17 June: Factory Outlet - The Mall

The factory outlet, The Mall, is definitely very different from the one I saw in US. Largely the branded names selling ladder goods! OK, that's definitely not my cup of tea.

 

The most comforting thing to do at the factory outlet was to hide in the restaurant that came with free wifi access that I tapped on to kill my boredom for almost 3 hours :)

An eye-opener (to me) was the buying power of some members in the group. Wow! Bags, shoes, watches...
Big carriers, small carriers, these were common sights at the factory outlet... (note: This lady in the photo was not a member of our tour group)

Well, well, in my eyes, I think it's too spendthrift to spend thousands of dollars on some of these "wants", of course, in others' eyes, it's simply an investment. Anyway, it's different philosophy in spending, which is neither right or wrong, I suppose. It goes back to the "reasonableness" in spending.

Something new that I learn: Why these leather products are so costly? Because animals are specially farmed for their skins and there's even quality control to ensure the 'best' skins were chosen to turn into leather products!!
 

17 June: Siena in a nutshell

Another well-preserved city surrounded by high city wall built on 3 hills. As such, it's not surprising to be moving uphill and downhill most of the time.

There are a total of 17 districts, each named after an animal.

Here's one named after the caterpillar:

Another district at the town square, the dolphin district, with its streets lined up with these "decorated" lamps.

Indeed, this is where the world's oldest bank located:

Look here, it's a local bank - pay attention to direction that these statues are looking at? Florence! For some historical reason!

The religious aspect of city:

Political aspect of the city which is where the town hall is situated. In front is a non-level open space used for horse racing that takes place only twice a year. It is divided into 9 sectors that represents the disricts of 9 poliiticians who are elected.

17 June: Lunch at Siena

17 June: Tuscan Dinner

One of the famous items on the Tuscany dining menu is the Florentine Steak.

16 June: St Francis Basilica at Assisi

The St Francis Basilica - From the video presentation (presented by Michael, the ex-priest), we had the good overview of the rise of the St Francis movement; hence a better appreciation of the frescoes. It is unique as it is made up of 3 chapels that are 'stacked' on top of each other; more uniquely, all the altars were aligned.

Here's the entry to the "middle" chapel:

 

Entry to the "upper" chapel:

As of the "lower" chapel, it's entered via the "middle" one where the stair case would lead to where the body of St Francis was laid.

Indeed, we were inside the middle chapel for almost 2 hours, not for soul searching, but to escape from the summer heat! Though the chapel was not air-conditioned, the inside was pretty cool... maybe, like the chinese saying, 心静自然凉. Oh! Learnt one word, silenzio, italian word for "silence" :)

16 June: Assisi in a Snapshot

Assisi, a cosy medieval town which is more well-known for the St Francis Movement, is a small area that can be covered by foot in half a way. It's filled with buildings, houses made of stones and streets lined up by the ancient stone pebbles!

Our guide, Leslie, borrowed the 'tourist map' to point out to us where Assisi is in Italy.

Beautiful plains seen from Assisi, which is build on the hill:

Here's the 'residential' area (in the slope):

In the middle of the town is the town square where the clock tower stands in front of an open space. It's also where we find the Assisi information centre and postal service.

The World Heritage Site "stamp" - this is the only one I saw amongst all the sites visited in this trip; unlike those in Japan that were placed in conspicuous places. Where are the rest? Hm...

It's a 'free-and-easy' visit to the town that is obviously dependent on "tourism" as a main source of income - souvenir shops lined up all over the streets.

A "slanting" shop in Assisi? Well, it isn't slanting, but it's built on the slope. Are you able to tell how steep (or gentle) the slope is?

16 June: Meals in Assisi

Our "pizza" that was tomato + kechep on roti

Something for my sweet tooth after lunch :)

And several cups gelato of this Michelin recommended restaurant :)

The restaurant offers a great view to the basilica.

16 June: Religious Assisi

It is not uncommon to find religious related "momentum" in this city - that includes the basilicas, chapels, as well as the 'art' around the town.

Look at the picture on the wall of this building (at the Y-junction):

Here's another one at a corner:

Here's an interesting one in the Town Square... a little 'chapel' (?), a little bit of the chinese's 土地公 concept?

Amongst all the cities and towns visited, this is the one where we saw most priests/ monks and sisters/ nuns (ok... I've not gone to find out the difference; anyway, certainly, the concept would differ from those in the oriental context to a certain extent). I also learnt that they come in differ "uniforms" too!

Apart from the above, we also saw...

15 June: Spanish Steps

A popular place where people gathered - somewhat similar to the Times Square where people sat round (doing nothing! haha...). Here, we witnessed a newly married couple throwing a party here :)

On the other hand, it's also popular for its streets of branded boutiques like Gucci and Chanel.
Oh yes, it was the first 'shopping stop' in this trip, and there's where some showed their "buying power"!