Little Piece of Heaven

Last weekend I witnessed a little piece of heaven. We were on our way to the town of Assisi on a really cloudy Saturday morning. The view from my seat on the bus was spectacular. Around every corner was another amazing view of the large hills/small mountains. We’ll call them hilountains. They were beautiful. After about an hour of driving, the clouds met the sun in such a way that rays of light filtered down onto the land below. At one point, I looked out and saw two very large hills on either side of a valley that was home to a heard of sheep. The hills were sprinkled with villas and the rays of light spread over the valley making it look so wonderfully peaceful. I wasn’t quick enough to capture it on my camera, but it is an image that will stay with me forever!

 

Other scenes I saw on the way were both ordinary and peculiar. There were many farmers out tending their fields, women working in their gardens, people outside their homes talking. Fields full of corn, some still green and some ready for harvest, fields of sunflowers, and also many vineyards. My eyes were overjoyed at the countryside. In one pasture were three men working on some machinery. In the next field sat three surprisingly white bathtubs, placed haphazardly near one corner. I made the assumption that the two were connected…which led to some pretty humorous visuals.

I was also intrigued by the drainage systems of roads and fields. The highway we were on had little runoff spouts into the ditch every 20 yards or so. In the pastures were deep ditches running the length of land every 100 yards. These ditches were sometimes curving all across the land or perfectly parallel with each other.

Assisi is a town that sits on the top of one very large hill. It is home to many churches and a castle that sits on the tippy top. I spent the day with one of my roommates whose name is also Anna. We sketched for a while in the Church of St. Francis, and then we found our way to a lovely little restaurant overlooking the earth below. It was an amazing view with the crisp wind blowing our hair all over the place. We treated ourselves to white wine and pasta followed by tiramisu. The whole time it threatened to rain and the waiter threatened to take us inside. Fortunately, the rain held off and we were able to enjoy the view. It was a very elegant and sophisticated dinner, leaving us both feeling like beautifully poised young women.