Arriving in Assisi for St. Francis Feast Day Celebration

October 3, 2013    

(You will be reading this late as we had internet problems in Assisi!)   We woke very early in Cortona; excited about our next adventure.  We walked up to the Piazza for some last minute internet compliments of Bar Signorelli; a good connection in a very empty square!   While we were there we stopped in the Tabac Shop and purchased our bus tickets and a new USA Today Newspaper to read on the train.

We decided to walk to the bus stop early and found the blue bus waiting when we arrived.  Hopped on this earlier than planned bus and enjoyed our ten minute ride to the train station in the town at the base of the hill.   Checked the schedule and found out that there was a train headed our way at 9:15 am; an hour plus earlier than planned.  One stop and we had to change to a new train for the final leg to Assisi.  The whole trip lasted for less than two hours. 

Soon we were in the queue for the bus up the hill to Assisi; tickets in hand.   The first bus was too full and while we waited for the next bus; we saw the taxicabs arriving regularly.  I asked how much to the San Francesco Basilica?   

He said 15 euro and I said “sold”.   It was a good thing because we found later than it was still a long walk uphill from the bus stop at the top of the hill!   Traffic was terrible; the Pope doesn’t arrived until tomorrow but there are thousands of people.  We checked into our B&B; gathered what we needed and headed out the door.   The host had saved a map of the city with all of the stops for tomorrow marked.   An interesting note is that our actual rooms are some two hundred plus steps further up the hill than the office that is located on Via San Francesco.  We were surprised at first but they did help carry our luggage up the many steps; and we’ve since found that it is really a lovely location and quiet which is nice.  And breakfast is included which is a nice plus.

Today we would visit nearly all of the dozen stops where the pope would either have private visits and/or have a public function.  Everything was open to the public; many police were everywhere and all of the manhole covers have been marked with an orange four inch strip of paint.  Not sure why unless it indicated that they’d been inspected.  We spotted many small groups of people in matching orange shirts and gray dress trousers; most were young people.  When we saw them using their cell phones near Cathedrale Di San Rufino; we asked if they had wifi and they laughed and said “yes”.  They told us how to connect and soon I had wifi on my Samsung II cell phone as long as I stayed in one spot on the street!   We asked where they were from and learned that it is a student tour group from Chili.   We walked from noon until 5 pm but visited six of the most important sites.  A fun afternoon but tiring. 

Breakfast had been very early in the morning; lunch was a boiled egg (from Cortona) and bread.  Dinner was a slice of pizza and a shared beer!   And, we enjoyed ice cream twice during the day.  The weather was absolutely beautiful all day, but by evening when we went out to see the night lights on the San Francesco Basilica our coats felt good.  It was beautiful to see the calm before the storm!

Snug in our B&B, our only complaint was the lack of wifi that worked.  My Samsung II cell phone is our only connection with the world except for the Italian cell phone.  But with that we were able to send emails to let the family know that we are safely in Assisi.  Mary’s apple and my Vista 8 are just too new for the equipment provided.  We are supposed to be given a data cord sometime today!   Hopefully that will at least allow us to get my computer online. 

A long day and we’re very tired so I’m signing off.  Hope you enjoy the slideshow when it finally arrives: 

Our Day in Cortona

Before I start our day I need to return to last night.  We finished posting our blogs while sitting on the cold steps of the city hall about 6:30 pm.   They don’t serve dinner until after 7:30 pm so we had some time to walk around.  Suddenly, the American friends from the train approached us; they wanted to know if we’d like to have dinner with them. 

  He said that “they needed some new stories and had been watching us before deciding to approach and invite us to join them.”   We finally introduced ourselves to each other.  Don and Jan are from Spokane, Washington.  They’ve been traveling a month at a time for a number of years now.  They started this trip in Milano and will end it with a cruise around the tip of Italy including some stops in Sicily.  

We walked to the restaurant that they had chosen earlier because it was connected to their B&B and it was reasonable so we agreed to eat there.  But we still had time so we walked to the Duomo and enjoyed the view over the valley.  Far below was a cemetery that you’ll see in the slideshow.  Returning to the restaurant we enjoyed sharing a meal and travel stories with a wonderful couple.  The evening flew and it was after 9:00 pm before we bid them goodbye and headed towards our apartment.  A side story was shared about their arrival in town on the bus earlier in the day:  the maps they had from google were not the same as the streets they were finding.  They walked up and down the steep streets for over an hour, backpack suitcases on their backs, before they finally gave up and found a lady with a cell phone who called their hotel for them.  The staff told them to go to Piazza Garibaldi and they came to pick them up from there.  We were so fortunate that Simone had brought us to the apartment or we might have had the same problem!

We slept well in our apartment; very quiet but we missed the bells of St. Catherine in Siena.  I actually slept until 9 am; very late for me.  Mary was up for hours before me.  Ate our breakfast in the apartment with food that we purchased yesterday afternoon in the local grocery store.  By 10:30 am…that magical time that happens without planning each day…we left on our day’s journey.

Our first goal was to locate the bus station for tomorrow morning for our trip back to the train.  It is a short walk and all downhill.  Then we started our walk around the outside of the city walls towards Piazza Garibaldi; this is the main entrance to the old town. 

Arriving at the entrance we then started working on our second goal:  walking to Bramasole, the Tuscany home of the author Frances Mayes.  I’ve driven there several times  but this was the first time that I have walked to see the outside of her home.  It helped that I’d seen it before because it is not on the maps.  She is a very private citizen in Cortona.   We first visited the beautiful little church called Chiesa di San Domenica and then continued on the level gravel road towards the city park. 

We kept watching for signs for the tennis courts and actually discovered it was a tennis school when we passed it.  But, I knew we were then on the correct road.  From that point on it was a hard surface but very narrow road that rose ever so slightly uphill for the next half hour.   Shaded by the stately cypress trees all along the road with regular stops to enjoy the views of the valley below.  For a good period of time we had a view of the Lake at Castiglion de Lago off in the distance.

I spotted the church up on the top of the hill and told Mary that I was sure it was below that spot so we continued our walk.  Suddenly I knew we’d arrived.  But, the house itself was completely incased in plastic and scaffolding; they are doing an extensive remodel or maybe just repairs!   The one thing that gave me assurance that we’d arrived was the small della robba style statue of the Virgin in a small niche on the wall surrounding her home.  Mary found even more proof when we discovered the Building Permit that gave the author’s name and the address of the property as Bramasole.  

Soon we were headed back into town; a faster walk that only took us about half an hour.  Downhill half the way and then level for the last half.  An interesting note is that we walked past a lady on our way out that Mary is sure was Frances herself.  She greeted us with the familiar Italian Buon giorno; and we returned the greeting as we passed.  Who knows!   But it is well known that she regularly walks into town for coffee in the morning at Bar Signorelli.

Back into town after a stop at the local public toilette in the park where we met two couples from Mission Viejo in Orange County California; they were walking into town for the day.  We gave them some directions and one of our maps of the town. 

Our third quest for the day was a cup of Cappuccino at the Bar Signorelli and some quick internet time.  Then it was back to the apartment to write our blogs for the day; it’s only a two minute walk from the center to our apartment.  Uphill to the center and downhill to the apartment.   We will return to post them soon and enjoy a visit to see the inside of the Duomo.  We are going to cook our dinner tonight in the apartment with food we purchased at the market yesterday.   Tomorrow is a travel day to Assisi where we spend the next three days for the celebration of the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi on October 4^th that lasts for three days.  We’ve heard that Pope Francis will be there on the feast day!  Stay tuned for more fun!

Hope you enjoy the slideshow:

Our Travel Day...The Train to Cortona

Bonnie and Jane left the apartment at 7:30 am in a taxi that our apartment owner, Marzia, had arranged for us last night.  We had several hours to work on projects such as checking all the bank accounts and credit cards online for some general bookkeeping before it was time for us to leave.  

At 10:30 am Marzia arrived for the checkout, we were well prepared; then our taxi arrived to take us to the train station.  Marzia has a wonderful apartment very close to the city center and I’d highly recommend her apartment to anyone visiting Siena.  She can be found on airbnb on the internet.

By 11:00 am we were at the train station; verified the time for our train and then I headed over to the shopping mall.  Yes, the Italian cell phone was still not working.   The clerk waived his fingers over the computer and within minutes told me that it would be working within the hour.  He probably forgot to do something yesterday.   I had no choice but to trust him and headed back to the train station.

Just before our train left the station; the phone began to work!   I quickly left Bonnie and Jane a message and also called our new landlord in Cortona, Simone, to let him know that we were on the train and would arrive in time.  We had to change trains in Chiusi; only a short wait.  There we got to know an American couple from Spokene Washington a bit better.  They were also traveling from Siena to Cortona.   Better packed then we were, they each had a backpack for their month long trip.  They offered to share a cab with us in Cortona as the train stops at the bottom in the new town.   They were favorably impressed when we told them that our landlord was picking us up at the station. 

Soon we’d arrived and Simone, who also is a professor at the University in Florence; was very kind and agreed to call a taxi for the stranded Americans who were there with us.  He was in the process when the bus arrived and they decided to go by bus after he explained the difference in the cost.  The train station is closed permanently and there were no taxis waiting for the arrivals.

Our apartment is on the ground floor of a building that is over a thousand years old.  It is full of beautiful antiques and beautifully furnished.  We have two bedrooms, a large kitchen, living room, very new bathroom with a large shower.  The ceilings are open beamed.  We have a beautiful patio that would be lovely to eat in if we were staying longer.  It’s a shame we’re only here for two nights.   There was fresh fruit in a bowl, wrapped bread sweets, drinks in the refrigerator.  It was like we were visiting a good friend and not just renting an apartment.  We are less than a five minute walk to the center of the village.  We’re been back and forth twice already and are going back up tonight for dinner at the Bar Caffe Signorelli.  

The only thing our apartment lacks is wifi; so we are sitting on the steps at the town hall using the free wifi compliments of the Bar Caffe Signorelli.   We will take the computers back this evening and post our blog; but just in case we don’t; I’ve preserved the right date by doing a mini post while we were there earlier this afternoon…a trick I’ve learned from sister Mary. 

Tomorrow we are taking the twenty minute walk to see the summer home of the author Frances Mayes who wrote “Under the Tuscany Sun”.   She is living here sometimes up to six months a year with her husband in their home that is “on the wrong side of the mountain and in the shade after 3:00 pm”, per the tour book.  We’ve been told that she is in residence right now.   We will also be visiting several churches.   It will be a full day and then after a good night’s sleep we will be off to the train station and Assisi.

Hope you enjoy the slideshow: