Tuscany and Provence were the first "dream" destinations when I started planning this trip 4 years ago and I have finally spent time in both places! I think Cottage Contadina here in Cortona was the first accommodation I found so I was quite excited to finally be arriving - and I wasn't disappointed!
We travelled from Venice to Florence and then Florence to Arezzo to pick up our rental car. There were masses and masses of poppies everywhere - along the train tracks, on hillsides, in ditches and I finally saw complete fields of nothing but red! Gorgeous! 
We picked up our rental car in Arezzo and drove to Castiglion Fiorentino to meet the owner of the cottage - Alberto Biliotti. He was the epitome of an Italian male - lovely! - but unfortunately wasn't part of our rental package! He told us that the route to the cottage was "a bit windily" so he would lead the way. "Windily" does not begin to describe it! We turned onto a very narrow "path" and drove for about 5 km never knowing if someone or something would be coming at us around the next corner (and there were a LOT of corners!!) I had requested that Alberto not go too fast but I still lost him a couple of times. We climbed and climbed and twisted and turned for what seemed like more than 5 km! We finally stopped at a cottage perched on a hill with a spectacular view of the Tuscan countryside. It was everything I had dreamed it would be!
The cottage is a restored stone farmhouse with terracotta floors and beams on the ceilings. It is surrounded by forest and Alberto warned us to keep the gate closed - wild boar tend to roam at night looking for food! The birds were singing and we even heard a cuckoo in the woods.
My bedroom has French doors that open out onto a patio looking out over the forest. 
and reminds me of the bedroom in Under the Tuscan Sun!
I slept well - especially after one last look at the fields and the lights glittering far off in the villages below!
Sunday morning was overcast and there was rain but we had planned to sleep in and spend the day doing laundry (hung outside when the rain cleared), reading travel books and just enjoying the peace and quiet after so many weeks in noisy, busy cities.
