Italian Adventure begins in Assisi

There's snow in 'them hills! 

Ahh, after the beautiful sunset leaving Croatia the night before, I arrived on the early morning ferry to Ancona Italy in.. you guessed it, the rain.  I didn't pull the camera out of the bag, no point and kept it dry.

So, this will be a non-motorcycley blog post, but I absolutely loved this town and wanted to share it anyway.  It rained hard all the way, which I grumbled about plenty as I was getting used to another countries road signs and language, but now that I am here and see snow, I better be quiet..

I had actually pre-booked a place to stay in between Ancona and Tuscany.. wasn't sure where but when I looked at the map, I saw 'Assisi'.  I remembered the story of St. Francis of Assisi and has been a long time favorite of mine due to his connection with the animals. So I decided to stop in this town, only because I liked the familiar name.  I had no idea what a little gem it would be!

But first I must find my house in the pouring rain.. I could not.. Mr. Zumo 550 couldn't find it either.. with the confirmed address, it was still just showing an olive grove.  I stopped in to a restaurant.. Both owners were making calls for me and they were so wonderful but couldn't work it out where exactly it is either!  The language was a real barrier.. lots of driving around in circles, and I finally found the right place tucked down a little steep lane and behind an old gate.  Was a bit scared to ride through, but it was fantastic once I got in.

Standing at their reception completely ruining their floors from all the water draining off of me, it got really loud outside.  We both stuck our heads out the door and that heavy rain had turned to a serious belting of ice. Amazing timing!  It's like the heavens were busting to let loose this ice, but they wanted to make sure the crazy lady on a motorcycle is safely in the building first... must be a sign from St. Francis already!

The owners had me quickly put the bike under a veranda behind the hotel.  Whew!!  Tough day, once I had a room, I just stood under a hot running shower until feeling came back in my hands and feet.. !

The next day was super cold, but no rain, so I headed out to walk and explore Assisi.

It's really beautiful here.. nice to see the green!  Just wish there was warm air to go with the great look!

The Basilica of San Francesco was truly an amazing place to visit.  It was actually built quickly for the time from 1228 to 1253! Compared to all the places I've seen that have taken 2-300 years to build, that is truly amazing! It's rumored to be built so fast because of the great love the people had for St. Francis.

Europe is full of beautiful churches and I hate to admit this, but I can get easily either bored or completely overwhelmed by all the detail art and architecture for my brain to take in.. But not this one!  It is truly captivating and magnificent inside! And it's full of what I just described above, so "shoulder shrug!"

This place felt really really special to me. As usual, we are not allowed to take photos inside to preserve the art, but I found a stock photo from travelitaly.com.. thanks!  As you probably know, the walls are painted with stories to follow for the large amount of illiterate people in that era.  And lucky for us, they did!  Similar to me in modern times with a magazine, I tend to turn each page just looking at pictures, before reading any articles.. shame on me and why do I admit these things out loud??

I just loved wandering around the Basilica.. there are lots of rooms and partly a museum which really helped me to step back and imagine what it was like during St. Francis' time. But I decided to head out and explore the town a bit more.. It's a very hilly town, with steep streets.. lots of great little shops.  Always wishing I could buy something, but never do as there is no way for me to carry it..

It's a comfortable and unique town to wander through.. I could stay here for days.

But for now, it appears a gorgeous sunset is coming on, and the thoughts come again.. "How in the heck did I get here?"  Didn't plan it, just liked the name of the town..and it's perfect!

I went back to the Basilica... just wanted to go in one more time.  Didn't expect the lights and to see it even more beautiful at night.  Interestingly, the color of dark blue sky matches the color of the blue ceilings inside.  hey! Magical place..

Goodnight Assisi.. next stop..  Tuscany!