This morning we woke up early and said goodbye to Assisi which really is a magical place. Also last night we had a great dinner at a place called Osteria la Piazzetta delle Erba, the food was a little more progressive than most places we’ve seen so far and almost all organic.
On our way out we stopped at Santa Maria degli Angeli which is a giant cathedral down in the valley below the main town and the Basilica. This cathedral is very important to Franciscans because the cathedral houses the church of San Damiano which is the broken down church St Francis rebuilt with his own hands (symobolic of his role in repairing the corruption of the church at that time based in Rome.) You walk into this huge cathedral and right in the middle of it under the dome is this tiny little medieval church. It was, in Dave’s words, quite incredible to see how moved the pilgrims who come from all over the world are when they see and touch the little church. He also called it the inception church. Also inside the cathedral is the stall where St Francis died, originally it was next to his church but now they are all under the same roof. There is also a rose garden which grows thornless roses and doves.
We got on the highway and were making really good time to Rome so we decided to stop in one of the Umbrian hill towns to kill some time before we could check in to our Airbnb. We picked Narni because it’s the namesake of the books but there wasn’t really anything that special about it. We walked around and the photos turned out ok, then we left. The drive took us through some really beautiful country between Umbria and Lazio. It’s starting to look like Spring the farther south we go, the fields are so green they look neon and some of the flowering trees are starting to blossom.
Getting into Rome by car is HECTIC. You get off the main autostrada and follow a bunch of roads that go in concentric circles around the city through the grimy periphery until eventually you get into the historical center. The strangest part is that once you do get to central Rome it hits you with all the highlights (Foro Romano, Circo Masssimo, random lesser ruins) immediately. We had to go around around Roman ruins to get into the parking lot of the Radison next to the train station where we were dropping the car. Dave does an excellent job driving in Europe and today was no exception, he kept his cool even in the crazy streets of Rome when our car sat nav gave us wrong directions and we had to navigate a little bit more old school.
After dropping the car we hopped in a taxi that took us to our Airbnb in the Trastevere. It’s a walk up but so worth it- there is a rooftop terrace with views all over the city (amazing sunset too!) It’s a good size place which is great because Matt and Anna are arriving in a few hours, yay! The location is really central to everything and we are looking forward to a fun few days here with them. We spent the afternoon walking around and had a late lunch of salads and artichoke (finally!) The city is full of people out and about enjoying the beautiful weather so there is great energy.
The Duomo has both a museum and the church. We wandered around the museum and looked at the assorted treasures of the church then explored the Duomo itself which is massive and very beautiful inside. The entry fee also includes an elevator ride up to the roof so we walked around the roof and checked out the view too. It’s interesting because we’ve both been in office and apartment buildings taller than the Duomo but for some reason being up on the roof with all the spires and scaffolding gives a sense of vertigo.
This morning we said goodbye to Jeff and Karen who were on their way to Rome, where by the way, the airports were closed this morning due to a freak snow storm that is blanketing Southern Italy! We heard it took them quite a while to make it to the Eternal City. We helped Nate and Christine to the airport as they had graciously agreed to take all of our ski stuff back to California for us. After saying goodbye to them we went back into Milano and picked up our new rental car.
Even after lunch the hotel doors were still closed so Dave waited with the bags while Sara went to get an Italian SIM card. Finally we were able to get ahold of the hotel owner to come and let us in because a very nice lady from the building offered Dave to call him directly. Once settled we set out to explore the historic center of Genova which reminds us of Porto, Portugual, the old quarter of Barcelona and a little bit of Venice and Naples. It’s really beautiful with pink and yellow palazzos squeezed in tight around tiny piazzas and also a little gritty which makes it interesting. Everyone we’ve met here was at first a little standoffish but then once engaged, very lovely and extremely welcoming.
