Trip to Assisi

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So I had to wake up at 7 to prepare for the weekend trip to Assisi! All the IES students looked groggy as we waited to board the bus, on which I immediately passed out and woke up in the beautiful town of Assisi. The town was very quiet compared to when I last visited, probably due to the fact that right now isn’t a very big time for tourists to visit. We went on a tour of the churches - St. Francesco Basilica and St. Chiara Basilica - in Assisi. Our tour guide was very nice and a lot more informative than the previous tour I was on two years ago. I learned about the life of Saint Francis and how he devoted it to helping the poor and giving up all his riches to restore the house of God. In Saint Chiara Basilica, I found out that there were 30 nuns, who after becoming part of the church, never leave that building. Only three go outside for groceries but other than that they are confined to the church. I thought that was very interesting. Our tour also went to Saint Francis’ tomb. As I was walking to it with Al, I couldn’t help but think of his grandpa, whose saint is St. Francis. It was a little overwhelming but I was happy that Al was able to put a picture of him amongst the other photos in memory of loved ones. I was really glad that we went back so he had the chance to do that and so I could say a prayer for Grandpa. After the tour of the churches, we were free to walk around Assisi at our own will. I did some souvenir shopping, but unfortunately a little figurine my mom saw when she visited was in a shop that was closed so I wasn’t exactly successful. Then Al, Curtis and I decided to try to take the hike up to the castle on a hill overlooking Assisi. When we previously visited, the hike up took a very long time up grassy winding roads and over rocky paths. However, this time around only took 15 minutes compared to the previous running time of an hour. Apparently, there were signs pointing to a set of stairs that basically leads right up to the castle that we missed last time. The fact that we made it up to the top so easily this time made our last experience seem not as impressive as it use to. O well. We toured a few more shops after coming back down from the castle. One of them had nicely crafted, dull blade swords that the guys were interested in. For some reason, one of the hilts of the swords had a swastika on it, which was very odd to see. As Al and Curtis were looking at them, the woman working at the store comes over and grabs the sword out of Curtis’ hands and puts it back on the rack. I guess that was her nice way of saying, “don’t touch”… All of the IES students got together for dinner at this restaurant that took almost two and a half hours to eat. The dinner was very good, especially when compared to the lunch we had at the Hotel de San Pietro. After the marathon of eating, I went right into a food coma and went to sleep when I got back to my apartment.

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Photos

Monk Mugs
So cute I had to get one

Comments

[Laura Sahyoun]

The Climb
I remember on our last trip to Assisi together we took a narrow path up a steep hill past wild dogs during the heat of the day, but it was worth it!!! The veiws are breathtaking and the monk mugs are cute. Thank you for looking for the birds. I can imagine your face pressed against the window looking in and seeing them. It was a blessing to have this opportunity to return back to Italy, and revisit Assisi, especially St.Francis tomb, and make a special pray for Grandpa. It seems the tours are more informative now. Our last trip together we were a hurried group led by Tarzanna. Enjoy Italy all over again , with Alfred, and your new friends. Ciao Bella Laura

[Nina]

oh dear
AHAHAHAHAHAHA THERE WERE STAIRS?? HAHAHAHAHA that makes the first trip 10 times better. oh dear. the pictures are beautiful!

[Natasha]

These pictures are absolutely beautiful!!!