Perugia, Assisi, Siena, San Gimignano

This weekend we went on a field trip with our program to Perugia, Assisi, Siena, and San Gimignano. It was a busy weekend considering we hit four cities in two days. Saturday morning we met at our usual meeting spot to load onto the buses to begin our journey. Once we all boarded the bus we headed on our way to our first stop of the weekend Perugia. First we checked into our hotel and had lunch in the hotel restaurant. We had a buffet of several different pasta dishes to choose from. 

Perugia: When we got off the bus in Perugia we were greeted by our tour guide Marco. Marco has by far been the most animated tour guide that I have ever had for a tour. He informed us of  the major key points of history for Perugia. A little fun fact that we learned was the meaning behind the word salary. In the middle ages before money, the people of Perugia paid for things by using salt. Hence where the world salary has come from! Perugia is the capital city of the region of Umbria of Italy. It is often referred to as the Pittsburgh of Italy due to its over abundance of colleges and students. It is also know as a college town. We were walking through the university square where there is a certain arch in which the students are not supposed to walk under. If one of the students undergoes the arch they are believed not to graduate. The arch reminded me of the SJU seal in Mandeville back on hawk hill. It is  believed if a undergraduate hawk walks across the seal they are not to graduate. Perugia is well known for their chocolate festival which occurs every fall. Perugia turns into a giant chocolate square. Chocolatiers carve and chisel things out of giant blocks of chcolate as guests gather round with upside down umbrellas to catch all the excess chocolate shavings! After the tour we had some free time to explore on our owns. Of course in that time we went to try the famous chocolate! The chocolate was rich and delicious as if it just melted on your tongue and allowed your taste buds to explode! We headed back on to the bus to the next stop....

Assisi: Assisi is known as the city of peace. The buildings are all so pretty and made of pink and white stone. Assisi is most well known for Saint Francis who is the patron saint of animals. While in Assisi we got a tour of the town from our wonderful tour guide Marco. Assisi was very quaint with its pink and white stone buildings. The balconies were covered in beautiful flowers that hung over the sides. We visited the Church of Saint Francis, where we go to see the tomb of the patron saint. Outside of the Church of Saint Francis was a Tau cross which is believed to save one from the apocalypse. After our tour was over we got to listen in on a sound check for a concert full of Italian singers that were performing that night. We got to see, listen, and dance around to traditional popular Italian music. Next we returned to the hotel where we were served dinner. After dinner some of us gathered in one of the hotel rooms and spent the night talking and playing cards. In the morning we checked out of our hotel and head to our next stop....

Siena: In Siena we were greeted by another tour guide, but unfortunately she was not as animated as Marco was on our previous two tours. We first visited a Church which contained the relics of Saint Catherine. The walking tour was a little too long for my liking due to the lack of excitement of our tour guide. I was focused more on the rumbling that was going on in my stomach than listening to her monotone voice. Finally after the tour was over we had free time to go get lunch. My roommates went exploring to find a restaurant. We fell upon a restaurant called Ghibellina and thought it was fate since that is the name of  the street we live on in Firenze!  After lunch we met back at the buses to head to our last and final stop....

San Gimignano: San Gimignano is known as the little Manhatten of Italy. In the Middle Ages the taller your tower symbolized the more money that you and your family had. The little Manhatten  overlooked the beautiful country side. You could see millions of vineyards with grapevines perfectly aligned. The Jesus rays from the sun were protruding from the puffy white clouds as the rolling hills met them at the horizon line. San Gimignano is one of the most photogenic towns in Italy and has been the location of dozens of films including The Twilight Saga: New Moon! After gazing at the country side we headed to the main square where one of the best known gelato places in the world is! Dondoli Gelateria were world champions in 06-07 and 08-09. The line was out the door and wrapped around the square, but was without a doubt worth the wait! I had nutella and tiramisu! It was hands down the best gelato I have had so far! After exploring four cities in two days it was finally time to head back home to Florence! 

San Gimignano