September 17, 2014
First on our agenda this morning was to throw some apologies around.....for we were very loud and prolly kinda rude last night.
But it was a new day and we were off to the ferry dock to catch our ride to Portovenere. This may have been one of my favorite towns. So quaint. So much history. Beautiful landscapes.
All of us waiting for the ferry to arrive
To get to Portovenere, we travel in the opposite direction than when we went to Portofino. We pass all the villages that make up Cinque de Terre.
this is an overhead shot of San Pietro Church and the Bay of Poets.
Portovenere San Pietro Church is an early Christian building erected in black marble. It was built in the 6th century, at the site of an ancient temple of Venus, from which Portovenere gets its name. On the left side of the back of the church is located Byron's cove, where the poet loved to swim and dive during his stay in the area.
From the rocky cape of St. Peter's church is a splendid view of the sea and the famous Bay of poets. On the ruins of an early Christian church and the even older pagan temple of the goddess Venus, the new church was built between 1256 and 1277. The whole area around St. Peter's Church marks the historic center of Portovenere.
There currently is Spallanzani Square. In the Middle Ages there was formed a great enlightenment and spiritual center due to the incoming monks. Proof of their society can be seen in the monastery Tino and Tinetto islands.
In architectural terms, the San Pietro Church is distinguished by clean appearance and harmonious style. It consists of two buildings that are interconnected. One was built in Gothic style and the other was Romanesque, much more ancient. The new church was completed at the end of the 13th century by the Genoeses, who built a church on the foundations of the former Benedict Abbey. San Pietro Church was erected with entirely new columns and pillars and huge arches.
The interior of San Pietro Church in Portovenere can be seen decorated with black and white bands. The altar is remarkable and is marked by two chapels. This altar is one of the most important and beautiful works of Genoese Gothic architecture in this part of Italy. Made with extreme precision and elegance, the sculpture was a whole innovative technology for its time.
As a result of the turbulent historical past, and the influences of climate and sea waves, the San Pietro Church suffered severe damage in the course of history. Finally the church was restored between 1929 and 1934. Today San Pietro Church and the attractive rocky promontory on which it is located, are a favorite destination of many lovers coming from all parts of Italy and around the world to celebrate their wedding day.
Now let me show you what it looked like as we approached from the water.
the church situated on the cape. we ride around the corner to see it from the other side there on the left in pic below
then the row houses show themselves in all their glory!
Of course, the first thing we came upon after getting off the ferry was the market. Italians LOVE their open markets and every town has one. I loved visiting every dingle dangle one of them!
cutest lil hotel/bar right in the middle of the piazza
behind all of those colorful houses is a narrow street filled with shops and restaurants...
my FAVE food the whole time I was in Cinque Terre?....anchovy!! Remember, it's not like the canned stuff we have here. Fresh, succulent with just a hint of salt.....to die for!! So what better kinda hamburger??
anchovy!
then we happened upon pesto store. lemme just say that this was THE BEST pesto in all the world! We sampled and couldn't get enough. We knew we had to buy some, so we did.
and the fresh basil sitting on the windowsill
Next? the most awesome lemon, olive and olive oil shop ever!
they even had real live olive trees growing in pots!
Lisa and I decided to eat in our room this night so we just gathered up our dinner from this shop!
the freshest, whole artichoke hearts I've ever tasted!
will show you our finished table at the end of this post...heehee!
after a lil lunch and shopping, it was time to walk up to the church....so beautiful. So ancient. So holy.
and so weird, all at the same time. I found out while I was on trip that my sister in law's father had passed away. We also learned that one of our very good friend's step dad had passed away. We took this opportunity to light candles for them and say a prayer in one of the oldest, most majestic yet primitive churches in the world. So cool.
we then walked around to the Bay of Poets to sit on the stone wall to rest a bit and spend some time writing.
Whew! just needed to get some stuff out after all we'd seen this day. It felt good.
I'm sure this one below wasn't doing her writing but she sure was lost in thought!
If you look back at the image above of the overhead shot, you can see how these rocks are on the other side of the church where we ferried into.
And because it's known that these waters are sure to heal, a few of our girls decided to take the plunge and do a lil swimmin' and chillin'!
waving to us!
even did a lil photo shoot for our notorious leader, Lenora, for her new profile pic!
before we knew it, it was time to head back toward the boat....but look what we found on our way back....
any idea who she is?
Mother Nature, who spends her time looking out over the Bay of Poets, watching God's glorious work!
Lore has it that you must rub her boobies so nature will be good to you!
just because I thought it was cool!
it was the end of the day and time to go back to our la casa felice...happy home!
we stopped in town for a drink or two and then enjoyed a very nice picnic on our terrace in our room!
check out this sweet Italian view!! (and you may notice that one of the wine glasses is missing.....cuz you know who couldn't wait until I took the pic. Hint: wasn't me!!)
WHAT a fun day!!
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