Blogs from Umbria, Italy, Europe - page 38

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Europe » Italy » Umbria » Orvieto October 22nd 2006

Sunday, we had to get out of Roma. It's filthy, crowded, noisy, the people are rude, and the food is ho hum. So we hopped a local train to Orvietto, 1 hour away. We took a funiculare to the old city. This hillside town is the summer residence of many of the Popes and dates back to 800 BC when the Etruscans settled. The 13th century Duomo is one of Italy's most beautiful Duomi. It was built to shelter the relic of the Miracle of Bolsena, which happened in 1263 just south of Orvietto. A doubting priest who questioned the sacrement of the Transfiguration (the host contains the incarnation - the actual body and blood of Christ - for all you non Catholics) witnessed that the bleeding host had stained the linen altar cloth. The cloth ... read more
Duomo facade
Duomo Interior

Europe » Italy » Umbria » Assisi October 5th 2006

Geo: 42.7706, 12.9132A little hung over today. Not pleasant. I was taking a shower and then the lights suddenly went out. The room is set up such that a card key must be inserted into a slot to activate the power in the room. Some girl yanked hers out as she left the room. Thanks! Had breakfast with a Russian mathematician from the room. She's kind of funny as she doesn't really fit in with the hostel crowd. She sits around the room in her fancy robe and she's actually very well-dressed for the hostel crowd. I just found it amusing, perhaps because I am such a slob. I suppose I don't really fit in with the hostel crowd, either (except for the fact that I am a slob). Off to Assisi with Kristine and Chelsea. ... read more
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Europe » Italy » Umbria » Orvieto October 4th 2006

Geo: 42.6443, 12.2299Exhausted. Less than 5 hours sleep last night. It's like I'm in Calgary all over again! I think I'll need a nap later. The dreary and rainy weather doesn't exactly invigorate me, either. Perhaps an early morning gelato is in order, as a pick-me-up. Took the train to Orvieto then a bus to the Duomo. As the bus came out of a narrow alleyway onto the Piazza del Duomo .... all of a sudden .... holy crap! I actually said that out loud! I've seen nicer duomos, but this one appeared quite out of the blue as we had been driving through windy, tight little alleys - hence the reaction. The interior was pretty disappointing. I also found the exterior to be a little comical - the stripes looked like a prison uniform, to ... read more
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Europe » Italy » Umbria » Assisi September 28th 2006

I don't really have that much to say but I did want to put up some pictures of my trip to Assisi this past weekend. I had a great time with my friend Jen from CUA and Amy Sappenoff from Benedictine College. It was great to see a familiar face from KS! Assisi is an amazing and peaceful place. Right when i got there i could undertand the peaceful mentality that the Fransiscans have a tradition of. It is SO different from Rome, and it was nice to have a change of pace. I loved the small streets and quiet places. The shops are quaint and nice and we had amazing weather. Assisi sits up on a hill looking over the region of Umbria. From the hill you can see lots of farms and little ... read more
Assisi
Assisi
Assisi

Europe » Italy » Umbria September 27th 2006

Eccomi tornata a casa da qualche giorno. Sono ancora molto frastornata e mi sveglio tra l'1 e le 3 di notte senza più riaddormentarmi, e tante cose mi sembrano molto strane. Qui nessuno si inchina, per esempio! Suppongo che presto smetterò anch'io. Il viaggio è stato travagliato perché, tanto per cominciare, ho quasi perso l'aereo! La sera prima c'erano in programma cena+bevute con gli altri traduttori, dopo il lavoro, ma Diana e Xavier volevano comprarsi una Nintendo DS prima di partire, perché in Giappone hanno colori che non vengono esportati, e quindi abbiamo girato un bel po' (erano esaurite dappertutto); si sono fatte le 10 di sera, ero stanchissima e dovevo ancora fare i bagagli; mi sono quindi esentata dalla cena (avevo mangiato da scoppiare tutto il giorno) e dalle bevute (sono pressoché astemia) e li ... read more
in un parco
strano lavoro
dormono dappertutto 2

Europe » Italy » Umbria » Assisi September 18th 2006

Hello everyone, well we arrived safely at our Band B near Assisi. Our drive out of Rome was interesting. We took a taxi to pick up our car at the airport and there were police and firetrucks and diversions! It seems that four gangsters were killed! We picked up our car and actually made it without two many problems! The scenery in Umbria is incredible, hill towns and views that its hard to describe. I wish we could download pictures but no time right now. We have tried our first truffles! in an omelete. Summer truffles at the moment and they are good, in something anyway! It poured with rain and our feet etc were soaked, two days of rain. Today we had our cooking class and that was very interesting. We drove locally and had ... read more

Europe » Italy » Umbria » Assisi August 25th 2006

Europe » Italy » Umbria » Perugia August 10th 2006

Well we finally got to the place and event that sent us to Italy in the first place, a wedding. The villa that everyone stayed at was incredible. It had a pool and was surrounded by hills, and driving around we discovered there was an infinite amount of little towns, each with their own unique character. The wedding itself was in Assissi, a beautiful little town on the side of a mountain. For you travelers out there I would strongly encourage staying in the Umbria region, so much to see and do, and so much calmer and laid back then Rome. For dinner the night prior to the wedding a hotel opened up its restaurant for business just as we had arrived and asked one of the locals to play the sax for our enjoyment ... read more

Europe » Italy » Umbria » Assisi June 28th 2006

Today's goal was to reach Rome. We were up early once again and again the breakfast sucked. No wonder I'm eating these big lunches everyday. We would be spending the next two nights just outside Rome at the ATA Domina Hotel. On the way to Rome we opted for a side excursion to visit Assisi. This is one of the prettiest abbeys in Europe. It takes up most of the top of the hill and seems to dwarf the town. ... read more
Town wall
Assisi Madonna
Courtyard of the Basilica of St. Francis

Europe » Italy » Umbria » Orvieto June 20th 2006

TA here - FINALLY. Seems my timing with the internet cafes has been as futile as my timing with the Italian siestas. If you are hungry anytime between 1 - 4, then forget it! These people have something going on here...they know when to get OUT OF THE HEAT! Today I am writing from Orvietto...an incredibly beautiful town perched atop a rock outcropping, accessible by a funky cable car that takes you straight uphill. Debe and I took a short side trip today into the town of Civita di Bagnoregio. This town has a population of 14. We had to hike up a bridge across a canyon to access the town, but it was well worth it. No one spoke any English. We had the best truffle bruschetta EVER and the owner made his own wine ... read more
Duomo in Orvieto
Small Hilltown Outside Orvieto
Teri Ann & Debe's Day Adventure




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