vino, vino vino!

The Saturday following my trip to Assisi, I went to a wine-tasting at a local winery, Chiorri. It was about 20 minutes by bus outside of Perugia. This vineyard is self-sufficient, and they only used the grapes- they don’t add yeast or anything artificial. There are seven different types of wines, and we were able to taste 3 of them.

Our tour-guide was the son-in-law of the owner, and he was absolutely hysterical! He walked us through the whole process of wine-making: the grape smusher, as I call it; all of the different giant metal containers; the barrels; and such. Then he showed us the whole bottling process, which is really cool- I felt like I was back watching Mr. Roger’s or something, though- kinda strange, I know, because Mr. Roger’s would be able to have alcohol on the show…..

^This is the machine used to package the wine into the bottles, including corking and labeling....really cool!

Anyways, then we went into this cute, Italian-decorated room, where we were to have the actual tasting. They served us fresh bruschetta, torte al testo (a type of sandwich that is unique to Perugia), meat, cheese, and this delicious chocolatey-vanilla cakey dessert. In between the different courses, our tour-guide explained each wine, how that specifically was made, and the best way to drink it (cold or room temperature, fresh or let it age, etc.) It was really interesting! He also explained which wines are better from which locations in Italy. We tasted a red, a white, and a rossa (which is a pink wine). It was really fun and interesting to learn all about wine!

Assisi

On Friday, my friends Elyse, Caitlin, Kate (Caitlin’s friend that is studying in Vienna), and I decided to take a day-trip to Assisi. It is a mere 25 minute train ride away, and then a taxi ride up to the actual city. The city is also on a hill (I know, very surprising in Italy) and very, very quiet. We didn’t see many people out in the streets, or even in the churches, though it was a Friday, so maybe people just work outside of Assisi? Anyways, the town is just beautiful- very clean and it definitely carried a religious feel. Almost every store sold rosaries, prayer cards, pictures/post cards of the church, etc.

Our first stop was the Basilica di San Francesco (Basilica of Saint Francis- pictured above). We decided to get the audio tour guide, which was really, really informative, and gave a lot of interesting stories behind the frescos (paintings) and history of Saint Francis. The sad thing is that in most churches here, you are not allowed to take pictures inside, so I sadly can’t share much with you. I did, however, miss the signs at first, and took a picture of this one…and then got yelled at in Italian to turn off my camera. Here’s your inside look:

Inside the Basilica, there is the tomb of Saint Francis, along with numerous relics of his. There were shoes, chalices, and lots of his clothes, such as this one:

Following our long stay at the Basilica (and some gelato, or course), we stopped in the church of Santa Maria (Saint Mary’s). As we were walking to the other main church in Assisi, Elyse suggests us to stop in this smaller church on the way. It just so happens that this was the church that was built on top of San Francesco’s house! Inside the church is the actual front door of his house, the cell he was imprisoned in, and his father’s shop…..here are some pictures:

<- This is the inside of the chapel.

This is the prison cell San Francesco was kept in. ->

Then we venture on to Chiesa di Santa Chiara (Church of Saint Clare). Again, we couldn’t take pictures inside :/. This church actually has the cross that San Francesco was praying to when God came to him…very interesting! There was also Santa Chiara’s tomb, and lots of beautiful statues and frescos.

As the sun set, we realized we had to leave (wow…I’m sounding like I’m writing a novel), so we headed back to the train station. Assisi was BEAUTIFUL, and we all commented on how underrated it is. I plan to go back because the top fortress was closed, and supposedly there are gorgeous views from it. Check out my picture website for more photos! <>

Super Bowl: Italian-style

Yes, we did celebrate the Super Bowl, even though we are an ocean away. We had to get to one of the two bars playing the game by about 11 (at night) to scope out tables. The game then didn’t start until 12:30…which means we didn’t get home then until 4:45. (Yes, I did have class at 9 a.m. and I DID go!) It was a very good defensive game, and with everything that happened in the last few minutes, I am sooo glad that I didn’t go home at half!

This is a picture of Elyse, Hillary, me, and Caitlin with the bar owner after the Giants won! We were all veeerrrryyy excited!

Perugia/Terni with Daddy-o!!

I haven’t updated in a while because I’ve been verrryy busy, so you will be getting a lot of updates all at once!

So two Thursdays ago, my dad came to visit me!!! It was really exciting and great to see/ spend time with him! We went to dinner at this all-organic place in Perugia on Thursday night….it was delicious! (and of course the conversation was great!) Then Friday morning we walked around all of Perugia- I showed him my school buildings, went into some of the churches, walked down some of the main streets….it was really nice to be a tour guide for the first time since I’ve been here! Then we decided to take an afternoon train to Terni (so that my dad wouldn’t have to travel sooo far to Rome for his flight out the next morning).

Terni was a nice city, but it did really make me appreciate Perugia. It was not as social, a lot quieter, and definitely more industrial. There really wasn’t any ‘views’ to see, and the duomo was closed so we couldn’t go in L. (the outside was beautiful- you can see above) There was a very interesting statue, though right outside the train station- it reminds me of a transformer….what do you think?

All in all, it was great to see my dad and talk to some of my family members on the phone. I miss you guys!