Where to begin?
Although there were a series of complete experiences that will linger in my mind, I am going to limit myself to just a couple.
After our first factory visit today, we took a side trip to the country villa of Paolo and Lorella, a couple who has represented tile to us for many years. Their home has been a many-year project, and it shows. Over a decade ago, they purchased the villa from one of a pair of brothers who were feuding over what to do with the family’s ancestral land. The parcel, about 50 acres, occupies one side of a small hill–itself set into a large range of hills and valleys. The vista was spectacular. The landscape is dotted with a dozen or so farmhouses, the oldest one from the 14th century. Paolo mentioned that their house, “was only 140 or 150 years old”–which would have put it on the national historic registry in the U.S. We spent an hour sipping coffee and relaxing in the grass as an impromptu siesta before heading off to our next appointment. We threatened to take up residence there during next year’s trip.
After our second factory tour, in which we saw the workings of a full-scale porcelain tile plant, we went to dinner with Lorella and Paolo in a small restaurant owned by their friends. The food was tremendous. After the appetizer course, Jill turned to Lorella and asked if there would be dessert. There would be, she said, after we finished our first plate, second plate, and a small salad. In all, the meal last over four hours, punctuated by great conversation. At one point we all went around sharing what we would choose to have written on our tombstones. I’ll let you guess whose is going to say, “Thanks mom.”
What an adventure this morning. We arrived to Paris’ sprawling airport–Charles de Gaulle–with little more than an hour to make it through customs and to race from terminal A to terminal D. Our group scurried through a labyrinth of officials and airport personnel to get to our gate, and as we passed by one of many baggage claims I glanced down at the carousel and saw my bag just as it passed back through the flaps and out of sight. Did I really just see my bag on that carousel, or is my mind playing tricks on me after no sleep and too much travel? I hustled over to where the bags emerged and waited for what seemed like ten minutes before–sure enough–my bag reemerged. I grabbed it and ran. I chased after where I thought the group had gone–there were about thirty of us at the time–but when I turned the corner, they were gone. The guy at the information booth made hand gestures in the direction of our gate and I took off running with all my luggage. This is a big airport. I eventually ended up in the wrong terminal, switched back, nearly turned into a women’s restroom and finally caught up to the group. In the meantime, Jill, Tom, and Susan had no idea where I went. When I finally showed up and explained what had happened, we realized that Jill’s bags were only checked through to Paris as well. We nearly missed our flight to Bologna figuring it out.
in the end we made it here in one piece, though our luggage did not. Jill and Susan’s bags are in Paris and New York respectively (who knows). It’s noon here now–and feels like 3am–so we are going in to town to shake off the jet lag.
Next week, Jill, Susan, Tom and I will be traveling to Italy to attend Cersaie–the annual ceramic tile show in Bologna, Italy. Cersaie is to the tile industry what Cannes is to the film industry. All of the major manufacturers are there, all of the major distributors are there, and everyone is in a festive mood.
The exposition center sprawls over acres of land, and walking from one end to the other takes half an hour. However, the payoff is worth it. Cersaie gives us a chance to see where the tile industry is headed. What is the latest concept, color, format, or technique in ceramic tiles? At the same time, we have the opportunity to meet up with colleagues from throughout the industry: other distributors, factory agents, designers and others who converge on Bologna for one week a year.
This year I am going to be posting about our trip–mostly anecdotes about our adventures in Northern Italy. So, stay tuned!
