All the places...

          Everything seems to happen in fast forward after the first week.  It seemed like we were just taking in the beauty of Atrani and then in no time we were on our way to Assisi.  In contrast to Atrani, which drops to the sea, our stops on this trip were all Italian hill towns.  First we stopped in Spoleto.  While our time in Spoleto was limited it was amazing.  The whole set up of Spoleto was really intriguing as it winds its way up the landscape.  

          After a few hours of wandering, crossing an enormous bridge, lunch, and an amazing duomo we left for Assisi.  Assisi is really interesting because all of the brick work is exposed, however, it wasn't until recently that it was.  In a move to bring in more tourism the town stripped many facades of plaster layers to create a more medieval look.  Which is so strange that in order to make it look older and more "authentic" they took away the actual authentic facades.  That being said, the brick is beautiful and definitely leaves an impression.  

          Assisi is also home to some of my favorite churches I have seen in Italy. Santa Chiara  is made of the light beige and pink stone that many of the Umbrian churches are made of.  The two colors stripe the facade.  The facade is really different in the fact that buttresses sort of "complete" the facade on the left side balancing the solid right aisle of the church.

         On our last night in Assisi all of us walked up to the Rocco Maggiore to watch the sunset.  It was such a great way to end our time in such an amazing place.  We shared bread, cheese, sausage, and wine.  Being able to bond as a whole and make such a strong memory in a place as special and beautiful as Assisi was absolutely perfect.