Wednesday 17th June 2015
Our first stop on the Tuscan trail was Cortona. We drove up a hill and were able to find parking not far from the entrance to the city. Cortana is one of the smaller towns. Larger towns like Arrezo have car parks at the bottom of the hill and escalators to take you up to the town. Inside the walls the towns are mostly traffic free. They are restricted traffic zones with hefty fines for those entering by car without a permit. The towns of Tuscany were all once owned by wealthy families which were at war with each other, hence the walls, towers and various fortifications.
The towns themselves are charming and full of character. You only need to walk of down an alley off the larger streets to get wonderful views over green landscape. The buildings scream history. They towns are touristy but the lack of traffic makes a huge difference to how they feel, relaxed rather than busy.
The views on the way down the hills as you leave the towns, especially on the smaller roads at times look like paintings of what you imagine the Tuscan countryside to look like from the movies, not quite real.
Ramblers Rumblings 