04 December 2010

News from cortona :)

Today was our day trip to cortona. Andrea, Olivia, Kailee and i survived! The day started a little crazy because we got confused at the train station. Somehow we were supposed to know to look at the train headed for Rome? Thank goodness for non verbal communication! I hope it makes all of you laugh to know that we sprinted to get on our train within seconds of it's departure. Once we got to our final destination we looked for the bus to take us up the mountain to cortona, but an Italian taxi driver intercepted us. Don't worry, he was exteremely helpful!! He helped us get our return tickets and then gave us a short tour of cortona. He didn't speak any english, but he was really good at signaling and repeating words so that we all understood.

It was an amazing feeling to have the freedom to roam the city and figure everything out on our own. Cortona has a market on Saturdays that sold everything imaginable from fruits to sweaters. Once the market closed for the day everything in the city seemed to shut down. I even walked into a restaurant without realizing they weren't open :). The city and the views were gorgeous!!! Although we were practically mountain climbing all day long because the streets were so steep, I loved the atmosphere and the opportunity for adventures. We went shopping, ate lunch, and roamed around to take pictures. Did I mention it was beautiful?

Overall, I really enjoyed being able to tackle the obstacles we encountered today. Even though there is a language barrier, everyone thus far has been more than willing to help us. The culture here is so much different and I love it!!! Talk to you soon! Ciao!

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