Today we traveled 45 minutes to the town of Assisi. First stop was two espressos for Paul and I…the 1 Euro espressos are the best! Then, the church and crypt of Saint Chiara where there was a chapel dedicated to Saint Damiano. Hanging in the chapel is the same cross that Aunt Kathy gave to Big D with St. Damian on it.

We walked down the main street, browsing various shops, and many shop keepers offered samples of crackers with truffles, crackers with mushrooms, porchetta, dried chingale sausage, trying to get you to spend 8 Euro on a small jar of a delicacy or small amount of dried pork which costs twice as much as the food in the market near our villa. Paul is in pork heaven. A lot of patisseries as well where we had a large merengue, torrone, the kids found a penny candy store, licorice, and we saw a cannoli filled with pistachio cream which the kids wanted to buy for Grandma Mary.

We then walked to the church of St Francis where there was the huge church, and then one level below was another chapel, and then below that the crypt of St Francis. Upon leaving the church there was a brief rainstorm which was briefly refreshing, but then made things more humid.

We then drove to the Sanctuary of Saint Damiano which was the original site of the cross that we saw in Saint Chiara’s church. The sanctuary is now a convent for the Franciscan monks. There was a statue of St. Damiano sitting among the olive trees gazing out into Umbrian fields, and a beautiful courtyard with red, yellow and orange hibiscus plants. We saw a monk and nun making bracelets in the courtyard, and told them about Big D, to which the monk responded in Italian “Ah, Damiano, benvenuti a casa!” (Welcome to your home!”)

After a dip in the pool and visit to the supermarket, we returned to Lino’s restaurant, il Melino, for a long Italian dinner. Since we’re regulars there now, Lino knew to bring the kids a huge platter of pasta with butter, brought the kids into the kitchen, and out them to work serving drinks to the other tables.

Food report:
Lunch in Assisi: Pizzeria Flipper for “torta al testo” which is a bread unique to Umbria made with sunflower oil, wheat flour, brewers yeast and water. The pizzeria sliced the bread and stuffed it with various fillings (tomato and mozzarella, spinach and cheese, ham and rugula, prosciutto, ricotta, tuna, speck, etc.) Papa and Miss M got huge slices of pizza.

Gelato in Assisi; flavors included lemon, chocolate, frutti di bosco (mixed berry,) fragola (strawberry,) straciatella, banana.

Dinner at Il Melino: a platter of penne with butter for the kids, a platter of prosciutto with the sweetest orange melon for the table, sodas, a bottle of the same white wine as the other night, sparkling and still water for the table, two orders of hand cut pappardelle pasta with hare ragu…so delicious, an order of tomatoes and an insalate mista for Grandma, Paul had the hare porchetta… similar to the pork porchetta but the hare is not deboned and it cooked with the herbs for three hours. Very tender. Papa and I had the sausages which when Lino was describing them he said “well, they are good, you know, and made by the guy in that yelLow house right over there.” I was sold. Lino’s restaurant doesn’t have menus. It’s whatever is fresh and available that night for dinner. And when he describes things, it’s very general so you just have to trust them. For example, he would say in a soft spoken voice “we have a pork, a sausage, a filet, a hare…what do you feel like?” or “for pastas we have arrabiata, hare ragu, salmon, tartufo, and let me think…yea…what else would you want we can make what you like.” All of that food for 105 euros as we sat outside under the pergola with the Umbrian countryside for a view.