Six years ago I read "Under the Tuscan Sun" (which took place in Cortona) while sitting on the beach in Hawaii. All I could think about was visiting this beautiful part of the world. We were fortunate to be invited by some friends to spend 2 weeks in a Villa in Tuscany a few months later. That experience changed our lives (thanks Toni and Dave). I understood what a small Tuscan town was, where the locals only spoke Italian and the mama's were in the kitchen cooking the real thing. I came home from that trip and immediately started studying Italian because I knew we would travel to Italy frequently. Over the last few years we traveled to many places in Italy and Tuscany, but never to Cortona.
I thought it would be a town crowded with tourists and may have lost its charm, like San Gimignano. I'm glad I was wrong and so pleased that we experienced the magic of this special town.
From the moment we arrived in Cortona all the wonders of this town and our experiences there fell into place. Hotel San Michele was heaven on earth. The suite with a terrace overlooking the valley (Val di Chiana) was always bathed in sun. Even on days that were foggy below. The hotel staff, Gianmarco, Francesca and Margarit were like having a family, always friendly even when they were busy. Gianmario, the new general manager, was GM at the Mark Hopkins in San Francisco a few years ago (small world). He was extremely warm and welcoming. Francesca was my personal salon guide. The very first restaurant Margarit recommended was the place where we ate 5 meals. La Grotta had good home cooking at reasonable prices. Twin sisters were the chefs and the brother-in-laws were the waiters. We became part of the family. By the time we left, they were treating us to a special chocolate liqueur after dinner drink.
One evening we were sitting in La Grotta and met some Texans staying at our hotel. They were with a tour guide who was very connected in Cortona. After being introduced to Giancarlo, he whispered that Frances Mayes' husband, Ed, was sitting at the table next to us. After the restauant emptied, I told Ed to thank his wife for writing such a wonderful book that inspired me to visit Tuscany and learn to speak Italian. He then stood at our table and talked to us for about 20 minutes; he was very warm and friendly. He said they just finished picking olives and Frances was back in the States.
One day Giancarlo (another Giancarlo), the owner of La Grotta, took me out for coffee and canoli and showed me around town. When we told him we might want to come back next year and rent a place, he introduced us to all the real estate people in town.
My italian skills became handy when I was shopping or helping American tourists translate their transactions in a store. That's how I met 2 lovely women from Texas, Nancy and Sheryl. Sheryl has an apartment in Cortona and Nancy was visiting for the first time. We kept meeting in town and realized our paths were supposed to cross, and we had some fun adventures with them. Besides shopping, eating and drinking, Sheryl took us to a restaurant\ranch where the owner raised owls. Joe has a photo of that. The next day, Andrea, the son of that restaurant was in town, and he stopped to chat with me on the street. The next day I'm standing in a doorway of a shop daydreaming and Andrea shouts, "Ciao Marcia" as if he has known me for years.
Girasole is a cute shop, owned by Alesandra. I was in her shop chatting with her when another woman I met walks in and says hi Marcia. Two minutes later another woman walks in and says hi Marcia. Alesandra says, "How come everybody knows you? You'll be the mayor if you stay here one month." What can I say?
The friendships and hugs in just one week were infectious. In all of our travels in Italy, Cortona definitely felt like home. We were very homesick before we got there, but meeting all the families made us feel welcome and ended our adventure on a very high note.
No comments:
Post a Comment