Date of Festival of Ceramics - Montelupo, Italy - starts 16^th June - ends 24^th June 2007

Venue: Montelupo - off the highway between Pisa and Florence

If you have a passion for brightly painted ceramics, enjoy good wine, like a good street party, where the natives are really friendly, then you just have to visit Montelupo, the centre of pottery production in this beautiful part of Tuscany:

The whole town and local surrounding villages and towns celebrate the wonderful world of ceramics in the last week of June every year, it is indeed a hidden gem. One of those occasions where you hardly hear anyone speaking English, but even if your Italian is practically nil.......the locals welcome you into their community.

You have to remember that you are in Europe, and a good street party doesn’t get underway until quite late, well late for us anyway. Everyone eats first, then are ready to join in the fun. I have been going to the Festival for the past 4 years, this will be my 5^th year, and I have yet to have a bad meal in the town. There are restaurants to suit most appetites and tastes. My personal favourite is the Fish Restaurant, just near the bridge over the river......any words I write would not do justice to the meals I have had there. Also, the people of Montelupo set up temporary restaurants throughout the town, in the most unlikely places, the meals here are wholesome, local and good value for money.

After sustenance you can wander the town which by this time is full of bustle, and stalls which are suddenly transformed into outdoor craft shops. Glassblowers, potters, painters and sculptors are all plying for your attention, it is really like being Willie Wonka in the Chocolate Factory.

Each town square has a stage set up, and depending on the programme that evening, you could be entertained by singers and musicians.

The shops in the town are all open until at least midnight, you can browse and shop until you drop - it is hard not to get carried away and forget that you have come by plane and are going home the same way with a weight restriction. If you do get carried away, shops will always ship.....not a problem.

Places to visit: The city of Florence is beautiful, and is one of those cities which can not be done in a day......on Sunday Florence has a large outdoor market which is entertainment enough if you are a shopaholic. Florence has more beautiful places to visit than you can throw a stick at.

Siena: which is my favourite city, one of those places where you can wander down largely pedestrianised streets where around every corner, is a WOW - the shops are a delight, and that is every type of shop, you can think of. Siena is most well known for the annual Palio, the famous horse race around the centre which takes places in July and August.

San Gimignano: is probably the most famous small town in Italy, romantic, and still has a medieval atmosphere, you feel that time has stood still. Originally the town had 72 towers, there are now only 15 still standing. The towers represented wealth and influence, the higher the tower, the richer your family.

Accommodation in Montelupo: If you want to be in the thick of things, be able to fall into the hotel door easily after wandering the town and indulging, then the Hotel Baccio is the place to stay. This is a hotel which is in the centre of town, right next to the railway station, so is very convenient to take the train to any of the above mentioned places, and more. Travelling times from the Station: Florence 30 minutes, Pisa 45 mins. The hotel is well run, friendly, and spotlessly clean. The down side if you are a pool lover is that there isn’t one !!! Too much to do to waste time around the pool.

Information:

Hotel Baccio

Via Roma 3

50056 Montelupo F.

Italy:

Tel: 39 0571 51215 Fax 39 0571 51171

Airline companies flying out of the UK to Pisa:

Ryanair

British Airways

Jet2

Distance from Pisa to Montelupo approx 58 km.

When you arrive in Pisa you can reach Montelupo, by taxi: or by taking the train.....make sure that you are on the right train, and the time it leaves.....why....well that is a story for another time:

If you want any further information, or you would like to be part of a like minded group, then please get in touch for more details. We have had some great group trips, it works because everyone does what they want to do, if you are travelling alone, there is always someone going somewhere, doing something, who would welcome you into their plans.

Sylvia