Assisi gets it’s own blog post because,  well, this was one of my top favorite places.   However we only spent a few hours there. 

This sweet classically Italian town sat upon a hill.  The bus parked and we ascended the outdoor escalator to the town streets….

……

Leaving Rome we traveled a few hours North and stopped in the storybook town of Assisi. This town is in the Umbria area (which you reach prior to the Tuscany area). As we came upon the town of Assisi, we noted a flat area of homes across a plain with olive trees all across the area. This is actually where our guide Alex lives and grew up.

Just past the plain was a mountain that we climbed on the bus to close to the top. At this area, the bus parked and we ascended the escalator stairs to the start of the town. The town street was likely 1 mile or more long from top to bottom (yes this was a slope). The Trip to St. Francis Basilica (Basilica di San Francesco) was downhill upon cobblestone road. The scenery and the buildings were what I envisioned a small Italian city that we dream of from movies to be like.

We walked in Awe down the street until we reached the church. We were able to visit and tour the church with our pro-guide Alex. The frescos in the church were beautifully painted and told the entire story of St. Francis and the story of Jesus. You could still see where the initial frescos were painted and the updated ones that were painted beside them with a newer artist.

After completing our time there, we had a mile walk back up the hill to lunch. This was not easy to climb for everyone in our group and there was definitely time to take to get to our next stop. Alex chose less steep alleyways for the group on the way back up, which led to even more beautiful views.

We had lunch planned at Alex’s aunt’s restaurant. She does deli sandwiches, fresh cut meat and cheese. So graciously they set up a taste testing for our group including testing out all the different meats as hey discussed them as well as cheeses and toppings. They also had wine samples. Most of our group stayed here and ate while those who were vegetarians walked back down the street to a pizza shop.
Personally I enjoyed the deer meat and a strong cheese on a firm crispy deli bread with an eggplant topping. Balsamic vinegar and oil was added as well, which was very common in Italy. 12 euros for this meal with a beverage from the cooler. I actually purchased some to take home with me. Www.assaggiassisi.com is the restaurant. Staff was very friendly.

After this we had some time to visit the catacombs or shop or go get more gelato. Prices were not too steep here. We stayed until 3pm and left to head to Florence.