7/3 Assisi? Si! Si!

The next morning was glorious thanks to the most amazing breakfast! It was included at the hotel. It was set up as a buffet and looked like it could have been from a magazine. I had an awesome salami and prosciutto sandwich, fresh oj, green grapes, and a pastry we all called "chocolate cloud" which was essentially a flakey pastry with chocolate baked in and powdered sugar on top.

We didn't have to get up too early because we were going to spend the day in Assisi. We took a train there and then a cab up the hill to the beautiful basilica. It was pretty crowded there with tourists, nuns and priests. We went inside and saw the tomb of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals. Appropriately enough, there were lots of people there who had brought their dogs.

After exploring the basilica, we made our way into town. Assisi is another town with steep hills, narrow streets and lots of cobblestones. There were lots of touristy shops there. I particularly liked the perfume/soap shops.... They smelled soooo good!

We went into another church that made me put a wrap around my waist, just like the previous basilica had, because I was wearing shorts. It held the tomb of St. Chiara, whose name could be found all over town on walls. Supposedly, the story of her says that she was being forced to leave the city... She didn't want to leave so she clung to a stone. Many strong men tried to remove her but no one could. She said it was her faith that gave her the strength to not be torn away from it. She eventually became a saint and is still adored today... There's your history lesson courtesy of Jessica :)

We eventually found a spot to have lunch. I got a sandwich that I thought was advertised as being 2 euro... I got a can of my fave lemon soda... The total came out to 7 euro, about $11! The girl at the register said it had the wrong price on it. Lovely. Take my first born child, too.

After lunch we continued our walk up the hill. My dad, Renee and Chris decided to go back down to town and the rest of us decided to go up to a castle.

The trek to the castle was a rough one. It was up a steep hill but the views of Assisi were amazing! We got to the top and saw that it cost 5 euro to get in. I was just going to wait outside but Bruce insisted and paid our way. Apparently it was built in the 12th century as a military fortress. It had a huge kitchen area and dining hall as well as a lot of spiral staircases leading to many different rooms. One of the coolest parts was a long creepy corridor that lead to another tower with more awesome views.

We spent about an hour wandering around the castle but then realized we needed to get back. After a quick drink/popsicle break we made our way back to the church where the 3 who didn't go were waiting. Apparently they had been waiting 90 mins. because we had agreed that our general meeting point would be at 4:00 at the basilica But it was well after 5. Oops.

We got a cab back to our hotel. We decided it was nap time and that we would meet for dinner a few hours later. We decided to go up the hill to find a place for dinner. There was a reasonably priced place with seating on the terrace that overlooked the valley so we decided to eat there. As I dined on chicken skewers and fried potatoes, mosquitos feasted on my legs. Dinner was delicious and I was actually happy to not be eating pasta, pizza or paninis.

We didn't finish dinner until about 11. Late dinners are so typical here but difficult for someone like me who usually eats at 5 or 6. I went back to the room to start packing because the next day we weren't going to get back until late and would have to leave around 5 the next morning.

I took a shower, packed until I didn't feel like it anymore, and passed out!