Off to Cortona on Friday

 

Up early to walk the property and take morning pictures...drank coffee on this beautiful morning while waiting for the rest of the group to get up and ready for today's adventure. AND for our morning breakfast to arrive. This truck arrives each morning at about 915 AM with fresh bread, foccacia, pizza and pastries...Ummmm. Easy to take.

After breakfast we set off in one car and one van for the drive to Cortona - about 24 Km away. Had an interesting start on narrow roads with fast traffic in both directions and George driving a stick shift (6 gears) for the first time in 20 years. The road to Cortona (a high Hill town) was narrow and curving. Our lead car (with the GPS and walkie talkie missed the turn to Cortona and we drove on a hair raising trip up a long, narrow mountain road to nowhere. The walkie talkie was not working and there was no place to turn around (after we finally rendezvoused and determined the need to do so). Finally find a scary place to turn around, drove slowly back down the road, found 2 parking spots in the parking area near one entrance to Cortona and gladly disembarked to finally visit the town of my Blue Tables restaurant. Details of the trip left to your imagination. we walked (uphill, of course) into town. Finally found an ATM that took our cards, and Tom found my restaurant. I climbed up (of course) another little road to take my pictures only to find that the tables had beige tablecloths :( . But it was great to be there and I really enjoyed taking the pictures. We shopped, took lots of pictures and had lunch in a little Salaterria - soups and pizzas which were delivered at different times for each of us (with Garry and Bob being last to eat) by a smile-less waiter. Food was good and we were on our way back to the cars to head for a local grocery store. We loaded up on yet more wine at the PENNY Market. Very drinkable Montepulciano D'Abbruzzo and Ovieto for rock bottom prices as low as 1.47 Euro per liter.

Back at Foresteria on a lovely, if cool, late afternoon, we quickly gathered wine glasses - a now regular routine - and gathered by the pool to relax, sip our wine, tell jokes and generally enjoy a lovely hour until the temperature dropped and we moved indoors. Dinner tonight was 'at home' - George, Bob and Tom drove to Arezzo and brought back Spaghetti, 3 kinds of Pizza and salads and, along with more wine, we enjoyed a lovely dinner.