May 19

well it was an outing day so we went to Lake Trasimeno and Assisi. the lake was WONDERFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i could have stayed there all day. the town was so quiet and peaceful!!! i loved observing the lake-watching the ducks and the waves. right on the shore was the sidewalk there were these big rocks. in some places we could even climb out onto them. i was completely content sitting on the shore watching the underwater weeds flowing with the waves. it was mesmerizing!!!! 
the area we were there were not many shops open but the ones that were-were very nice. i found many things that i LOVED but i was good and only got 3 things and gelato (Cafe and chocolate) and a bottle of water. i got a present for a friend, a small st. Francis, and a magnet that says in italian "warning/beware of dog" and it has a cute little puppy on it! 
   every since i learned about St. Francis i have had a fascination with him.  i have never researched him-bad move on my part-but i know that every picture/figure i see of him he is surrounded by animals. there is a statue of him in front of my veterinarians office and i asked why it was their. i was told that he watched over and protected animals. from that moment on i was fascinated! i ALWAYS talk to animals!!!!!!!!!
seeing his tomb was a moment and feeling i will never forget. the feeling is hard to describe. what upset me most were the people who stood in front of his tomb all smiley and taking pictures. to me it was not a fun "publicity" moment. yes i took pictures but with no flash and not for any other reason than for remembrance and to show my family and friends. this is a feeling i need to work out in my head! Jill felt the same way about it which comforts me. 
hiking all the way up the top of Rocca was definitely an adventure!! the view was well worth the pain and frustration of the horrible walk up there!!!!!!

one point Spencer, Jill, and myself went for a walk to mcdonalds because we had 1 1/2 hours before time to leave. we got about 1/3 of the way and said No way!!!! we found a short cut on the way back though. it was a horrible vertical hill but it was better than almost being run over by crazy italian drivers!!! there was a fountain along the way. i got very excited because my water bottle was empty and i was dying of thirst. to my great disappointment it was non-drinkable water. Not only was it not drinkable but it was disgusting, nasty with a pair of Armani mens underwear in the bottom of the fountain and they looked like they had been their a while!!! NASTY
finally sitting down on the bus was such a huge relief!!!!!! i kind of passed out on the bus for a while which was extremely nice!!! the heat headache is still killing me though