Sun, Oct 27th, 2013 All the kilns were unloaded, pots packed and Our last full day was about goodbyes.
After our last Lucia Lunch...we visited the studio of a local contemporary fine art potter and then got one last look at Certaldo Alto, the ancient city on the hill.
Terry Davies is the local potter. Though he lives in Certaldo, he is a British transplant who managed to find his creative way in Italy. From there we went to Certaldo Alto, where we heard one last Claudia story about the great writer Boccaccio. Our farewell dinner took us to Certaldo's best pizzeria and it was 3 large rooms, jammed packed. Not the pizzerias of the states, these are restaurants unto themselves.
Some thing you'll never find in the states, that was received with widespread disinterest by our group, is a Nutella and marscapone desert pizza along with a strawberry pizza! Sounds disgusting...and I'm embarrassed to report, they were delicious!
What a gem in these humble hills of Certaldo, just 40 minutes north of Siena, 1 hour south of Florence, and 1 hour east of Pisa. San Gimignano's ancient towers are just on the horizon and the ancient city of Volterra, an important site of the early Etruscans, is a short drive deeper into the hills. Kudos to La Meridiana International School of Ceramics -- may you have many more successful years to come.
Now that my work is done, my travel to Cinque Terre & Florence begins. Stay tuned.
