Pisa, Cortona, Perugia: November 23rd-24th

Pisa and Cortona: November 23rd

We left Lucca early Friday morning and made our way down to Pisa via train. We spent a couple of hours enjoying the Duomo and the Leaning Tower. Like all of the other tourists, we took silly pictures while holding up the Leaning Tower. From Pisa, we hopped on a train heading south towards Cortona. Ben read in one of our guide books that 2/3 of Under the Tuscan Sun was filmed in this beautiful hill town. Not only was it filmed there, but the story originated from this small town. We enjoyed the evening strolling around the streets and piazzas. We had dinner at a small ristorante where we shared vegetable soup, Ben had pasta with truffle oil and mushrooms, and Liya had pasta with wild boar sauce. It wasn’t the best pasta we’ve had but it was something new and different. The next morning we enjoyed sunny views of the country surrounding Cortona from the hill top. It was Saturday morning so that meant Market Day in the town’s main piazza.
Next stop, Perugia!

Perugia: November 24th
We arrived in Perugia early afternoon only to find that our hostel was not open until 4pm. So we situated ourselves on the steps of the Duomo, snacked on some tasty foccacia bread and drank some delicious 1997 Tuscan wine (only 6 Euros!). We still had some time to spare before checking in, so we read our books in a nearby tea room. After having some tea, we were welcomed to a ‘lovely’ downpour. We haven’t seen rain like this since last winter in Seattle! For the remainder of the evening, we strolled around the streets of Perugia and admired the old medieval buildings and arches of this lively hill town. Fortunately for us, the rain stopped and we enjoyed a beautiful sunset. Liya stopped in one of the many bakeries and bought several different pastries. Her favorite was the creamed-filled brioche – sweet, soft, and heavenly! For dinner, we cooked up a large batch of pesto rigatoni and enjoyed some nice red wine. Perugia was a lovely town with a young spirit to it. We wish we had a few more days to enjoy but…

Next stop, Roma!