Today was tour Assisi day. I cooked a breakfast of fried, thin sliced potatoes, onions and hotdogs and scrambled eggs with onion and yellow peppers. Yum! We were out the door and hoofing our way up to the high point in town, piazza Mattiote. Here we did what we have done many times before, insert ear buds and follow the instructions and information in a Rick Steves audio tour. Always interesting with the perfect mix of just enough information to introduce the town without too much detail. Each is a walking tour of the town and they work well to give one an overview of the city being visited.
We found the walking directions a bit more confusing than others we have enjoyed, but by rewinding and listening carefully we were able to following the path he described and experience Assisi as a whole.
The tours usually have about a 40-60 minute run time, but with stopping to see things, read details or discuss what we are learning they usually take us 2-3 hours to complete. Today we started about 8:20 and decided to pause our tour at about 10:30 to walk down to the St. Francis Basilica to obtain our credentials for our walk to Rome.
We dropped down to the lower piazza on the side of the basilica to the information office to ask where to obtain our credentials. They pointed us to the arched entrance to the left of the lower basilica entrance. Here a man listened to our request then picked up a phone and spoke briefly on it. About four minutes later a friar came out to greet us and walked us to the pilgrim office. He unlocked it and we followed him in. Here he filled out our credentials and gave them the official stamp of the St. Francis Basilica. We talked to him for a few minutes. He was from Honduras and had been here for six years. He figured to be reassigned in the coming year. We took a photo with him and then he had to leave to give a sermon. We visited the restroom and then began our Rick Steve’s audio tour of the basilica which starts on the lower level. We spent about two hours touring the basilica, really enjoying ourselves. Waves of people would pass by us as tour group after tour group, led by their hushed speaking guides spoke quietly into their microphones for the benefit of their paying customers, not unlike us with our audio tour.
While in the lower basilica a very kind and friendly priest asked if I could take his picture in front of the relics of Francis. I declined as I had just been scolded by a docent about taking photos. He smiled and understood. But, a few minutes later I saw all kinds of people snapping photos near the relics. Did they just object to photos of Frances tomb? I motioned to my priest that I would be happy to take his photo. He smiled and handed me his camera. After the photos he blessed Sally and me and asked about our children, then our grandchildren. This took a bit of hand waving gyration and Spanish/Portugese language juggling. In the midst of it all I thought how kind this man is, I should reciprocate and ask about his children. I did. Sally burst out laughing as did the priest. I immediately recognized that my curiosity overpowered my reasoning and laughed with them. He had us take a photo of his instagram account so we could come visit him in Brazil. And just like that, we parted.
After our tour of St. Peter’s Basilica we walked back to our apartment for lunch. We are not very inventive when it comes to lunches-bread and cheese with a piece of fruit. Sally took a short nap and I tried to compose my blog starting with a summary of my impressions of St. Frances and his position in this community, the church and the world at large. Everything I tried to write came out a jumble. I realized I was, if not confused, at least conflicted about my impressions, opinions and conclusions. Too much input and too little time to assimilate. Perhaps, more reflection is needed. If only I could go on a long walk and have a chance to contemplate. . .
After our long lunch break we returned to the main square of Assisi to pick up our audio tour where we left off. When we interrupted it this morning neither of us looked to see how much time we had left. We were both surprised when we looked and saw only eight minutes to go. Those eight minutes took us to a tiny church that used to be outside the city, an area populated with a plethora of cats.
We ended the tour back on the main street to St Frances’ Basilica, but instead of turning right toward the basilica we turned left and headed back to town and our apartment.
The apartment Sally found is a gem. Newly remodeled, clean and modern on the third floor with a nice view out over the valley. Of particular interest is its location of only about 100 yards from the main square and less than 30 yards from three food stores, all small but with everything we need. Puts us right in the heart of Assisi.
We spent half an hour sitting on a bench in the square people watching, having fun guessing nationalities and looking at the fashions.
Back in our apartment we cooked noodles and vegetables for dinner. After dinner we called the Caldwells to say hi and then headed back to the square for a treat and to people watch some more. We got back home about 8:45. Sally did more of what she is amazing at-research. She enjoys it and always finds interesting facts and things to go explore. I vowed to go to sleep early tonight, and left Sally to explore our possibilities for tomorrow. I thought I should be tired and I felt tired, but I didn’t fall asleep. This happened last night too, but I blamed it on a couple cups of tea I drank at dinner. Today I was careful to avoid stimulants altogether but still I did not sleep. Jet lag. It’s a bummer.
Assisi
Baptismal font used by Saint Frances and statue of the man himself
Actually crucifix that channeled god’s voice to tell Francesco to fix the church
St. Francesco Basilic
Friar that gave us our credentials
Lower Piazza at St. Francesco Basilica
Inside lower level
Priest who has no children 😃
St. Francesco returning from war
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