Tuscany

Courtney Fazende
Dec 26, 2023
3 min read

One short train ride and an hour or so of winding roads beautifully painted with hillsides, we arrived to our hotel in Cortona Tuscany. Il Falconiere was our home for the next several days. The entrance was delicate yet extraordinary. Tucked away in a farmer's village lied this little sanctuary. A few steps through the lobby doors and we were met with these eyes, or lack there of.

Being that our hotel was surrounded by a quaint little village, we decided to walk everywhere. We had it in our mind to walk to the city of Cortona, and after getting caught in the rain as we often do and hiking uphill on the main road we were both slightly regretting our decision not to take a quick car ride. But just when we were feeling sorry for ourselves we took a break and sat up on the nearby rock wall. Taking a breath and swinging our sore feet we turned our heads out and then right back at each other smiling. We sat there for a while admiring the tuscan countryside waiting for someone to pinch us and snap up back to reality.

After a while we gained our energy and determination back and continued up the hill to the city. The city was bustling with tourists and locals. We took our place amongst the crowd and found ourselves taking in the local splendors from antiques to flowers and painted plates to embroidered fabrics, gelato of course, and let's not forget the wine and limoncello!

Midday had quickly turned into evening and we were now in hopes of finding an open table for dinner. We were able to make reservations at a restaurant in the center of the city but we still had a couple of hours to burn. Earlier in the day we were asked by a woman selling wine to enjoy some samples. We had nodded kindly but replied we would try to come back later. When she saw us again she made the biggest smile and scurried us into her shop. It was a dark and narrow room with a large wooden table warmly brightened by hanging lights. A wall full of wine glistened behind our seats and presented on the table were two glasses waiting to filled. She was a warm and friendly woman, made us feel welcome and open to her trade. It was just me, my husband, and her. We laughed and drank and she poured glass after glass encouraging us to try this one and that one. I thought to myself either a great business woman or not all to have us drinking as much as she did, what if we did not buy anything (though we could not help ourselves we found every glass delicious). But even with that thought I knew regardless of business, she was kind and loved her trade, you could see it in her eyes the way she lit up meeting new people and lushing us up with her wine.

Just as we were sipping on our last sample a couple peaked their nose through the door and our new friend waved them over to join us. We had felt it proper to thank her and order some bottles, but as we were making our order we became acquainted with the couple. Our short hellos turned into deep conversations. The woman loved this and broke out the limoncello as we all laughed and shared more stories. Before we knew it it was time for dinner and we thanked the woman for such a wonderful serendipitous time and said our goodbyes to the couple and her. As we walked out we pondered the thought of asking the couple to dinner and having exchanged numbers we decided why not. They accepted and the night continued. Having dinner with this couple was like having dinner with two old friends. The night was fun but hazy as we surprisingly ordered more wine.

The following morning called for restoration. We sat in the spa's sauna and dove into the cool pool interchangeably all morning. We even splurged and enjoyed a wine bath. You read the right, wine bath. A copper tub filled to the brim with warm wine for me and my husband to submerse ourselves into. Peculiar yet inviting, we were suckered in.