Under The Tuscan Sun Life truly is Beautiful

Saturday morning at 8am we left for Arezzo again with the fabulous LUCA as our tour guide! It was just a short 45-minuet drive to the little medieval town but of course everyone was passed out before we even got to the highway. Once in Arezzo we did a short walking tour with a lovely local tour guide. She showed us several beautiful churches and talked a lot about the architecture and history of the buildings and town. I especially enjoyed two churches out of the handful we saw that day and the countless number I have seen in Italy already. One of the churches I liked the best was a very simple Gothic style church with little fresco design and very high ceilings. My second favorite was not only because of the beautiful architecture but really the beautiful music they were playing in the church! There was a wedding there that evening and the musicians were practicing!

We saw the famous café and spot where part of the movie “Life is Beautiful” was filmed and after that we had a little free time for lunch.  Hannah  (from ISU) and Beatrice (from California) and I decided to get a sandwich at the little market in the square and take our lunch to the spacious park overlooking the town below! We enjoyed each other’s company and the weird Italian sandwich we had, very much. We got some fun pictures after lunch as well! We found out that we all had a lot in common, especially Beatrice and I! We’re like kindred spirits I guess you could say. God definitely had his hand in brings us girls together!

Our next stop on the agenda was Cortona, which is where the book and movie “Under the Tuscan sun” was based. The winding, twists and turns of the drive up to Cortona were breath taking and nerve racking at the same time!  We unloaded the bus and hiked up hill to our hotel. What a work out!! We were staying in a beautiful little 4 star hotel that used to be a monastery! Hannah and Beatrice and I lucked out and were able to room together, which was wonderful sense Hannah and I didn’t know Beatrice before the trip so we were able to get to know each other better, not to mention our room was AWESOME!!   

There was a large bed when you walked in and then a staircase that took you up to a little loft with two twin beds and another closet and two skylights that opened up! Once we were settled in to the hotel, we strapped on our  “hiking boots”… (I wish) and we went on a walking tour of the village, which began, with a huge cone of gelato complete with 4 different flavors, which was apparently included in the trip cost!  Now, THAT is my kind of trip!! Luca said we would need the gelato for energy to get up the hill!?! I can’t even explain how high the evaluations of the streets were in this town! But it was a good work out, great experience and we were able to take some beautiful pictures!

After our hike, we got all dressed up for our 5-course dinner. That’s right, I said FIVE-course dinner!! We met outside on the tarsi for the Aperitif (which is a European custom sort of like appetizers before dinner that includes a drink and snack buffet). This Aperitif included a glass of sparkling white wine, mini pizzas, mozzarella cheese balls and some other little baked appetizer. It was a fabulous start to stuffing myself silly and I even put a few mini pizzas in my purse for later. (DON’T JUDGE ME!! lol) 

We made our way into the restaurant to “unthaw” (it was really chilly outside) and took a seat  for dinner.  I think the easiest and best way to tell you about my evening in Cortona is to just post pictures of every course we ate because there is really no explanation needed. I ate so much I couldn’t move and the four of us sat at the table for over an hour after everyone left and had an intellectual discussion. It was a GREAT Dinner!!



 So here it goes...

Course-one was a Zucchini Pudding.

Course # 2 (Risotto

number3 (Fresh Ravioli)

Course 4 (Florentine Steak)

Last but not least course #5!!

After dinner we wandered around the town a bit to work off some of the food and we went back to our suite room to get comfy. The next day we had a great little breakfast in the hotel and talked to a nice couple from Boston who had just bought a house in Cortona the day before. They were still a bit shell shocked I think, and rightfully so!
After breakfast we took the bus to Pienza, the city filled with cheese and then we spent the rest of the morning at the CUTEST little cheese farm! He walked us through the entire process of making Pecorino Cheese a kind of sheep milk cheese, which is produced in Pienza. After the tour of his little family owned cheese factory we got to taste the cheese and for the next hour or so we got ridiculously full on cheese, fruit and oiled bread then we all lay on the grass to soaked up the warm sun, talk and few people befriended the farmers animals! It was lovely! We didn’t ever want to leave! It was quiet, peaceful; there were good things to eat and beautiful scenery!

Reluctantly it was back on the bus for a short drive to Montepulciano where part of Twilight’s “New Moon” was filmed. We walked around the city square, I bought a few little souvenirs and then we went down to the world’s most beautiful wine cellar where they make the famous local red wine “Vino Bobile”. Lastly we had a private wine tasting of the Vino Bobile and ate more cheese and bread and many students walked away with bottles of their favorite wine mostly for gifts, then we loaded the buses early to head back to Florence.  It was a great relaxing weekend in Tuscany!