A Full Day in Cortona

I was happy to discover light in my room when I awoke the next morning, but it turned out to be a tease, as rain soon followed. After an okay cappuccino and disappointing brioche (I had to order another doughnut to make up for it) I did the very brief RS self-guided tour. Because of the clouds, I was missing part of the view and I wasn’t in the mood to be wet today. So I took cover inside using the internet and eating (I know – it seems I do nothing else…).
While on the computer I heard about two sentences of McCain’s concession speech and inferred that Obama was our new president. I had forgotten the elections were happening at home and it was weird to think about what I was missing. I can’t say I was shocked to hear Obama had won, but the news still hit me as a surprise and I sat still for a moment as I realized history had just been made.

But I didn’t contemplate it for too long because I was paying by the minute and getting hungry to boot. I had selected a Rick restaurant for lunch that was supposed to have good and interesting pizza. It has been a while since I’d had pizza, so it sounded perfect.
When I scrutinized the menu, the options were prolific and delightful. Immediately I wished I had more meals to spend here: too many good things! In the end though, I decided to try something completely radical: why not? So I ordered the pear and walnut pizza and believe it or not, it was bloody fantastic.

The pear was cut into extremely thin cross-sections from top to bottom, so the resulting slices looked like the fruit version of pepperoni. Then it was coated in gorgonzola cheese and sprinkled with crushed walnuts, all on a crust that was light, delicate and crunchy in a soft way – kind of like a sopapilla, only not doused in grease: it was dry to the touch; floury, actually. The sweet of the pear, sharp of the cheese and slight bitter of the nuts was an incredible combination; I really loved the whole thing.

After that I was tickled to discover that THREE types of panna cotta were listed on the menu: chocolate, fruit and caramel. But before I could even ask the question: Which one is the best? My waitress apologetically brought me the bill, saying, I’m sorry – we’re closing. Rats. Guess I’ll just have to come back then...

The rest of the day was slow-paced (finished my book) and not worth filling you in on the details, so I won’t.