Assisi

Sunday morning at 8:00 a.m. our buses left from the John Felice Rome Center (JFRC) on the 4 hour drive to Assisi. After an hour we stopped for coffee. 200 students piling into the bar (coffeehouse) took forever. That's how it's done here though, apparently on the 8-hr drive during the fall orientation, the bus drivers stopped every hour as well. At the second stop we witnessed a large gathering of tourists/Catholics and their dogs at the Feast of St. Anthony in Umbria.

This is in front of the Basilica in which St. Francis died. There was a rose garden in the back, which was apparently a major place St. Francis prayed. At this point, with our sack lunches, I realized I had forgotten my jacket in my early morning haste. It wasn't too cold, just rainy. The cars lined the side of the Basilica, and the on-lookers stopped at the Ford Mustang - a 'foreign car'.

As our buses could not fit on the narrow roads of Assisi, we had to hike to the retreat center. Which was apparently comparable to a 3-star hotel? Once we were given our room assignments/room mates, we were taken on tours of Assisi- basically another hike. Somehow, everywhere I have travelled so far has been up hill. The fog masked our view of the town, but we still were able to see beautiful churches and basilicas. Of the 900 residents of Assisi, 500 are members of a religious order. There are 35 churches as well, so we just saw those that were most famous - the Basilicas of St. Claire, and of St. Francis.

This was our tour group in front of the Basilica of St. Claire - a follower of St. Francis. It is where she is buried. The fresco paintings on the walls were partially covered because they re-plastered the walls after the plague - fun fact.

Me&Annie in front of St. Francis' basilica. Another fun fact, St. Francis' name was actually John, but his nick name was Francesco because his mother was from France, and his father, a wealthy cloth merchant, sold mostly French cloths. We toured where St. Francis was born, died, and prayed. In the rain.

Monday, we had a 'cultural workshop'. Just tips from our SLA (same as an RA - student life assistant) about where to go, and where not to go.

After the morning workshop we piled back in the buses and drove to a neighboring town of Gubbio. We were not given any formal tours, but we hiked up the side of the mountain. Pope Pius XXI was buried at the top. I did not make it all the way to the top. My entire body aches from the amount of climbing involved in the last few days.

Today was another optional 6 mile hike that took the 7 people to finish close to 3 hours. My room mate finished, and I'm completely satisfied with my choice to sleep in. We headed back to JFRC and back to the real world. Classes begin tomorrow. I just have my on-site course - Art in Rome. Should be an adventure! I'm going to finally get my gelato fix in while I figure out where my class is going to be held.