Venice started out with rain and we were sad after having left our wonderful community in Certaldo Alto. The sun came out the next afternoon and was brilliant until the flight left yesterday. Back in Certaldo we miss all of you and hope you had safe travels. Stay in touch!
Spring in Certaldo 2012
After three months of hard work, we took our studio space and transformed it into a gallery to exhibit all of our student’s lovely work. Our good friends of Certaldo and many others came with arms full of food as we all talked about our experiences and Italy inspired works. With bittersweet goodbyes we departed for our last trip, Venice!
We celebrated the final week of our semester with a great trip to Cinque Terre. Some of the trails were closed due to the terrible floods last October, but the sunshine and pretty weather allowed us to hike as much of the trail as we could and we saw some gorgeous views! We loved our hotel and had omelets and crapes for breakfast. It was an amazing trip.
With the semester quickly drawing to a close, we are staying busy! Last week Debra Frasier, author and illustrator, presented a workshop for everyone on cut paper techniques. It was great fun. With the tourist season and the recent Easter holiday, Certaldo Alto is getting livelier. We are all taking advantage of every minute every day because we don’t want this semester to end!
This past weekend we had our last group trip to Florence and the weather was really beautiful. Friday morning we went to the Galleria dell’ Accademia to see the statue of David. After that we walked to Palazzo Davanzati—a restored house where a wealthy Florentine family lived during the 14th century. In the afternoon the photography students went to the Alinari photography museum where they saw a contemporary show by Brian Duffy along with many old prints and vintage cameras. As the sun was setting the entire group walked across the Arno River and up to the Piazzale Michelangiolo for a wonderful view of the city and a visit to the San Miniato al Monte church.
On our second day we rose early for a tour of the Uffizi—one of the most amazing museums in Italy. It was a busy weekend and we all enjoyed it!
The second term of classes have begun! So has the warmer weather. This means, there’s less than a month left in this spring semester. The other day, the book arts class set up a table in our courtyard and made paste paper outside. Of course the photography class loves this weather, roaming the streets and exploring the hillsides for new photos.
On Tuesday we took a private bus tour down the entire Amalfi Coast. Carlo, our Italian teacher, interpreted the stories our bus driver shared, pointing out sights along the way. Our first stop was near the Grotto dello Smeraldo, and after a little shopping we took a boat ride into the cave to see the rock formations and the brilliant blue/green water. After lunch and a walk around the town of Amalfi, we continued our drive up to Ravello, where the views to the sea below were spectacular. From there we drove over the mountains, passing shepherds herding their goats to be milked and watching the sunset as we arrived at our hotel in Vico Equense. Now we are off on our individual spring break travel trips. Arrivaderci!
High winds caused us to cancel our boat trip to Capri, but we loved our day in Positano instead! Everyone enjoyed walking on the beach and eating good seafood. Morgan was our hero of the day when he rescued Emily’s jacket that BLEW into the ocean! After tours of Naples and Pompeii, it was great to relax on the Amalfi Coast!
The sun came out for our beautiful day in Pompeii on Sunday. After a pizza lunch we spent 2 and a half hours walking through the ruins with our guide Esther. Pompeii is like a time capsule and it was amazing to walk through a place with so much history that has been preserved.
We started our spring break trip in Naples, a lively city full of undiscovered places, very different from Tuscany. After a morning bus ride from Certaldo, our guide took us on a bus ride to see beautiful views of Vesuvius, and also a walk through the old district of the city. A great beginning to our adventure in southern Italy!
