Under the Tuscan - Rain in Cortona, Italy

I have to say that I was prepared to not like Cortona. I read that it was overrun and "ruined" by tourists due to the "Under the Tuscan Sun" book and movie. I also had trouble getting my train tickets. I used the machine to get my ticket to Cortona but you could only get a one way ticket. Here is what the machines look like. This one only took cash.




Then you HAVE to stamp your ticket before you get on the train, unless you have a ticket with a seat assignment. Here is the stamp machine you look for:





Coming back from Orvieto, I forgot to get my ticket stamped and I prayed that the train person wouldn't come around to check - he didn't.

Anyway, I got to Cortona and decided to get my return ticket right away, but they only had ticket machines and I couldn't get either of them to work. The train station was very small and no one worked there. So, I decided to just take the bus to Cortona, which is at the top of a hill, but there was no place around to purchase bus tickets. I finally found a tabacchia and it was far enough away from the train station that I thought I might as well walk to Cortona - uphill, in the drizzling rain. It was about 2 1/2 miles. I gave up after about 1 1/2 miles and headed back to the train station since it was now downhill - and I had never seen a bus stop on the whole walk. And Seymour decided he wanted to be carried in his sling - so I wasn't very happy.

Finally we got back to the station and a bus came and dropped us off in the center of the old town. After walking for less than 15 minutes, I was falling in love with Cortona. It had all cobblestone streets, my favorite old roofs, old building and shops and restaurants. What I liked besides the town itself, was that there were towns in the valley, houses scattered on the hills and views that went on forever. I can see why the author chose this town to write about. I understand that she still has a home here. So, here are some of my pictures of Cortona:





























The views were 180 degrees - of rolling hills, villages and a lake.












These are a couple views of the city - one from when I was walking and one from the train station. Many of the building are yellow:









While I was in town, I decided to get my big meal for lunch. I lucked out on a place called A Nannini Cafe that had 2 choices of fixed price lunches. One was lasagna, chicken and potatoes, 1/4 L of wine and a bottle of water; the other was spaghetti with tomato sauce, pork and veggies, the wine and the water. Either was 15 euro, which I think was a good price. I chose the spaghetti because I wanted to try the veggies and I had lasagna yesterday.





The spaghetti was the best I have had in Italy so far - enough spice to be delish! The wine was great! I laughed when I saw my pork and veggies dish because it was pork and potatoes with a few mushrooms on top. Hmmm, how different was that from the other dish? But, it was also very good. Seymour even got to enjoy some of the pork.




When we got back to Arezzo, I decided to get some geleto and in my room I had a large chocolate bar. I am paying for eating all of that food now!

Tomorrow I'll do a little post on finding Seymour's new crate. Also, there is a monthly antique market here, the first Sunday of each month - and we happen to be here for it. It actually started today but I decided to wait to explore it tomorrow. There are booths scattered all over town. This is a much bigger place that I realized. More about Arezzo tomorrow.

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I started off this morning not knowing what we were going to do today.

Pretend this is a "hidden object" game - can you find Seymour NOT wanting to get out of bed?




Unfortunately, he didn't have a choice. So, we went out and I didn't bring my umbrella - it was drizzling, I didn't bring my guidebook or my Italian notes. I went out for a coffee and ended up in Orvieto, Italy.

We went to the train station to see where different trains were going and decided to get a ticket for Orvieto. It is about 1 hour-ish away. On the way, we passed Cortuna, which is the place made famous by "Under the Tuscan Sun" and I have added visiting there to my "to do" list before I leave Arezzo.

Back to Orvieto. This is the place I tried to stay but couldn't find a reasonable place. Although I loved Orvieto, I'm glad my home base is Arezzo because it is less touristy.

When you get off of the train in Orvieto, you head to the funicular, which was just like the one in Livorno.



I took this picture through the window so you could see the funicular coming down the hill.



When you get to the top of the hill, you can either take a bus to the duomo or walk. A group of tourists following a woman with a flag took the bus; Seymour and I walked.

The town population is about 21,000 so it's a larger village with lots of upscale shops. The claim to fame is the Orvieto Cathedral/Duomo. It is a Gothic/Romaesque style with lots of mosaics. I don't think you can get a good feel of it through pictures. It is breath taking, but here's my try:


















This was another church that I couldn't take Seymour in. The only good think is that I go in to the admission booth where they tell me I can't take him and that area is usually where the main part of the church interior is located so I do get to see some of it for free.

Around the church is a square that is filled with ancient buildings:









Here are some passageways, etc. that I always enjoying seeing - and sharing:














I saw this statue in a window and know (but forget) the artist. I love his work, though:





There is a city park at the edge of the city, so you can see the city walls, the views, and possibly parts of a castle.

















This is a city worth spending a couple of days exploring. There is so much to see. Maybe next trip.

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Location:Ended Up in Orvieto, Italy

Arezzo, Italy

I was wondering why it cost over 10 euro to get here, then I found that it is about 3 hours and 3 trains away from Livorno. This time, my GPS found the satellites so I used it to find my way to my new place. Well, it took me in the complete opposite direction from where I was supposed to go and luckily I had my phone so I called the owner a few times and he sent me the right way. It was supposed to take me 15 minutes from the train station, and 1 hour later I was there. The owner was out of town so he had a woman meet me at the apartment.

Her name is Dana and she was really nice, but spoke very little English. So we would start talking and then she would call Chicco (the owner) and he would interpret back and forth for us. I am in a very old building and in a very old room, but it is clean - and has a ceiling fan! There is one other woman staying here so we will share a bathroom. I haven't seen her yet. I will take some pictures tomorrow.

Arezzo is another small village with some interesting sites. Here are a few pics that I took this afternoon. They have big jousting tournaments here twice a year and here are some of the costumes from years gone by: (Don't ask me which years)





This is a 16th century painting I saw in the history center beside the information office:




Here is a cool horse statue I found:



One of the churches I hope to check out while I'm here.





This church was across from the bar I stopped in for a beer - they also brought a big bowl of olives and nuts, so the 5 euro cost was worth it.





We came back to our room early and are watching a bit of TV and using the wifi. Tomorrow I will either explore this town or go visit a nearby village. I will be here for 5 nights, so there is lots of time to explore. Seymour takes about 30 minutes to get used to a new place. He is now sleeping under the covers next to me - since my suitcase is too high for him to reach :)

All is well -

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Last Full Day in Livorno, Italy - Again and Buses 101

Since I have my 3 day Livorno bus pass I decided to put it to good use today. Dai told me a few beach towns I should check out and that I could catch a bus to them from piazza grande. So, I walked to the train station and caught a bus to piazza grande. I walked around looking at all of the bus schedules and found none that said it was going to any of those towns. There is no one place to look at bus schedules, you just have to go to the different bus stops and read the major places each stop. The good thing about the schedules at the bus stop is that you know which direction the bus is going. Open circles beside the name of the stop means that is the direction it is going. Colored in circles means that it has come from there.

So I decided to jump on Bus 1 because I knew it went along the ocean. We got off somewhere along the ocean, and walked past the Naval Academy and found the local beach. I had just taken off my winter coat before I saw the beach filled with people in their skimpy swim suits - especially the men! This isn't a great beach but it is free and close to town.





I then continued walking and there were some impressive homes and hotels across the street from the beach.





After more walking along the ocean, we came to these stone gate-like buildings, obviously old but I don't know what they were for. I think there was the word 'electrcity' (in Italian) on them.





I then hopped on another bus and went back to the train station. I bought my ticket for tomorrow to Arezzo and walked back to the iberCoop mall to see if they had any new doggie things - they didn't.

But all of the bus riding made me think of the things I have learned from riding so many buses. I hope I didn't post too many of these before:

1. Always see if you can get a bus pass instead of individual tickets. It will save you money when you end up getting lost and have to change buses a few times.

2. You can buy your bus ticket on the bus but it often costs up to 50 cents more than if you bought it ahead of time.

3. Just because you are standing at a bus stop does not mean the bus will actually stop. You have to flail your arms around and look like a fool before they will give you the satisfaction of stopping. But they will often stop beyond where you are standing so you have to run to get to the door.

4. There is no politeness with people getting on a bus or train. It is every person for themselves. I was sitting on a bus and a group of people pushed their way inside. Finally a little old man toddled up to the bus - he had a cane and had a wide stance where he kind of shuffled from side to side to get some forward momentum. I didn't see him until he had shuffled almost to the door of the bus, and the bus door closed. He had a shocked look on his face. Not being able to speak anything helpful in Italian, I didn't know how to yell to the bus driver to stop and no one else did either. Even if we yelled, it is not a given that the bus would have stopped. I have missed a couple of buses when the doors closed right in front of me. I know I should have pounded on the doors but I wasn't ever in a hurry to go anywhere. And I didn't want to be embarrassed when the doors still may not open.

5. There is a "do not speak to the bus driver" sign in every bus - I think the driver points to it if he/she doesn't want to talk to someone.

6. Bus drivers seem to get a thrill out of almost hitting other cars, bikes or people. I think it adds a little fun to their lives. They also like to stop quickly, especially when the bus is full and people are barely able to find a place to hold on. I don't know why a bus driver would ever go on strike, unless they want a long weekend because they are pretty much the kings and queens of the cities.

7. Periodically, the buses just stop and the driver gets out and disappears for 15 minutes or more. Don't panic, just sit there and he/she will eventually find their bus again.

8. Never expect a bus driver to understand English - even if they do, they won't admit it.

9. If you are lost, don't ever get off of the bus, no matter how long it sits empty, unless someone says the driver has gone home for the night. Sooner or later (unless the bus breaks down) you will get back to where you started.

Once I understood the rules of the buses, I was able to just accept the quirks and just enjoy the ride - to somewhere.

We are off to Arezzo in the morning, after taking the bus to the train station!



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Back in Livorno and on to Montenero, Italy

It was nice to get back to a familiar place. I could easily find my way to the albergo and was given my same room. Most of my time so far as been spent trying to find a place to stay starting on Nov 3 - two days away. I was trying to find something on the way toward Matera because it is just about at the opposite end of the country from where I am. Then I thought I'd try something on a main train line. I tried Florence, Orvieto (really wanted to stay there), Rome, Naples and finally Arezzo, which is the place I stopped for an hour between trains.

Some had openings but their prices were crazy - well over 200 euro a night. My limit has been around 50 euro a night and it has been averaging close to that. For my last few weeks I decided to go up a little, to around 80 euro if I had to. Still little choices - especially when I searched for places that will allow dogs.

I found a place in Naples although most people say it is dangerous to stay there. It is on the water where the ferries come in from Capri. He didn't have room this week but I booked one of his mini apartments for the week of Nov 15-21. I thought it would be a good base to get to other sites in the area.

I had written to a few people - they have to approve you before you can book a room - and two got back to me a little late. One has a place on the Amalfi coast but it is near Naples so I won't take that. The other has a room starting tomorrow in Florence but I had just sent in my request - and money to stay in a place in Arezzo. If I am denied for some reason, I will then hopefully have the Florence room available. I tried 3 different websites to find places but www.airbnb still seems to be the best for me.

Now, I will have reservations for all but my last week in Italy. I am hoping to spend the last week in Sicily.

OK, I am sure I have bored you will my mundane problems. I did take time to walk to piazza grande, back to my trusty information office and bought another 3 day Livorno pass. I used it to go back to Montenero, the town at the top of the funicular I missed on my last trip here. The last time I went up the funicular/incline - and then waited - and went back down, not knowing there was a lot to see at the top of the mountain. This time I got off.

Today is All Saints Day so schools and many businesses are closed. People were buying bouquets of flowers to put on the graves of their loved ones and they were also going to church services. So, this was a perfect day to visit Montenero because there is a famous church there. This church houses a 14th century image of the Madonna, who is called the "crying Madonna" because people have seen tears coming from her eyes. People go here to pray to be healed of various health problems. I did see the Madonna but did not see tears.

A church service was going on so Seymour and I went in. The church was filled with statues and paintings but the most interesting part was at the alter. Besides the statues and paintings, there was a very large gold background that looked like enormous sunbeams behind the paintings. I wish I had a picture but I am sure you could google this church and see some images. It is called "The Sanctuary of Montenero". The outside of the church has been updated over the years so it isn't exciting. They added a courtyard and have buried some notable Livornese there. Here is the outside of the church.





Here is another building just in front of the funicular





Here is a view from there down to the valley and ocean.




When I looked closer, the ships looked like they were floating, but that is all ocean. There are at least 3 ships in the picture below.




So, we finished out afternoon at McDonalds again - no reason except I am now addicted to fries again - and headed back to our albergo/hotel to continue looking for places to stay.

A new couple came to our albergo for the night. They are from Colorado and are doing a bike trip around Europe for 3 months. They bought bikes in Germany and will sell them before they leave. They go home around Nov 20. Nice youngsters! Here they would call them "ragazzi".

Tomorrow I may go to the beach again - gotta use that Livorno pass!


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One More Manarola Blog

As I walked around the village, I saw many vegetable gardens, grape vines, flowers and fruit trees. The hills are built up into layers of gardens where you can walk among the grape vines. The whole hill side is planted with things.




Close up of the rock walls that lead to each level of garden.




Manarola is known for a lemon liquor and I admit that I didn't try it. But there were many trees where I walked Seymour that were filled with lemons and oranges. Yet, I found no lemons for sale in either of the grocery stores. I really wanted a lemon and was hoping one would fall to the street as I passed - didn't happen.





I don't understand why no one seems to be picking the fruit from the trees. Here is a whole tree of kiwis. Hard to see but all of those brown bunches are the fruit.




And I think this is a rhododendron bush - this was the last bloom. Flowers are everywhere.




I didn't get a picture of the boats being hoisted up to where the buildings start but you can see how far it is from where the boats come in to where the boats are kept - right in the streets.







One more sunset picture from here - beautiful.




The train was even later out of Manarola because there was only one train track and they were having to use trains to collect and dump the mud from the slides in the other villages.

I eventually got to Livorno at about 3:30 pm.

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