Under the Tuscan Sun

Katherine: It's a nice little villa. Are you going to buy it?
Frances: The way my life is currently going, that would be a terrible idea.
Katherine: Terrible idea... Don't you just love those?
*From the movie Under the Tuscan Sun

I don't know what orginally attracted my Grandparents to visit Cortona. Maybe the book, maybe the movie but it's easy to understand why once they had experienced it, they wanted the family to experience it, as well. There's just something about that city that sets it apart from any other destination I've been. Since we stepped foot in Germany, I've been just itching to get Brad to Italy, especially Cortona.

We try to take advantage of every 3 day weekend we have so we knew that Labor Day would have to be something great. It was a long shot but I emailed our friend, Giancarlo, who lives in Cortona to see if he was busy that weekend and lucky for us, he was not. Giancarlo does tours all over Italy and is typically very busy doing trips with families, students, etc. so we were eccstatic we would have a chance to spend some time together.

We flew RyanAir (a super cheap airline, no frills, no fuss, just gets you from point A to point B) into Pisa and Giancarlo picked us up at the airport. Pisa is approximately a 2 hour drive to Cortona with weekend traffic. And we were in a hurry. A friend of Giancarlo's was hosting a dinner and showcasing 6 types of wine that evening. It was being held in the courtyard of an Etruscan museum just off the main piazza. And there were 2 seats left just for us. We knew we were going to be just a little late so we literally drove up to the hotel, put our bags in the lobby, checked in and we were off. No freshening up which I'm sure the people at our table really appreciated. So we were a little under-dressed and disheveled but that's not uncommon when you put American tourists up against well-to-do Italians. Fortunately, the people at our table were extremely nice! There was a couple from New Jersey and another from Chicago and both couples had bought homes in Cortona. Must be rough. The wine was fabulous! The setting was fabulous! Oh, forgot to mention there was a FULL moon that Giancarlo said he had arranged for our visit. The live band was fabulous! The food....well it was just meh (picture me shrugging my shoulders and tilting my head).

After dinner we took a tour of the Museum of Etruscan Acadamy. In the past few years, multiple Etruscan tombs have been uncovered (mostly by farmers) right there in Cortona so it's an exciting time for this region. The museum truly was fascinating but after several glasses of wine and the fact that it was almost midnight, we were anxious to get back to our hotel. We were staying at the same hotel my family stayed when we were there a few years ago. The Hotel San Michele is literally located right in the heart of Cortona and is simply beautiful. The building itself was built in the 15th century....now that's just cool. We got hosed a little when it came to the view but I guess that's what we get from booking on Hotels.com and paying a lot less than what we would have if we'd gone through the hotel. Ho hum.

But the story is just getting started. After a good night's sleep, we woke up to a beautiful Tuscan morning. I could tell it was beautiful from the itty bitty window above the toilet. Lovely. We ate our breakfast in the courtyard, went for a little walk and Giancarlo met us at 10:00 in the main piazza. We started off by going to the very top of the hill to see The Fortress. From here we had an incredible view of the city and the valley.

Next stop was the Church of Santa Margherita where you can view the body of Santa Margherita herself.

Then we drove to the Franciscan Convent where nuns and priests still live. Again, I've been here before but there really is something very spiritual about this place and I was happy to be back. Peaceful would be an understatement.

By this point Giancarlo was craving his daily cappuchino so we literally flew down the hill (you'd think that man drove a Ferrari and not a Dodge Caravan the way he drives) to the small town of Camucia at the bottom of Cortona. You can't even have a cup of coffee without it being a work of art... We also stopped off in a little shop to buy lottery tickets. Let me tell you, we had some pretty grand ideas on what to do with our 45 million euros when we won....starting with buying Giancarlo's house. :)

Next stop was Il Falconiere. I don't really know where to start with this place. The last time I was here, I spent a magical night with my family over great wine and great food. But I never thought I'd get to step foot there again. It's a little, well, out of our league. I'm pretty sure I saw George Clooney sitting by the pool. Ok, not really but I kid you not - he very well could have been.

We met the "mascot" of the place, Lila, the falcon that hangs out near the entrance. Had a nice tour of the brand new spa. Ummmm, wow. And said a quick hello to Silvia (one of the owners) before sitting down to a nice glass of wine with some delicious olives and capers. On our way out we ran into Ricardo, the other owner and husband to Silvia. He had a woman from Las Vegas with him who imports a bunch of their wine to one of the casinos there. I want her job.

We went a little off the beaten path and Giancarlo showed us where they are uncovering many Etruscan tombs. In this picture, you can see one tomb to the right of the stairs and two to the left. Absolutely fascinating! Twenty-four more were just found in the past few months not far from these. Maybe I should become an archeologist.

From here we made a quick stop by the grocery store for some fresh mozzarella, melon, and procuitto. The perfect lunch before spending the afternoon by the pool. However, I must say that I've turned into a snob when it comes to mozzarella and olive oil now. That cheap stuff I've been getting from the Commissary just won't cut it anymore.

We stayed by the pool for several hours soaking up all the sun we could get. Rita, Giancarlo's girlfriend, joined us late that afternoon and it was so nice to finally meet her. What a sweetheart!

The drive to Giancarlo's house

We decided we would all go to dinner at a new little restaurant in town. We didn't really want to go all the way back to our hotel so I turned my swimsuit coverup into a dress, borrowed a pashmina, and off we went. (Gotta love being under-dressed EVERY place we went.) We all ordered pizza and finished it off with one of the most fantastic desserts I've ever had. A chocolate truffle sitting in espresso. Woweee! The boys had a glass of Grappa to top it all off....makes my stomach turn just thinking about it.

And that was the end of the day. For your sanity and mine, I'm going to split the rest of the trip up into several posts. Stay tuned.

Ciao!