Perugia
Friday I went to Perugia with my friend, Melissa. Perugia is a town(the capital) in Umbria, north of Assisi. The city's symbol is a griffin, and it is displayed in many places around the city. One of the really cool things about Perugia is that there is a university there that attracts many foreigners. Yeah, doesn't sound so great, but there were so many young people walking around...all speaking different languages...it was nice to be surrounded by students (it was almost like being on a college campus again).
To get to the city center (which is on top of the mountain) you walk through the rocco paulino. It is underground, or almost, in the mountain. There are ancient ruins and it is a very cool way of getting into the city.
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| The underground tunnels that remind me of Hogwarts' dungeons. |
We got there during siesta, so many places were closed. We just looked at the view, and sat by the fountain on steps in front of the duomo. The fountain is famous for it's depiction of the bible stories near the bottom, and the statues of the prophets on the higher tier.
Once the churches began to open, we began our tour of the churches of Perugia. I'll just add the pictures and write about each one as I do. (I promise to have them up this week)
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| Gorgeous sunset over the mountains |
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| View from the city center. |
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| You can see Assisi in the background, the big section of white on the lower part of the mountain. |
Going home was quite the adventure. First, I have a Harry Potter reference, so please feel free to make fun of me, as so many of you love to do. To get back to the train that would take us to Rome, we went on this mini metro; no one drives it, and it is this little car. The picture doesn't show it too well, but it reminded me of what I would imagine going through Gringott's, the Wizard Bank.
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| Again, I forgot to flip it. But really, look at that tunnel! Can't you picture yourself traveling through Gringott's? |
Our train arrived to Termini 27 minutes late. The metros were no longer running because they were being worked on, but they have "metro buses" that run the metro route. We got on the one that should have taken us the right way, but apparently there are two different buses, with the same number, that say the same final destination on them, but I learned (the hard way) they are not the same. I wish I could blame this on the metro system, and I do try to, but I think we all know that I am directionally impaired. If I had one wish, well if I had ten wishes, one of them would be to know where I was going, because I think that I spend 27% of my time lost (and not just in Italy, I get lost in Beverly still and I have lived there for 21 years). We finally got on the right one, after having gone in the completely opposite direction, completely out of our way. It took us longer to get from Termini to JFRC than it did to get from Perugia to Rome. But we made it. And that is what matters. On one of the walls that enclose our campus, someone wrote a quote by JRR Tolkein, "All those who wander are not lost", well in this case (and in many cases involving me and directions), I was lost.
Random Facts
1. Life is cheaper in Perugia.
2. Perugia is known for their chocolates, and for good reason.
3. Sometimes life works in your favor. For example, when trying to speak with an Italian, and nothing is making sense, five minutes later they might ask you...in perfect English...if you speak English. When lost, this is the happiest phrase you will hear.
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