Day 29 - 24th May. Arezzo and Cortona

Day 29 – 24th may – Arezzo & Cortona

What a great day today- the day we went tiki-touring and found Cortona. First though we set off to find Arezzo ( Are- ret-so) as we need to drop our rental car there on Saturday before getting the train down to Roma. Graeme wanted to find it before then as other people staying here said it was only a very small europcar sign and not obvious to find. Took us 40 mins to get there and thanks to their directions we found it no problems. This city size is manageable and we got a park, after I went into a shop and asked a guy in there who fortunately spoke a bit of English. He directed us to the correct side of the road to park on – we had followed all those who were illegally parked, however, cant say I have ever seen anything akin to a metre-maid in Italy. Have included a pic today of the funny little 3 wheel utes that alot of the older Italians seem to drive here. Saw Mama & Pappa out in several of them today - off to town at 30kms top speed!!

Walked into Arezzo town and wandered up a long, long cobbled street and bought a few gifts for people. We note that the pace of life here is a bit slower – its nice. The temperature was up to 29C by 11am but nice dry heat and we enjoyed just strolling around.

After this we found the road for Cortona – have got the roads more sussed now and nothing is busy after Firenze! Drove for about half an hour and found ourselves winding up a mountain to Cortona- setting of the movie, Under the Tuscan Sun. It was gorgeous looking back over the plains below. Got up as far as you could drive – no parks visible so we do the high five”good luck”thing again and within 10 seconds, there is the last park in the large parking area. I swear it works just like that!! Better still, there is a man sitting there with his toddler who speaks “Pico, pico english”(just a little/few words). He is able to tell me the parking is free and unrestricted on time – double yay!

We wander up through a stone arch and up the narrow cobbled streets- just like the movie. This town is magical and our absolute favourite so far in Italy. It is small and is centred around the piazza or square, with little lanes with shops snaking off it. It has a uniqueness about it that makes it a special place to visit. No traffic roads as such up here finish the feeling of the place.

We ate lunch outside overlooking the piazza, then wondered around shopping. I wanted to get a few gifts from here and found a beautiful Italian leather shop that happens to have an English lady running it.

She tells me bit and pieces about “Under the Tuscan Sun”, where the house “Bramasole” is and that the fountain where the English woman dances was actually a prop, placed in the next square just for the filming. Danni tasted some of the grapes and said Yes, they even tasted purple”like in the movie, where she sat in the piazza and wrote postcards home!!
Then we went around to the point, where we can overlook as far as the eye can see – it is really breathtaking, even if you aren’t into views. Even Danni is spellbound! We get a photo up there all together then wander back down the cobbled streets and back to the car.

Driving back was easy, we are in the swing of it now and have only been tooted at twice today!
On the whole, the Italians are incredibly patient in traffic. If you are on a busy city street, they wont make a spot for you to pull out – but if you do they always let you in!! Phil Weston’s map from NZ is seeing a lot of work this week and has helped us get to the various towns – thanks!

Back home and we pass the same spot as the other day and yes the hookers are out on the lonely strip of countryside again. Sorry, but they are definitely a health hazard just to look at –scary! No wonder one of them was carrying a big stick, it is a dangerous way of life out here.

Back to Lupinari for a beer and a swim before perhaps going out for an Italian meal in Buccine.

What a cool day!