Oh.. Assisi!

January 25, 2013

 We took a bus to Assisi through beautiful snow covered hills and valleys. I am loving the bus and train rides because I can just relax and enjoy the incredible scenery! We were so excited to arrive in Assisi! When we got off the bus we stopped at a cafe' for advice on the town and where to stay. We then headed up to higher Assisi, which was quite the walk, down the road and up the hill. As we approached higher Assisi I could feel the peacefulness of the city. The walk up to the town was like nothing I have ever experienced before.  I could see the town above, the green rolling hills surrounding the town with fog, and to the left there was a beautiful rainbow! It was like God was welcoming us to Assisi! I have never in my life been moved by such beauty and love. After seeing Gods rainbow I was so touched I was crying. I felt so much joy and love. No wonder St. Francis fell in love with God and nature in Assisi! 

We were walking by a convent so we decided to stop and see if they would have a place for us to stay for the weekend. We rang the bell (felt like the Sound of Music) and Sister Samuella came and invited us in after we told her our story. That in itself was such a blessing, that without hesitation, she gave us a place to stay.  There are five sisters in total that stay at the convent. There was one other girl there that we were so happy to meet, she was also visiting Assisi and stayed there with us for the weekend. 

After settling in on Friday I spent the day checking out Upper Assisi. I went to the different churches of St. Francis and St. Claire, stopped in all the different shops, and checked out the cafes. I loved visiting the churches, spending time in adoration/mass, and just enjoyed learning about the incredible Saints and how they lived their life there. It's super neat to see St Francis' and St Claire's tombs, such a holy place!

Friday night Catherine and I got a bottle of wine and went to dinner at a family restaurant. We had such a great time and met two wonderful new friends from Milan that we hope to see again. After dinner we walked through the town and "accidentally" walked into a kitchen of a nice restaurant...whoops, silly Americans. :) The chief began to talk to us and invited us in for an espresso. It was such a nice place, the floor was made of glass, and everything was white, how beautiful! After enjoying our espresso we headed back to the convent and visited with the sisters before bed, they are so cute and witty. I felt so at peace the entire weekend and slept the best I have slept since I left the States.

Saturday morning we had breakfast with the Sisters and set out to enjoy our second day in Assisi. I headed  to lower Assisi. I found a path through a vineyard and walked down through the hills and countryside to get to the city. It was beautiful outside and sunny, such a great way to spend the morning. First stop was to go to the Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli, it is a big beautifully decorated church, in the middle there is the little church where St. Francis and his followers met.  After spending some time enjoying the Basilica I set off to learn more about the town. Everyone you pass walking through town was so nice. I had fun checking out all neighborhoods, the small businesses, the parks, and the local gym. Yes, I asked to tour a  gym! The gyms are somewhat different from America, so my curiosity got the best of me, defiantly an experience to see what they do there. 

Saturday afternoon I headed back to Upper Assisi and hung out in a wine bar. So relaxing and fun to be able to do what I want and see what I want when I am curious about something. Catherine met me at the wine bar and we visited with the owner before leaving to go back to our home for the weekend. The Sisters were so sweet and made us dinner. The food was home-cooked and so good! After dinner we enjoyed the rest of the night visiting and playing UNO with the Sisters. Let me tell you, those nuns can be very competitive and are spitfires! It was so entertaining to hang out with them! 

Sunday morning we went to Mass at San Damiano and spent the day shopping in the town. After shopping we thanked and said goodbye to the beautiful Sisters then headed back to Macerata. I am always excited when we are on our way back to Macerata to see our "family" here and tell them of our experiences. 

What a great weekend! Such a blessing to be in the presence of so many incredible people and to visit Assisi in general. One thing I have been learning a lot about is Gods love and all the different ways its possible. I learned a lot about it this weekend. Gods love for us is so great! I think sometimes that it can be something that is hard to remember, but the entire weekend that is the one thing I could feel. The feeling of leaving Assisi was like waking up from a GREAT dream! Just pure bliss and joy! 

Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli