Cortona

Upon my return from Switzerland, my friend from California, Mel, came for a visit. We decided to take a day trip to Cortona. As my lease is up in July, I have begun to toy with the idea of moving to a different town, so I wanted to check out Cortona (as in Under the Tuscan Sun). The train to Cortona took about 3 hours with a change in Florence. Upon arrival, we decided to walk up to Cortona. Although it was in the hills, it didn't look that far away. Boy were we wrong. It was very steep and there were cars racing up and down the winding road (flashback to my trip to Bagni di Lucca!) Although a bit unnerving, the walk was stunning. The views as we ascended were breathtaking. We kept stopping to take pictures, probably not the wisest idea the and the pictures just don't do it justice.

After a long long walk up the mountain, we went into the first restaurant we came across. What a treat. The ambiance and the food were spectacular and definitely worth the walk to get there. Mel had a beet ravioli stuffed with gorgonzola cheese. I had tortellini filled with pumpkin and topped with an Amaretto crumble and black truffles. We were greeted with a complimentary glass of prosecco and after the meal were treated again with a lemoncello aperitif.

Although Cortona was beautiful, I made the decision

...I AM STAYING IN LUCCA!