Processional to St. Francis Basilica

Celebration of St. Francis Assisi......Processional walk thru town to the Basilica

I met up with jackie and gina for this glorious morning....

we were going to join the townspeople on their annual walk thru town in celebration of the Festival of St. Francis. (jackie and gina were on the rural tour with me yesterday and they are so fun!) There were dignitaries, kings and queens, horn blowers.....all dressed in festival dress. And I think every elementary school brought their classes....they were adorable, from Kindergarten on.....they were all dressed alike, some of them in the catholic school uniform and they carried the processional sign. So well behaved...I noticed that first thing!

carrying olive branches as a sign of peace

 

 

 We walked thru the streets of Assisi for about 15-20 min, shoulder to shoulder in those very narrow streets, up the slopes and down the slopes until we reached the basilica where hundreds more people awaited the processional.

passing some sistahs along the way!

 

until finally as we wind around the corner, THIS comes into view!

 

took my breath away!  it was the first time I'd seen the Basilica.. 

 Because of the huge crowds...the three of us broke off and meandered back on the lower levels. We stopped to mail postcards home, which took a smooth hour to get done! I don't see how anyone really gets anything done around here within a reasonable time frame. Guess it doesn't matter to them....prolly why they all live so long! We window shopped a bit and ended up at a really nice lunch spot with a beautiful view.

 And this is where I Iearned about the Aperol Spritz..

ok, daughters in laws and friends.....we are now on the lookout for Aperol!! Gonna be a perfecto pool drink! Since jackie, from Bologna, and gina from denver were leaving in a few hours, we spent those hours leisurely talking and laughing.

 

The rest of this day was spent finding internet and catching up on mail and writing. Nice!

(I may have even had a nap too!!!!!
Next??  Bevagna and Spello!