Saturday morning we went to breakfast at the little bar, then back up to the Palazzo for the next round of classes.  Today, I’m making a hat.  The teacher doesn’t speak English, but a lady in the class does, so we do just fine.  If the people speak slowly and distinctly, I can follow and understand almost everything.  We again have lunch in the piazza and then back to continue the hat making.  After the class, I go back to the hostel to rest up for Show & Tell and dinner and entertainment.  Passing the bar and fountain…the town center…there are about 20 old fellows sitting around the fountain checking out the activity and girls!  I’m sure these men gather every afternoon while their wives are home cooking a big pot of sauce for the nights dinner!   Later, we gather in the beautiful conference room or perhaps a ball room hundreds of years ago for our Show & Tell.  These are quilts in progress.  Finished tops that haven’t been quilted yet.  These quilts are as beautiful as the ones hanging in the show.  I am hauled onstage to show my hat and the three bunny blocks I’ve done this weekend.  They explain the 125 squash blocks I’ve already made and the 125 bunny blocks in progress.  I invite all the ladies to Dallas to stay with me…and I’ll die if they all decide to come!  At one time!    After showing these quilts, we go to dinner in the Piazza.  It has been transformed into an Italian piazza from the beginning of the 1900’s.  A huge keg of wine sits on a table.  Baskets of fruit and vegetables abound.  There is a man making shoes by hand, ladies spinning wool into yarn, two men making sturdy wooden baskets, young women shucking corn.  Our dinner is very simple, country-style and filling.  The main entree was a casserole of beans and juice, slices of potatoes, day old bread and maybe fennel.  A huge portion that I couldn’t finish.  I cut the bread with the bean juice into small bites and offered it to the cats…they loved it!  It’s plain bread they aren’t interested in.  The music started and the entertainers arrived in costume of the period and sang songs.  Little toddlers danced to the music.  This all went on until about 11pm…toddlers and all!  I had toddled back to the hostel at 10.  Sunday morning, back to the castle to look at the quilts one more time.  Talked to the lady making bobbin lace and the ladies who make knitted hats, booties and blankets for the preemies at the hospital.  Tiny little soft things.  There was also a table with toys, quilts and cloth purses and tote bags made by jail inmates and donated for charity.  Then, i decided  to walk to the Monster Park.  This was built in the early 1500’s.  Where the natural rocks were, an artist carved fantastic monsters.  This was a 1500’s Disney Land!  I followed the road to get there and it was about two miles to the entrance of the park.  It was hot and mostly downhill.  Halfway there I was already dreading the walk back.  I saw only about 3/4 of the carvings and decided I needed to get back to the castle.  I asked the lady at the gate if I could get a cab back to town.  She said it would take over an hour to get there and night cost as much as 50€…which I didn’t have at this point!  She said there were some stairs about 1/3 of a mile back that would take me to the city center.  Bless her!  They came out right at the bar and fountain!  I was going to live!  Rested for awhile, got my suitcase from the hostel and drove back to Rome with friends, Paola and Enza.  They dropped me off at the bus stain near the school where we meet for quilt group.  My bus 62 was right there and left withing two minutes of my arrival.  It lets me out at the end of our street.  I stayed in bed most of Monday and Tuesday recuperating from that walk and the fun, fun weekend.  Will plan to go back to Italy next year for the Bormarzo Quilt weekend.  Will take my squash quilt and the bunny quilt for my Show & Tell.  Maybe the Star quilt I started in class – and my hat, of course!  These ladies are to be complimented and take great pride in the excellent job that was done…setting up the show so beautifully and the quality and talent of the quilts and quilters.  BRAVA!