Colle di Val d’Elsa

After a long night and day of airline travel and then several hours of driving on windy roads, we finally made it to Montegemoli just as the sun was setting. I’m here for a few days of holiday before heading to Volterra to be a guest instructor in Majid Modir’s watercolour workshop, and then on to meet my own group of students for a week of sketching in Tuscany.

It’s great to be able to absorb the light and colours of the landscape before I start teaching. I spent a few hours in Colle di Val d’Elsa, a city also known as the City of Crystal because of its glass production. Instead of visiting the Crystal Museum, though, I spent some time doing a warm-up sketch at a café where I found the perfect espresso and a view of the Chiesa e Monastero di S. Francesco.