Whilst spending time in Ischia, we found a poster for a farm stay program in Sora. We figured we would try something new since we were getting a little tired of Italy. An incredibly bumpy hour long bus ride, two hour train ride, and another hour bus ride later, we made our way to the beautiful farm in Sora. Family owned and operated, we were immediately greeted with the promise of a home-cooked Italian meal. We were incredibly stoked since this would be the first time we had had a home-cooked meal since we left the states. It was delicious! Every dinner was a five course meal, but we couldn't help but stuff our faces with everything that was on the table.
Our first two night there we camped out on a little patch of grass right below the house. Unfortunately, the ground was more rock than grass and happened to be on a slight incline. We opted to move into the house for our last five night there.
There was plenty to keep us busy in Sora and we definitely took advantage of our time there. Hikes, food, beautiful views, attempting to communicate in pseudo Italian/Spanish to the locals - we tried it all!
Our second day in Sora, we took a two hour hike to a "waterfall". The first half our or so was enjoyable, taking in the views, but there was about an hour stretch of just straight uphill. While the views were absolutely breathtaking, it was a difficult journey. Another forty-five minutes to an hour later, we made our way to a stream where we met up with the couple we started with. Another ten minute hike through freezing cold water and very slippery rocks, we found the waterfall tucked away. The journey was definitely the better part of this excursion. While trying to take a picture together, Callie slipped off of a rock and banged her shin on another rocked. It swelled up and bruised almost immediately. A month later and it's still a little swollen and bruised! The walk back was a little bit faster, at least in the beginning, but as we got closer to the bottom we missed our turn off and ended up walking through a random cow pasture, through a barbed wire fence, then finally making our way back to the car. It was quite a long day, but so much fun!
One afternoon, the lady of the house taught us to make pasta by scratch. It was a very long process, but quite enjoyable. We ate our noodles for dinner later that evening.
The farm was quite relaxing, and when we were hiking or exploring their land we would sit outside in the sun reading or just hanging out with the volunteers.
Our last day in Sora, we went for a beautiful horseback ride with one of the girls we met. While it was an easy ride, it was very interesting to say the least. Each horse had its own personality. Amanda's horse was not only adamant about being the leader, he would eat everything in his path. He even dragged an entire branch around with him until he could no longer eat it. Callie's horse, on the other hand, was a complete and utter klutz. He tripped and slipped on everything. It was such a blast though!
After spending a week in Sora, we made our way to Florence for one night. We flew out the next day to Budapest which was definitely a different kind of adventure.
