Good morning! I woke ahead of the alarm, knowing that I have a brutal day ahead.
Just before sun up, looking out my window. If you look close, those white things down below me are clouds.
The Italians are big on juice. I tasted it just to find out what it was -- pear juice! Not bad but I steer away from juice because of the high calorie count. Better to eat the fruit and get some fiber.
According to Castleist.com the Biscina Castle dating from 900 A. D. is for sale. Only 1.6 million euros. It requires some minimal structural interventions in the roofing and in some merlons of the main tower." Yeah, I'll bet minimal. Our house is only 1905 and it has had major interventions.
The view as I left, including the clouds. I left my hotel feeling pretty perky and so excited to begin another day of beautiful scenery. The air was cold and crisp.
So I came to this fork in the road. You guessed it ...up and up and up.
Lago Trasimeno.
I took this long, steep staircase down and wouldn't you just know it, as soon as I got tot the bottom, there was an identical one going up. Where are those suspension bridges when you need them?
Beautiful views all day.
This is looking down from a bridge. I don't have a problem with heights and I was still afraid to get to the edge of the bridge, even with a railing.
Cock of the walk.
This section was like walking through a tunnel.
The Chiaso River
Camino Ways is trying to kill me. They combined two sections. Most people spend the night here in Valfabbrica and take a second day to reach Assisi. But noooooo, I was only half way. And worse, there were three bars and not one of them had Coca-Cola Zero. What kind of primitive town is this? Today ended up being 20.9 mega mountain miles
The story of St. Francis and the wolf are everywhere!
I have not seen these spotted cows before. She actually seemed pretty friendly.
I was amazed at how clean this little pink pigs were. Umbria is famous for their pork.
Today was the hardest hike of this journey. In one section, I climbed straight up for an hour and a half, so steep I kept sliding back, if I wasn't careful. When I got to the top, I was soaking wet and my hair loooked like I had been in the shower and it was cold outside. Thought that would be the end of the up. Little did I know I had to go over another mountain and then Assisi sits on the side of a mountain but not at the bottom. At the top. I thought my legs were going to give out long before I actually got there. I didn't stop all day except for about ten minutes to eat my stead sandwich leftovers.
I am guessing that people place a rock here on the pile and request prayers. There is a huge one on the Camino de Santiago - French way. Although I did wonder if the bodies of the people who didn't make it were buried under here.
Another kilometer and still many more to go.
At about 14 miles, I sill had to go down and climb up to this spot in the distance. It was so tough that I had to put "Uptown Funk" and Meghan Trainer on my IPOD.
At the bottom of the hill was this statue of Saint Francis.
The country side is filled with these little trucks. They are almost always dark green and some of the farmers look like they barely fit inside.
OMG! The gates to Assisi. I practically crawled through this entrance. I still had a mile of climb left to go but I was inspired to finish upright when I saw this .
I just liked the flowers and stopping to take a photo gave me a few seconds to catch my breath.
A bar with Coca-Cola Zero. Does life get any better? I realized I was hungry. I really didn't eat much today. I ordered a Ciabatta con polo, verdure e salso alli sinape. Basically a chicken sandwich with vegetables and mustard. The bread was wonderful, warm and slightly crunchy. I ate half of it and pocketed the rest for later. I have become quite the food packrat.
The Cathedral of San Rafino, built in 1182, was where Saint Francis was baptized. It is an important part of the Franciscan order.
The main altar.
Saint Francis
A side chapel that I believe is dedicated to Saint Clare (spelled like you my sweet friend Clare).
Saint Francis with the animals.
Just outside the Cathedral, I saw this. Just a photo for my dear friend Jo Ann, the queen of Rotary.
So I got one of these things on the top shelf. I got one filled with coconut cream and saved it for dessert. It was decadent. I thought of my friend Jerry Prittie. When he was alive, anything I found coconut, I had to bring back to him. He loved coconut as much as I do so I always called him my coconut friend. I miss him. RIP Jerry. I know you are in coconut heaven, playing golf.
I ate dinner in this quaint restaurant. I love the atmosphere. I had a grumpy waiter and he was only about twenty. He must have been the owners son or at least, a relative because had he just been a regular hiree, he would have been long gone. He was grumpy to everyone. The lady at the next table and I exchanged the look. I still gave him a nice tip because I can't stand the thought of stiffing someone. Who knows, maybe his girlfriend dumped him just this afternoon.
Look at this Gustosta Pizza with Pomodoro, smoked mozzarella and all those splotches are truffles. Oh, not the oil that someone waved a truffle over but real black truffles and a lot of them. Just a slice of heaven on a plate. I still have half of it for tomorrow.
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