06 Oct 2019
We were met at our living quarters in Florence by our driver, Carlo, who was personable, friendly, knowledgeable, fluent in English, and an excellent driver. We had a very pleasant drive in a luxury car to a lakeside town by Lake Trasimeno with pleasant views in a calm, quiet setting - away from the throngs of Florence. Then off to the old city of Perugia where we enjoyed the ancient buildings, the beautiful countryside from a hilltop and stopped for pastries and expresso, at a charming outdoor cafe. And finally we arrived in Assisi where we were dropped off at the point of highest elevation of the old city and strolled downhill towards the big cathedral, stopping at museums displaying beautiful medieval art, and enjoying lunch at one of the many restaurants along the main street. The cathedral housed the original ancient stone church of St. Francis where visitors can immerse themselves in the spiritual atmosphere of the site where St. Francis once preached. The only thing we would have changed on this tour would have been to arrange for a tour guide inside the city as our driver was not meant to be a tour guide (as expressly stated in the tour description on the Viator web site). In hindsight we think we would have had a deeper understanding and appreciation of the history of Assisi if we had the benefit of a guide to explain in greater detail many of the unique things we were seeing. We thoroughly enjoyed talking with Carlo as he drove us around Umbria, gaining valuable insights about Italian culture.