Prone to Wander: Arezzo, Cortona, and Everything in Between

Dramatic Pause.

Aaaand we’re back. Time for an update on my recent excursions. Two weekends ago, we took a day trip to Arezzo and Cortona, two Etruscan towns. Both towns are situated up on hills, making them lovely spectacles and objects of gorgeous views. If you’ve ever seen “Life is Beautiful,” it was filmed in Arezzo. And “Under the Tuscan Sun” was filmed in Cortona. We ate lunch in Arezzo at this adorable Trattatoria. Wine racks lined the walls, Red and white tablecloths covered the tables. I ordered my favorite pizza, Cuattro Stagioni (Prosciutto, artichokes, mushrooms, and olives). Molto Buono.

Arezzo

Cara and I in Arezzo

Trattoria in Arezzo

Cortona was an adorable town. The road winding to the top gives any human being bus-sickness, but it was worth it. The hilly town has narrow alleyways, quaint shops, and breathtaking views of the valley below. I was in a leather shop when I got to talking with the shop owner. She was the sweetest British lady. When she was in college, she studied in Florence for a month, decided she was going to live here, fell in love with a Florentine, got married, and they’ve lived just outside of Cortona for 40 years. Loved hearing her story, though it didn’t help my hopeless romantic side in the slightest.

Cortona

On Valentine’s Day, a couple of us went to a fragrance shop and a leather shop. Both are local businesses where they make their goods right there in the shops. The moment you walk into the perfumery, a huge whiff of about 200 fragrances fills your nostrils with scents of patchouli, lavender, rose, and a whole bunch of others. If you know me at all, you know I love to smell things, so this shop was so much fun for me. I ended up walking out with about three different fragrances spritzed on me. I wasn’t about to leave without testing a 150-euro perfume. And no, Mom, I didn’t buy any.

Last week was also the week I partook in a cooking class. I truly felt like a Food Network chef. My dream had been accomplished. We made a Sicilian pasta dish with homemade tomato sauce and eggplant, cauliflower flan (don’t hate it until you’ve tried it), and panna cotta with a balsamic caramel sauce for dessert (kind of like a firm vanilla pudding, or creamy jello. It’s the only way to describe it, but it’s really good.). I intend to make it for anyone who wants it, so let me know and I’ll make you a true Italian dinner.

Alex and I were the designated dessert makers. We owned that Panna Cotta

Brewing up something delicious

The delicious Panna Cotta

This past Sunday, we took a bus just outside of the city near the small town called Fiesole. We took a tour of an Olive farm, Fattoria di Maiano, where they make literally one of the greatest tasting extra virgin olive oils I’ve ever tasted. The farm is also a bed and breakfast, so everywhere you look is picture perfect. The place was actually a filming location for a movie called “A Room with a View,” which I’ve never seen before. The olives are done for the season, but it was still cool to see the production machinery and taste some of it on a toasted baguette. Plus, I love learning anything from Tomazo, our 20-something guide. I think he works as a model on the side. Just a guess.

View from the farm

The restaurant at the bed and breakfast

The farm also had animals

Also went to the Uffizi Gallery, the original offices for practically every Medici that ever lived. It was also the first art collection open to the public. Saw Botticelli’s Birth of Venus and Springtime. Other works included Leonardo, Carravagio, Michelangelo, and Brunelleschi, but this stuff is boring to read about. Just go see them, and you’ll see why I’m excited.

And we climbed the Belltower.