Assisi

Last weekend my friend Stine and I traveled to Assisi which is a perfectly quaint and romantic town. The entire train ride to our destination was filled with the kind of scenes one only sees in pictures or reads about in books; towns built into the ridges of mountains, a commanding stone church overlooking a valley, and ancient rock walls. Again, I couldn’t believe my eyes.

My friend Stine, who is from Norway and has traveled all over the world, patiently listened to my cries of delight as I exclaimed, “We have to come back and go there!” each time we passed another adorable town. My eyes began to grow big and my soul jumped with delight as we approached the most beautiful town of all. A was a bit larger than the others, each building was perfectly put together with old stones, and a magnificent church sat at one end. You can imagine my excitement when the speakers blared the phrase “siamo arrivati in Assisi.”

My first steps in the city were completely in awe. I had gone back in time. I couldn’t believe there was a city that still looked like this. Like it had never been touched by even the 20th century. Assisi is teeming with sweetness, magic, and a homey feeling.

The first day was warm and sunny. We spent the afternoon just walked around the town soaking in its charm. We found a delicious restaurant and had the BEST pizza. It didn’t have the thin crust I adore, but it was still as tasty as ever!

We enjoyed walking down the cobblestone roads and peeking into the little shops. I must tell a story here. This truly displays the attitude of Italians: Stine wanted to buy a sweater from one of the shops on a side street. She looked at the sweater and then decided to come back later and buy it. A few hours later we arrived in front of the shop only to find the door locked with no sign, but the lights were still on. We continued walking and saw the owner of the shop chatting with the owner of another shop a few doors down. We decided to wait until she was done chatting. And we waited. And waited. For 45 minutes. Finally Stine walked up to her and asked if she could buy. The women then proceeded to take us up to her store, let Stine buy the item, and then closed up the shop so she could finish her conversation with her friend. Now how many people in the states just leave their shop in the middle of the day? Especially in a tourist town? Well that is common here in Italy.

Our charming hotel room

After a great night in a charming hotel, Stine and I got down to business began sightseeing. Stine was the official guide and I followed taking too many pictures. We went to the castle perched on the hill, the roman amphitheater, and all thirty-six churches. By about the thirtieth church Stine had had enough. Below is a picture which shows how she felt:

Standing in Assisi's main Piazza

A view of the town. (The second day it would cold and cloudy. I should have taken pics on the first day. Oh well.)

Another church

Stine my official tour guide

The town is famous for being the home of the Catholic St. Frances, who at a young age decided to live a simple life and dedicate his time to serving others. My Grandma Clark brought it to my attention how beautiful the prayer of St. Frances was. The prayers words are so simple, yet powerful and meaningful. I won’t post it here, but you should look it up. The final church we went to was the Cathedral of St. Frances. It, like the saint himself, was beautiful yet simple. The feeling around the church was one of humility and thankfulness. It was beautiful to stand in the shadow of the church and reflect.

Me in front of St. Frances Cathedral

That evening I was sad to say goodbye to the picturesque town, but tomorrow I am going to Viterbo which is similar to Assisi and just a 30 minute train ride. I can’t wait.