Sunday, July 23, 2000 Day 8

We had a little light rain in the morning but by the time we boarded the bus the sun was shining. We really could not complain about the weather it has been absolutely beautiful. Today's agenda included St. Francis of Assisi. On the way we stopped for a bathroom break, little did we know that when we took off we were missing one person. So back we went. Well this is no easy undertaking because anytime you get off of the highway there is always a toll and when you get back on there is another toll. We get back to the rest stop (Autogrill) to find that Lucille (the woman we left behind is on the other side of the highway. The rest stop restaurant spans over both sections of the highway so we get back on the highway, pay a toll, get off the highway to go back in the other direction and pay a toll and get off the highway to get Lucille. She gets back on the bus and says, "I can't believe no one notices the only black woman with yellow hair is missing". We get back on the highway pay the toll and head to our destination - St. Francis of Assisi. But before we go to St. Francis, we stop for wine tasting at the Lungarotti Vineyard. Here we are ready to taste:

Here is Luigi giving us a little background about the wines:

The Basilica of St. Francis is actually 3 churches in one. There is one church in the lower level, one in the middle level and one in the upper level. St. Francis' body is in the Basilica's little church.This church had some damage from the earthquake in 1997 .  Click on the website above to learn about the damage and the restoration done. We at lunch at the restaurant here at the Hotel Windsor Savoia. Here is a picture of it. Following it are pictures of the basilica from St. Francis and the surrounding area.

Tonight, Stephanie and I went to an optional tour of hearing tenors during dinner. It was quite entertaining. We sat in the balcony. Here is the program from the Cameo Opera.