5 & 6 September - Cortona

Thursday was a fabulous day. John was up early to drop his mother off at the local train station at 6:30am. The rest of us were also on deck early for a quick breakfast. Our son-in-law was happy to look after the kids for most of the day, so our son, daughter, John and I headed into the hills for a 2hr walk up one of the valleys to Cortona. Our nephew had recommended the walk, and it didn't disappoint. 

Start of the walk at Sant'Angelo

Not a bad driveway into a villa

On the walk

Tuscany!

Up to the duomo

Inside the duomo

It was wonderful just wandering past so many fabulous Tuscan villas, complete with their pools and terraces, eventually arriving in Cortona for a coffee and pastry. There was plenty of time for chatting and just enjoying spending time with each other. It was our first chance to spend time as just the four of us. We finished the loop walk returning to the car, drove the short distance back to the house, helped to give the kiddies lunch and then drove back to Cortona for a very special birthday lunch together. We chose a restaurant on a terrace above one of the main piazzas. The lunch was very simple, we basically chose antipasto, bruschetta and a splendid caprese salad, followed by a pasta dish each. It was delicious, and went down very well with a glass of prosecco. Again, it was a special family time and immensely enjoyable. 

Gelato time

After meandering across the square to select a gelato for dessert, including a chocolate flavour that was so dark it was almost black, we drove back to save our son-in-law from sole-charge parental duties, sadly having to drop our son off at the train station on the way. He was booked on a flight early the next morning from Milan to New York, where he would be attending the wedding of one of his best friends. 

View from Cortona

John and I were on grandparent duty on Friday. Soon after the kids had breakfasted, our daughter and son-in-law set off for a day's excursion without the children, planning to take in both San Gimignano and Siena. It was a full-on day for the two of us, and them. Needless to say, the children's typical sleeping plan went slightly astray, but they were very cheerful and a lot of fun throughout the day. Having said that, we were definitely pleased to see their parents when they returned in the late afternoon. They'd been very impressed with Siena, but less so with San Gimi because of the hoards of tourists. We thought that the tourist numbers might be thinning by early September, with Italian school children now back in class, but clearly there were still plenty of visitors in the little town.

Our villa