Scribblings from Cortona
I am in lovely Cortona today . . . it felt significantly less friendly than Orvieto until I had lunch, which was delightful (see below). My arrival involved the as-yet not experienced on this trip "Lisa moment" in which I boarded a bus from the train station to the hotel (trying for once to be frugal and save the cost of a taxi), only to learn that my very fat suitcase would not fit through the narrow aisle. I learned new things about the strength one acquires in an emergency situation as I had to lift the thing over a few seats so that an old lady could leave the bus. Then I had to de-board myself in order to procure a ticket from the newspaper stand! All of this was under the watchful yet unsympathetic eye of a curmudgeonly bus driver. Ugh.
On the bright side, I arrived safely and found my hotel, the Hotel San Luca:
The hotel room is exquisite, or at least the view is . . . a sweeping view of the valley below from a balcony onto which wood framed glass doors open. It is breathtaking!
I also love my room, which is like a little jewel box and even has a built-in wooden armoire that reminds me of a ship for some reason (I'm not sure why, as I have never taken a cruise).
Also, the hotel has a lovely patio downstairs with a similarly splendid view, from which I plan to watch the sunset with a glass (or two) of wine.
Anyway, lunch was at a place near the local theatre (in which this internet place, strangely enough, is located, along with a pool hall), and I had nice German and American lunch companions, one of whom had a small dog in a carrier that reminded me of my law school roommate's dog. (One thing to know about me on lengthier trips is that I go through extreme missing of my own dogs, which translates into me trying to pet nearly every dog that I see). For the first time, I tried a local white wine (it seemed appropriate, given the warm and sunny weather), which was excellent. This was accompanied by a nice tomato/mozzarella salad and thin pasta noodles with bits of duck woven in (you may be detecting a theme here . . . ) I also saw the largest pepper grinder ever . . . it must have been 3 feet long--yes, it's true!
Additionally, a waitress there had the most jarring yet infectious laugh I have ever heard! Here she is:
Now I am off to some museums, although I am really in the mood to while away the day in a comfortable chair, gazing out at the view and soaking up the sun. (I now am well on my way to being a tanned blonde from Tejas!). So I will probably keep the museum visits fairly brief.
Museum entrance:
View from small courtyard across from museum:
Entrance to a nunnery I stumbled upon:
Which had interesting art:
And a courtyard:
And beautiful walkways:
I strolled around town and had the good fortune to see beautiful sights, even with the rain:
Road to my hotel:
Sunset:
The next morning:
Will have to update you later on my yesterday, which was spent in lovely Orvieto . . . a wonderful place!
But first, one of my favorite photos:
Arrivederci!
On the bright side, I arrived safely and found my hotel, the Hotel San Luca:
The hotel room is exquisite, or at least the view is . . . a sweeping view of the valley below from a balcony onto which wood framed glass doors open. It is breathtaking!
I also love my room, which is like a little jewel box and even has a built-in wooden armoire that reminds me of a ship for some reason (I'm not sure why, as I have never taken a cruise).
Also, the hotel has a lovely patio downstairs with a similarly splendid view, from which I plan to watch the sunset with a glass (or two) of wine.
Anyway, lunch was at a place near the local theatre (in which this internet place, strangely enough, is located, along with a pool hall), and I had nice German and American lunch companions, one of whom had a small dog in a carrier that reminded me of my law school roommate's dog. (One thing to know about me on lengthier trips is that I go through extreme missing of my own dogs, which translates into me trying to pet nearly every dog that I see). For the first time, I tried a local white wine (it seemed appropriate, given the warm and sunny weather), which was excellent. This was accompanied by a nice tomato/mozzarella salad and thin pasta noodles with bits of duck woven in (you may be detecting a theme here . . . ) I also saw the largest pepper grinder ever . . . it must have been 3 feet long--yes, it's true!
Additionally, a waitress there had the most jarring yet infectious laugh I have ever heard! Here she is:
Now I am off to some museums, although I am really in the mood to while away the day in a comfortable chair, gazing out at the view and soaking up the sun. (I now am well on my way to being a tanned blonde from Tejas!). So I will probably keep the museum visits fairly brief.
Museum entrance:
View from small courtyard across from museum:
Entrance to a nunnery I stumbled upon:
Which had interesting art:
And a courtyard:
And beautiful walkways:
I strolled around town and had the good fortune to see beautiful sights, even with the rain:
Road to my hotel:
Sunset:
The next morning:
Will have to update you later on my yesterday, which was spent in lovely Orvieto . . . a wonderful place!
But first, one of my favorite photos:
Arrivederci!
posted by Lisa at 10:00 AM
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