Travel: Cortona, Italy 1998

	I first learned about Cortona from the book Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes. I read it right before we left on the trip. Her description of Cortona was incredible, romantic, and throughouly engrossing. I knew I didn't want to miss it and I wasn't at all disappointed. Cortona is over 2000 years old and though it is one of the oldest cities we visited, in many ways it was one of the most contemporary. The view out over the valley--especially to the South where you can see Lake Trasimeno is spectacular as Cortona hugs the top and side of a large mountain. In the late afternoon, the sunlight was so golden that I finally understood what people meant by the light being so special and different in Tuscany. There really is something unique about the glow from the sun. It is vibrant and golden in a way I've never seen before. I'm sure it has something to do with the dust from the Earth in this region getting tossed into the air in a fine mist and having the sun shine through. I wish that these photos had picked-up the color we actually saw.
	Before we hit Cortona, Inez, Laura, and I drove to the Lake. It was a peaceful place and we wished we had time to take the ferry to one of the islands. After Cortona we raced along the small roads toward Siena to meet the rest of the gang for dinner. On to Barcelona or back to San Gimignano.

 

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