Fashion Monday, Tuscan Tuesday

Yes, it is Tuesday. I did not write yesterday because we spent the day just relaxing, walking around Florence, snapping photos and getting acquainted with this amazing city. And, the highlight of our day was the arrival of our daughter, Whitney, about 2 pm from Austin, TX. She arranged her vacation to coincide with our trip to Italy so she could join us and we are so glad she did! We enjoyed some great food (see the picture of me with my delicious pizza) and spent hours at the market looking at the fine leather jackets, handbags and briefcases. My brother and I began to notice (especially when our wives pointed it out to us) that many of the cooler, more fashionable men here in Italy wear scarves. Yes, it is true. And we also noticed that our wives generally find these fashion accessories quite attractive. Whether in the train station or just walking down the street, one or both of our spouses could be heard ohh-ing or ahh-ing over some man's scarf. (At least, they said it was just the scarves they were ogling.) In fact, it happened so frequently we began to refer to these as "marf" sightings (code for man scarf). Finally, Jonathan and I decided to join the fashion rage and we both broke down and got our own marfs! Funny what you will do to just fit in sometimes, I guess. ( I have also added a marf picture below.)
Today was "Tuscan Tuesday." Today is Whitney's 25th birthday. We decided to celebrate with a trip to Tuscany. We were up early to catch the train to Cortona. What a beautiful vista!! We were in awe when we finally stood in the Piazza Garibaldi and looked out over the valley. Just over the ridge is Assisi, and to the north you can see Montepulciano. We strolled through this beautiful Tuscan hill town that is home to 2500 residents and serves as one of the study-abroad locations for the University of Georgia. We could easily see why students would want to study here. We stopped for lunch at a small cafe (a delicious pizza with truffle sauce) and were just finishing a wonderful meal when in walked the President of UGA, Michael Adams! Whitney and I went over to his table and introduced ourselves. Dr. Adams was was kind enough ask Whitney what she is doing now (she has both her undergraduate and graduate degrees from UGA) and he also wished her a happy birthday! Remarkable!
We continued our stroll through Cortona, saw more sights, stared at the view, photographed narrow alley-ways and, just before catching the train back to Florence, we did a self-guided tour of the Church of St. Francis. Since Francesco of Assisi is someone I greatly appreciate, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing his tunic and pillow and gospel book that are preserved in this simple but magnificent old church from the 13th century. This church was built by St. Francis' best friend, Brother Elias, and is also said to hold, in a protected glass case over the altar, a piece of the cross of Jesus. Brother Elias brought this important relic back to Cortona from Constantinople when he travelled there to visit St. Francis. I was fascinated!
We ended our day back in Florence with a simple dinner (purchased from the market) which we ate in the Piazza of Michelangelo, high up over the city of Florence at sunset. And it's only Tuesday!