day 3- assisi, sienna, e firenze

at about 4 am i couldn't sleep anymore. i am better about this than chris. he doesn't even feign sleep- he thrashed and turned and finally just sent all the lights blazing in the room. he announced he was going to the car for the laptop. our hotel was so small and personal I feared waking our hosts- but then decided it wouldn't be too bad.
he returned and we discussed the possible events of the day. we discussed how full emersion is the way to go. how we were learning words left and right without even trying. here's a list of words we'd learned so far.
springere- push(written on doors)
tirare- pull
cuanta costa?- how much is this?
parcheggio- parking lot

we eventually went back to sleep and woke up a little later for breakfast which consisted of cappucino, salume e fromaggio, miele di millefiori(honey of 100 flowers), and succo di arancia- blood orange juice- the warm fuscia color of watermelon. we loaded up the car and headed down the hill towards the basilica Maria delli angeli(the prozeuncola built over and around francis' little chapel).



it was so beautiful to be able to touch walls that francis himself touched. we walked through a museum detailing art and history of the porzeuncola. i was encouraged by many maria lactans(nursing madonna's) hanging on the walls and especially this statue.

in america our church art is so sterile people would be shocked to see Mary, the mother of God, bare her breast. but how else could she feed him? also in the museum was a portion of the monestery- their cells were so austere! I began to think I'd want a cell on the south facing wall just because without sun the cell would look more dismal still!
we also got to see the rose garden where francis threw himself in the spirit of mortification during a bout of temptation- all the thorns fell off the rose bushes and never have they grown back since. farther down the hall was the spot sectioned off- where the seraphic father died.
back in the car we pointed ourselves in the direction of firenze(florence).
we stopped in sienna and followed signs for s. dominico's- the church where s. catherine went and spoke with God.



we need a sign like this at our church.

we saw her incorrupt finger and head, amongst other relics. we walked down a little alley following signs to find her home. we toured through her kitchen which was changed into a chapel. there were beautiful frescoes of the miraculous encounters she hadwith Christ.
walking back to our car we stopped at a place for lunch. it was called ristorante la pizzeria di nonno mede. i ordered a pizze with spinaci(remember, c's followed by i's are pronounced like "ch") cipolla, e porcini(didn't have to remind you withthat one did I? and a bottiglia di s. pellegrino.
chris got a pizze mediterranean with bufalo mozzerella, pomodoro(tomato), e basil. we call it margherita pizza:-)


view from the ristorante.

on the way back to the car i took this picture. the trees in and around sienna were covered in this fungus type growth making them look orange or rusty.

again we followed sings for firenze. i cracked open the rick steve's book and looked for hotels. i also read that we should NOT drive within firenze's downtown. so we found a parcheggio and parched it.(remember- "ch" is pronounced like a "k"- for you starbuck's fans, think "caramel maCHiatto")
we walked about looking for a hotel that had a view of the duomo. we found one that the front desk told us had a window but no view- we tools look-see and it was true. the room was asymmetrical in every direction and had a window on a high wall- even if we stood on a chair we wouldn't be able to see anything but sky.


soooooooooo many scooters.

we finally decided that if hotels without a view of the duomo were that expensive we would be better off spending some money on a nice hotel overlooking the arno. it was by far the nicest hotel i have ever stayed in. considering the whole package- the service, the view, the appointments- just very classy.
we got our overnight bag out of the car- the one that we had repacked that morning. we also got our backpack with laptop and tourist books.
before dinner we were able to skype with the kids back in huntsville. we showed them our view and talked about assisi and sienna. as we hit the streets looking for a restaurant chris got a call from a 404 number. on chris' last day at work before the trip, his boss gave him an international blackberry- nice! so this 404 number turned out to be father kevin calling from afghanistan! it was good to talk with him. i so wished he were with us.
we stepped into a place called la grotta di leo on via della scala. i ordered spaghetti carbonera vegetariano and chris got spaghetti puttanesca and pesce spada alla griglia(grilled spade). my allergies started picking up during dinner so we returned to the hotel. at the hotel bar we split a bottiglia di rosso. i figured it was a good night for karaoke so i asked the concierge for directions to the nearest karaoke bar. we walked and walked and walked around about a two block segment of town and the place he pointed out did not materialize. so we decided to call it a night. returning to the hotel we got in bed and watched some french news- our first time hearing about the tsunami in japan. i spoke breifly with christina on chris' phone- thanks CBeyond!- and she told me about why s. catherine's finger and head were incorrupt. when Jesus appeared to her he gave her a crown and also a wedding ring. neat.


bueno sera bella firenze!