We waited almost an hour for a bus this morning, only to learn that the tour bus was blocked by the city bus that was "broken down" parked in front of it, the result of a country-wide bus strike. The tour bus isn't part of the strike, but the city buses don't want any other buses running. So we hired a taxi for $10 Euros apiece, which at that point seemed like a really good deal, and our driver, Angelo, was a very handsome, very chatty guy who pointed out all the sights and commented on all the restaurants and ceramics factories and such along the way. He drove us home at the end of the day as well, and by that time he was telling us all, "I love you!" And we loved him.
Ravello was our destination again today, but we went to the Hotel Ruffalo this time. We painted in a large shaded patio area full of scenic vistas. Then we had a delicious lunch and a chance to do some sightseeing. Because of the bus strike there were very few tourists, which made for a quiet and peaceful afternoon. The Villa Cimbrone is a 20-minute walk down a hill and is full of beautiful gardens and places overlooking the sea. The photos above were taken there....a young (pre-hunk) David and some interesting flowers and doorways.
The last photo is of one of many brides who appeared on the town square this day.
Sam, our instructor, had each of us spread out all of our paintings for the week in chronological order, for a final (supportive and encouraging) critique and thoughts on where to take our drawing and painting from this point. He has suggested I take photos and enlarge them and work on representing little parts of the photos with simple, free strokes to create impressions. "Alla prima" (one stroke) painting is a great technique to learn when mastering watercolors. We were all proud of our work and excited to see the progression throughout the week.
Tomorrow we drive to Naples ("city of garbage" at the moment, due to a strike of a different sort), and board the train for Rome.
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