Tuscany - Cortona

The best part about staying in the Tuscan countryside with our own car, was that we were able to decide where we wanted to go and when, without having to figure out trains and buses in advance.

On Wednesday we drove to Cortona, about a 45 minute drive from where we were staying in Arezzo. We had huge problems with our GPS system, we decided in the end that next time we drive anywhere we'll just use a map. It took us the randomest ways, through rural back roads, when we could see the motorway right next to us! It was also frustrating not being able to tell where we were going, and having to rely on it telling us when to turn right etc.

But when we eventually arrived at the towns we were driving to, they were all so lovely that we forgot about how angry we were at the GPS! Though it would have been much nicer to arrive calm and serene...

So Cortona was the first town in Tuscany we visited, we arrived from the back of the town since the GPS took us that way, so we couldn't see too much at first. Most of the towns we visited were hill towns, making it hard to see anything until you're pretty much right in them. This would have been great for defence, which was the point, but not great when trying to find them.

Since all the towns are on top of a hill, it means that the town centre is always up a long walk from the carpark. We always parked outside the towns, as they all have a driving restriction in the centre and we were keen to avoid a big fine.

We arrived in Cortona just before lunch. It was so nice just to wander around, looking in all the shops and taking in the views from the top. Even though we arrived at lunch it wasn't too crowded, I don't think it's as popular as the towns closer to Siena, which are always packed.

Legend has it that Noah, after the Great Flood, settled in Arezzo preferring it to anywhere else in Italy, and that it was one of his descendants who built Cortona, 273 years later.

All the hilltop towns had this same sense of history and were great to spend the day in, just wandering around. Cortona was our first experience of this, and definitely one of our favourites. Although our actual favourite was Montepulciano, but more on that later!