7-12-09

And here's a poem I wrote -

The clouds in the sky
were drifting by
like quiet giants
stepping deftly over pastures green.

First full day in Cortona! And what a town it is! For one, it sits up on a hill overlooking all of Tuscany. We walked to the top, and from there we caught a glimpse of a thousand acres of vineyards dotted with towns and yellow Sunflowers.

This morning we got up early. My dad went for a run, and I wrote. When he got back we had breakfast, got ready for the day and went for a walk. We walked to the church atop the hill, but were shooed away by a troop of flustered nuns who said "our knees weren't covered, so we couldn't come in." (Well, in so many words, they mostly pointed at our uncovered knees and yelled 'Diavolo! Diavolo!' which is 'come back later' in Italian, I think.) So instead we walked around the outside and then up to a fortress that lay on the very top of the hill. We spoke of its fortifications. I said it was genius placement because you could see your enemy from miles away, and if you ever were attacked, it would be difficult for them to storm such a steep hill. Just below the fortress lay three giant sandstones that were perfect seats to rest on during the heat of the day. While sitting on these stones I noticed a clear blue lake in the distance. Its shimmering blue waters reminded me of Suttle Lake in Central Oregon.

We descended to the church again. Sunday Mass was starting, and as we walked down the main road old women hunched over the wheels of their tiny Eurocars rambled past us on their way to church. We saw families, single women, men, fathers and sons, grandpas and grandmas all heading up the hill on their way to Mass. I pitied them and admired them for their brazen belief in God. How easy it must be for them to sleep at night thinking there is someone watching over them. Someone who really cares for their well being, hoho!

Farther down the hill we came to a turnoff where we saw a sign for "La Pisina", (which is pool in Italian). We took it and stumbled upon an oasis in the hills. Where we stood, which was on the backside of Cortona, was perched a pool, tennis court, soccer or 'futbol' field, and a restaurant! All overlooking the beautiful Tuscan valley! 'This must be paradise,' I thought to myself as I surveyed the scene. My dad ordered two waters and we sat on the terrace soaking in the warm summer breezes. I watched in awe as the lifeguard went about his job, which I learned was anything but. He would stand at the pool for 20 seconds, then he'd walk to the restaurant and talk to a chef or waitress, then he'd grab a cigarette from behind the bar and while smoking he'd adjust his skimpy speedo onesy. After, he'd loaf back to the pool and begin the process again. And I thought our jobs were easy!

After finishing my dad made an exit to look around the restaurant, and I went to the bar to talk to the cute girl mixing drinks. She took my empty bottle with a "Grazie" and a sweet smile and I about lost it. It's not many times in a boys life when he is confronted with absolute beauty. The type of beauty that is a byproduct of eating olive oil and fresh basil for the bulk of one's life. She was wearing a loose fitting white tanktop and her eyes were almond colored, same as her sunkissed skin. Her name is Lisa (pronounced Liza) from Cortona, whose been to Los Angeles and New York and enjoys reading Romance novels. Ah Liza, how beautiful.

We walked back to town via a goat trail carved into the hillside. When we got back to our villa we had a helping of Prochutto salad on toasted bagettes with beer. We talked about who'd we invite to a dinner party if we could invite anyone. I said Bukowski, Franklin, Groucho, Allen, Kurosawa, Pryor, Orwell and Thompson. My dad came up with Jesus, Bill Gates, Churchill, Jefferson and Morrison. After, we were drained and had to sleep. When we awoke Charlie, Victoria, Cameron, Ashley (next door neighbors from long ago) and their friend Leisha had arrived from Rome. And what better way to celebrate than to head into town and drink? So we did.

We stopped at a local bar, the adults (my dad, Charlie, Victoria, Leisha) went to sit at one table, and Cameron (a year older than yours truly), his sister Ashley (my sister's age) and I went to sit at another table. We ordered a round of drinks, Cameron a 'Sex on the Beach' (we gave him soo much crap for that), Ashley a beer (my kind of girl), and me a 'White Russian' (because 'The Dude abides.") We sucked those down and ordered something a bit stronger so we went with the "Harvey Wallbanger*." (*just for clarification, a Harvey Wallbanger is called such because after a few, don't be surprised if you are banging against a wall and introducing yourself as "Harvey, from accounting!") They brought the Harveys with finger-food, hoping that a few watercress crackers would offset the massive amount of alcohol being dumped into our system. The Bangers went down a bit more slowly, and after I had a pretty good buzz. I remember Cam saying, "Hey lets get another drink! One we've never had before!" I nodded in approval and said, "Pick one!" He chose one called "Horses Neck", which turned out to be whiskey and lemon with ice. Cam hates whiskey, but we drank those and ate finger sandwiches and felt very European.

Afterwards, we made our way to dinner. We ate like kings, slopping up the excess alfredo with slices of fresh Italian baguettes and downing more beer. Just as our dinner was ending, a festival began in the square below us. We sat watching the flag throwers and dancers twirl and shake while listening to the folk band churning out traditional Tuscan dance songs. It was the perfect ending to our first day in Cortona!