Where are Brad and Karen?: Boom! Five Hours to Assisi!

We woke at 6 a.m. in Bologna, breakfasted at the hotel, caught a city bus to the central train station, and thus began our Tuscan train experience.

We were supposed to arrive in Assisi at 1:30, but our train from Bologna to Florence was 40 minutes late, so our connections were pushed out a little bit, so we didn't arrive until close to 3.

Here's how we did it: high-speed train from Bologna to Florence, transfer to a slow train to Arezzo, From Arezzo to Terontola, and finally to Assisi. All the way, it was covered in green hillsides and, ominously, dark clouds crept in, which only got darker until it started sprinkling in Assisi. We city-bused to near the top of Assisi, then walked through the narrow, crooked alleys to our place, Hotel Sole, right near the Basilica St. Clare.

For these Southern Californians, it brought back long-ago memories of when rain falls from the sky and the hillsides turn green.

Since it was drizzly, we opted to tour the Basilica San Francesco so we could stay dry. It's a place of uncommon spirituality, where modern-day pilgrims still pay homage to the Tuscan thinker who rebelled against authority, changed the church and helped bring about the Renaissance.

We dinnered at Tratorria Ermilindo, and were treated to the most awesome pastas, an Umbrian sangiovese and a cheese plate (the truffle cheese was Brad's favorite, and the hot-pepper cheese was Karen's).

Afterward, we strolled the cobblestones looking for night photos. Just after taking shots of the main basilica, an orange moon dipped below the clouds. The below photo doesn't do the scene justice.

Assisi is remarkably barren of people. No tour buses. Kids are in school. It's a Monday. Enhancing the quiet streets are the bells of the nearby Basilica Santa Chiusa that peeled on the half hour until 10 p.m. ... enchanting.

Some photos from the day.

The Terontola train station.