Assisi - a beautiful Umbrian city.

I don't know if the others in our party felt as strongly as I did about visiting Assisi.  This was a place I really wanted to see.  With small children you cannot see everything and the steep streets were a bit of a problem for me.  It is especially annoying when the you think the streets are just for walking and then a car or many cars keep making you move off the road - sometimes there are no sidewalks.  With small children you have to always keep a watch on them.  The important thing to see here is Basilica di San Francesco.  Yes - this is the home of Saint Francis of Assisi.  His tomb is in the church.  Unfortunately you cannot take pictures in either the upper or lower church.  The lower church contains the tomb - and there were many people praying and touching the tomb.  The guidebooks say that his skeleton is mostly intact.  So many saints of the middle ages were not as a lot of money could be made by selling a finger or toe here or there.  One of his colleagues had the foresight to seal off the coffin before anyone could sell any parts off.
In the upper church the famous artist Giotto painted a 28-part fresco cycle on the Life of St. Francis which was completed in the 1290's.  These are so beautiful it is a shame you can not take any pictures.  The girls were quiet and respectful the entire time in the church.  I took a lot of pictures of the piazza at the top and of the outside of the church.  From the parking lot you take an elevator up to the top.  The walk down to the Basilica di San Francesco.  So first some street scenes on the walk down.

 Now some pictures of the outside of the Basilica.

 More street scenes as we walk back up in search of a pizza place for our lunch.

 Sisters playing together and hugging.

 Another church - did not get the name.

And a view of Assisi from below.  We were so lucky as the day was beautiful and warm and we had a wonderful time.