The Daily Diary of a Wandering Restaurateur
Winter Planning Session: Cortona and Montepulciano
One of the nice things about slow travel (settling into an area for a week or two and making day trips) is the total lack of compulsion to get up and go all the time. If, as happened on this trip, it appears prudent to take it easy, you just take it easy. What you don't see today you can see tomorrow. I'd hate to think what this trip would have been like if we had a whirlwind sort of schedule that had us moving to a different town every day or two.
Margene seems to be feeling a little better ... at least enough to actually get out for a bit today. The temperature has moderated and the sun actually made an appearance so we thought we should tour a bit while all the relevant stars were in alignment. But where to go?
The first thought we both had was Cortona, perhaps our second favorite Italian hill town, about half an hour away. We spent a week there in 2005 and always enjoy wandering around. Today was more a target of opportunity since we were too late for lunch and too early for dinner ... but just in time for the most decadent dark chocolate gelato we've ever seen in Italy. Fully as toe-curling as what we found in Nerja on the Costa del Sol last May. We plan to return to Cortona later in the trip specifically for the spinach gnocci at Trattoria La Grotta. If Margene is still not eating, she can watch me!
Cortona has a great feel (and great gelato!) It also has some of the most fascinating little passageways going off the main street. Exploring a new town is always interesting but I am finding that I also like being familiar enough with a place to know my way around. We have been in this part of Italy often enough that we've seen most of the really interesting spots, so this will really be more of a "greatest hits" tour. There's something comforting about that as well.
I could bury you with photos of Montepulciano -- and I may yet -- but the more the merrier since Italian hill towns have always struck me more as places you FEEL rather than places you SEE. When we got back from Cortona we took a quick wander through town before climbing the two flights of stairs to our apartment.
Caffe Poliziano is a required stop every time we visit Montepulciano. It has been an institution here since 1868 and is still a classic. Margene took a chance on an espresso (which her system seemed to tolerate), a small but encouraging sign that she might actually be able to eat a full meal before we leave!
Finally, just a few curiosities of the day. The sign on the door of the B&B in Cortona was, I thought, an effective way to make passerbys aware of what was being offered. What struck me, though, was the little red sticker on the left that said "Recommended by Rick Steves." We took a chance that the COOP supermarket in Camucia would be open on a Sunday afternoon. It was certainly in the Christmas spirit (or perhaps that is just the spirit of holiday merchandising). The third sign I'm not so sure about, but if you're looking for a groovy place to get a drink in Cortona, this might be it ... or maybe not. Margene took the last shot to reassure any of our female readers that the Italians are not without access to the essentials of life!
And with that, ciao for now.
© 2012 Restaurant Doctor
[