Assisi, Italy
Austin - A Breath of Fresh Air
Assisi was very much a breath of fresh air, both metaphorically and literally. Up in the windy mountains of Italy, Assisi felt significantly different from my previous destinations. There was another level of quiet present within the town. There was no rushing traffic, no tourist traps, and no constant noise to distract me from the area I was present in. These feelings allowed me to fully experience locations where Saint Francis preached, Saint Clare gave her life to God, and where Blessed Carlo Acutis lays at rest. Speaking of Blessed Carlo, seeing his body gave me a whole new perspective on sainthood. In his display, he can be seen wearing jeans, a hoodie, and some Nike shoes. It spoke to me in a way I wasn't expecting, and made me realize that sainthood is something I can strive for. In inspiring me to always look to do better, I truly appreciated the environment, places, and people of Assisi.
Food Review - Kayleigh
The food in each of the countries changed the way that I perceive food now. Now I can't look at a Costco pizza without feeling sad that I'm no longer in Italy. In Italy, I enjoyed the food a lot.
We had gone to a place named Trattoria, and although I wouldn't say it was the best, the thing that stuck out to me was the fact that I could eat the spaghetti there. I feel as though one of the biggest obstacles that I had to overcome everyday in Europe was my allergies. And with the language barrier, it grew incredibly difficult to find foods that I could actually enjoy without the fear of an allergic reaction. This noodle had been made with wheat, so even though it wasn't "true" and "authentic" spaghetti, I was so happy that I was able to live that experience. The flavors from the meal were a perfect blend of savory vinaigrette sauce and seasoned mushrooms. The mushrooms added a complex and diverse new taste for me and gave me a new standard for how I want my vegetables. The cappuccino that I got there was not only really good but a life-saver for the day. Its sweetness and rich flavor gave a new definition of coffee and there was balance of bitter and sweet that is unmatched by the Starbucks back home. I loved this place a lot and would definitely come back if I ever returned to Assisi.
A Break from the Noise Katherine
While Rome was beautiful, Assisi was a needed break from the big, noisy cities that I grew used to on this trip. Walking through the town of Assisi made me feel like I was in a completely different time period, with its winding narrow streets and old, crumbling buildings. During the day visit to Assisi, I saw several churches, usually dedicated to St. Francis or St. Clair. I thought it was incredible to see the same crucifix that St. Francis was inspired by in person, as well as the remains of St. Clair and Blessed Carlo Acutis, both of whom had inspiring stories that compel me to want to make a difference in the world like they did.
Another aspect I loved about Assisi was the food. Generally, all the Italian food I ate on this trip was delicious, but the carbonara I had in Assisi stood out as one of my favorite meals of the entire trip. Being in Assisi felt like a much needed deep breath of fresh air, where I could relax, slow down, and enjoy the sights around me
My first flight to Europe wasn’t the best, nor was it the very worst, however still bad. Boarding wasn’t the worst however, and I’d like to believe that waiting in the airport was better than the actual flight itself. The first flight to Europe was a long 10 hours, and I definitely felt it. I believe the most amount of sleep I had at once was about 2 hours. And within those 10 hours, 5 was dedicated to watching movies, and playing games. It felt gruesome to occasionally pause my movies to take a brief rest so I didn’t throw up. The small positives of that flight were the meals that came with it. Honestly in my experience, airplane food hasn’t really been on the list of my worries ever, as I haven’t had any bad meals on flights.
After my time in France, it was time to fly to Spain, where I had a small enjoyable flight that I could sleep through happily, only waking up twice. Now for the 2nd to last flight, we had to fly from Rome to Amsterdam, then back to California. This flight from Rome to Amsterdam was probably the worst flight that I have ever been on. Starting off the flight, it wasn’t the worst, but that’s only the first 10-20 minutes. The rest of this flight was horrid, where the feeling of nearly throwing up never left my body for the entire time. The turbulence was intense, a baby was crying for a lot of the flight, and I couldn’t get a lick of sleep throughout that flight. The only upside of that flight was having absolutely no one next to me. Being in the window seat, there was no one in the middle and first seat, so I at least had leg room. But the negatives severely outweighed the positive, which is what made it the absolute worst flight I’ve been on.
Finally for the last flight on my list, was my flight from Amsterdam back to California. Again, my time in the airport was much more fun than my flight honestly, where I had a great breakfast, got starbucks with friends, looked at stores, and had a great time without feeling sick. This flight back home was also one of those bad flights that made me not want to fly again. Starting it off, after a good 30 minutes I started to feel a little sick, so I decided to watch some shows, then decided on a movie. After watching Fast and Furious, I picked to watch Lego Batman next. Throughout these movies, my feeling of sickness never wore off, only getting worse with every minute I spent not asleep. The feeling of nausea just never wore off on this 10-hour flight, only slightly losing effect once I fell asleep. Even with that, I’d fall asleep on and off in about 20-30 minute periods where It’d take me just as long to fall back asleep. And again, the food was great, actually, all of it was, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. But once the food and water were gone, it only got worse from then on. Finally when the plane made its descent to finally land, I felt a relief inside of me as my feeling of sickness had worn away. It was finally over and I felt great. It’s good to be back home.
