Photo Intensive Visit to Pisa and Florence

Good morning!  Yesterday we talked about the stop in Villefranche, France during the November 2008 cruise.  Today we will be moving on to the next stop Livorno, Italy which is the home port to both Pisa and Florence.  We decided on this day to do an excursion that took us to both Pisa and Florence.  But in each location we were on our own once we were dropped off.  Then we just had to meet the bus back at a certain time.  The drive from Livorno to Pisa is about 30 minutes long and Pisa was our first stop.

There is not much to say about Pisa that you probably don't already know.  So, I'll just say that I didn't realize that in addition to the leaning tower, the church is very pretty.  We didn't have much time to spend there since most of the day was to be spent in Florence.  But I would like to have gone into various parts of the church and seen what the inside looked like.  Instead we just roamed around and took pictures from different angles of the tower.  In a perfect world, I would only have spent about another 45 minutes there, just enough time to go inside.  Some of our dinner companions on the ship, walked up to the top of the tower.  I'm not sure that I would have chosen to do that given the time.  I was fairly happy on ground.

As you can tell from the photos, it was a fairly rainy day.  It was also kind of cold.  But we made the most of it.  Jenny along with half of the other people in Pisa took a moment when we first got there to try to hold the tower up right, but she like all the others before her was unsuccessful.

I found that the hardest thing to do here is to hold your camera level as you try to take pictures to show how far the tower leans.  Your brain really wants to correct and make the tower straight.  

 We only spent about 45 minutes off of the bus here.  Once we left Pisa we still had about another hour to ride on the bus to get to Florence.  We were visiting Florence on a Monday which means that most of the shops other than the ones that specifically cater to tourists were closed.  To add to the issue, the closer we got to Florence the worse the weather became.  Finally, it was November and the statue of David was undergoing restoration.  So, we saw no statue of David while there just a box that covered the spot where he would normally be.  We were drenched even though we both had umbrellas and I wore a rain jacket all day.  Jenny and I were talking the other day.  She wants to go back to Florence some day.  I don't care if I ever see Florence again.  I suppose it is a matter of taste.  But I just didn't feel like if I ever went back I would have much more to see other than the statue.

So, here is the view we were treated to as we arrived in the old part of Florence.  I would like to have gotten off of the bus here and taken a photo of the city without cars in front of it.  But this was taken from the bus.

In this area there is a replica of the Statue of David that we were able to see.  So that is what you are seeing below.  Again, this photo was taken from the bus.  So, that's all we were able to see as we drove by slowly.

Once in old Florence, we were dropped off with a map and told what time to meet back up with the bus.  We had several hours.  I think if the weather had been better, we would have wished for more time.  As it was, when it was time to meet back up with

the bus, I couldn't wait to get back there.  It was cold and wet and a little miserable.  When we got back to the ship that evening we found out that a lot of people on other excursions actually went through snow while they were out that day.  So that's how cold it was.

The photo below of the construction boxes is as close as we got to the actual Statue of David.  So, I just thought I would show you where it would have been if we had seen it that day.  The church pictured to the right of the Statue of David boxes was the main church in Florence.  It is the Basilica di Santa Croce or the Basilica of the Holy Cross.  Construction on the church began in 1294.  The church was consecrated in 1442 by Pope Eugene IV.  The indoor photo of the dome was taken in that church.  The church is the burial place of Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, Foscolo, Gentile, and Rossini.  So, some pretty heavy hitters in the Italian world are buried there.

 One of the most famous things in Florence is The Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge) which spans the Arno River and was built in the 14th century.  The photo to the right and the ones below were taken from the bridge itself.  The photo on the top of today's blog is the one of the Ponte Vecchio taken from the next bridge over.  It originally housed butcher shops.  Today, shops still operate on the bridge, but they are jewelry shops, art galleries and souvenir shops.  On the day we were there, since it was Monday almost all of them were closed.

Here are more photos of the Basilica di Santa Croce.  It was amazingly ornate.

After taking the photos of the church we found a little restaurant and had a really nice lunch. Every restaurant you went past, they tried to talk you into.  When we passed the one we ended up having lunch in, we told the man that we had to hurry so that

our bus wouldn't leave us.  He assured us that they would be very quick.  I don't think he realized when he said that just how big of a hurry we were in.  But they were still very accommodating and got us in and out very quickly for a small Italian cafe.

I am sure that on a warm day other than a Monday when it is not raining, I would have enjoyed Florence a lot more than I did.  But even so, it was a lovely day.  So the things to keep in mind if you are going to Florence for only one day.  Make sure that it is NOT Monday since the city nearly shuts down on Monday's. If you think it might rain, be sure to carry an umbrella AND overcoat because there are not a lot of shelters other than just hanging out in a church (or shop if one happens to be open).  And find a nice Italian cafe to spend a couple of hours eating a wonderful lunch with a very attentive waiter for the best experience possible.

I'm apologize for posting so late today.  I had to watch a really long Disney webinar this morning.  Have a great Thursday.... Tomorrow we visit Rome!  Oh!  Also, don't forget tomorrow is National Margarita Day... make your plans to celebrate!