I see Assisi as easy

Well, Assisi is easy on the eyes, at least, but not the legs. More on that later.

I arrived in Assisi on Sunday, after the uneventful train ride from Rome (the best kind). Lots of scenes like this on the way:

Shot from a quickly moving train. (I didn't catch the name of this town.)

Here in Assisi they are really crazy about this hippy from San Francisco who passed through the area. Apparently he had no name, or at least I haven't been able to find out what it was.
All the paintings just say he's from San Francisco.
The funny thing is that they keep misspelling San Francisco. 

The apartment I'm staying in is the second floor
of the two buildings with the raggedy flags.

This is the paper towel pattern in the kitchen. It frightens me
and I am uncomfortable turning my back on it.

I'm here in Assisi for two weeks at a language academy.
This is the front door of the academy based on the address
found on their website and all correspondence.
You can see the brass plaque with the name of the school,
so this must be the place, right?

This is the door you have to use if you actually want to get into the building.
It's on a different street, on the opposite side of the building,
around a hairpin turn about 20 yards from the door with the plaque.
The only way you can know of the existence of this door is if someone tells you.
It's part of the charm. 

Very good food here in the region of Umbria.
This is pasta with black truffles and a half bottle of a local wine.

Strips of beef on arugula with shaved parmigiano cheese.
Roasted potatoes on the side. All I'm missing is my hubby. And dessert.

Here's one view of the church they built in honor of the hippy from SF.

Assisi is just ridiculously photogenic, as is so much of this country. Some examples:

This photo gives you an idea of the hills in Assisi. The whole town is like this.
My quads are killing me.

This cat at one of the museums reminded me so much of our Mimi that she gets a double feature.

She was an absolute sweetheart but would not hold still for a proper photo.
Kept wanting to be petted. She accompanied us for the first part of the tour.

Speaking of the museum, here are some random photos from there, with some random thoughts:

You should have somebody look at those.

 This is why you should never serve deviled eggs in a monastery.

Here the baby Jesus demonstrates how to do one of the most Italian of gestures -
the shoulder shrug.

No clever comment. There are several of these at the bottom of various columns.
Sculpted in the 14th century, probably. I just thought it was a fascinating concept.

And, last but not least, Our Lady of the Baseball Bat.

Ciao, tutti.