The night before Thanksgiving the CUA students got a special treat. President and Mrs. Garvey were in Rome for a conference, so they came and took us out to dinner. It was nice to have some familiar faces from home right as Thanksgiving was coming and the food was amazing! We had a large four course meal filled with great dinner conversation. It was a perfect prep for our four day weekend in the Bay of Naples.
While the rest of Americans were off with family eating turkey, mashed potatoes, corn, stuffing, green bean casserole, and pie the 50 American students from CUA and Loyola here in Rome were having a typical Italian country lunch. Being away from home was a pretty difficult thing and the program definitely realized that you they planned us our own Thanksgiving full of mozzarella, fried veggies, bread, meats, gnocchi, sausage, potatoes, tiramisu, and more! We headed out early Thursday morning to a buffalo mozzarella farm in the Campania region of Italy. This area, and especially this farm, specializes in making mozzarella. We drove for about an two hours to the farm and when we got off the bus we took a tour of the mozzarella making facilities. They were packaging mozzarella made that morning--as fresh as you can get! We leaned about how they make the mozzarella, how its packages, and got a taste test. It was different than any mozzarella that I have ever tasted. After our taste test we got to see the animal, in particular the buffalo that live in the farm. We got to feed and pet the buffalo who make the mozzarella, play with the calves, and see the ducks, peacocks, and chickens. If I didn't know I was in Italy it seemed like a pretty normal farm. Once we were finished with the animals we went into lunch. When I tell you that I have never had so much food on Thanksgiving I am not kidding. We had a five course meal. The food we amazing, but it was so much! When they brought out our bowl of fruit we were so excited to have a light dessert, when we were told that was only a palate cleanser we had a portion of tiramisu coming. Needless to say we were all stuffed!
Once we finished lunch we had a little more time to walk around the farm, then we were off to Sorrento, our home base for the weekend. The ride was about an hour and a half through windy roads on the side of a cliff in the dark, but we arrived to the nicest hotel we have stayed at since coming to Italy. We all had sea side views and large rooms, it was great! After checking into our rooms we had a little down time and then dinner. The last thing any of us wanted was more food. It was literally like having two full Thanksgiving meals, Italian style. For dinner we had four courses and I could barely finish any of it. After our huge dinner meal we went out into the center of Sorrento to explore and go to a bar. We found a nice Irish pub (yes, there are Irish pubs all over Italy) that was playing the Thanksgiving football games. It was amazing to be able to watch the games, but it made me miss watching the game with my family back home. When the game was over we headed back to the hotel for a good night sleep before a full day touring Pompeii.
We woke up early on Friday to the most incredible view from the hotel balcony. Sorrento is a beautiful Italian city and waking up to the sun rising over the mountains and the water glistening was incredible! We had breakfast in the hotel and then got on the bus for Naples. We went to the archaeological museum in Naples, which has some pretty cool displays of ancient artwork and household items. After our time in the museum we were off to Pompeii. In my mind I have always imagined Pompeii as a city cover in black molten lava and being able to see directly into house with ovens filled with baking bread and people sitting at their tables like any normal day--just encapsulated. When we went there it was hard to believe that the city was once destroyed by a volcano. We walked through the city saw the old homes, fast food restaurants, theaters, and bath houses. It was a really interesting tour filled with lots of neat information and history! After spending the day in Pompeii we got back on the bus to get to our hotel for dinner. We enjoyed a nice dinner over looking the water and then went back to the Sorrento town center. Here we enjoyed the Christmas tree, lights, and festivities. It definitely got me in the Christmas mood! After we hung out in the city center we went back to the Irish Pub for some Limoncello. It was a really fun time with some great friends!
The next day at breakfast Dr. Dawson was so gracious to give us the day free to do whatever we wanted! So, Danielle, Rylee, Christine, Maddie, and I went to Capri for the afternoon! We took a ferry ride over to the island and were greeted with the most beautiful blue water. It was amazing! We climbed up the hill of the island to the center of the city. The view was amazing! We walked through all of the shops and then down to the small marina on the other side of the island. We walked down and went to the beach. The water was crystal clear and the view was incredible! We put our feet in the water and soaked up the sun! Capri was amazing, beautiful, fantastic and one of the best places I have been! We took a ferry back to Sorrento and had some delicious pizza! The Bay of Naples is know for their pizza, so this was so good! That night we went to a dinner theater. Rylee and I sat together next to the only other American couple there. We talked about our time in Italy and had a great conversation. After our meal we went downstairs to watch the show. It was hilarious. There was one man who was a total ham! It was great! Afterwards we walked around town and headed back up to the hotel for the final night in Sorrento.
Sunday morning we woke up and said goodbye to Sorrento and said hello to Naples. Quickly we all wanted to say goodbye to Naples. We arrived and there were beer bottles, trash, cigarette butts, and a lot of other junk all over the city! It was a mass. Immediately everyone was pretty uncomfortable and on top of that there were so many people. The crowds were terrible! We went down to the Christmas market and it took us 40 minutes to walk through. It was horrible! We had a quick lunch and were back to Rome. All in all I loved the Bay of Naples and had a great Thanksgiving Weekend!!
The night before Thanksgiving the CUA students got a special treat. President and Mrs. Garvey were in Rome for a conference, so they came and took us out to dinner. It was nice to have some familiar faces from home right as Thanksgiving was coming and the food was amazing! We had a large four course meal filled with great dinner conversation. It was a perfect prep for our four day weekend in the Bay of Naples. 
While the rest of Americans were off with family eating turkey, mashed potatoes, corn, stuffing, green bean casserole, and pie the 50 American students from CUA and Loyola here in Rome were having a typical Italian country lunch. Being away from home was a pretty difficult thing and the program definitely realized that you they planned us our own Thanksgiving full of mozzarella, fried veggies, bread, meats, gnocchi, sausage, potatoes, tiramisu, and more! We headed out early Thursday morning to a buffalo mozzarella farm in the Campania region of Italy. This area, and especially this farm, specializes in making mozzarella. We drove for about an two hours to the farm and when we got off the bus we took a tour of the mozzarella making facilities. They were packaging mozzarella made that morning--as fresh as you can get! We leaned about how they make the mozzarella, how its packages, and got a taste test. It was different than any mozzarella that I have ever tasted. After our taste test we got to see the animal, in particular the buffalo that live in the farm. We got to feed and pet the buffalo who make the mozzarella, play with the calves, and see the ducks, peacocks, and chickens. If I didn't know I was in Italy it seemed like a pretty normal farm. Once we were finished with the animals we went into lunch. When I tell you that I have never had so much food on Thanksgiving I am not kidding. We had a five course meal. The food we amazing, but it was so much! When they brought out our bowl of fruit we were so excited to have a light dessert, when we were told that was only a palate cleanser we had a portion of tiramisu coming. Needless to say we were all stuffed! 
Once we finished lunch we had a little more time to walk around the farm, then we were off to Sorrento, our home base for the weekend. The ride was about an hour and a half through windy roads on the side of a cliff in the dark, but we arrived to the nicest hotel we have stayed at since coming to Italy. We all had sea side views and large rooms, it was great! After checking into our rooms we had a little down time and then dinner. The last thing any of us wanted was more food. It was literally like having two full Thanksgiving meals, Italian style. For dinner we had four courses and I could barely finish any of it. After our huge dinner meal we went out into the center of Sorrento to explore and go to a bar. We found a nice Irish pub (yes, there are Irish pubs all over Italy) that was playing the Thanksgiving football games. It was amazing to be able to watch the games, but it made me miss watching the game with my family back home. When the game was over we headed back to the hotel for a good night sleep before a full day touring Pompeii. 
We woke up early on Friday to the most incredible view from the hotel balcony. Sorrento is a beautiful Italian city and waking up to the sun rising over the mountains and the water glistening was incredible! We had breakfast in the hotel and then got on the bus for Naples. We went to the archaeological museum in Naples, which has some pretty cool displays of ancient artwork and household items. After our time in the museum we were off to Pompeii. In my mind I have always imagined Pompeii as a city cover in black molten lava and being able to see directly into house with ovens filled with baking bread and people sitting at their tables like any normal day--just encapsulated. When we went there it was hard to believe that the city was once destroyed by a volcano. We walked through the city saw the old homes, fast food restaurants, theaters, and bath houses. It was a really interesting tour filled with lots of neat information and history! After spending the day in Pompeii we got back on the bus to get to our hotel for dinner. We enjoyed a nice dinner over looking the water and then went back to the Sorrento town center. Here we enjoyed the Christmas tree, lights, and festivities. It definitely got me in the Christmas mood! After we hung out in the city center we went back to the Irish Pub for some Limoncello. It was a really fun time with some great friends!
The next day at breakfast Dr. Dawson was so gracious to give us the day free to do whatever we wanted! So, Danielle, Rylee, Christine, Maddie, and I went to Capri for the afternoon! We took a ferry ride over to the island and were greeted with the most beautiful blue water. It was amazing! We climbed up the hill of the island to the center of the city. The view was amazing! We walked through all of the shops and then down to the small marina on the other side of the island. We walked down and went to the beach. The water was crystal clear and the view was incredible! We put our feet in the water and soaked up the sun! Capri was amazing, beautiful, fantastic and one of the best places I have been! We took a ferry back to Sorrento and had some delicious pizza! The Bay of Naples is know for their pizza, so this was so good! That night we went to a dinner theater. Rylee and I sat together next to the only other American couple there. We talked about our time in Italy and had a great conversation. After our meal we went downstairs to watch the show. It was hilarious. There was one man who was a total ham! It was great! Afterwards we walked around town and headed back up to the hotel for the final night in Sorrento. 
Sunday morning we woke up and said goodbye to Sorrento and said hello to Naples. Quickly we all wanted to say goodbye to Naples. We arrived and there were beer bottles, trash, cigarette butts, and a lot of other junk all over the city! It was a mass. Immediately everyone was pretty uncomfortable and on top of that there were so many people. The crowds were terrible! We went down to the Christmas market and it took us 40 minutes to walk through. It was horrible! We had a quick lunch and were back to Rome. All in all I loved the Bay of Naples and had a great Thanksgiving Weekend!! 
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