Day 8 Assisi, Urbino, San Marino, & Rimini

Santa Clara in Assisi
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This morning I woke up sick or being sick!! The day could only get better and it did. We began this wonderful Sunday morning in Assisi. The city was built up around 2 main churches on a hill. It just so happened that we were there on Palm Sunday. There were huge masses in the street. We learned about St. Francis and Santa Clara. They were secretly in love but obviously could not have a true relationship because of their holy stature. They each have a large church and crypt. We went into the crypt of St. Francis and sat for a bit during the service. Everyone had olive branches for the occasion. It was an amazing experience to be there while so much was going on.

Assisi
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Urbino was our next stop along the way. It is famous for its palace complex. It too was built on top of the largest hill in sight. We hiked up for a nice view. Laura, Natalee and I were hunting for four leave clovers in the dense grass. Natalee found a bunch of them and I found a 4 and 5 leaf. The locals set up tables all around the square to sell things. It’s a bit like a yard sale.

Later that afternoon we went to San Marino. It is it’s own country. A castle was on top of the hill. Kate and I walked around it. Too bad it was really foggy so we couldn’t get a clear view down.

St Francis in Assisi
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Andrea, our bus driver, passed aournd grappa (very strong Italian liquor) for everyone. We spent the night in Rimini. Unfortunatley we got there too late to explore. Our hotel was on the beach so in the morning Emily and I got up early to check it out. There is something about the ocean that always attracts me, especially if it's a body of water I have never seen before, like the Adriatic Sea. There were these big rocks that appeared to have washed up on the shore. When we poked them it turned out that they were actually really squishy. It was strange. There was a old man fishing nearby. The beach was so calm with the morning sun reflect on the surf.