Monday, October 07, 2024

The Italian Job - Day 11

At 50 kms, today was a reasonably short day on the road. We left Montegranaro at about 09:00 to make the short trip to Harley-Davidson Civitanova and of course a chance to buy some H-D merch. I got a t-short and Roma picked a nice hoodie. It’s was a very expensive place to buy H-D merch, but then every H-D shop is the same. We enjoyed looking around the shop and they had some nice bikes to drool at. Most of the group made some purchases, so it was a nice start to the day for H-D Civitanova.

New t-shirt!

At Harley-Davidson Civitanova, Montegranaro.

We had a nice stop for coffee and fantastic cakes in a town called Foligno where our group leader Stefano‘s Dad lived - it was nice to see him meet so many family and old neighbours. 

At Stefano’s Dad’s gaff.

The highlight of the day was a visit to the city of Assisi (along with hundreds of other tourists). We had reserved parking close to the basilica, which was welcome. We walked up to the basilica and almost gasped at the beauty of it. Inside we saw the tomb of St Francis of Asssi where I placed prayer notes for family and friends. I also remembered two Franciscans in our family: Frs Theophilus and Hugh Murphy who were Capuchin missionaries in Zambia. Regardless of anyone’s religious beliefs, one cannot be but impressed with the beauty and simplicity of the church. Later we had lunch in a side street off Via St Francisco, and I bought a souvenir fridge magnet to bring home.

Via St Francis in Assisi.

Finally for today, it happened that I officially became a Senior upon reaching the age of 65. The tour group were fantastic in helping me mark the day with plenty of Happy Birthday wishes. It was also the birthday of Betty from the tour party, who is a little younger than me. In the evening we had an excellent dinner in Osteria dei Re in Gubbio old town - a great end to a fantastic day.

Happy birthday Betty and Eugene.

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