Basilica of St Francis of Assisi

We made it to Assisi and toured the Basilica there. The interiors are highly frescoed and seem darker by comparison, I think. But it is certainly a huge place given that it is actually divided into Upper and Lower Basilicas.

Our stroll through town heading up to the Basilica of Santa Chiara took us past slightly more touristy shops than we've encountered so far...as evidenced by the Leonardo and Pinocchio T-shirts and the Assisi Slingshots that were on display, but that was balanced by the abundance of flour pots and some adorable little side streets. We came upon the Piazza del Comune just about 12:30P...just in time for lunch. The sun was shining, people were sitting out at tables, it was just the opportunity we'd been waiting for. So we sat ourselves down to soak up some sunshine and to enjoy some dining a fuori. The occasional cloud rolled over us, but I was instructed not to make any mention of the weather (aka no bitching) so as not to jinx us. (That would be the same reason I left the umbrellas in the car down below, but why dwell on the little details?)

Well, when the locals started moving under arches and the waitress refused to seat more patrons and started stripping the tables, it became apparent that something bad was coming. The temperature quickly dropped at least 10 degrees, the skies grew really dark and the wind started up. We got the bill paid and started up the last little bit to the Basilica just as it started drizzling. By the time we got into the church the thunder and lightning was starting.

Depending on your perspective, we either took shelter in the church or escaped the wrath of God there, but either way that's where we rode out the storm. Luckily it blew over rather quickly and after 20 minutes or so we were down to a light rain so we hauled ass back down the hill again. (Well, I hauled ass down the hill. Merry and Michael stopped to shop along the way. But in all fairness, Merry had her umbrella with her....she had probably jinxed us by carrying it in the first place but I'm not one to point fingers....so she was not it quite the hurry that I was to move on.)

Now we are back in Todi. None the worse for wear but growing ever so slightly weary of the weather pattern.