Cobblestoned streets, happy, quiet, friendly Italians. Churches everywhere. Adoration everywhere. Franciscans everywhere.
Olive trees and Pomegrantes. And perhaps the best part: three square Italian meals a day with sumptuous amount of bread soaked in fresh dark olive oil, endless pasta paired with endless wine. The best I have eaten all semester no doubt! It makes one appreciate St. Francis' austere fasting even more, with food like that available!
Garments of St. Clare and Francis
Enjoying the sunrise over Italy, in perfect peace and solitude, up near the Castle Rocca Maggiore above Assisi. Cannot be beat for a good way to start the day.
Look at that Perugian countryside. It looks like this nearly all the way from Rome. I drove in the van with just Fr. Ron and Jill and we took the back roads all the way, which afforded better views of castles on hills and such.
Flying Butresses!!!!!!!!!!! I love those!!! And its not even Gothic.
Hitchhiker maddonna
The original San Damiano Crucifix of St. Francis. Saw the original Port, too.
I wandered for a while in the olive groves on the hills around Assisi. I watched the farmers harvesting the olives for awhile, shaking the olives into these big burlap sheets, and stacking up crates full of them. I decided I want to grow olives when I grow up.
My favorite street in all Assisi. It was tough decided because every one looks picturesesque.
Basilica San Francesco
The whole town is full of little shops that are so much fun to look through. Cheeses and wines and hams, like this one, or olive-woodworkers, artists, potters, toy shops, hat shops, embroidery shops, cooking shops, little lead soldier and chess set shops. And way too many souvenier shops making lots of money paradoxically, off of Il Poverello. 
Assisi at sunset
The woods near the hermitage. I saw evidence of wildboar everywhere there, but never actually one, but I was hoping. If I were I wild pig I would want to live there too. However, as a person, St. Francis' monks had it kinda hard in the cold hard little caves there. 
Who needs St. Francis when you have Fr. Brad? Oh, Fr. Brad......
Cory helping Paul Hess out with his (AWESOME) new hat 
y favorite image of Santa Chiara in all Assisi
On the last night in Assisi, Liz and I went back up to the castle for one last look at Italy. The lights down below were gorgeous, the wind was blowing, it is was so beautiful and peac
Santa Maria Sopra Minerva. Even in Assisi, the same as in Rome: Take an old Roman temple, put a statue of Mary where once a statue of a god/ess, and voila: instant church at half the price and work!
Caitlin and Liz and I walked past this portrait in a window, then did a double take and rewind, and each of us looked at each other and said: Look, it is an Icon of prof. Asci when he is not happy with your mid-term results! 
I walked into S M Maggiore and a bunch of Assisian school kids were practicing Christmas Carols with the parish priest!
The rest of these were from the bus on the way home, just snapshots of the Alps, you know....
And the knee-deep sea of the Venetian lowlands
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