First off, Im proud to say I must be absorbing the city, cuz several times now strangers have said, scusi, Italiano? Up and out at 815am for breakfast, this time at Bar Burreria Mercanzia with a view of the Piazza della Mercanzia. Today I'm meeting Winema one of the USK Bologna admins. Lovely person and... Continue Reading →

(some pics didn't upload, trying to fix) I'll say it again, I never thought I could draw these huge panoramic scenes, they were way too ambitious for me. This class showed me it was possible. I learned so much about color, shading, on-page blending, perspective, scale, limited palette... This was the most spectacular location I've... Continue Reading →

The clothing shops are not afraid of chartreuse in this town! Digging it, my favorite color! Gorgeous macchiato breakfast at Roxy bar, 9am, much better sketch today of the tall Torre. Gonna do Roxy every morning. This nerd had to visit Chieso San Petronio to check out the Meridian line. The church plan was aligned... Continue Reading →

A 730am meet time is a bit savage, no time for macchiato so i scarfed down a Kirkland protein bar as we waited for the tour bus. Even the taxi driver that picked me up at my hotel knew I was going to a Food Valley tour. These tours know their clients and they don't... Continue Reading →

(The part 10 post for the workshop is in the works) Took a slow morning to recover from class and from transit. I'm enjoying my fancy hotel after the last town. The marble bathroom is bigger than the room my bed is in. One challenge with Civita was no grocery, no convenience store, no bottled... Continue Reading →

Checkout is 9a - 1030a, don't miss it! Van to Civita scala, 2p, don't miss it! In between, sketch like hell! Great day to hike the hill I didn't expect a smaller town such as Orvieto to have a Cathedral so magnificent. Interestingly the bronze fore door was crafted in the 60's to replace the... Continue Reading →

Wish I'd taken a pic of this guy but my taxi driver was the very picture of Italian insouciance. Huge black Dolce Gabbana sunglasses, loose white linen top, rolled up green khaki pants legs, low profile sneakers, huge 5in stack of manly chunky silver bracelets. You know, shouldn't try too hard for that Thursday morning... Continue Reading →

Just as I'm getting used to making my way from hotel to Piazza, it's my last full day in Florence on this leg. "Super Chianti" tour today. But the meeting point is not in town and after exhausting the front desk (no reply) and the Taxi App (won't accept online booking), I end up at... Continue Reading →

Back in Florence for a few days before transit to Orvieto/Civita. Goals today: sketch the town and visit Rivoire Firenze. Breakfast across the river at Ditta Artigianale Riva d'Arno, sketched the view of the river. Is the service slow or are they ignoring me? Its a fine, fine line, so I'm gonna accept Slow Travel... Continue Reading →

Breakfast at Bar San Michele under the compassionate eye of the Madonna. Lescaut wasn't open, too bad, the walls and doorways near there are extremely sketchable. Instead I'm in the direct sun. I love the personalized napkins and sugar packets at the cafes, I've started collecting them like a damn tourist. The last of the... Continue Reading →

I've wanted to dine at Pasticceria Pinelli since I saw this place, with a tiny Roman arch'd patio with 8 tiny tables near the outdoor bookstalls. Cappuccino, chocolate roll, iced mini baguette. On a side street, but plenty of people watching even at 830am. The Slavic couple, in transit to their witness protection program location, noticed... Continue Reading →

Gorgeous quiet morning in Lucca, ham omelette breakfast at Cafe Manon Lescaut in the courtyard near Puccini's birthplace. This place deserves a repeat. Just get there before 9am. The ball of my right foot - bruised. Heavy shoulder bags have never worked for me. That heavy backpack did a number on me. Need a down... Continue Reading →

Up early due to jet lag. I remembered the sign that the 3rd floor balcony was open 24/7 and wondered what sunrise looked like from there.  Was a little late but the top of Cupola del Brunelleschi was beautiful in the golden tendrils of dawn. Sunrise and sunset are always magical times. Lovely early morning... Continue Reading →

Headed to Italy for a sketching workshop with Stephanie Bower in the walled medieval city of Civita di Bagnoregio - embedded in a multi week experiment in Slow Travel. In this post, entries are in reverse time order, start at the bottom, after the last foto.  Check back later for more fotos 26.09.10Reached CDG Paris.... Continue Reading →