Europe 2002

From Ashford to Athens

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(days 22 to 22)

Alpine adventure (Days 1-4)
Viennese whirl (Days 5-9)
Slovenian theatre (Days 10-12)
Bombing it through Belgrade (Day 13)
Litohoro lazing (Days 14-16)
Olympic ideas (Days 17-19)
We are sailing (Days 20-21)
Assisi amblings (Days 22-23)
Breton brouhaha (Days 24-26)
Encore en Foix (Days 27-28)
Barcelona and back (Days 29-31)

Full diary [fast connections]


Day 22: Assisi

Another problem with writing a diary whilst on holiday is how easy it is to drop into the language of guidebooks. Towns are always "perched" on slopes, hills are "rolling", streets have a "quaint charm" and the views are "stunning".

In the morning then, I explored the town of Assisi, attractively perched above the Umbrian plains in an area of rolling hills. The narrow, steep streets had a quaint charm and the view from the castle at the top was... stunning.

There, I've done it.


All roads lead...

All roads in Assisi lead to the Basilica San Francesco. From the outside, the cathedral is nothing special, a complete contrast to the interior. Every inch of wall space was covered by colourful frescos.


... to the Basilica

One of the advantages of religious services (cue boos from Richard and Andy) is how easy they are to follow in a foreign language - in this case, Latin. Going to Mass in the world's most famous cathedrals is definitely more entertaining!


Outside the basilica


Nice arty-farty photo


You encounter monks
more often than
common sense (Dostoevsky)

After exploring the cathedral I climbed up to the castle then back down to the main square for the first of many ice-creams.

I met up with Richard and Andy, Richard bought a €10 ice-cream (just imagine).


On good terms for once

In the evening we went to a pizzeria for our last chance at Italian dining - in my case proscioutto e melone, pizza alla schiava and vino bianco - it sounds so much nicer in Italian.