Here are some favorite pictures from Pisa and Cinque Terre.
On Friday night and Saturday the students had free time, and that means we did, too! Most of the students went out on the town and celebrated Festa di San Giovanni in Firenze with the townsfolk seeing fireworks at Piazza Santa Croce.
The Beasons went to Perugia (south of Florence but before Rome), a university town with beautiful shops and restaurants, and then we spent just a bit of time also in Deruta on Saturday morning. I've never seen such pottery--goodness, the shops just lined the streets... Their windows were a bit overwhelming-absolutely full of beautiful ceramics-vases, kitchen ware (plates, cereal bowls, napkin holders, olive oil & vinegar containers, salt & pepper shakers, pitchers, spoon rests) lamps, tiles, display bowls, figurines, wall art, etc. I thought I was dreaming a very happy dream surrounded by such loveliness!
One store that we went into was especially nice. The kindest man owned it... My Italian (zippo) was only a tiny bit worse than his English, but Clay has really picked up the language and enjoys practicing. Well, he made a new friend. So much so that the owner actually took us downstairs to his workroom for a demonstration. After he showed us what to do, he motioned for A-C to scoot up beside him and try her hand at shaping the clay. She had fun and did a very good job with his assistance. After she was done, he let me have a turn. Let me just say that a pro makes it look easy. He even let me mash the pedal to spin the wheel and said, "Rapido!" I rapido-ed a bit too quickly, and he laughed and after about ten seconds motioned that my clay was about to go flying off the potter's wheel. "Problema, problema..." He helped me form a little small dish, "Dificile si?" (difficult, yes?) and then told Clay that it was "foto" time. We all got a good chuckle. What a fun experience; I've never gotten to try pottery, and cool was it that A-C and I got to try it in the ceramics capital of the universe!
After we made our purchases (ouch), we knew the bus back to Perugia would be a while, and so we strolled and waited outside in the breeze. The owner came out and talked with Clay for a while and then motioned for us to follow him. Well, Clay told him all about Harding and BAT and our students and no telling what else. He took us to a nice little park (with gorgeous ceramic tables and benches, of course), bought a new type of pork sandwich for each of us, and went on his way. What a sweet man! He made our Deruta experience so special. The pottery is gorgeous on it's own, but each time I look at it, I will remember what a fun time we had together--laughing at ourselves, meeting a kind friend, exploring something and somewhere new... THIS experiencing new things, art, food, and PEOPLE is what we'll all remember with extra fondness.
I know the BAT students will come home with similar stories... Each time they go out to eat, they tell us about someone they met or got a recommendation from about something they need to see or do. This summer is making our world smaller, more approachable, more available, and more enjoyable for our students. We are ALL broader for having taken advantage of this opportunity... I hope I'm not referring to our backsides, although I'm anticipating much walking/jogging upon our return in the heat of July; the food has been SO tasty!
Tonight's special dessert back at Avanti was chocolate cupcakes in honor of Shane's birthday! I missed the candles, but here's a good picture of Shane turning older.
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