Deruta

Ciao again from fantastic Assisi! I only have two days left here at Casa Faustina and I will definitely be sad to leave! The olive harvest has been put on hold for the past few days due to bad weather but that leaves plenty of time for relaxing and exploring the surrounding towns. My social circle, or new family here, consists of an Australian family (Dan, 53, Sue, 54, Tom, 13, Nina, 11 - see picture of us looking into one of the many sweets shops in assisi with our matching hats!), and my Italian hosts (Giordano, 35, Tamara, 30), and so on a rainy day we all headed out for a tour of some local sites!

First we went to Deruta, which is world famous for its ceramics. Giordano was friends with one factory owner and so we took a private tour! It was amazing to see this man make ceramic pieces on the wheel in less than a minute. It's a true gift to watch someone do something that they are really good at. He had been making ceramics for over 50 fifty years! We also saw one store owner who made ceramic guitars which were absolutely beautiful.

The next place was hilarious - a wine store where they actually sold wine from pumps. Americans may be paying for gas by the gallon, but I think Italians have got it right - just fill up with wine! I was lucky enough to get a few free glasses from the pump and it made for some great pictures.

We ended the day with a night stroll in Assisi and pizza for dinner.

Enjoy the pictures and I will soon attach pictures of the olive harvest!