Cortona & Montepulciano

The drive up to Cortona
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Cortona and Montepulciano were the other two places we took day trips to while we were staying in Lucignano. Kathy greatly wanted to see Cortona because of its role in "Under the Tuscan Sun" however, she was slightly disappointed because the film's famous fountain apparently never actually existed and was just a prop. The town itself was quite idyllic and overlooked the Tuscan countryside.

Following Cortona we drove to Montepulciano, which is a famous wine town in Tuscany. As non-locals we had to park outside of the town walls and walk in. The center of town was perched high on a hill so we trekked up coblestone streets and narrow alley ways for about an hour until we reached the flat square. Kathy proceeded to run up the stairs of the church and do her best Rocky impersonation. It was quite a feat. After our walk it started to rain heavily so sadly, we were forced to seek refuge in a local wine shop. Following some wine tasting and the purchase of multiple bottles of cheap, great Chianti, we braved the weather and inched our way back down the slick streets, bottles in tow.