Day Five: Friday, June 25, 2010 Roma to Foligno to Assisi

Day Five: Friday, June 25, 2010 Roma to Foligno to Assisi
Worst night of sleep ever. Not sure whether it was the espresso, the air conditioner, the growing alergies, the bugs buzzing, no Tylenol PM or what, but I woke up at 2 and couldn’t get back to sleep. I tried, but eventually got up and worked on my GYE stuff and then went back to sleep for an hour or so at 5.

The phone booth elevator that would attack you when the doors closed
We got up about 6:30 and were down for breakfast not long after 7. I checked our bill it was exactly as stated - 123 Euro per night for a total of 369. All in all it was a fine place. Great location really.

Santa Francesca Romana entry way

Off to Termini heading to Foligno
WE got all or stuff down the mini elevator and the desk guy called us a taxi and we had a wild ride to Termini that cost 16 Euro. Then the fun started. I got in line to get tickets not knowing even if the paper I had from the internet had the correct info. Remember that if we do not get the car in Foligno by 12:30 we have to wait until 3 or so. Also I’m not sure what we would do if for some reason we couldn’t get there at all today. I found what I thought was the line ant right when I was at the front of the queue the computers went down. I must have been there at least an hour when at 9:20 the guy said we could just go get on the train and pay there. The train’s final destination was Ancona so we found it on the board and found it on binario (platform) 1. WE climbed into second class car 5 and here we sit hurtling our way to Foligno.
The train left promptly at 10:50.

Sleepy baby on the train
Turns out we were able to purchase the tickets from the conductor. I wanted to pay with a credit card, but he needed cash. I had my passports out and the credit card and somehow in the shuffle the credit card must have slipped to the floor.
The trip was very smooth. Arrived in Foligno at about 11:20. Had some difficulty finding the Avis rental place, but a station enployee led me to it. Only problem was the door was locked and said they would be returning soon. It was critical to get the car by 12:30 as that was when they closed the place for the afternoon three-hour rest.
The lady came back while Christine was at the restroom and it was here that I discovered the missing credit card. I search and search but to no avail. The lady let us use her internet and we wound out the number to call and got help getting it cancelled. It really was a no harm, no foul situation. And thank you Lord I did not let it freak me out at all.
WE got the car all taken care of. Very easy. No problem whatsoever. The advice from Bob the Navigator was very sound to come out of Rome to Foligno to get the car. Driving was much easier with that as a starting point. The directions I had to Assisi were pretty good, but the ones from Google map we so different from the Via Michelin ones that until we got there we were not sure if we really were on the right track. We did easily find the Parseggio where we had parsegged with Gary and Peggy on our last trip and just decided to dump the car and haul our luggage directly to the hotel even though we knew we would be lugging it up some pretty steep hills.

Arrival at La Fortezza in Assisi

We arrived in the central square and then walked up a huge group of stairs to find the hotel. We had to buzz in and were met by Stephano who set us up and checked us in. We got a card that provides a number of discounts and a wand with helpful tour information.


I sat out in the lobby area and was instantly thrilled to find they had WiFi! So I sat out there for quite a while gettin caught up on mu blogging and picture uploading. While I was there, I met a woman from Belgium, Sonja, who arrived on her bike. I believe she was at least in her 50s and retired and had biked all the way down from Belgium all by herself and has been gone for nearly five weeks. She rode every
inch-even over the Alps!

After a while and some napping and relaxing we decided to head over to see if we could find the Cruciani studio over by Santa Chiara. We got a little turned around but finally found it. At last the Cruciani studio! Will Massimo actually be there?


Yes, he was there and had just gotten back from an exhibition in Hong Kong! Then the deliberations started. What to do? Do I get the smaller size that was long and narrow 40 x 160, 16" x 47"? The medium size that was 70 x 100, 28" x 39" wide. Or the big boy at 70 x 150, 28" x 59". It was difficult because he did not even have one on displat that was exactly the right size. So it was hard to judge. It was also difficult because the exactly righ one was not hanging on the wall from which to choose. It would definitely take much thought and contemplation, but we decided to sleep on it.











Dinner at La Fortezza - the Best Complete Meal So Far
We decided to eat at the restaurant run by the hotel. I had made a 7:30 reservation with Stefano. It looked good and had been reviewed by Michelin. We were both barely awake but we got down there a bit after 7:30

A great bottle of Umbrian Rosso and some hot cheese bread.


Umbrian Proscuitto Crudo.


Chinghiale Proscuitto


Crusty bread for the proscuitto


Basil ricotta ravioli


Gnocchi…the best ever. Pillows of deliciousness


Rosemary potatoes


Stuffed pepper, zuchini, pomodoro

Gnocchi with cheese. Guess we needed a second picture


Classic tiramisu


Crostada con fruita