Thursday

What an exciting end to my evening to find a message from my class! I asked today whether or not there is the famous statue of St. Francis and the wolf in Assisi, and I learned that the event actually occurred in Gubbio, which is a town nearby.

This morning, we boarded our bus with Salvatore, our bus driver and Elena, our tour guide. We took a two hour bus ride through the region of Tuscany, headed for the town of Siena. Tuscany is known for it's sunflower oil, so we saw empty fields that are apparently filled with sunflowers during the spring.

When we got to Siena, we headed to the cathedral of St. Dominic for Mass. There is a very cool story that goes with this church. When St. Catherine died, she was buried in Rome. The people of Siena wanted her back in their city, so they went and took her head for their church. Today we saw her head - we'll see her body when we get to Rome.

After visiting the church, we had some time in Siena for lunch. Elena told us that Tuscany is know for wild boar, so that's what Tony ordered. It was actually very good - it tasted a little like pot roast. We also had panforte for dessert, which is like fruit cake. It wasn't as good as my gelato yesterday, that's for sure!
The square in the city is gorgeous. We came across several great stores. Look at me here!!!



After Siena, we stopped in a town near Assisi and toured an olive oil plant. It was very neat - we were able to see how olive oil is pressed and also got to sample some. Yum!

Just as we're getting used ordering in Italian and to dodging the traffic in Assisi (Italians are terrible drivers and the all drive little bitty cars. They don't stop for anything!) we're packing up and heading to Montesilvano and Loreto tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Wednesday night update

We had another fabulous dinner. I got to try veal for the first time (it was excellent) and Tony was thrilled with his tiramisu. We went for another walk after dinner and went all over Assisi. We were lucky enough to stop into a church where Eucharistic adoration was going on. You never know what you're going to find here when you venture off the beaten path!

Wednesday

Another amazing day in Assisi! After breakfast, we headed to the Basilica for a private Mass at the tomb of St. Francis. It gave me chills to sing the Prayer of Peace for the closing song. After Mass, we toured the entire church. Unfortunately, the large churches in Italy don't allow you to take pictures inside, so I'll have to show everyone the book we purchased. Another highlight of the Basilica were relics of St. Francis, including one of his robes.


After the Basilica, we boarded the bus and went to the lower town of Assisi, where we toured St. Mary of the Angels. Inside, there is a very tiny church that is the building that St. Francis repaired when he believed God wanted to him to fix the physical building, not the followers of Christ. It was phenomenal. We also saw the place where St. Francis died. Unfortunately, we were also not allowed to take pictures there.

When we left lower Assisi, we came back to the church of St. Clare. There, we saw the San Damiano cross that spoke to St. Francis, as well as the tomb of St. Clare. Then, we finally got to eat lunch on our own in Assisi.


Tony and I had a great lunch, even though I'm not sure what I ordered. I just pointed in the deli at something that looked good! We followed it up with some gelato - Italian ice cream - yummy!
We had some free time after lunch, so like the nerds we are, Tony and I sought out more churches. We got to see the site where St. Francis' family lived, which is now a church, as well as the site where he was born. I also found a church called "San Antonio" - St. Anthony! There was a school there as well. I lit a candle for all our students at the statue of St. Anthony.


We left the center of Assisi and headed to the hermitage. It's a place up in the mountain where St. Francis and his followers would go to fast and pray. Now there's a monastery for monks, but in St. Francis' day the would stay in caves. We saw St. Francis' cave, but it was a tight squeeze! We also saw the tree that St. Francis gave his famous speech to the birds under.


After such a busy day, we've had a couple of hours before dinner. Tony and I went back to the Basilica and I got holy cards for all the first graders. It was quite the experience - the priest spoke only Italian and Spanish. I spoke to him in Spanish, and he thought I wanted the prayer cards in Spanish. It all worked out in the end, though, and Tony and I placed the cards on the tomb of St. Francis, which makes them third class relics. Then we did some shopping - now I'm starving! Walking in the footsteps of St. Francis today has been an indescribable experience. I'd love to post more pictures if I get the time - Ciao!

Tuesday night

Thought we'd turn in for the night after dinner, but we decided to take a walk with Fr. Paul and Fr. Naylor instead. Assisi is an amazing old town. There was absolutely no one out but us - we had the run of the streets. We roamed up to the Basilica of St. Francis, where I got to take some stunning night shots. It's so quiet here, and the old buildings and gates look like they belong in a movie. Sleep tight!

Monday and Tuesday

We are settling into our hotel and preparing to eat our first Italian dinner in Assisi. For the first time in about 36 hours, we've had the chance to shower and change clothes. What a busy two days we've had! It's 6:30 PM here, which makes it only around noon at home. There's a six hour time difference. I'm exhausted!

We met up with our group in Louisville for our flight to Atlanta. From there we boarded our plane for a nine hour flight to Rome. We were given a wonderful menu in Italian for dinner - it turned out to be chicken or pasta. Everything sounds better in another language!

When we arrived in Rome, I was very disappointed to discover that the Rome airport is not actually in the city of Rome. It was more like landing in a cornfield. Parts of Italy look just like home - the leaves are changing colors for the fall. Then, just when you think things aren't that different, up pops a castle or crumbling villa or vineyard. Then we know we're not in Indiana anymore!

We hopped on a bus to Orvieto immediately after leaving the airport. The city is way up on a hill, and the roads are so old that no busses are allowed. We had to take a little train to the top, and then another shuttle.

It was worth it - we visited the Chapel of the Corporal, which is inside the most beautiful church I've ever seen. Here are a few pictures:

After having Mass, we had lunch at a pizzaria. From there we left and headed to Assisi. One interesting landmark was a McDonald's! We are settled in for the evening at our hotel and headed to dinner now - have a great afternoon!

Packing up and on our way!

It's finally here! We spent part of this evening at St. Anthony's fall sports banquet, and then came home to finish packing. I hope we didn't forget anything!

On Friday, we went to the bank and exchanged U.S. dollars for Euros. The exchange rate is about $1.50 for one Euro.
I'm going to check in on my class in the morning, and then we're going to 8:00 Mass at St. Anthony before heading to the airport. Our flight to Atlanta is at noon, and from there we board our transatlantic flight to Italy about 5:00 PM. We should arrive in Rome early Tuesday morning and hit the ground running. We'll immediately board a bus and head North to begin touring. I hope I can sleep on the plane!
By the way, check out my awesome pilgrims and indians on the school website, thanks to Mr. Nokes.
Say some extra prayers for us and we'll be praying for you all!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We are so thankful for our friends and family!

Preparations

Tony and I are so excited about our trip! We both have lots to finish up at work before take off. The boys can't wait to spend ten days with Grandma and Papa, but we're really going to miss them! We'll make every effort to update the blog with pictures and notes daily, but it depends on Internet availability. Check back soon!