Assisi - An Unexpected Gem

On Friday, January 20, 2012, I went to Assissi! It was an all school field trip and my first trip since arriving in Florence a little over a week ago. Since it was a school sponsored trip, the travel and tours were taken care of for the students…so all I had to do was sign up! I’d say a trip with no planning is a good way to ease into right?

We all met at the school at 8:00am, boarded the busses and headed out for the two hour drive. Of course after a bunch of college students woke up at 6:30am, the entire bus was asleep within minutes of departure.

Upon signing up for this trip, I had no idea what Assisi had in store. All I assumed is that St. Francis of Assisi was from there, and there’d probably be a church. I must say I wasn’t too excited for a day of tours, churches and history, but Assisi surprised me! As I expected, we toured a church, learned about St. Francis’s life from a tour guide provided by the school and viewed the various fresco paintings on the walls. After about an hour of touring, we were set free to explore the small city on our own and find lunch.

The city of Assisi is beautifully quaint with cobble stone roads, small boutique shops, and stone buildings with flower pots along the window sills and colored shutters lining the windows. It is located on the top of the hill making the roads steep but the views gorgeous. Some other students and I ventured up the roads in search of something hot for lunch, as it was cold outside and even colder in the church! With limited choices we decided on a small restaurant where I got a most delicious barley soup! It was perfect for the chilly day – warm and hearty.

After we were all nourished and warmer we set out to hike up to the top of the hill of Assisi, as suggested by our tour guide. I must say, this was my favorite part of the day as the view from the top of the hill was amazing. As we reached the top, the sun came out and made for the most beautiful view of the surrounding hilly landscape. We spent lots of time their exploring the stone fort that sat atop the hill, enjoying the scenery and taking pictures.

On out way back down the hill, and back to the bus we stopped for huge meringues that we eyed on our way up the hill.

After a nap on the bus ride back to Florence and a little relaxation at home, I met friends Maria and Jess for dinner. We were all exhausted from our long day, and knew we had another early morning ahead of us so we opted for a low key dinner at Pizza place near our houses. I shared Pizza and beer with friends to end the night. My first pizza in Florence!