An IES Abroad Trip: Perugia & Assisi

This past weekend I went on a two-day field trip with some of my classmates from IES Abroad. Having been on some terrible group trips in my life, I was a bit anxious, but I ended up having an absolutely wonderful time.

We woke up early on Friday to head to Perugia. We had our own private bus which was very comfortable and honestly, it was fancy. It felt so nice not having to worry about public transportation.

When we got to our destination we went straight to the hotel to check in and drop our stuff off. I was very happy with the accommodations and it felt nice to be in an upscale hotel and not a cheap hostel for once. We had previously signed up for who we wanted our roommates to be, so I was still with my closest friends. After that we were treated with a guided tour. We learned a lot and got to see all the major sites hassle free.

After our tour we got to eat lunch on our own and have free time. I am so happy we were able to have time for ourselves. My friends and I were able to shop, see some more sights, and just relax. After a few hours, we got back on the bus with everybody and headed to a chocolate factory!

IES Abroad does a wonderful job of providing activities you normally wouldn’t do if you visited these cities on your own. Perugia is famous for their chocolate, so what better way to explore the city than see how chocolate is made?! This trip also included a complementary chocolate and cappuccino tasting, which was a wonderful experience.

After this, more free time! Then we headed to dinner together. Being vegetarian, the staff here always makes sure I am well-fed, even if the menu appears to feature only meats.

In the morning we ate breakfast at the hotel (surprisingly good) and got back on our fancy bus to drive to Assisi. Once there we got another guided tour, which took us to the two most popular churches in the city. Then, even more free time! I had a wonderful lunch with my friends and we were able to explore the city a bit on our own. After a few hours, we returned back to Siena.

Overall, I recommend going on a trip with IES Abroad. They are very well-planned and have a good balance of group activities and free time. All of the accommodations were amazing. I particularly liked having a weekend where I could go off and explore without worrying about planning where I was going to sleep and how I was going to get there.