The sun broke through a couple of times today but it was raining again by the afternoon! We got a good start though and drove to Cortona (5 km from our cottage) to explore that village. It sits high on a hill and is an impressive sight from a distance. 
It is also the first village I have seen that caters to the out of shape tourists by having ESCALATORS to carry them from the parking lot to the main part of the village and back!! (This is NOT an out of shape tourist on the escalator now!)
I don't know if they are a result of the movie ("Under the Tuscan Sun") or just an added luxury/convenience but it seemed to be greatly appreciated by some of the American tourists we met!
It is certainly worth a walk to get to the top though! 
Even with the escalator, the streets are steep and uneven with the old cobblestones and one gets a good workout just "wandering". 
Despite the overcast and drizzly weather, Cortona still struck me as one of the prettiest (and most affluent) villages I have seen. 
Its history dates back to Etruscan times and there are ancient tombs to be seen in the area. We visited one on our way up to Cortona and had a picnic lunch in the olive grove where the tomb is located. 
Cortona has a definite medieval flavour with the old stone buildings, the piazzas and the narrow streets and alleyways with their window boxes and flowerpots...and laundry!
Via Janelli is a street just inside one of the gates that has medieval houses that are some of the oldest in Italy. The cobbles here are particularly uneven - worn by how many generations of feet!
We took shelter from a brief rain shower in San Francesco church. It was built in 1245 by Brother Elias who succeeded St. Francis as leader of the Franciscan order. It was a very dark and simple church with some large Renaissance paintings along the walls as the only sign of opulence. No photography allowed inside!
Lots of little shops to explore and some lovely pottery made in the area so it made for a relaxing afternoon.
We were on our way back up the mountain to our cottage when we met a large tractor pulling a load of logs! The road is barely wide enough for one vehicle and there are no shoulders - just a ditch - so I really had nowhere to go! I tried to back up to find a spot to pull over a bit but with no luck. I got out to talk to the man - no English for him, limited Italian for me!! He told me something (in Italian) and gestured but I had no clue what he expected me to do - short of backing 3 km back down the mountain! Finally he got out of the tractor and came to the car. He reached in and turned the steering wheel then said, "Avanti!" I'd move a bit then he'd reach in and turn the wheel again and gesture and tell me something?! until finally I figured out just what he was expecting me to do. I didn't have to go 3 km but I did have to back down the mountain a bit into a more open area. He got back in his tractor, shouted "Grazie!" and happily drove off!! Hopefully this will be our last encounter with traffic on this stretch of road?!
