Other Regions

With Nerina gone all last week, I really thought I would have accomplished more. I am not a very productive traveler it seems. I can only read on a bus for so long, and not at all while on tour. Somehow everything gets done on time.
Assisi was an optional, pay-as-you-go trip, so I invited my intercambio partner, Rita, to join us. It was borderline snowing when we arrived, but the sun came out soon enough and we spent most of our time church hopping anyway. Padre Bruno gave us a tour of the life of Saint Francis, who was actually a pretty interesting guy. My knowledge of Franciscan friars ended with Eco’s Il Nome Della Rosa, so I am glad that is no longer true. Rita, Rachel, and I separated ourselves from the group a few hours before departure and walked around on our own. We strolled down Pax et Bonum street and then down the hill Assisi is settled into. This part of Umbria (the region) looks much like Nebraska, if Nebraska had olive groves, cottages, and old Italian men with straw hats…
Orvieto, also in Umbria, sits on a flat summit of volcanic rock called tuff. Once the center of Etruscan civilization, Orvieto is now a quiet little town known for its white wine and underground city tours. Beneath the town, there is another town carved into the rock, which we were only able to see a small portion of, as it is still being excavated for ancient Etruscan artifacts. Above ground, in the Duomo, there is a bloodstained cloth on display, Brought from Bolsena, Italy in 1263, it is believed to be the blood of Jesus. I took a picture.
As fascinating as Orvieto is, the best part of the day was the picnic Rachel and I had on the wall overlooking the countryside. We bought insalata, eggplant parmigiano, salmone, vino bianco, and a 7 euro chocolate bar. I’m not a good judge of distance, but I would say we were perched on a wall about 20 stories high. There is nothing like picnicking on a precipice with locals strolling by and wishing you “Buon appetito!"
Bologna was much nicer than my visits to the train station had led me to believe. I would like to go back when it's not cold and rainy--if only for the tiramisu.

This weekend I'm going to Napoli, Sorrento, Capri, and Pompei with a large group of FUA students.