May 21, Back to Florence

Our time in Assisi was short but so sweet. However, we needed to return the car to the Florence airport tonight, so did the Rick Steves walking tour of Assisi, which included the church of San Rafino, where St. Francis and Clare were baptized, the Temple of Minerva, and the beautifully simple Church of Santo Stephano--much more like what Francis would want for "his" church. We had a snack of rocciata "strudel" on the steps of the fountain in the town's main square.

It was hard to leave Assisi after such a short stay, but we had to keep reminding ourselves of the Rick Steves mantra: Assume you'll return! We would LOVE to return to Assisi someday! From there we drove to Cortona, the subject of the movie, "Under the Tuscan Sun." Like Assisi, we found Cortona very charming and a place we'd like to spend a few days in, but about all we had time for was to park our car, have lunch and walk around the old town for about an hour. Pledging to return, we left for the Florence airport to return our rental car. Speaking of, I've loved driving this little Fiat Panda, with its stick shift, which is a treat for me. Our gas gauge was showing we were getting low on gas, and I needed to return the car with a full tank, so I wanted to get as close to the Florence airport as I could before filling up. The hills that Cortona sit on are so high, that when we left for Florence, I put the car in neutral and coasted down the hill. I'll bet we coasted more than 5 minutes before I applied the gas! It was fun!

We got to the Avis Car Return site at the airport about 5:00 p.m.--an hour before the car was due back. We had driven it for 15 days, and drove 1,520 kilometers, and NOT A SCRATCH on the car! We did our best to obey the speed limits and restricted driving zone signs. The laws on speed and restricted areas are patrolled by cameras. Hopefully we don't get home to South Dakota only to find a ticket in the mail from some inadvertent violation! From Avis, we walked to a nearby city bus to the train station in downtown Florence, and with bags and backpacks in tow, we walked 10 minutes to find our hotel--the Hotel Duomo. It is located about 40 feet North of the famous Duomo! Great location, just as Rick says! This time in Florence, our weather is great and we look forward to the weekend here!