ARRIVAL IN CORTONA
Four weeks in Tuscany – a perfect place to spend a summer off-island and an ideal location for Philip and I to reunite after two months apart (respective travels: P - Madagascar, me - England).
We were to stay in
the beautiful, fortified hilltop town of Cortona, near the border of Tuscany
and Umbria – perfectly located for visiting all the well- and lesser-known
sites.
Cortona is like a
mini volcano protruding out of the flat plains of the Valdichiana region – I
could say valley, but that would be a tautology, Valdichiana meaning ‘valley of
the Chiana’. The medieval town of Cortona tops a 600 metre hillside with a magnificent
view of the landscape below.
The town itself is
set in a time warp, with two main ‘piazzas’ (squares) that buzz with local
daily life. Its beauty attracts the attention of visitors, albeit mostly
Italian or hardy foreign tourists prepared to face the steep gradients on foot
(traffic is forbidden within the town walls). In fact, there is only one level
street in the whole of Cortona - Via Nationale - which is thus the principal
tourist trap, so good to avoid! The other streets are incredibly narrow and
winding, flanked by very tall, old stone buildings, bedecked with wrought iron
balconies and plants cascading from terracotta pots.
We stayed in a
beautiful apartment, in what was formerly a large Tuscan house set within a
cobbled courtyard. It was located just off one of the piazzas, so right in the
heart of all the buzzing activity, and was deliberately chosen to contrast with
our island life. However, there was to be more lively action than we had anticipated,
as the said courtyard was in fact the en plein air dining room of a small
trattoria!
Thankfully it was
a modest affair with select clientele, so noise levels were restricted to
pleasant chitter chatter combined with cutlery on china and clinking glassware.
It also became an entertaining topic of interest when we dined on our balcony
above – the best seats in the house to view the fascinating trattoria clientele
and the mouth-watering culinary creations, which whetted our appetite for the
delicious Tuscan cuisine that we were yet to sample.
CUISINE
Our culinary adventure began with breakfast bought from a local ‘panetteria’ (bakery), which was an interesting exercise. Firstly on account of communicating in my very basic Italian that I had gleaned from previous trips, combined with new phrases from our little guide/phrase book. I also found myself reverting to Spanish which, to my surprise, was often understood and sufficed in selecting a few Italian croissants, known as ‘cornetti’/ ‘cornetto’ (singular).
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However, these are quite different to French
croissants, being made with less butter, so are like a cross between a brioche
and a croissant; in fact some of the panetteria call their cornetti ‘brioches’.
The second interesting discovery was the surprise filling inside such cornetti
(cream or different types of jam), obviously not at all surprising to those
more fluent in Italian! We quickly realised that the Italians have a very sweet
tooth, as it became very difficult to find plain cornetti (I later learned
that one should ask for ‘cornetto vuoto’, meaning empty, presumably linked to
‘void’ ... anyway, it makes a good aide memoire!).
Espressos were a
key component of our dining experience; we had been quite content with French
coffee, in both France and St Barts, until we tasted Italy’s perfect balance of
taste and strength. Being double in strength, Italian espressos are practically
half the size of those elsewhere, which was initially difficult to accept, so we
ordered a ‘doppo’ (double) espresso to compensate. This would certainly make
one buzz and think that life was ‘fantastico’, but I began to find this
quantity too overpowering in taste, so reverted to a single shot for the
pleasure of ‘less is more’.
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| Tagliatelle al Tartufo |
Evening dining
offered a wonderful menu of fresh, wholesome ingredients simply, yet
creatively, combined, at incredibly reasonable prices. Philip therefore decided
to do the ‘Italian thing’ and order all (well almost) of the ‘piatti’ (courses)
proffered – antipasto, primo, secondo and dolce. The size of each course was
relatively modest, which made the long menu not too overwhelming. The antipasto
was usually a small plate of fresh meats, different cheeses or a salad such as
‘tricolore’ (mozzarella, tomato and basil). The primo was a pasta dish – a
perfect size for me to enjoy as a main course when combined with an arugula
salad with parmesan shavings; my favourite being the ‘tagliatelle al tartufo’ (tagliatelle
with truffles) – simply delectable! Philip was more adventurous enjoying the
local hunting fare, such as ‘lepre’ (hare) or ‘fagiano’ (pheasant), garnishing a
pasta dish! The secondo was a simple meat dish, again from the forest, so ‘cinghiale’
(wild boar) was a popular option that Philip liked to select.
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| Pistachio Gelato |
Last, but
certainly no means least, were the delicious post-prandial gelatos, often
bought from the specialist ‘gelateria’; one of which was located next to our
favourite piazza café which kindly allowed us to eat our gelatos with our
espressos, amaretto or otherwise. The range of flavours was quite breath-taking
and all made from a host of interesting fresh ingredients; my favourite being
pistachio, coconut, fig and mascarpone; whilst Philip preferred the various
types of chocolate, plain or combined with different types of nuts or even
orange, reminiscent of the ‘Terry’s Chocolate Orange’ so treasured in our
childhood – the orange flavoured chocolate segments, disguised as an orange in
bright speckled foil, to be ‘tapped and unwrapped’ according to the ad!
