"Chillin' on a dirt road." Lost in Assissi

Ciao everyone,


     These last two days have been quite an adventure.  When Kelly got up yesterday, she said, "You know what song has been stuck in my head?  Dirt Road Anthem.  Keep this in mind as you read this blog entry.  I should have known it was an omen.  Yesterday, we got on a bus to Perugia and Assissi.  We were going to a Montessori Program, Casa Di Bambini (Children's House) and we got lost.  We almost took out every car on the street.  If you could imagine a one lane road with cars parked all on the side and a large bus..well, on second thought...don't picture it.  We were lost for about 20 minutes before arriving at the school..and this was only the beginning.  We clapped when we finally arrived...and observed at the Montessori School.  It was an awesome experience.  The way they teach the children is truly amazing.  I got some great ideas of things I want to incorporate into my classroom one day.
      After leaving the Montessori School, we went to Assissi.  We were told it was a long, long walk and everything was uphill.  This was the understatement of the century.  Luckily, Meredith girls always come prepared with t-shirts.  We dressed comfortably for the journey.  We visited the most beautiful cathedrals that gave you chill bumps as soon as you walked in the door.  It's amazing how detailed everything here is.  I was so thankful for the experience.  I was able to see St. Francis's tomb and churches I've only seen in pictures.  Seeing it with your own two eyes is totally worth the visit to Italy.
      After the cathedral visits, we had time to shop.  Kelly and I ventured out into Assissi and were having so much fun looking around.  I should have known with Kelly and I together, an adventure was just around the corner...literally.  We were walking along and we thought we would take a shortcut to street with a man hand drawing pictures.  We wanted one for the townhouse...but ended up lost in Assissi.  We walked and walked and finally had to take a little rest.  We were sitting on private property (someone's house was right behind us) and we were in the road.  We had found PEPSI'S (the best part of the visit) so we were enjoying sitting down and drinking the Pepsi.  We began walking again..and saw an elevator.  Well, we were very high up on the mountain, and we figured there had to be more than one way down...so we assumed the elevator would get us back.  WRONG!  The locals asked us which floor and we said, 0.  Well, we got off the elevator and we were in a parking deck.  We fell to the floor laughing and all of a sudden...the lights went off.  We scedattled out of there.  We saw a sign that said, "Thank you for visiting Assissi," so we figured we were heading out of the city...on PAT AND CHARLIE.  We began hiking again...and ended up at a dirt road.  Kelly had been thinking of the song, "Dirt Road Anthem" and now we were at a dirt road.  We hiked up yet another hill and finally managed to find our way back.  We were SO thankful to see the bottom...although, it will be a story to tell the rest of our lives.  Our group found it hilarious and entertaining...but they weren't surprised.  On the way home, our bus went over a speed bump and went air born. It was such an adventurous day.
     Today, we went to another school.  We actually got to see children today and it was so much fun.  They were precious and the school was very neat.  After we left the school, we had lunch and class.  We had the opportunity to talk with an older man who moved to Italy from Australia.  It was another good experience.  After that, Kelly, Kayla, and I decided to be adventurous and get on a bus to Arezzo, a nearby town.  We got on the bus and surprisingly made it to Arezzo (which was a big deal for us.)  What an accomplishment.  Kelly informed me there was a McDonald's and we made it a mission to get there.  We stopped at some shops along the way and I got a cute pair of black flats.  I can't wait to wear them!  We started walking to McDonald's...but of course, we got lost.  Little did we know, it was only the beginning.  We walked for SEVEN miles (at least) to get our food.  Kelly asked everyone, "McDonald's" and they looked at us like we were crazy.  We laughed so hard..but finally, we found some nice Italian girls to guide us in the right direction. Kelly said, "You know, we mix Italian, Spanish, English, and French to talk to these folks."  We really do.
     We finally arrived at McDonald's and I think my eyes filled up with tears.  I've never been so happy to see American food.    We ate our food and let me mention we all had 8 nuggets and a cheeseburger.  We ate like men and we were so proud.  We surprisingly got back easily to the center of town.  We shopped around and got back on the bus without a problem.  The trip was successful...shoes and MCDONALD'S!  My two favorite things...shoes and food!  It was a nice trip with my two wonderful friends.  Tomorrow, (or I should say today since I have to be up at 5 am and that is in a few hours) we are going to FLORENCE.  I'm very excited.  We are taking a bus and train.  I am excited about seeing the city and shopping of course.  I'm sure we aren't getting any sleep tonight because theres a group of old people sitting at the bar singing to the top of their lungs right now.  I've yelled "Silencio" out the window and they only get louder.  Fools.  Anyways, goodnight America!  

Yep, told ya'll we were lost.  North Carolina meets Assissi.  One thing is for certain, Kelly and I never have a dull moment, ever.

<3 Brittany