Cortona, Italy - October 18, 2014, Saturday

I'm b-a-c-k!!

Time for a new adventure with Julie, Stevie Gillman, Mary Ann Dalton, Jan Crouch and Jean Marie Hamel.  We're off to Cortona, Italy.  This summer at a fund raiser for Challenge Aspen, my friend Stevie, bought a week at a Tuscan Villa in Cortona, Italy and she invited 4 friends to come along.  I was one of the lucky four.

Friday morning, I met Stevie in Houston and we had an incredible lunch at her restaurant called "Reef."  

Lunch at Reef in Houston

We ordered the left side of the menu as suggested by Chef Brian Caswell, who was nominated Chef of the Year by Food and Wine Magazine.  Brian did NOT disappoint.  We had his famous sliders with Chipotle Mayonnaise, then crab cakes with pickled veggies followed by shrimp and charred rice.  I felt particularly connected to the charred rice as I usually char everything I attempt to cook.  The best part was the two bottles of Cakebread Chardonnay and the spiked milkshakes and chocolate lava cake that really flowed lava.  If you followed my New Zealand/Australia blog, you know the importance of the lava flow.  Oops.  Totally forgot to mention his home made focacia bread and japeleno jelly.  Next time you're in Houston, Reef is a must do.  After lunch, we met Mary Ann at the airport and the fun began.

Champagne and Good Friends

Ready for a good night's sleep on Air France.

We are now comfortably situated in the airplane on the way to Florence.  More champagne, please.  More updates later.

Lunch at Bar 500

We arrived in Florence and were whisked away by our driver to 

the Tuscan villa in Cortona, Italy.  

While we waited for Jean Marie and Jan to arrive, we walked the streets of Cortona and had a quick bite to eat at Bar 500.  



 
Cortona is a charming walled city with medieval architecture and steep narrow streets situated on a hillside at an elevation of around 2000 feet with embracing views of all of Valdichiana.  Adorable restaurants and shops line the narrow streets. 
 

Villa Santa Maria, Cortona, Italy

We are staying at Villa Santa Maria, which is a short walk from the city.  And when they say Cortona is steep and narrow ... they mean it.  The walk to town is a steep uphill walk the entire way.  The Tuscan villa is nestled amongst olive trees with stunning views over Valdichiana.  

Jan and only ONE bag???  Great Job, Jan.

Jan and Jean Marie arrived around 7:00 tonight.  Everyone was shocked that Jan brought only one suitcase.  Good job Jan!!  

Jean Marie and her knee boo boo.

Jean Marie shows off the first injury of the trip.  While trying to loosen up before the long flight to Italy, she hurt her knee doing yoga.  I hope we don't have further mishaps to report this week.  If we do, you can rest assured there will probably be alcohol involved and a darn sight

 more exciting excuse than YOGA.  No offense, Jean Marie, but I could think of a dozen better stories than yoga.  Why Jan mentioned several at dinner!!  You know what I'm talking about!  However, kudos for the really cool bandage!!

Mary Ann Offers Advice to the Chef

Villa Santa Maria comes equipped with a chef to prepare breakfast and dinner.  Tonight's meal was spectacular and very typically Italian with four delicious courses beginning with three types of Bruschetta, a pasta dish made with fresh tomatoes, roasted pork and cabbage salad followed by Tiramisu.  Can't wait for the next feeding tomorrow morning.  

Dinner at the Villa and Stevie's gifts for the girls.  

Stevie brought special clothing for the girls for an event scheduled later this week.  I won't spoil the surprise, but you'll definitely want to tune in later in the week for this one!!

Sunset from the pool at Villa Santa Maria

The sunset tonight was beautiful.  Can't wait for our adventure tomorrow in Florence.  

Hopefully, more later.  I need to find an adapter for the power cord for my MacBook Air.  The three prong cord will not plug in to the 2 prong adapter.  If I find one, I'll continue to post daily updates.  Otherwise, I'll catch up when I return to the States.  Keep your fingers crossed folks!!!