{"id":11421,"date":"2012-10-01T15:20:21","date_gmt":"2012-10-01T15:20:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cncadventures.com\/?p=11421"},"modified":"2020-06-18T15:37:26","modified_gmt":"2020-06-18T15:37:26","slug":"following-in-st-franciss-footsteps-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cncadventures.com\/?p=11421","title":{"rendered":"Following In St. Francis’s Footsteps"},"content":{"rendered":"

Assisi, Umbria, Italy, Monday, October 1, 2012<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Old Roman Tunnel<\/p><\/div>\n

Another month has gone by and we are still in Europe. Feeling lucky indeed. Today is a free day for us to choose what if anything we would like to do. After breakfast, we discuss it and think it would be nice to hike to the hermitage (Eremo delle Carceri) where St. Francis and his followers retreated for solitude. We bring our poles as we read it has a lot of uphill.
\nFrom the hotel, we find an elevator to a parking garage that is connected to an old roman tunnel and then an other elevator up to Piazza Matteoti closer to where the hike starts. Hooray for elevators and old roman tunnels!<\/p>\n

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Shady Woods Are Good<\/p><\/div>\n

We exit the town through the Porta Cappucini Gate and hang a left climbing to the smaller fortress. From here we pick up trail number 50 to the hermitage. We are in a park climbing the side of Mount Subasio and there are several trails in the area. Ours does not waste time showing what is in store, climbing immediately. Our legs are pretty strong but our breathing still needs some work. As we climb the views looking at the valley below Assisi starts to open up through the trees. We are sweating but the good part is the trail is 95% in the shade. There are two ladies behind us a little bit but they never catch up to us. After about a 1000 foot climb, we level out a bit and the trail is much easier. We stop on a rock for a quick break and continue on.<\/p>\n

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The Hermitage<\/p><\/div>\n

The trail emerges from the woods and we hit a road which we need to follow downhill for a short bit to the hermitage. Yes, you can drive here or take a taxi, but we have just walked the same path that St. Francis did 800 years earlier. That to me is very cool and inspirational. We enter the small hermitage and walk through a small chapel down steps, through small stone doorways, another small chapel, and out onto a path. We follow the path past some nice statuary, thinking it will lead to the cave St. Francis used to go to meditate. We find several small altars in the woods where he would preach, but no cave.<\/p>\n

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Cave Where Saint Rufino Prayed<\/p><\/div>\n

There are no signs but there is a path which climbs into the woods above. We take it and coming to a junction hang a left back towards the hermitage but above where we had walked. Rounding a bend, there is a deep gulch and I see two small caves with iron bars on the other side so figure that must be it. We find a path down to them and they are caves that we’re used by some of his followers but not him. They are amazing anyway as they are not really caves, just overhangs in the rock, yet they would come here, sleep, and pray for days.<\/p>\n

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St. Francis<\/p><\/div>\n

Carol told me she thinks we walked through the cave before the last chapel so we head back to retrace our steps through the building. As we reach the stairway down, a friar appears out of nowhere. I ask him if the cave is below and he tells me in Italiano, chapel here, cave in room below. Then he asks where we are from and I say Colorado. He touches our shoulders, says a blessing, and blesses us on our foreheads. We thank him, start down the steps and when we turn around he is gone. What a great experience! We have been blessed by a Franciscan friar at the hermitage where St. Francis would come to pray in solitude. We now see the cave which has been surrounded by the building and the small chapel again. We say our prayers and exit back into the outside world. I can see why he liked it up here among nature and Gods beauty.
\nAs we start our walk back we pass the two ladies we saw behind us coming up. Continuing on, we stop at the same rock as the way up to sit and eat. We have some snacks and the rest of a Pistacchio Paneforte from yesterday. While we are sitting the two ladies catch us and we start to talk. They are from Germany and are going to hike from Assisi to Rome. Today is their first day here and just a day hike to the hermitage. We chat for a bit but they need to go because they are catching a bus to their starting point tomorrow.
\nWe finish up and start the downhill section. It is steeper near the top and as we hit the mellower grade, we pass the ladies by again. Maybe, after Switzerland, our bodies think this is easy. We reach the fortress, cruise down to the Gate, enter town, and are back in our hotel.
\nOnce again, we talk to Daniele for quite a while. More interesting history, stories about how visitors from different countries behave as tourists, and personal life. For example, we told him that the Germans were difficult to open up. He says they always travel in groups and expect everything to be perfect which is not always possible in Italy. The Jewish are worse and Denmark is also very bad. They want everything like they are used to instead of accepting how things are here. I am sure there are some Americans that fit that category, just glad we are not them. You come to experience the country, not to have things like you do at home. What would be the point of traveling if we were all the same?
\nOn a personal side, I asked why he went to America. He left Italy when he was 16 because he was in love with a girl he met here, who said she was in love with him and should come to Ohio. I guess she did not think he would do it, because when he got there, he found out she was living with another guy. Ouch, is all I have to say. She put him up for a week and he told her he was going back to Italy. Instead he went to New York and started working odd jobs. He said the girl thought he was in Italy and his mom thought he was living with her in Ohio. I can not imagine doing that at sixteen years old. We do need to rest a little so we head up to our room for a nap.<\/p>\n

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Amazing Penne With Truffles<\/p><\/div>\n

We head out for dinner at Locanda del Podesta and it is once again an amazing meal. I am going to write and see if we can get the one recipe when we get back home, it was just that good. Reasonable prices, nice portions, this place should be #1 in Assisi. Pleasant walk back to the Hotel and our Assisi visit is over. Tomorrow we will se if we are walking to the train station or if the buses are running. It is Carols 50th birthday, so maybe they all wanted to party with her!
\nCNC<\/p>\n

October 1
\nExpenses
\n37E- Dinner at Locanda del Podesta, 1.50 Coperto
\n48E – Hotel Roma<\/p>\n

Miles Walked- 10.2 Miles<\/p>\n\n\t\t