In which I take a trip out of Paris to Italy…
Ciao all!
I didn’t know until I spent my week in Italy that “ciao” means both hello and goodbye. I got so confused; I didn’t understand why shopkeepers kept telling me goodbye before I’d said anything to them!
I got home late yesterday night from a fantastic week in Rome and Assisi. It was a welcome break after my midterms last week. I traveled on my own, which meant that, although it was scary trying to figure out how to get places (since I have no sense of direction), I got the chance to meet so many fascinating people from all over the world. I started my journey last Saturday morning, when I flew from Paris to Rome. In the airport, I met another American girl studying abroad (her name was Ginger) who was on her way to Rome to meet some friends for her spring break. After landing in Rome and finding my hostel, I went to the bistro next door for dinner. I ordered grilled sea bass, but I didn’t realize when I ordered that I would be getting an entire fish: scales, head, bones, and all. As it turns out, that’s how fish is served in Europe. Once I figured out how to get the meat out, it was fantastic. But what a shock to look down and see a whole fish on my plate!
The next day (Palm Sunday), I took a tour of the major sites in Rome. It was amazing to see things that pre-date Christ, especially since so many of them are still standing! The tour I took was run by the hostel, so it was geared toward people my age, which made it one of the best tours I’ve ever taken. There were only four of us taking the tour, all study-abroad girls on spring break. I really connected with two of them, a pair of friends who are studying in London. We exchanged contact info and hugs at the end of the tour (which the four of us extended by going inside the Colosseum and visiting the Trevi fountain). I’m hoping to meet up with them when I go back to London in May. We’ll see if it works out.
Monday, I visited the Vatican, the most religious country in the world (yes, the Vatican is its own country!). I saw the part of the museum and the Sistine Chapel. The Chapel ceiling was amazing, and I am glad to have seen it. That afternoon, I took a train to Assisi, arriving late in the evening, so I didn’t go up into the town (which is on a high hill) until Tuesday morning. Oh my goodness! It was so beautiful, and the countless viewpoints in Assisi were breathtaking. I spent most of the day walking around, visiting the many churches and souvenir shops (really, I think there were more in Assisi than in Rome). At the hostel that night, I met some more really nice people, including a former school librarian from Michigan, on his retirement trip. I also spent some time speaking with a man from Belgium who has lived in Assisi for four months and one of the women who works at the hostel. The three of us spoke French, and they both told me that I spoke it well, so I must be making some progress!
Wednesday morning, two of my new friends and I shared a taxi up to the hermitage where St. Francis and some other monks secluded themselves. I was so glad we didn’t try to walk up, especially considering that it took us an hour to walk back down! It was so beautiful and peaceful up in those mountains, and again, the views were incredible. It was a wonderful place to go during Holy Week. Assisi as a whole was a wonderful place to be during Holy Week, because it has so many beautiful churches and general areas to sit and reflect and pray.
Anyway, on Friday (Good Friday), I met three Italian people at dinner. We spoke in a mixture of French, English, and Italian, which was a fun experience for me. I felt very cosmopolitan! After we ate, the four of us went together to see the procession, which takes place every Good Friday at dusk. It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen before, with all the nuns and monks of Assisi walking, interspersed with hooded men carrying crosses for penance (for the whole three hours of the procession). They were followed by the rest of the town’s population and anyone else who felt like joining in. The city was only lit by torchlight, which created a truly amazing atmosphere. It was as though we were back several hundred years ago, with the architecture being the same as it was and no signs of technology for that night.
Yesterday (Easter) was my travel-back-to-Paris day, which involved a whopping 14 hours of travel time. I left the hostel in the morning, then went bus to train station, train to Rome, bus to airport, airplane to Paris, bus to Paris city proper, metro to home. Whew! It was quite a day! I arrived back home late Easter night. It was nice to be the only one in the room after spending a week sleeping with strangers. And it’s good to be home. I realized as the plane was landing yesterday that Paris has become “home” for me. After three months (I left San Diego three months ago today, actually), that was nice to know!
Classes start again tomorrow, and then on Sunday, my grandparents are coming to visit for 10 days! It should be fun!
Until then, Happy Easter (a day late) and have a wonderful week!