Suggestions from the Tour Book

When we were in Cortona, our plans were to drive and explore the countryside and hill towns.

The drive was beautiful through back roads, past towered hill towns with the chiming of church bells ringing through the valley,calling you to come and climb their steep streets,wander the lanes and find something that has been waiting for you to see for thousands of years!

As we drove along the road the views of towns perched on mountain sides including ours in the distance was spectacular!
Olive trees shimmered and sparkled with the sun hitting the leaves and the wind making them dance as we passed each grove.
I had wished that I had a box of crayons to capture these exciting colors that were before my eyes. The lake that we traveled around took on different hues of seafoam green to aquamarine to almost a lime color. Very vibrant!

Usually we were never up and out early so we would enter these towns at around 11:30 and the town would be closing for siesta. Lunch is a long break from 12-about 4. Shops open again until about 7:30. Bars and restaurants are usually open during lunch and then close, the bars staying open. One can get a "snack" in these bars, pannini or a slice of pizza, but usually the town is deserted as if it were a ghost town save the lively conversation coming from the shuttered window above the street. Therefore my pictures usually are people barren. I actually like it that way, because the natural beauty shows forth. I can take a picture and then when I get it back and actually look at it again, there is so much more I discover, because I am caught up in the emotion I am feeling when I see the shot.

As we discussed the Cortona expierence, we decided that Camucia, at the bottom of the hill from Cortona is ideally the best place to have a home base if "One"were to want to spend a few months renting a place. There is a train station here and a car rental. It is ideally situated with train connections to all the major cities. Rome about 2 hours, Orvieto 1 hour, Florence 2 hours, Milan 4 hours. You could call this "home" and make day trips, rent an car and see Tuscany! Sienna, Assissi and Arezzo are all reachable by train or car.

One week here and it is time to say Ciao! One last cup of Capuchino sitting watching the townspeople and tourists mill about, and we are off to Florence.