Fogged In

I had planned on doing all my sight-seeing today and soaking in the grand, sweeping views of Assisi and beyond, but when I woke up, there was fog everywhere; dense, enveloping, view-ruining fog. Well that certainly throws a kink in my plans. Looks like I’m going to take it easy today instead.

It’s been so long since I’ve been to a hostel that serves breakfast that, after I’ve eaten and gone out the door…I don’t quite know what to do with myself. I don’t really need a cappuccino or a brioche (though I’d have taken them if you’d given them to me), so it seems silly to make a breakfast pit stop, and with the fog and all, I’m not really sure what I’ll be able to see….(insert pathetic whimper here) what should I do!?

I settle for cruising past the internet places again, but they’re still closed (too early). I decide to head in the direction of the café where I met the Austrians, but that is closed too. As I’m pondering my next move, I run into one of the Asian UK girls and another of our roommates I have yet to mention, who was from Japan. We make plans to meet up for lunch (because what else have I got to do?) and then I head back toward town to find a café. Even if I don’t get “the usual,” it’s still a good way to get my bearings and plan out my day.

So I stop at one of the first I see (no need to scrutinize the pastries…), order vanilla tea, and set up camp. But even though the sight-seeing here is über-limited (basically a couple churches and the views), I’m still in no mood. So I spend more time making chicken scratch notes about my trip and lounge the entire morning away.

I head straight from there to the restaurant to meet the girls. I can see right away that it’s kind of a spendy place and I hope it’s not a problem for them. But they like the look of it and we go right in. The specialty here is grilled meat, so we all order it, as well as sides and split the wine. A gentleman at a nearby table had suggested the lamb, so of course that’s what I ordered. I also had the mashed potatoes and they were so heavenly, I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to try them. The meat was spectacular and like our favorite meat joint back home, Ipanemas, it was grilled on an open fire. And in fact, the fire was right in the middle of the room – mmm, delicious!


After the feast, I discovered the girls had not yet tried panna cotta. Oh! Well! We’ll have to do something about that! They have all three kinds here as well, so I choose chocolate (I like to be equitable between the flavors) and they both choose fruit. The presentation is again, excellent, and they cannot get over how good it is. In fact, they spend the rest of the meal thanking me for introducing them to panna cotta. It’s the least I can do.

We split up after lunch, but Eileen (the Taiwanese girl from the UK) admonishes me to be a proper tourist this afternoon; I simply must! So I heed her advice and climb back up to the top of town to do Rick’s self-guided tour. I check out what used to be a Roman amphitheater, some cool backstreets of the city, two minor churches, a castle, and the city center before I am deposited at the base of the town at the church of St. Francis – the good ol’ hometown boy himself. (On my way through town, a sign catches my eye: Why are we Rick Steves’ favorite café? Free internet, hot chocolate, paninis….wait a minute! Rick’s favorite?? I whip out my copy of Rick to confirm and realize what I thought was Rick’s recommendation (Il Duomo Café) is actually a red herring. This café (Café Duomo) was the real deal. Augh! Of course they are only two-steps apart and I could have been using the internet this whole time. D’oh!)

When I get to the basilica, I consider getting the audio guide, but it’s 75 minutes and I just can’t talk myself into listening for that long, so I opt for Rick Steves instead and just read about what I’m seeing as I go along. I’m satisfied with that decision and very much enjoyed the basilica as well as St. Francis. He lead an interesting life and was so passionate about God (and relating to God through nature) – all very cool.

I walk out of the basilica just in time to catch an incredible sunset. I literally run from strategic place to place to try and catch as much of the gorgeous pinks on “film” before they’re gone. That sure was an unpredictable treat; fan-frickin'-tastic!

After that I’m feeling quite good, so I decide to head down to the hostel for a quick rest and to pick up my computer before I climb back toward the other end of town to the real internet place to blog and get something small to eat (lunch was pretty big, so I’m not craving much) before calling it a night.