Tourgiano and Assisi

5/15/09

I went to bed early last night because I wanted to be well rested for today- and I'm glad I was! I woke up early and went down into town to get a cappuchino (the best I've ever had) before leaving. I also got a delicious pastry that was shaped like a braid with raisins in it. Then we headed out on the bus to Tourgiano, which is like an hour away. This is in the region of Perugia. Once there we went to a wine museum that was constructed to honor and remember the ancient methods of wine making, since chemistry and science is now taking over. Our guide was great and the information was very interesting. We saw lots of old pottery and actual wine presses which were huge! I thought one of the most interesting things was learning about the relationship between the fermentation wine and the resurrection of Jesus. Basically, the fermentation of grapes mirrors Jesus' transformation since grape juice turns to wine, a completely different substance. This process occurs underground, similar to a tomb, and the grapes emerge again as the transformed wine. After the wine museum we went to an olive oil museum, but without a guide. We had time for a true Italian espresso before getting on the bus and enjoyed that sitting outside of the clock tower.

After that we headed to Assisi. The first thing we did was follow Chris (if I haven't introduced him before, he is the UGA liason who lives in Cortona and has for 8 years. so, an American who knows everything here and is the one to follow if you want the "real deal") to a lunch place. By far, the best meal I've had yet. It was a very small family owned restaurant out of the tourist areas. We had carpaccio with rocket, parmesan and lemon and it was great. Then for my main meal I had risotto al raddichio. The risotto was perfectly al dente cooked and the bitter raddichio paired perfectly with the buttery, creamy risotto. We tried a white wine that was made in the traditional greek way and it was pretty good. Very different than I've ever had- very little fruit, super mild and light almost in a watery way, and lots of honey character. It was very drinkable and I could see how the ancient farmers of Greece would enjoy a wine like this.

After lunch we headed out to see the sights. We saw two churches and the fort first. Both were pretty amazing. The fort was at the top of the mountain and so the view was incredible and it had a great cool mountain breeze. We met a really nice, older German couple and talked to them for a bit and then headed down to the Basilica di St. Francisco, where we were meeting as a class so Chris could give us some information on it. He gave us some of the background story on St. Francis and then we headed in. This was a great treat and seriously one of the most beautiful churches I have ever seen. The detail and grandeur is unmatched... even down to the reconstructed frescos that were damaged during an earthquake. It meant so much to be in this church that is one of the largest pilgrimage points for Catholics and I can't describe how honored it feels to have had this opportunity. Getting to see his cloak and even then his tomb was surreal and I would recommend this to anyone, despite whether they were Catholic, Christian, or any religion.

We went shopping on the way back to bus after the Basilica and found some cute little shops. I was able to pick up some pretty cool souvenirs for people so that was exciting. Once we got back on the bus I enjoyed listening to some music and taking some personal time. I actually ended up studying a bunch on all the bus rides since our test is tomorrow. It was about an hour and a half ride back and we got there just in time for dinner. We left dinner a little early to go study up at the dorms and I ended up going to bed fairly early so I could wake up early and study more. Not the craziest Fri night, but at least the information we're learning is really cool!