Take me back to Assisi...

Assisi is the loveliest town in the world. It's as elvish as Lorien, as grave as Gondor, and as miniature and cheerful as Hobbiton. I was sorely tempted to throw my wallet and my suitcase over a cliff and live there as an anchoress for the rest of my life.

San Stefano by night. This tiny church is where we had Mass during our retreat.

Several of the major sites in Assisi had these strings of doves overhead.

The rose window over the entrance to the lower basilica.

Here I am on top of Rocca Maggiore, with the basilica of St. Francis below.

View of the valley - Porziuncula through the smoke of burning olive leaves.

Midnight after-retreat party! We single-handedly created all the nightlife in Assisi by cramming into this cafe and eating gelato and singing and drinking good beer brewed by monks.

View from piazza of St. Clare's basilica.

Ah, Assisi!

Sarah has some more pictures from Assisi, as well as pictures from the top of Assisi's main fortress, from which you can see the whole town and the fields of Umbria all around.