All was quiet when we ascended upon San Gemini, una citta’ slow.  The town had also been infiorata the day before, but only bits of tape stuck to the street and a few stray petals were left.  The broad welcoming central plaza, smoothly paved, was ringed by a cheerful white municipal building, a gelateria, an archway into the medieval city, the 13th-century church of San Francesco with some relatively recently uncovered frescoes, several businesses and a wide walkway going higher up into the town.  Naturally the tourist office was closed, but my hiking pal Christina and I were directed to a nearby travel agency, a cubbyhole of a shop where the helpful young woman did her best to assist us, in her limited English and our very limited Italian, in accessing a hiking trail (and a WC in the equally pleasant Albergo Duomo).  Back in the piazza as we tried to figure out exactly how to leave town, Jerry offered to take us to find the start of the trail, which was a very good thing, because it turned out to be miles away on shoulderless Italian back roads.  Just at the entrance to Cesi I spotted the sign to Sant’Erasmo, hidden behind ragged brush in typical Italian fashion. Keep reading