Does Cortona live up to its 'Under the Tuscan Sun' reputation? (Vagabond Italia) March 2018 скачать в хорошем качестве

Does Cortona live up to its 'Under the Tuscan Sun' reputation? (Vagabond Italia) March 2018

(See travel blog VAGABOND ITALIA to find out the full story about why this Aussie family has packed up their lives and escaped to Italy for 12 months at http://vagabonditalia.com/about) I won't lie, one of the reasons I first decided to visit Italy some years ago was because I fell in love with the film 'Under the Tuscan Sun' (2003) with Diane Lane. This film is set in the most quaint little town called Cortona, in Tuscany where she goes on holiday, but then impulsively buys a villa in order to escape her life back home in San Francisco. I have a feeling this romantic theme festered inside of me.... look at us now! Now living just a 1.5 hour drive from Cortona in our new home in Tuscany, my husband Nick, baby Harriet and I decided to jump in the car and take a road trip to see if this town was all it was cracked up to be. Knowing how showbiz can be all smoke and mirrors, we had low expectations for it being a tiny non-eventful town but boy were we wrong. I'm not sure if it was a tourism spike from the success of this 2003 movie, but this town had a lot to offer, while at the same time did not feel like a tourist trap.  This short video captures our experiences over the weekend - getting around Cortona, the quality of restaurants, site-seeing and the night life (not that we got to experience much of it with a 1 year old daughter...). We show you why we 100% believe that Cortona does live up to it's reputation from the film and we highly recommend it as a destination for young families like us, friends or couples. NOTES: RESTAURANTS - The restaurant mentioned in this video, with the flowers on the balcony is called Osteria del Teatro (http://www.osteria-del-teatro.it/inde.... I could give a list of recommendations, but to be honest I think it's safe to say all the restaurants here are wonderful! ACCOMODATION - We booked an apartment right in the city centre with Rent in Tuscany which was very delightful and affordable and the staff were very friendly and gave us a lot of information and recommendations for our time in Cortona. They also set up a cot and high chair for us pre-arrival which was very handy. We booked through booking.com but I think it is cheaper going directly through (http://www.rentintuscany.it/). TO DO WITH KIDS - I don't mention in the video but there is a picture of me with my daughter at a great park called Parterre (https://www.google.com/maps/place/Par...) which had swings, gardens, monuments etc. From this park there is also a lovely long tree lined path to take a 20-30 min stroll with the pram and a good coffee.  PARKING - You can't drive your car in Cortona, rather you need to park your car at the large parking bay just at the entrance of the city and walk up a few fights of stairs to the city. Don't be put off though, as we managed with a baby no problems. Here are the in depth directions that my husband and I were given... "Once you reach Cortona, search PIAZZA GARIBALDI on your navigator. When you arrive there, I suggest you to drop the luggage off there and then go to leave the car in the unpaved free parking just under this square: you will reach it easily since you need to take the street that goes down to leave the square and then turn right at the STOP road sign you find at the end of this street. Drive straight for 150 mt along most of the parking you could see on your left coming from the square. At almost the end of the street you will find the entrance of the parking on your left: enter and find a place there. I suggest you to arrive at about lunch time in order to find easily the parking as in peak season the town can be crowded. Once you have parked the car, you should go up some steps you will find in the parking, cross the road and walk up in directions of the working escalator that will lead you to the square where you drop the luggage off. One of you waiting for the other in the square with the luggage." Ciao for now, Katie, Nick & bambina Harriet xox