Breakfast in San Quirico – Lunch in Cortona

Because of the reliable afternoon thunderstorms, Ann decided to swim before breakfast. She cut her routine short because it was so cold – not as cold as Lake Wenatchee, but cold nevertheless.

We discovered good orange juice at the COOP, so we drank it in our room rather than drink the Tang-like juice that is served in all of the hotels. We had our usual breakfast buffet of cereal, breads, meat, cheese, yogurt and coffee.

Jack, our GPS, guided us to Cortona perfectly. He even found new routes when I veered from his original route. We parked below the city in a free parking lot. Our path up to Piazza Garibaldi was on a combination of steps and escalators. (They treat tourists well).

Rick Steves walking tour of Cortona is short, but we took it anyway. It led us along the narrow, flat main street to Piazza della Repubblica. This is the city’s main square and the site of its City Hall. We walked around the right hand corner and entered the next square – Piazza Signorelli. This square is the home of Casali Palace. We looked inside and saw some old coats of arms dating from the 15th to 17th centuries.

Finally, we walked to the end of the street at the Piazza del Duomo. Here is the Diocesan Museum, a cathedral and a statue of St Margherita. As Rick points out, St Margherita is loved by the locals and is believed that she protected the city from WWII bombs. We went into the church where Ann pulled back a tablecloth on one of the altars to revile some relics.

Walking back to the main square, we decide to climb up to the Church of St Francis. It dates from the 13th century. Its wooden beams are original. There are also some original faded frescos on the wall.

I was getting seriously hungry, so we went to one of Rick’s recommended restaurants for lunch. We sat outside on a very narrow street at Fufluns Tave rn Pizzeria. I had some breaded, stuffed fried olives and pasta of flat noodles made with blueberries. They were covered with a meat sauce with fennel, pine nuts and herbs. Ann had Tuscan soup along with some grilled vegetables. All of the food was very good.

While eating, we could hear thunder in the distance. So we hurried to the car and decided to take a ride in the countryside. We ended up going part way around Lake Trasimeno. I found part of my bicycle route from two years ago and we drove along it until the car got too tired. This put us back into the many short, steep hills of Tuscany. The land around the lake is very flat, but it gets very hilly to the south.

We set the GPS to the hotel and followed Jack’s directions back to San Quirico stopping for gelato and some supplies at the COOP. The thunderstorms did not break loose when we got to the hotel. It was sunny and warm.

We wandered into the old part of town for dinner. Monday is very quiet in San Quirico. Only old geezers and teenagers are visible. We looked for a pizzeria that was open but couldn’t find one. We settled on a restaurant which was down in a cellar. The food was good. I had spaghetti with a meat sauce. Ann had pumpkin gnocchi. We shared a mixed salad. I had a very rich dessert that had a small piece of cake soaked in vin santo with marzipan cheese, whipped cream and white chocolate. We took the long route back to the hotel trying to walk off the rich meal.