Volterra

            Tuscany is breathtakingly beautiful and the villa in which we are staying at has a perfect view from every angle you turn. This week has already been jam packed with day trips, but all have been worth the travel. The days are pretty long and tiring with a lot of walking and climbing towers to amazing views. It’s gotten hard to keep track of what I did in which city, which makes me glad that I take a lot of pictures wherever I go. Today we went to Volterra where we had a tour in the morning and some free time after lunch. We went to lunch with the Seamans at a really cute restaurant on a beautiful street. I had gnocchi with marinara sauce and it was delightful.

            After shopping around and wandering during my free time, we all gathered together for an alabaster shop demonstration. An alabaster sculptor gave a demonstration in detail describing what alabaster was and how they make different models and things out of it. He followed the detailed presentation with actually making a small bowl out of alabaster, fully completing it and passing it around. I was surprised at how thin he was able to make the bowl, making it opaque. Alabaster is a beautiful material that comes in different colors but the white was what he used and what the shop was surrounded in. I bought small alabaster containers for me and my sister, and then a small bowl for my parents, which I think they will all find just as pretty as I did.