Last year, boy’s birthday week took place in Dubai, this year we decided on a more modest itinerary and for my birthday took our first family weekend trip in months, to the wonderful, charming town of Assisi, historical home to Italy’s patron saint and favourite saintly animal lover, St. Francis.
Our first stop, predictably, was the Basilica of St. Francis where his tomb is found and where pilgrims from around the world come to pray, admire and absorb.
The day and weekend were supposed to be rainy and overcast but we hoped for some respite as we strolled through the narrow, sloped streets of the (surprise, surprise) hilltop town.
From the Basilica, we temporarily hid from the clouds in a cozy local restaurant, enjoyed a half litre of wine while Aleksander snoozed and the staff seemed to have forgotten about our order. We emerged to better weather and more and more fantastic views and piazzas to witness.
We walked the 800 metres or so down from the old town to our hillside hotel and comfortably checked-in. Our modest room had a big patio outside and plenty of intrigue and adventure for Aleksander.
We dined in, daddy snuck in a quick spa visit and we chatted and chatted about the summer, about the fall, about the future. The next day’s weather was cool but without almost any clouds to be seen.
We headed back up the hill to the old town and largely revisited the previous day’s sites with better lighting! The Sunday vibes in town were noticeably busier than Saturday, particularly in the Basilica, where the crowds made us grateful for our relatively quiet visit the day before.
Aleksander enjoyed some park time, we had coffee and cake, and wondered why it had taken us so long to get to Assisi, and also remembered the joy and importance of spending time together as a trio. We’ve had so many visitors this summer and it offers us so much but there’s nothing quite like spending time with the inner family circle, especially in sublimely beautiful places like Assisi.
We left for our train ride to Rome and promised eachother to always carve out some weekend travel exclusively for ourselves. And so, more Italian vacation planning to come! What a blessed and beautiful weekend in Assisi – the kind of aging I don’t even mind.
Dad In The World 