A journey of discovery through the landscapes, art, food, and people of Italy
Day 13: Assisi and Umbria
We left Siena this morning to head to the Altarocca Wine Resort where we would send the next 2 nights. On the way, we spent the afternoon in Assisi. We stopped first to visit Santa Maria degli Angeli at the foot of Assisi. We got a pretty view of the city as we drove up. We had free time to explore the church of Santa Maria on our own - no photos were allowed inside, but we loved that this church was built around the original tiny chapel of St. Francis. Then we headed up the hill into Assisi and had some free time to explore and have lunch before meeting our guide for our afternoon tour.
After David and I had lunch at a little out-of-the way cafe, it was time to meet our local guide. He took us on a scenic walk through town, telling us about the buildings we were seeing and the city's history before we arrived at the Basilica Papale San Francesco D'Assisi. No photos were allowed inside the church, but the inside was so beautiful and unusual. We loved hearing about the history of St. Francis. We walked back through town to get back to the bus, snapping a few more photos of the lovely, quaint Assisi.
The drive to our hotel for the night was beautiful, following winding, hilly roads through the countryside. Michele mastered the turned like a pro, and even pulled over so we could get a gorgeous view of the hillside town of Orvieto, our stop for tomorrow. We had some time to get setting into our cozy rooms and walk the grounds before meeting for dinner. This place looked exactly like we had always dreamed the Italian countryside would look - you feel like you are walking around in a postcard. We got an unexpected tour of the wine making facilities from our knowledgeable hosts, followed by a wine tasting of 4 of the wines they make in house. We finished off the night by dinner in the dining room of our resort and a relaxing evening in our comfortable room at the resort. Such a lovely place!