assisi

On our free weekend at the end of week three, five students and I took an overnight trip to Assisi Italy. We left on Saturday. The train ride was 2hrs and and 15 mintes, but it was well worth it. I really didn't know what to expect about Assisi. I knew it was the birth place of St. Francis, but I didn't know anything about the town. Assisi is beautiful, even from a distance. The city is high above the Umbrian farmland. It is nestled on the side of a glacier capped mountain. It is small, medieval, and very quiet compared to Rome or Florence. It is literally built into the side of a mountain. Every step was either up or down, never level anywhere in the city. We climbed to the highest point on Saturday and the students decided to come back at sunrise on Sunday. I passed on climbing that hill again. We visited where St. Francis was born, baptized, worked and died. As well as the church built in his honor where his remains are currently interred. We went to mass on Sunday, while hundreds of tourists milled around. A unique experience in itself. We returned to campus on Sunday tired from the hilly climbing on cobblestone roads and the long train ride back to Gandolfo. But also somehow rejuvenated and ready for Rome again.