Once Upon A Time In Tuscany~

Come for a visit to a fantastic place~

Bella Italia~

Climb stairs and view incredible places~

A visual wonderland~

Stop for a while and enjoy the view~

                                                                                                       

Once upon a time in

Bella Italia~

~ As I Was Saying ~

So, here we were, right where we were supposed to be at that place and time ~
                               Breathing in the " Tuscan air" sitting in the "Tuscan Sun".
The town was ours and I wanted more. I wanted to see who the shop owners were and who the citizens were, and watch their interactions, and as I sat outside the gelatto shop, watching the people going about their shopping and errands, I had a feeling of peace. I was a silent observer of town life, There, yet not an active  part of this life ~

I love the slowed down pace of life in these villages~ Each tourist comes for one reason or another~ However at the end of the day, the tourists fade away, and there you are in the dusty peace sitting having a capucchino in the quiet, alone with the citizens of Cortona. ~

Cortona was ours for the wandering, and wander, we did.

Daily we walked the streets, lanes and climbed her steep streets.

Walking up through the olive groves to the road  that leads to town I knew that  somewhere along this road was the famed Bramesole of Under The Tuscan Sun.

With a little deduction, and a willingness to walk aimlesly, not quite knowing where we were going, we set out to find this famed beauty.

Just as we thought that we had gone about as far as we wished... there... around the curve, peeking through the trees was the  peach colored Villa I longed to find ~

The villa was so beautiful standing in the manse of trees. I found the colors delightful and I was very pleased to be standing there in awe that we were here and this was the place I had dreamt of being~

My true desire was to meet Frances Mayes and tour her gardens.~

I had written to our host of the cottage, and briefly told him of my 

dream  of meeting Francis Mayes, hopeing that they might  possibily  know her~

Unfortunately, Douglas, our host, gave no clue as to if he knew the Mayes or not~

Although I did not meet Frances, nor tour her gardens, when I returned to the cottege for the evening, I picked up a journal left for the visitors about the cottage and around the area. In the journal I discovered that the wife of our host, Jenny, who had passed away, had met Frances Mayes when they were purchasing the farm house, La Faina.

The owner of the farm house and cottage at the time was an American writer, Ann Cornelison, who was hosting the Mayes while they were negotiating the purchase of Bramasole~

They  stayed  in the same cottage we were now in!

Under The Tuscan Sun is dedicated to Ann Cornelison~

I was THAT close!

Under The Tuscan Sun ~ Part 2

When we planned our trip to Italy, my focus was to stay a while in Cortona.
I started my search for accommodations in and around Cortona. I searched VBRO and there were two interesting accommodations that were an apartment with a lovely view of the valley from the hillside of Cortona, and a lovely cottage~ Il Palozone~
Having finally secured the cottage I was quite excited, having had two years to plan and read up through Frances Mayes beautiful books on Tuscany and place myself  as a passenger in her car as she drives through the Tuscan countryside, the olive trees shimmering silver as the sun hits their leaves on her day trips around Lake Trasimeno featured in her book  Bella Tuscany.
The day arrived when we drove up the dirt drive and into the farm.
After settling in, we were up for a hike into town. we climbed up through the hills to the road and followed it through the park. As we walked into town attention was drawn to the shop keepers as we passed the windows and doors opening for business, dress shops, antique vendors,caught my eye as their "artique", shone through their displays.
We walked into the Plazza della Republica once again, feeling as if we knew it just possibly a bit more than the first visit~

A wedding had just ended and the steps to the city building were lined with bridesmaids, flowers and guests congratulating the family. In awe that they were here witnessing the beauty of love, and the beauty of this place ~ We just sat on the wall above it all and drank in the scene .
 We were truly here, our dreams had been realised ~