Sorrento/Orvieto

Piano di Sorrento

Day 5 (27th September) saw the 27 italian and art students travel from Roma to Sorrento via Pompeii. After a half day tour of Pompeii we arrived in Sorrento to the wonderful view of the beach, right across the road from our hotel. To the surprise of most of us the beaches were black sand and stone. Once we had checked into the hotel (with a proper shower and fairly good views) we were able to go to the beach. The walk down to the beach was quite long and steep but the walk was well worth it. After the few tentative steps in the water we all went for a refreshing swim after the heat and intensity of Roma. That night we had dinner at the hotel overlooking the water and after dinner we were able to go to bed or visit the town. Those of us who went to the town found a fare with some rides and food stalls. After enjoying a gelato from the local gelateria we walked back to the hotel to prepare for an early start the next day.

On day 6 we travelled to Capri (see seperate post) before returning to our hotel. The next day we had a sleep in and were given two options - to visit the local market or go for our last swim in the Mediterranean. We then traveled by bus to the small, country town of Orvieto. At the farm we were allowed some time to relax before we started our first cooking lesson. The lesson was about how to make pasta and we all had a go making our pasta - with a lot of mess and help from the Nonne. We then learned how to cut the pasta into different types and then the process of cooking the pasta. We then enjoyed our meal and a wonderful view as the sunset over the farm. The next day (day 8) we were able to have another sleep in before going to the town of Orvieto. Once we arrived we all made our way to the Duomo at the top of the town (quite a long walk). After some lunch and a look around the art students were able to use the public gardens and main street as inspiration for their drawing, while the Italian students embarked on their own 'amazing race' through the town. This included finding names of places, local dishes, the location of a certain boar and ordering different food. We then returned to our farm stay for our second cooking lesson. The nonne taught us how to cook an apple cake dessert. This involved making a large batter and laying sliced apples into the mix. We then enjoyed our last dinner at Orvieto before our trip to Purugia (baci factory!)and Florance the next day.

David, Martti, Richard.