My alarm goes off at 4.45 am and the reception wake up call comes a few minutes later. We cart bags and guitar to the taxi to take us to the bus station. Zita conducts a verz successful conversation with our driver (in Spanish\Catalan) as we wind through the narrow night time streets. We cpome t the edge of a square where the way ahead s blockedby a large and ancient metal bollard. I expect us to reverse. Behind us is a Polizei car. But then the driver continues. Somehow a cameraat this pace beams back to a base where the observer can make the bollard drop down into the road to allow selected traffic past. We are at the bus station 20 minutes early - but there is a bus ready to go. We are off to Girona airport, an hour north of Barcelona, where Ryan air flies from. The extra bus trp is worth the cheapness of the flight. At Ryan air check in we are told the extra piece of lugage I had booked still has to be included in the weight limit of 15 kg. (My guitar). Bugger. I thought it would be an extra 15 Kilo. I bet that was in the fine print. E10 per kilo fr the 8kg over weight. = E80. Ouch!
On the plne and off we go. , abovethe clouds - beautiful - down to Rome - another outskirts Ryan Air airport. My guitar doesn't appear on the baggage carrousel - more drama - but I find it on another carousell by chance - good fortune!
The Hertz counter has no record of our car booking (23 days drop off in Milan before flying to Greece) Drama. We try Avis on the off chnace. Yes - they have our booking. 23 days for 700 euro is a great price - booked via internet. Comprehensive insurance would be E350 more so we skip this and take he risk. If the car is stolen - we pay 1800 Eur. Accident that is ous fault = E700. Thats the risks. But with Italien driving my stress levels are certainly increased.
We load our stuff into ous little deisel manual 5 speed Fiat. Sweet little car.
Out onto the road - keep right , keep right. Especially when turning at intersections!
Onto te ring road around Rome. Man - the driving - as free as Gaudi architecture without the form. Scary. Squeezed between a road train drifting nto our laneand the centre concrete median strip andn a black Audi Sports behind flashing lights for us to get out of the way.
Off the ring road and towards Frienze (Florence). Goodbye Rome.
A bit of a seconday road beside a large damned lake, sgns onthe road saying snow in winter, a gorgey section with scrubby hillsides . Remarkable stone towns build on rocky defensive outcrops.And the motorways that alow us to get around quickly, also damage the aesthetic of the country side.
And then ona hillside of Mount Subasio - we see Assisi - a little pilgramage for us. Zita has been hdere twice before. As we drive up the hill road we stop at San Damiano - the church restored by St. Francis. Simpe, beautiful. Monks and Nuns around. A statue of St. Francis sitting on the grass overlookig the valley.and taking it easy. Groups and individuals here on differing varieties of searching and pilgramage. . A swet old Italien man is selling herbal remedies from the back of a little 3 wheeler mini truck in the car park.W e buy something for my stomach although I had no plans to actually take it.
Abou 1km outside of the town wall is our Hotel - Hotel da Angelo. Our room has onsuite. (I could hae done with this in Barcelona) and a realy great view of the Umbrian valley. We go walking in the evening, up nt town and visit Basicilicadi S. Chiara. These are the Clarisen Nuns that are the compement of the Franciscan Monks. Clarissa's 80 year old remains are held in a crypt in the basement of this church. It brings up questions for me. Chiara is supposed to have said that in taking Jesus as her lord, her earthly fears and anxieties were extinguished. It brought her strength and hope fr this life and the next. An inpressive gift to recieve. And something many of us wish for.
Me still feeling imperfect from my stomach stuff, we go to a cafe and have a drink and a little food. I order a simple doughnut which surprises me with custard inside. I get through half of it.
Then it is 25 minutes on a funny old computerat the back of a cafe with slow internet acess. The keyboard is frustrating with some common keys in different places. Neither of us feel like dinner - so we hit the sack early.
On the plne and off we go. , abovethe clouds - beautiful - down to Rome - another outskirts Ryan Air airport. My guitar doesn't appear on the baggage carrousel - more drama - but I find it on another carousell by chance - good fortune!
The Hertz counter has no record of our car booking (23 days drop off in Milan before flying to Greece) Drama. We try Avis on the off chnace. Yes - they have our booking. 23 days for 700 euro is a great price - booked via internet. Comprehensive insurance would be E350 more so we skip this and take he risk. If the car is stolen - we pay 1800 Eur. Accident that is ous fault = E700. Thats the risks. But with Italien driving my stress levels are certainly increased.
We load our stuff into ous little deisel manual 5 speed Fiat. Sweet little car.
Out onto the road - keep right , keep right. Especially when turning at intersections!
Onto te ring road around Rome. Man - the driving - as free as Gaudi architecture without the form. Scary. Squeezed between a road train drifting nto our laneand the centre concrete median strip andn a black Audi Sports behind flashing lights for us to get out of the way.
Off the ring road and towards Frienze (Florence). Goodbye Rome.
A bit of a seconday road beside a large damned lake, sgns onthe road saying snow in winter, a gorgey section with scrubby hillsides . Remarkable stone towns build on rocky defensive outcrops.And the motorways that alow us to get around quickly, also damage the aesthetic of the country side.
And then ona hillside of Mount Subasio - we see Assisi - a little pilgramage for us. Zita has been hdere twice before. As we drive up the hill road we stop at San Damiano - the church restored by St. Francis. Simpe, beautiful. Monks and Nuns around. A statue of St. Francis sitting on the grass overlookig the valley.and taking it easy. Groups and individuals here on differing varieties of searching and pilgramage. . A swet old Italien man is selling herbal remedies from the back of a little 3 wheeler mini truck in the car park.W e buy something for my stomach although I had no plans to actually take it.
Abou 1km outside of the town wall is our Hotel - Hotel da Angelo. Our room has onsuite. (I could hae done with this in Barcelona) and a realy great view of the Umbrian valley. We go walking in the evening, up nt town and visit Basicilicadi S. Chiara. These are the Clarisen Nuns that are the compement of the Franciscan Monks. Clarissa's 80 year old remains are held in a crypt in the basement of this church. It brings up questions for me. Chiara is supposed to have said that in taking Jesus as her lord, her earthly fears and anxieties were extinguished. It brought her strength and hope fr this life and the next. An inpressive gift to recieve. And something many of us wish for.
Me still feeling imperfect from my stomach stuff, we go to a cafe and have a drink and a little food. I order a simple doughnut which surprises me with custard inside. I get through half of it.
Then it is 25 minutes on a funny old computerat the back of a cafe with slow internet acess. The keyboard is frustrating with some common keys in different places. Neither of us feel like dinner - so we hit the sack early.
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