Resting in Umbria and walking the wall in Dubrovnik

Well! It's been a while since the last chapter and we've since moved onto Croatia, which is even more beautiful than I could have imagined!

Assisi was stunning and it was nice to have a long stay in a quiet town, where we did just as much sleeping as we did sightseeing! Mum, you'll be pleased to know I saw my first bonafied 'stregga nonna' only she was minus her magic pasta pot, but she had the outfit, the walking stick and a fantastic face full of wrinkles when she smiled.

We visited the Basilica of St Francis, which is very ornate (surprising considering he denounced all worldly possessions when he was alive). Although I thought the basilica of Santa Chiara (St. Claire) was the prettier cathedral - very simple, but with beautiful frescoes (only of female saints - no St John - a first!) on the ceiling of the dome and the tomb below houses both the robes of St. Claire and St Francis. You should see St Claire's Chemise - it's huge! Either she was a giant or nun's used to wear massive undergarments!


Main square in Assisi

We also hiked up to the Rocca Maggiore and looked through the ruins, the view of Umbria is spectacular - the area is an eden of olive groves and vineyards (prettier than Tuscany I thought) and much cooler. The food in Umbria is delicious and they don't skimp on the servings either - lots of truffles!


Jay and I with the Umbrian landscape in the background

The journey from Assisi to Dubrovnik was long and arduous! Firstly we were stuck in a train carriage with the world's craziest elderly Italian couple. Then when we got to Bari, we discovered our 'deck' tickets for the ferry meant quite literally that we were sleeping on the deck! We met another couple of Aussies and made camp in an indoor recreation area. I guess it all makes for good stories!

Dubrovnik didn't dissapoint though, the old town is amazing, the streets are polished marble - you can slide from point A to point B! It's hard to imagine that only 15 years ago the city was under siege and that so many of the old buildings were badly damaged, as almost everything has been repaired, although we noticed a few... very sad. We took the walk around the city's massive walls in the evening - which has been one of my favourite walks so far, the view is fantastic!

We also took the ferry out to Lokrum Island, which has an old abandoned monastery and we wondered through the ruins, it's lovely and leafy with beautiful beaches!

Anyway - enough for now! Will post some pics soon.

All the best,
Luc.