The OU in Arezzo staff and Fall 2019 class has had a busy week. The festivities started off with a  memorable weekend visit to Pompeii, Sorrento, and the Island of Capri. Our students and staff spent Friday touring the ancient Roman city of Pompeii. While there, the tour guide explained how the tragedy of the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 C.E. preserved the once-thriving metropolis allowing it to be transformed into an open-air museum.  Our students saw first hand how the ancient Romans lived, from how they shopped, the artwork they had in their houses, too most importantly, how they used the toilet. 

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After learning how the ancients lived, the students and staff took to a more contemporary style of life that night at the cliffside town of Sorrento. With some time to kill before dinner, several students took to the rocky beaches to swim in the warm Mediterranean while others went exploring through the renaissance streets of Sorrento. At dinner, the students enjoyed a delicious three-course meal and celebrated student Ivana’s birthday!

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The next day the group was up bright and early for the ferry ride to the Island of Capri. The journey was rough, with rain coming down for the first twenty minutes and one student, Sean Lindsey, suffering from a bought of seasickness. However, the suffering soon became well worth it with the rain subsiding into a beautiful warm day and change to a smaller boat for the tour around the Island. The students took in the beauty of the unique Mediterranean Island in their small armada seeing the most famous sights of the island including the infamous Tiberius leap, Blue Grotto, and the symbol of the Island, the Capri Faraglioni.

 

After their trip to the island, the students returned the following day to Arezzo! Though saddened by the fact they were leaving the paradise for a return to school work, the students rebounded quickly to the anticipation of the weeks coming events that included a local activity fair on Thursday, and a tour of a local vineyard on Friday. The activities fair lived up to the excitement by not only providing the opportunity to sign up for unique Italian experiences such pottery making and cooking classes but as the first way for our students to meet the local University Students.

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Finally, our eventful week ended Friday with the class trip to a local Vineyard. There the Fall class of 2019 saw first hand how the grapes were farmed and made into the legendary wines of Tuscany. Once the initial tour was done they then sampled the fruits of the Vineyards labor along with local meats, cheeses, and breads. In Italy, you never really leave paradise, you just trade it for another one.