Christmas in Assisi

Activity note: Hotel check in from 3:00 pm. Walking up to 3 miles, uneven terrain, stone pavement, steps.

Lunch: This meal has been excluded from the program cost. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions and give directions. You can also consult your list of suggested restaurants in your program materials.

Afternoon: Check in and settle in. At 4:00 p.m. we gather in the meeting room for an Orientation session. The Group Leader will greet everyone and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer questions. We will review COVID-19 protocols and will adhere to local COVID-19 guidelines and requirements throughout the program. Breakfasts will be buffets. Other included meals will be plated and served from a set menu unless indicated otherwise; water is included, other beverages will be available for purchase. Evenings at leisure offer opportunities to make the program more meaningful and memorable through personal independent exploration, attending performances or other events, or simply relaxing and making new friends among fellow participants. The Group Leader will always be happy to offer suggestions. Periods in the schedule designated as "Free time" and "At leisure" offer opportunities to do what you like and make your experience even more meaningful and memorable according to your personal preferences. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Program activities, schedules, personnel, and indicated distances or times may change due to local circumstances/conditions. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding. Next, we will join our Group Leader in a welcome cocktail (or fruit juice).

Dinner: At the hotel restaurant.

Evening: At leisure. Be sure to prepare for check-out and transfer in the morning.

Activity note: Getting on/off motorcoach. Driving 2 hours, riding 110 miles. Walking up to 3 miles, uneven terrain, inclines, steps.

Breakfast: At the hotel.

Morning: Bags will be picked up early morning outside rooms for secure storage in the hotel luggage room until it is loaded on our motorcoach in the afternoon. We gather in the hotel meeting room to meet a local historian who will present on the Etruscans who were early settlers of both Florence and Assisi.

Lunch: At a local restaurant.

Afternoon: We return to the hotel and board a motorcoach and head for Assisi Santa Maria degli Angeli, the neighborhood at the foot of Assisi where our hotel is located. After checking in and settling in to our rooms, we'll meet in the lobby and set out on foot to explore with our Group Leader the neighborhood: a modern residential and commercial center of town that lies in the plain just below the medieval center of Assisi. We see the richly decorated 16th-century basilica that was built around a small 13th-century church where Francis of Assisi founded the order of friars. The Group Leader will point out ATMs, grocery stores, and pharmacies before circling back to the hotel. In the meeting room the Group Leader will give a more detailed Orientation, reviewing the most up-to-date program schedule, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer questions.

Dinner: At the hotel restaurant.

Evening: At leisure.

Activity note: Getting on/off motorcoach and van. Driving 36 miles, one hour riding time. Getting on/off escalator. Walking up to 3 miles, uneven terrain, cobblestones, inclines, steps. Extended standing during museum visits.

Breakfast: At the hotel.

Morning: We'll board a motorcoach to Perugia where, with our local expert, we will begin exploring Perugia. In the Collegio del Cambio we will see the 15th-century frescoes by Perugino. The building served as the money changer's guild hall.

Lunch: On your own to enjoy what you like in Perugia.

Afternoon: Our expert-led field trip continues in Perugia to the National Museum of Archaeology where we will see Etruscan and Roman artifacts found in the area. Once done, we will board our motorcoach and head back to Assisi. After a short break we will board taxis or vans to ride to Assisi city center for dinner.

Dinner: At a local restaurant.

Evening: At leisure.

Activity note: Getting on/off van. Driving 8 miles, riding 30 minutes. Walking up to 3 miles, inclines, uneven stone pavers and cobblestones, steps.

Breakfast: At the hotel.

Morning: In the hotel meeting room our local expert will present a preparatory lecture illustrating Giotto's frescoes in the Basilica of St. Francis and a discussion on the ongoing restoration of damages incurred in the 1997 earthquake. After a short break we will gather in the lobby and board a van that will take us up the hill to the heart of Assisi. We will meet our docent who will lead the visit to the Gothic style Basilica of St. Francis. We will see items belonging to the historic figure as well as his final resting place. The upper and lower churches are decorated by prominent artists of past centuries such as Cimabue, Simone Martini, Pietro Lorenzetti, and Giotto whose frescoes depicting the life of St. Francis are some of the most renowned works of art in Italy.

Lunch: At a restaurant in the heart of Assisi.

Afternoon: Free time. Take this opportunity for personal independent exploration to see and do what interests you most. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions.

Dinner: At a local restaurant.

Evening: At leisure.

Activity note: Getting on/off motorcoach and van. Driving 15 miles, riding time approximately 40 minutes. Walking up to 2 miles, stone pavement, inclines, steps.

Breakfast: At the hotel.

Morning: Buon Natale! We will have free time this morning for those who wish to attend a Christmas service at a local church. Before noon, we will meet in the lobby to board vans and head to the centro storico of Assisi.

Lunch: At a local restaurant.

Afternoon: We'll taxi back to the hotel. Then we will gather in the meeting room to learn about the local holiday traditions of Umbria. After a short break we will set out by taxis to a small village that enacts a living nativity scene. After our field trip, we will board a taxi back to the hotel.

Dinner: At the hotel restaurant.

Evening: At leisure.

Activity note: Getting on/off motorcoach. Driving about 30 miles, 1 hour riding time. Walking up to 2 miles, uneven stone and cobblestones, inclines, steps.

Breakfast: At the hotel.

Morning: We will board a motorcoach to Deruta to visit a ceramics studio and Museo del Vino where we will enjoy a wine tasting.

Lunch: At a local restaurant.

Afternoon: With our local expert, we will set out by taxi to explore Roman Assisi. In the Piazza del Comune, a Roman temple to Minerva was transformed into a church in later centuries. The modern square was built over the ancient site of the forum or marketplace. Today the perfectly preserved façade dating back to the 1st century BCE is one of the most important examples of Roman sacred architecture. We will visit the ruins of a Roman villa and in a residential courtyard the group leader will point out the outline of what was a Roman arena. Over the centuries the Roman structure fell into ruin and re-purposing the giant stones of the ancient arena, houses were constructed. We will have some free time in the heart of Assisi before dinner.

Dinner: In the hotel restaurant.

Evening: At leisure. Be sure to prepare for check-out and transfer in the morning.

Activity note: Getting on/off motorcoach. 110 miles, 2 hour ride. Walking up to 4 miles, uneven stone pavement, steps.

Breakfast: At the hotel.

Morning: Early morning, we will leave our bags outside our room to load onto our motorcoach heading to Florence.

Lunch: At the hotel restaurant.

Afternoon: We will set out on an expert-led walk in the heart of Florence. Sites included in the historic walk are Santa Maria del Fiore (the Duomo), Piazza della Signoria, and Ponte Vecchio. We will check in to our rooms and have some time to freshen up and relax.

Dinner: At a local restaurant. Recap your adventures and share your favorite memories.

Evening: At leisure. Be sure to prepare for check-out and departures in the morning.

Activity note: Hotel check out by 11:00 a.m.

Breakfast: At the hotel depending on departure time. This concludes the program.

Morning: If you are returning home, safe travels. If you are staying on independently, have a wonderful time. If you are transferring to another Road Scholar program, detailed instructions are included in your Information Packet for that program. We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on rewarding programs in the future. Please join our Facebook page and share photos of your program. Visit us at www.facebook.com/rsadventures. Best wishes for all your journeys!