Portovenere, Italy

Hello family and friends,

It's been a few days since I've posted, as the internet service has been spotty. We arrived in Portovenere on Thursday afternoon. Andrew and Rachel's wedding was Friday, we had beautiful weather! It was a gorgeous wedding, we had a blast and are so happy for our brother and new sister-in-law! Can't wait to share more photos next week.

Panoramic shot of Portovenere from the harbor

Cindy and I at lunch on the harbor

Chelsea and Barry at lunch

These are a few preview photos from my cell phone. Most photos are on the camera, however Chels and I are traveling for the next few days and I forgot the camera USB cord at the Villa. Stay tuned for updates and more posts in a few days.

Chels and I have arrived in Florence and will be here for the next few days, then on to Venice for a night. Back to the Villa on Tuesday, and will upload photos then. 

Arrivederci!

Citta della Pieve

Tuesday was a quieter day. Andrew, Rachel, the Davidsons and a few friends went to Rome for the day to explore and file paperwork at the consulate for the upcoming wedding. So soon, can't wait!

The rest of us had a free day to explore the town closest to the Villa, Citta della Pieve. Barry, Cindy, and I walked into town yesterday late morning to do some exploring and pick up some groceries. As a group, we've been struggling to get into the shops and restaurants when they are open. Many close mid-day for a few hours, and on Sunday the grocery we intended to go back to never re-opened. Silly Americans getting used to "Italian time".

Inside the Citta della Pieve Duomo

Famous Citta della Pieve artist Pietro Vannucci, aka il Perugino. His image is a source of pride in town and is found all over the city. This tile was on the side of a building as we strolled along the cobblestone streets.

View from the edge of the city. Neat to see how the cities are built up on hills with surrounding walls, which were built to protect the city from intruders. 

Map of Citta della Pieve

Panoramic view from the edge of the city walls

Steps up through a residential part of the city

I love the vertical gardens and rooftop or balcony gardens. There are no backyards in the city, so residents have to get creative with their green spaces.

Private homes have miniature statues of Santa Maria (some include Mary as well as Jesus) over the doorways into the home. They are quite beautiful and unique.

The smallest street in Italy, Vicolo Baciadonne. Rumor has it that a feud between neighbors whom did not want adjoining homes created this narrow street in between.

Also called the "kissing street" as you could lean out the window of one home and kiss someone in the other. Picture above is of Barry walking through ahead of me, quite the squeeze through!

Another image of the street. Barry joked that this is the only street in Italy you feel confident walking down that you won't get run over by a car or Vespa!

Me and Barry in the Vicolo Baciadonne

 
View of the bell tower

Another Santa Maria altar 

Barry, Cindy, Chelsea and I went out to dinner last night in Citta della Pieve. I accidentally ordered a 1/2 carafe of wine, instead of a glass. Oh well, more wine is a good problem to have!

Cindy took this picture of me with the enormous pizza I ordered. Chels and I each ordered a dish and planned to share, boy were we stuffed! The food is so delicious, we're all hoping we still fit into our clothes for the wedding on Friday! 

Wine Tasting in Siena

 We spent yesterday wine tasting in Montalcino and Siena. The vineyards were beautiful, and the sun came out, giving us extraodinary views for our drive through Tuscany.

The courtyard at the first winery we stopped at. They featured a few types of Brunello wines, as well as an olive oil they make.

Chels and I at the first winery. You can see the vineyard behind us.

I would not want to hand pick those grapes!

We stopped for lunch in Montalcino. Many of these towns are set atop the hillside, so they offer wonderful 360 views. We mistakenly drove into the city initially, so Barry had some tight squeezes down the old cobblestone roads. Yesterday was also a national holiday in Italy, liberation day (from the Nazis after WWII), so we found ourselves literally in the middle of their liberation parade! Complete with a marching band, men in tights, and what seemed to be the whole town walking behind the parade to celebrate. 

We had lunch at a wonderful Italian restaurant that Andrew and Rachel had researched and made reservations. My lunch was gnocchi with porcini mushrooms, I wish I had taken a picture! It was delicious! And local wine, of course. Chelsea had a pasta with Strangozzi noodles in a meat sauce, very tasty.

After lunch, we headed to our second winery outside of Siena.

Gorgeous buildings and grounds of the winery

A tad bit windy, but warm and comfortable in the sun.

Chelsea and Cindy at the vineyard.

Tour of the second winery, some of the barrels were big enough to hold 10,000 bottles worth of wine!

Gelato shop, OMG. We can't get enough!

After the winery, we headed into Siena to explore and have dinner. This is a view of the Piazza del Campo. After hiking up into the city, we're walking through narrow, winding cobblestone streets with shops and cafes. All of a sudden, there is a break in the street and the huge piazza comes into view. This is where the Palomino races take place, a la one of the recent James Bond movies, where you have possibly seen an image of this event. The town folk gather in the center of the piazza, and the jockeys race around the outside path of the piazza for the event.

Fonte Gaia fountain

Torre del Mangia

Chels and I at the Piazza del Campo.

There were so many people spending time in the square. Locals, tourists, it was a nice mix. I love that whole families are out walking around these Italian towns, really enjoying each other. Wonderful!

Base of the Torre del Mangia

Me sitting in a cool cutout wall on our way to dinner. I love the greenery, nature find a way to thrive in the heart of the city!

Dinner in Siena

Chelsea's delicious cheese and assorted honey plate at dinner

Andrew and Rachel found another great spot for dinner. It was almost as if we were in an old tunnel, converted into a restaurant. Very cozy and tasty, the food and wine are so good here!!! 

With that, I'm off to breakfast. Ciao!

Our first full day in Italy

After a full night's sleep, we're feeling rested and refreshed; ready to start our Italian vacation! The bride and groom arrived late last night, along with a set of their friends. They found their way to the Villa via hilly, winding roads. Chels was already asleep, I managed to stay up long enough to say hello and have a glass of wine with the soon-to-be newlyweds.

                                          The front of the Villa

Another picture of the Villa, and the guest rooms on the right side. Our room and the Tobys and Davidsons are all staying in the main part of the old house, off to the left side of the Villa (first picture)

This is the guest cottage, with a few more rooms, pool table and sitting area. Both the Villa and guest cottage have their own swimming pools

Path down to the guest cottage, set back and to the right of the main house. Also, there are a few cats roaming around the grounds. This kitty wanted to be in my picture!

They have bikes on the property, so we can bike into town. Also, another cat keeping a close eye on me while I toured the grounds.

The Villa includes a nice breakfast each morning. We slept in, ate our breakfast, and headed back into Fabro for some shopping, cafe lattes, and lunch. Many folks were walking around the town today, the church had recently let out from the service, so it felt like quite the European experience to be out among the locals, walking down the narrow, cobblestoned streets. I love hearing the church bells ring, every 15 mintues! 

It's been a rainy day, much like our typical Seattle weather. Waiting for the sun to come out, stay tuned for more pictures, hopefully poolside! The remainder of today will be spent relaxing at the Villa, adjusting to the time change, and meeting some more of Andrew and Rachel's friends who come in tonight via train in Chiusi. Then wine tasting tomorrow. Having a wonderful time!

Arrivederci! 

Fabro, Italy

Arrival day: on our way to the Villa, we pass through a quaint town, Fabro. Unfortunately for us, many restaurants close between 3pm-7pm for afternoon rest time or siestsa, so we haven't yet gotten a chance to taste the gastro delicacies. But am looking forward to it very much! 

Cool door knockers

Duomo (cathedral church)

Lots of neat alleys

A bit scary driving through these narrow streets in a 8-passenger van! Barry was an excellent driver, we made it safe and sound.

Citta Della Pieve is about a mile walk from the Villa, will definitely be going into town tomorrow to check out the shops and eat at a local pizzeria or two.