Rome Trip:Day 3
Our third day we had all planned to make a day trip to Assisi. However after three long days, the night before the trip everyone started to bail on us. Aaron, understandably was getting nervous about the ordination and worn out so he decided to get some rest. Brian, Heather and Kevin were all exhausted and the 6:45 a.m. leave time did not appeal to them. Mom was having trouble with her knee and so Dad said that they too would stay behind.
Nelson and I decided that even if it were only us, we wanted to make the trip. Luckily for us, Fr. Justin, who was traveling with us and had been a student in Rome for four years, volunteered to make the journey with us. He had spent plenty of time in the little town and knew it well.
Assisi is absolutely gorgeous - notice my inability to keep the photos limited on this entry...in fact two entries. We were not disappointed at all with our decision.
These first two photos are taken at Rocca Maggiore, or the big rock. It was a fortress for the city. It was a serious hike to get up there. I'm talking legs shaking, heavy breathing, want to stop kind of hike, but we made it. Just look at these! Our efforts were well rewarded. You could see all of Assisi from up there.
The whole city is a refreshing break from the busy and rather dirty city of Rome. It's so quaint that it feels as if you might turn a corner to see Francis himself walking towards you. As a matter of fact, we just happened to be there on the anniversary of Francis' death, the day before his feast day. There were Franciscans everywhere.
The nice thing about traveling with someone who knows the territory is that he was able to lead us to the perfect place for lunch. Forget that the food was delicious and that it felt wonderful to sit down after all that walking - Assisi is very hilly terrain - the view was breathtaking.
One of the churches we visited was the Cathedral, or Church of St. Rufus. In it was the baptismal fount where both St. Francis and St. Clare were baptized. We're turning our rings into second class (or maybe third, I don't remember how it works) relics here.
The city is beautiful but it is also very spiritual. That's why I just have to show you a few more photos. Bear with me.
posted by Amy Parris @ 9:01 PM
4 Comments:
yeah!!! i'm a lurker on your board, and have really enjoyed reading about your trip, but i have to say, fr. justin is great! all of a sudden, i'm reading along, and was totally surprised. he is so funny, isn't he?
Yes we really love him too. He lived with my parents two summers ago while he was assigned to be the seminarian at Most Holy Trinity. He was at the NAC with Aaron for three of Aaron's four years.
How do you know him?
went to college with him... i'm not from GA, so it had been a while since i'd seen him, but i had the fun privilege of seeing him at a wedding in august.
Laurel...well who would have expected you reading this blog? It is such a small Catholic world. How is everything since we last saw each other?
Post a Comment
<< Home