About 2

About Journeys To Assisi

Paul Kimmerling began Journeys To Assisi as a way to invite others into an ongoing dialogue about the questions he heard on his own pilgrimages to Assisi, beginning in 2008. These questions seemed to call to him from the lives of Sts. Francis and Clare, who lived there 800 years ago. They are questions that resonate across time and circumstance.

Believing that we are each called to be fully who we are in our own lives, times and contexts, how might we learn from Francis and Clare? How can their life lessons help us live more fully into the richness of our own existence?

Join us to ponder these deeper questions.

About Paul Kimmerling

Paul Kimmerling is a workshop/retreat leader and a spiritual director (certificate 2011, Haden Institute). He offers individual and group guidance using a blend of wisdom and practices from several traditions - Christian, 12-Step and Eastern. Though affiliated with the Episcopal Church, he works with those from various faith traditions, and those with none. Paul pursues photography as a contemplative practice, and offers his workshop, “Loving the World: Photography as a Spiritual Practice” at retreat houses and other venues.

Paul combines his 3 loves - Italy, spiritual questing & Franciscanism - in a yearly immersion retreat for small groups in Assisi, Italy. His program, “Live the Questions: A Journey with Francis and Clare”, pairs daily talks with visits to sacred sites, and offers thematic questions for reflection.

As an organizational development consultant, Paul offers customized programs and coaching in team development, performance management, and leadership. A strong advocate of self-awareness as a keystone for leadership, Paul authored, “Mindfulness: A Building Block of Emotional Intelligence” published online in the AMA Playbook.
http://playbook.amanet.org/mindfulness-building-block-emotional-intelligence/

He is Board President of the Companions of Mary the Apostle (CMA), “…an emerging community rooted in
the Episcopal Church, spilling beyond its borders”.
http://companionsofmarytheapostle.org/

Visit Paul’s website at http://www.paulkimmerling.com/

Travel Notes

Dining Notes

Books

If you like to read up on the lives of Francis and Clare, I offer the following suggestions.
Web links are provided for informational purposes. Links do not represent an endorsement of Amazon, nor an inducement to utilize their services.

The Road to Assisi: The Essential Biography of St. Francis
by Paul Sabatier, translation and notes by Jon Sweeney

http://www.amazon.com/Road-Assisi-Essential-Biography-Francis-ebook/dp/B002BDU8ZQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1388953617&sr=8-2&keywords=sabatier+francis

St. Francis
by Nikos Kazantzakis

http://www.amazon.com/Saint-Francis-Nikos-Kazantzakis/dp/0829421297/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1388953959&sr=1-1&keywords=st+francis+kazantzakis

Clare of Assisi: Her Spirituality Revealed in Her Letters
by Claire Marie LeDoux, translated by Colette Joly Dees

http://www.amazon.com/Clare-Assisi-Spirituality-Revealed-Letters/dp/0867163682/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412094597&sr=8-1&keywords=clare+spirituality+letters

St. Clare, A Short Biography
by Joan Mueller O.S.C. and Joan Mue O.S.C.

http://www.amazon.com/St-Clare-A-Short-Biography/dp/1616365994/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396626752&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=st+clare+a+short+biograph

This program is ideal for those who enjoy the freedom to make their own travel arrangements. Often, travelers add time to the front or back of this pilgrimage – for example, in Rome, or Florence.

I can consult on various options regarding travel, including flights, connections between cities in Italy and other logistics in Italy. I have made this trip many times, and am happy to offer my personal experience.

Air Travel/Flights and Rates:
http://www.kayak.com/

To/from Fiumicino Airport and Rome:

If your arrival or departure airport is Rome Fiumicino, there are several options for getting to/from this airport and Rome proper.

1. A shuttle van
http://www.airportshuttle.it/

2. Leonardo Express – to/from the airport at Fiumicino and Rome Termini (main train station). This train usually is found at tracks 24-27 at Rome Termini.
http://www.raileurope.com/european-trains/leonardo-express/index.html

By Rail, within Italy:

If you are traveling by train between Rome and Assisi:
http://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en
Please note that the train from Rome Termini station to Assisi may leave from track "1Est", which requires a long walk past platform #1.

N.B. Train tickets must be validated before boarding the train. To validate your ticket, insert your ticket into a ticket stamping machine (which looks like a metal box). These are found attached to walls, and or/columns, on the train platforms.

To/from guest house and the Assisi train station:

You may take a cab directly to the guest house, Casa del Terziario, Piazza Vescovado, 5.

You may also take a bus, line C (“Linea C”), which runs every 30 minutes from the train station. The bus stop is at the front of the Assisi railway station. Buy a ticket at the station newsagent for 1.30EU. It is about 10 minutes to the top, where there are two main stops - first at the Piazza Unita d´Italia (near Basilica of St Francis) and then the terminus, Piazza Matteotti. I suggest that you exit at the first stop, otherwise known as the John Paul II Parking area, and follow the map, below:

http://bit.ly/1tfbob0
(map from bus stop to Casa del Terziario, our guesthouse)

N.B. Bus tickets must be validated while on the bus. To validate your ticket, insert your ticket into a ticket stamping machine found attached to a vertical metal post, usually a few feet behind the driver.

Online Resources About the Region

Key to Umbria
http://www.keytoumbria.com/Umbria/Home.html

Assisi History, from 1000 B.C.
http://www.world-guides.com/europe/italy/umbria/assisi/assisi_history.html

Assisi Online: Tourist Guide to Assisi
http://www.assisionline.com/

Sacred Destinations: Online Overview of Assisi
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/italy/assisi

Weather In Assisi:
http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/Assisi+Italy+ITXX0349

About Journeys To Assisi

About Paul Kimmerling

Travel Notes

​Dining Notes

Books

Dining Notes