compute right away. Questions with the word milliliter in it do not belong in the context of a restaurant for me; definitely in the chemistry lab, maybe at work every now and again, but never in a restaurant. I was more than a bit confused about the point our waitress was trying to make about the ridiculous quantity of wine I was about to order. So I did what any ignorant American would do, I repeatedly answered "Si" to her after every sentence she offered to me and after every incredulous look she gave me. The bottom line is that Kristin ordered 250 mL of white wine and I ordered 750mL. Do the math and wait for it...that's right we ordered a liter of white wine to accompany our fairly light dinner. Thank goodness for long dining periods and a long wait for our desert to be served.
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