This Is Your Life ( Are you who you want to be? )

Wow, the time sure is going by quickly!  I can't believe that it has been a week since I wrote you.  This place really is magical.  The days are packed and eventful and I am never ever disappointed.  Last weekend, I went with a group to Assisi, which was the home and is the resting place of St. Francis.  It was a much cooler day which was a blessing after all the hiking around we did! 

First we went to San Francesco, the giant basilica and monastery of St. Francis.  We got to see the many chapels inside the basilica.  As many of you may or may not know, medieval churches often included patrons' chapels that were offset from the main aisle and were sometimes even fenced off but ultimately still a part of the church as a whole.  Each of these little chapels had their own fresco work, just astounding artwork that I hope I will never forget!  We also saw the (supposed) tomb of St. Francis, however I highly doubt that he is actually there with all the tourists and constant traffic.  After about an hour or so exploring the church, we went outside and had the most fantastic gelato I've had yet! 

We spotted some sort of tower or fort that was well above the city and we became very curious.  It became our goal to get to this castle if we died trying.  And I'm not kidding.  We were determined!  It took one failed attempt, but we did end up getting there!  It turned out to be a fortress called Rocca Maggiore that has been there for over a thousand years.  It only cost about 3.5 euro to get in so we figured, why not?  We had gone through all the trouble and didn't want to miss out!  It seemed as if we were the only ones in there and I only remember ever seeing 4 other people the whole time we were exploring.  There were no tour guides or people sitting around guarding places that were blocked off...so we became children.  It was like we were all seven years old again.  If you can image your most favorite memory of being a child and playing pretend, this castle was the place we could only dream about.  It was full of dark spiral staircases, tiny windows, dark passages, and underground tunnels that lead to tall winding towers.  It was truly the most fun I have had yet in Italy!  I think we spent at least 3 hours in this place!  It made a great end to a great trip to Assisi.  So like tuckered out children, all 8 of us fell asleep minutes after our train took off for Florence.  It was a great day :)

This week, our other classes started finally.  So now not only do I have Italian, but I have two art history courses (one of which is entirely on site!!) and a figure drawing course based on the Masters' techniques.  That drawing class is probably going to be my favorite class.  Although I'm not learning anything new yet, it will be great practice for me and more than relaxing. 

As for God :)  Well, He has been everything lately.  Whenever is He not?  I guess I'm just noticing it more.  Today, I went up to my spot again and read all of the Beatitudes and listened to the bells ringing from the Duomo.  There is something about this place.  It's like my senses come alive.  Sometimes I have sensory overload!  It seems like God is waking me up from a fog.  My eyes and ears and nose are being unveiled.  It's really cool what He is doing with me!  And I really don't even know what He's doing!  All I know is that I'm listening.  Well, that's all for now family and friends :)  I'm off to Venice for the weekend - don't worry, you'll hear all about it!  Love you and miss you all