Last day in Portovenere

View from our hotel room balcony. It's so beautiful, Chels said it looked like I was standing in front of a painting!

I had the most delicious meal in had while in Italy here, fresh mussels in a spicy spaghetti sauce. YUM!

Every view is so gorgeous!

Chels and I at the harbor

My lovely in-laws Cindy and Barry.

Barry and Chels

Huge cactus outside of someone's front door. When you can't have a garden, you have to improvise. I love it!

View of the Portovenere cathedral 

Chelsea and I on the square outside the cathedral

Gays unite! We were excited to see this rainbow Peace flag in our little port town

Old city walls, just outside of the cathedral

There are pictures in town of the waves from the harbor below crashing all the way up to the cathedral!

Beautiful doors, covered with bronzed saints

Looking down to the harbor from the church steps.

A view of the water on the other side of the town, from the back of the church. There are no buildings on this side, just the natural cliffs and water.

Barry and I. The castle ruins where the wedding was held are just beyond where we are standing, basically on top of the next cliff.

View of the harbor from the top deck of the church grounds.

There are steps down to the water below the church

@DanaHunting, I tried twice to make it to your family's bakery, but I was not successful! Either they were on Italian time, or I was not... It looked delicious from the window :)

Andrew and Rachel's Wedding

The day of the wedding was beautiful and sunny in Portovenere, Italy. The hotel staff told us how lucky we were to have such great weather--it had previously been cold and rainy, and was supposed to rain the following day as well. Lucky us!

We started the morning off with a three hour boat cruise, leaving from the Portovenere harbor and sailing up the coast, past two more towns along the Cinque Terre trail that connects the 5 towns along the coast.

Chels and I on the cruise

Beautiful view of the Portovenere harbor as we were leaving. The castle ruins where the wedding was held are located in the upper middle of the picture, sitting just above the town and shops.

View of castle from the water

Such a romantic place for a wedding!

We stayed at the Grand Hotel Portovenere (the pink and white building), and we were all lucky enough to have rooms with balconies and the gorgeous views!

Lauren, Rachel's friend from Michigan, with Chels and I on the cruise. It was lovely to meet Andrew and Rachel's friends. They had 6 couples who came along to help them celebrate!

The Tobys on the cruise

Adorable!

The original Tobys and the new Toby daughter-in-laws

Riomaggiore, closest town to Portovenere on the Cinque Terre trail

The aqua color of the water and the colorful buildings in the background is so gorgeous

The adorable couple on their wedding day

Proud big sister Chelsea

So happy for Rachel and Andrew!

Chels and I at the castle after the ceremony, there were wonderful views!

Chelsea and I at the post-ceremony cocktail hour, out on the hotel's patio overlooking the harbor

Bride and groom, looking radiant and relaxed. 

The Tobys at the wedding reception. What a great day!

Orvieto, Italy

 Barry, Cindy and I did a day trip to Orvieto the day before we left Tuscany to head to the coast for the wedding. Orvieto is located in Umbria, and sits up on a hill 1,000 feet from the valley floor. The town features a beautiful gothic cathedral, Etruscan caves, and an old well (wait for it).

Duomo in Orvieto was built in the 14th century

Beautiful gothic facade with four pillars, each telling a different biblical story: Creation, Tree of Jesse, Old and New Testament, and the Last Judgment stories

Mary and Jesus

Nave of the Duomo

Stunning paintings in the chapels

Mary in the Chapel of the Corporal

It's amazing how old these paintings are, yet how beautiful and intact they remain today

I liked the bronze angels on the doors exiting the cathedral

Cindy and Barry entering the Etruscan caves. The Etruscans lived and founded Orvieto, prior to the Romans arrival, whom killed and eradicated the Etruscan people and culture. 

Map of the Etruscan caves. Each hilltop home had access to these caves in ancient times, where they would store food, wine, and pigeons and other livestock. Some 2,000 caves have been discovered, only a few hundred explored. There are believed to be more of the medieval caves yet to be discovered.

Castle viewed from atop Orvieto. It has now been turned into a hotel.

View of the valley from the old Orvieto city walls

Another view of the valley from the city hilltop

Model of St. Patrick's Well. Commissioned by St. Patrick in the 16th century to hold off the Romans, having a sustainable water source was a big priority for the city. The two spiral staircases had a one-way traffic flow--you go down into the well, and then you (or your donkey, if you're lucky) comes up the other side carrying your water.

Cindy peering through one of the many windows of the well

The well is 175 feet deep and 45 feet wide. Pretty big accomplishment for the 16th century!