Warning: There are no pictures from this trip. My camera was still broken (still is, actually). Be prepared for a bunch of me just talking and talking and talking. I apologize in advance.
In the midst of studying for finals I booked a hostel for one night on Lake Trasimeno, to give myself a light at the end of the incredibly long tunnel that was studying in a foreign language. I wasn't really sure what I was going to do when I go there, but I knew I was going.
I originally planned on going down to Florence, catching the sunset in Fiesole and then making my way to the hostel (which was a quick train ride east from Florence). This didn't happen. The night before my train to Florence I went to Boscovich (my home away from home in Milan, my friends' apartment 5 minutes away from Milano Centrale) and six of us had a really great night. I slept a little bit longer than I planned and the inevitable happened. So I thought, I guess I'll just go get on the next train leaving Milan to see where it takes me, planning on missing my reservation in Umbria. I ended up in Bologna, which was, in a word, "blah".
I went down on my own and had only the vaguest idea of what to do in the city. I saw the two towers leaning in towards one another (not as good as Pisa), saw the unfinished Duomo (not as good as any other church ever), a few parks (not as good as Parco Sempione) and got some gelato (not as good as Milanese gelato, and even more expensive). I was just not particularly charmed by the city. On top of all this I had a bacterial infection in my toe which led to an ingrown toenail, but I won't terrify you with the details. Oversharing is no one's friend. Seeing as I was bored I got on the train to Magione, the city nearest my hostel booked on a whim. I got there around 7 then got picked up by one of the hosteliers, whose english was impeccable. I was amazed when we got to the hostel. It is by far the nicest hostel I've ever stayed in, and it only cost 15 euro/night. The rooms were huge, it was beautifully decorated, they serve breakfast and dinner every day, included in the cost, and were just incredibly friendly. If you ever go to Lake Trasimeno (which is the largest lake in the state of Umbria, by the way. Apparently a very popular vacation destination) stay at Ostello La Casa sul Lago.
Anyway, I went to bed and got up nice and early to make my way to Assisi and Perugia, two cities famous for very different reasons. My first stop was in Assisi, birthplace of St. Francis. St. Francis is famous mostly for the bunches of miracles associated with him, such his Sermon to the Birds (exactly what it sounds like) and being the first Saint to be given (have forced upon him?) the Stigmata, the marks Christ received from the nails used in his crucifixion (not sure of a better/less graphic way to describe that...). The way the stigmata works, as far as I can tell, is a six-winged Jesus angel flies down from heaven and presents himself to whoever is deserving of these five scars on their hands, feet and side and then shoots them with Jesus lasers to so bestow those scars upon them. And this is exactly what is shown in a fresco in the Basilica di San Francesco, the huge, very famous, very pretty (mostly because it was actually a little different from most of the churches I'd seen) basilica dedicated to this hometown saint.
Other than learning about San Francesco and then blaspheming, I also took a walking tour of the city, as given by Rick Steves. I saw a bunch more churches, an ancient roman temple (which is now a church), a few nice piazze and a singing group composed of 50-70 year old american women who I somehow followed all the way around the city, and who I always saw performing their songs. I really enjoyed my walk around the town, but I ran out of things to do fairly quickly and so headed back down to the train station to make my way to Perugia.
I got on the train and then got off at the first "Perugia" stop I saw. It was not where I wanted to get off. So I panicked a little because I had no idea where I was (and it was Sunday so of course everything was closed), then got on another train, hoping it would take me in to Perugia's city center. It almost did. I had gotten on an Umbrian commuter train, so it stopped outside the historic center but at least I was much closer than I had been 10 minutes before. I climbed some stairs, saw a sign pointing to the historic center and so headed in that direction. I came to a huge escalator and hopped on, and eventually came out in the middle of an ancient fortress full of shops selling all manner of things. I kept climbing and eventually emerged in to the Perugian city center and quickly realized I had no idea what to do in the city. I wandered around and found a tourist info place, but it was closed (Sunday!). So I walked around and admired the architecture, (which has a much more rustic/rocky feel to it than any other city I had seen in Italy. Loved it) got some gelato, and found an incredible view of the Umbrian countryside, which I could not take a picture of because of my woeful lack of camera.
I sat down to give my aching feet a break (they did a lot of walking this trip, such troopers) and then decided I would be going to Rome that day. Luckily I had contacted my friend Hallie the night before seeing if she could house me and she had texted me that she could (even though she had just signed the lease for her apartment that day. literally 5 hours before I got to Rome). So I headed down to the train station and grabbed the regional train to Rome. And that's how I did 5 cities in a span of 36 hours. But I'll give you all a break from my incessant rambling for a bit. Rome Take Two will be up tomorrow!
In the midst of studying for finals I booked a hostel for one night on Lake Trasimeno, to give myself a light at the end of the incredibly long tunnel that was studying in a foreign language. I wasn't really sure what I was going to do when I go there, but I knew I was going.
I originally planned on going down to Florence, catching the sunset in Fiesole and then making my way to the hostel (which was a quick train ride east from Florence). This didn't happen. The night before my train to Florence I went to Boscovich (my home away from home in Milan, my friends' apartment 5 minutes away from Milano Centrale) and six of us had a really great night. I slept a little bit longer than I planned and the inevitable happened. So I thought, I guess I'll just go get on the next train leaving Milan to see where it takes me, planning on missing my reservation in Umbria. I ended up in Bologna, which was, in a word, "blah".
I went down on my own and had only the vaguest idea of what to do in the city. I saw the two towers leaning in towards one another (not as good as Pisa), saw the unfinished Duomo (not as good as any other church ever), a few parks (not as good as Parco Sempione) and got some gelato (not as good as Milanese gelato, and even more expensive). I was just not particularly charmed by the city. On top of all this I had a bacterial infection in my toe which led to an ingrown toenail, but I won't terrify you with the details. Oversharing is no one's friend. Seeing as I was bored I got on the train to Magione, the city nearest my hostel booked on a whim. I got there around 7 then got picked up by one of the hosteliers, whose english was impeccable. I was amazed when we got to the hostel. It is by far the nicest hostel I've ever stayed in, and it only cost 15 euro/night. The rooms were huge, it was beautifully decorated, they serve breakfast and dinner every day, included in the cost, and were just incredibly friendly. If you ever go to Lake Trasimeno (which is the largest lake in the state of Umbria, by the way. Apparently a very popular vacation destination) stay at Ostello La Casa sul Lago.
Anyway, I went to bed and got up nice and early to make my way to Assisi and Perugia, two cities famous for very different reasons. My first stop was in Assisi, birthplace of St. Francis. St. Francis is famous mostly for the bunches of miracles associated with him, such his Sermon to the Birds (exactly what it sounds like) and being the first Saint to be given (have forced upon him?) the Stigmata, the marks Christ received from the nails used in his crucifixion (not sure of a better/less graphic way to describe that...). The way the stigmata works, as far as I can tell, is a six-winged Jesus angel flies down from heaven and presents himself to whoever is deserving of these five scars on their hands, feet and side and then shoots them with Jesus lasers to so bestow those scars upon them. And this is exactly what is shown in a fresco in the Basilica di San Francesco, the huge, very famous, very pretty (mostly because it was actually a little different from most of the churches I'd seen) basilica dedicated to this hometown saint.
Other than learning about San Francesco and then blaspheming, I also took a walking tour of the city, as given by Rick Steves. I saw a bunch more churches, an ancient roman temple (which is now a church), a few nice piazze and a singing group composed of 50-70 year old american women who I somehow followed all the way around the city, and who I always saw performing their songs. I really enjoyed my walk around the town, but I ran out of things to do fairly quickly and so headed back down to the train station to make my way to Perugia.
I got on the train and then got off at the first "Perugia" stop I saw. It was not where I wanted to get off. So I panicked a little because I had no idea where I was (and it was Sunday so of course everything was closed), then got on another train, hoping it would take me in to Perugia's city center. It almost did. I had gotten on an Umbrian commuter train, so it stopped outside the historic center but at least I was much closer than I had been 10 minutes before. I climbed some stairs, saw a sign pointing to the historic center and so headed in that direction. I came to a huge escalator and hopped on, and eventually came out in the middle of an ancient fortress full of shops selling all manner of things. I kept climbing and eventually emerged in to the Perugian city center and quickly realized I had no idea what to do in the city. I wandered around and found a tourist info place, but it was closed (Sunday!). So I walked around and admired the architecture, (which has a much more rustic/rocky feel to it than any other city I had seen in Italy. Loved it) got some gelato, and found an incredible view of the Umbrian countryside, which I could not take a picture of because of my woeful lack of camera.
I sat down to give my aching feet a break (they did a lot of walking this trip, such troopers) and then decided I would be going to Rome that day. Luckily I had contacted my friend Hallie the night before seeing if she could house me and she had texted me that she could (even though she had just signed the lease for her apartment that day. literally 5 hours before I got to Rome). So I headed down to the train station and grabbed the regional train to Rome. And that's how I did 5 cities in a span of 36 hours. But I'll give you all a break from my incessant rambling for a bit. Rome Take Two will be up tomorrow!
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