2011 Jterm Assisi Photos 2nd Batch

Assisi Photos Batch 2

More photos for you, enjoy!

2011 Jterm Greccio Assisi 1st Batch of Photos

Greetings from Assisi. We've posted a few of the pictures from our trip from Rome to Assisi, by way of Greccio, a favorite hermitage of St. Francis of Assisi. Photos in this post include photos of Greccio, an abode located in a hillside overlooking a fantastic vista below. Since St. Francis initiated the "Creche," or manger scene, the exhibit included many unique Creches from around the world, in addition to the quarters where St. Francis and his followers meditated.

We arrived in Assisi and settled into our lodging, the Cittadella Ospitalita', home to an organization run by lay Catholics. The rooms are neither lavish, nor austere, but quite comfortable. The three meals a day that we are provided consist of three to four courses each of very well prepared Italian food.

Assisi is a lovely Italian hillside town where you literally walk uphill no matter where you are going. All buildings are built with stone, of which 85% were damaged in the 1997 earthquake. These buildings have been beautifully restored at great expense to the Italian public, but from our eyes, the job was well worth it, the buildings are exquisite. Assisi is the hometown of St. Francis, as well as St. Clare. St. Francis, born in 1182 as the son of a wealthy cloth merchant. Francis, after spending a year in captivity in a dungeon as a prisoner of war, decided to reject wealth, clothes, and his father. He took off his clothes in the public square, throwing them at his father and embraced a life of poverty. He believed that possession of objects, or the desire to, was the root of all conflict. If one had no possessions, there would be no conflict. He attracted a large following, including St. Clare, both of whom are buried in basilicas in Assisi, one at each end of the town. You can find out a lot more about Assisi and St. Francis at Anne's Italy.

Anne Robichaud, the author of the blog above and a long time resident of Assisi, gave us a wonderfully detailed tour of the historic city, after which, half of the group climbed up and up and up to the Rocca Maggiore, the papal castle situated above Assisi.

The phtos, as promised, are linked below, simply click on the link and you should be taken to the photo album. Please leave a comment if they are not working. There are more to come, now that we have figured out the internet in Assisi. Stay safe and stay tuned. Arrivederci!

2011 Jterm Greccio Assisi 1st Batch of Photos

2011 Jterm: Rome first three days

Rome, first three days

Sorry for the problems with the pictures from Rome. Clicking on this link should take you to the album without problems.

Ned, our super guide with the Anglo-Italo accent we loved is pointing out the highlights of the Coloseum and the Roman Forum

The Rudolf Perspective

After landing in Rome, we toured some of the key ancient sites of the city: the Coloseum and the Roman forum. Our guide, Edward (Ned), is an Italian whose English mother gave him a charming accent. He was exceptionally knowledgeable and great at explaining much of the history in ways that even non-history majors could appreciate. The students were able to handle jet-lag well and only a few nodded slightly now and then. His tour of the Vatican museums the following day was even more informative and gave the students a wonderful overview of art history.
We visited the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) of the UN, where we were graciously received by Keith Wiebe and his wife, Jill, an American couple, both graduates of Carleton College in Northfield, MN, who have spent the last four years in Rome. Keith gave a talk summarizing the issues of global hunger in a stunningly succinct yet comprehensive way. It was so perfectly attuned to our course subject that this talk alone was worth the entire trip!!! Thank you, Keith and Jill!!

The photos in our slide show looking down on Rome were taken from the roof of the FAO building where we had lunch. Jill took the best group photo so far. Today (Friday) we were given a tour of San Clemente Basilica, a church that is actually 4 houses of worship, one on top of another, the very bottom being a temple site from early Roman times used by a cult of Mithra. Above it was a 1st century church, above that a church from the 4th century and at contemporary ground level, the church from the 12th century!!! Tomorrow we head to Assisi, where internet access will be a bit sketchy, so don't expect posts until we get to Lyon after the 13th of January.

"It's time to change" An experience by Rachel and Inga:

After spending hours exploring the ancient Roman baths, we were ready to indulge in some local Italian flavor. We happened to wander into a little coffee shop that seemed to be quite popular with the local people. At this quaint cafe, we were introduced to dozens of croissants, tortes, and pastries. While we stewed over what to order, the locals became a bit impatient as they nudged through to get their rush of afternoon espresso. Finally Rachel decided to order a donut (something she was able to name). Not wanting to hold up the line she attempted to order. Immediately the waiter shook his head and said, "No, you must change." A bit confused at what this meant, Rachel followed the waiter to the other side of the display case. He pointed out several of the local favorites. Though none of us could understand the names, we recognized some had pistachio, and others had vanilla or chocolate cream. Feeling a bit rushed and confused, we each pointed to one and also ordered a cafe latte. After we ordered the waiter handed us our treats. Just then, the waiter shooed us into the tiny back room to dine without having yet paid. Though we were afraid we would be charged extra for being waited on as tourists, we followed our "orders". After trying the pastries we could have cared less if we were going to be over-charged because the pastries were better than any bakery treat we had tried before. But as we went to pay we were pleasantly surprised. It turns out that no one was trying to take advantage of us. It was very clear that we were tourists, and this native was just trying to give us a taste of his native cuisine. And as it turned out, the man working in the cafe was right. It was time for a change.

Rome, FAO and Sights

The first several days of the trip have been wonderful, and exhausting... wonderfully exhausting. After our lengthy plane ride over, during which I personally did not sleep, we were treated to a day of sightseeing and a guided tour. I felt like such a tourist, going to such requisite tourist havens such as the Colosseum and the Forum, guided by our new good friend and tourguide, Ned, a man who had the voice of a news anchor and fought fiercely with guards to earn us entry into reserved places.

To end the day, which for many of us had been around 26 hours straight, we all tucked into beds not quite so soft as Luther's, but I think I can say without exception, that not a single one of us cared that night.

Over the last couple of days, we have been privileged to see St. Peter's Cathedral, the Vatican Museum, the Pantheon, the Baths, Spanish Steps and Giolitti, the source of the most incredible gelato in the world, no joke.

Soon we leave for Assisi, and hopefully I will find some one else from this trip to elaborate on those days. Till then,
Karl