Mountain Majesty and Sweet Serendipity

This weekend was Assisi and Sienna.  Two fabulously desirous cities complete with churches, duomos and hills. Both had fantastic views of the mountain surrounding them and it was there that I discovered something new.  Mountains are awesome.  They are beautiful and I can't get enough of them.  I feared to sleep on the bus rides for fear of missing something fantastic.  I want to have a view of the mountains all of my life.

Also, I miss water.  On the way to Assisi we passed a lake that Saint Francis used to go to pray.  That, too, was beautiful.  I feel as if I'm going to over use the word, but I don't know how else to describe it.  The sun was setting perfectly over the lake on our return trip, lighting the sky a fabulous, vibrant red and mixing perfectly with the dark blues of the shadows.  Again, I must say, I miss water.

Assisi was tranquil, quiet, cute, and bright.  The day was perfect and not even being enclosed in a cold church for two hours could dampen the mood.  The churches there were devoted to Saint Francis and Saint Claire, both originally from the town.  Google-ing their life stories would be more fun than me telling you, so you can do that.  Also, I saw a friend from high school in the church of Saint Francis, who also happens to be studying in Florence this semester.  It was extremely lucky and coincidental.  The main thing to take away: Assisi = quaint, hilly and perfect.

Sienna was a day trip also, this time just Amy, Krystal, Steph, and I.  With this journey we will be caught up with the other students.  The cathedral is nuts, by the way.  I wouldn't be able to have a mass there; too many distractions.  And I am convinced that if you look at it too long it will all blur together into an amalgam of colors and shapes that may end up blinding you.  But it's still a site to see, especially the library.

This is one picture from inside the church.  And I may have gone a little picture crazy, since I took about 300 pictures today... but there was a lot to see.

Another time I went a smidgen overboard was when we finally got up this bridge/tower/thing in the museum.  It gave us a panoramic view of the city and it's mountains.

Pretty.  Overall, not a bad weekend.  And now to papers.