Day 2

Rested (fairly) and looking forward to our first experience with market day in Cortona we head downstairs to begin the day. Jeanette prepared a fantastic breakfast for us… eggs and bacon, grilled potatoes and tomatoes, prune crostata, fruit salad and of course a nice selection of cheeses, prosciutto and salami. Cappuccino for D. and a couple of espressos per mio and we are ready to shop.

 Saturday is market day in Cortona. We wander through the streets which are unrecognizable, crowded with trucks selling clothing, linens, leather goods and toys. There were trucks of fruits and vegetables and trucks that unfolded origami like into small meat and cheese shops. We were on a mission to stock up for the first night and morning in Greve. Cantaloup, cheese (creamy fresh peccorino that you can’t get in the US), a salami and some cherries from Puglia. (Not as good as Michigan cherries, but mighty tasty). We also got a quart of strawberries to put on breakfast. Donna used her super cool prize/shopping tote and we were off to gather our bags and be on our way.

One more stop at the Coop ‘hypermarket’ for eggs, milk, cereal and beverages and it was back on the road. 1-1/2 hours and one stop to eat lunch (porchetta sandwiches from the Cortona market) brings us to Borgo di Sugame, our home for the next week.

A working vineyard, Borgo di Sugame sits overlooking the Arno Valley. The view from our apartment is Chianti Classico! 

Behind the double glass doors with the white curtains hides the cellar with great oak barrels lining the stone walls. At the front of the cellar there are racks of their wines. The best part is the cellar is always open and you are welcome to just take a bottle and mark it down on a sheet on the desk and they’ll add it to your tab. Would this work in the US? Hmmmm… 

Two whimsical dogs, Pinto and Luna add just the perfect pinch of goofyness to the picture postcard setting. Pinto greeted us on our arrival by sitting down in front of the car as we drove in the drive but seemed to know where to stop us as it was right at the door of our apartment, clever fellow. Luna, the victim of an unfortunate accident on the road, bounds up and down on her three remaining legs, ears flapping and tail wagging in uninhibited joy. We all can a learn a little from Luna.

Vardas and Nelsons arrive and we all settle in for the week. We sign out our first bottle of wine and enjoy appetizers of cheese and salami from the Cortona market. Then we are off to Dudda for dinner. Now, don’t blink or you’ll miss Dudda, All of a church, a tabachino/bar/restaurant, a tiny market and some houses on either side of the road for about 200 feet.

The food was outstanding. D. had meatballs in pomodoro sauce and sauteed spinach (the lady loves her spinach). I had the grilled, sliced steak with herbed potatoes and a plate of grilled peppers, zucchini and eggplant.

Catrina, one of the owners Borgo di Sugame has told us to expect rain all week. …

Tomorrow off to Lucignano for the spring flower festival/battle!