This is what our typical breakfast looked like on tour. The bread in Europe is terrific. Crunchy & crusty….

These are packages of toast. I would take a few each day to give to the beggars on the street. (I didn’t want to give money in case they were faking it.) I also collected leftover bread and rolls that were going to be thrown out. I believe that I was also setting an example for the students on the trip. By the 2nd week, they were saving their breads for me. I always had 4-5 rolls in my backpack.

We traveled by tour bus to Assisi. We had nice motor coaches throughout the trip.

Our driver in Italy was Giuseppe. He was usually late and smoked cigarettes in the bus while he waited for us. He was also a good guy. He wore stylish suits and played European techno music on the bus.

On the way to Assisi, we visited a pottery factory. There were wines, salami, cheeses, pottery, and souvenirs for sale. Our tour group did a lot of damage there. I’m not much of a shopper. I just ate free samples and took pictures on my iPhone.

We reached Assisi before lunch time. It was beautiful.

We visited the Basilica of San Francesco. We were given a presentation by a fryer there.

The view was breathtaking. For lunch, I had a panini sandwich with prosciutto ham.

And of course, gelato. I must’ve had at least two gelati per day.

We then headed for Tuscany….

We reached our hotel outside of Florence by dinner time. Did I mention that we were not staying at resort hotels?

Are you kidding me? When you turn on the shower, the water hits the toilet. Fortunately, I had hot water here. What was gross was that the shower curtain kept clinging to my okole. I had to wash everything twice. On the positive side, I could actually use the toilet, shower, and brush my teeth in the bidet all at the same time….