Italy’s third largest seaport, Livorno, located in the heart of Tuscany, was our next port, where we had our choice of visiting Florence, Pisa, or the Cinque Terre, which is a section of the coastline of the Italian Riviera that consists of 5 villages linked together by a hiking trail. That was our choice BUT the best-laid plans don’t always work out. A couple days before we received notice that our excursion to Cinque Terre was cancelled due to severe weather in that area on Tuesday. We later learned that torrential rains and mudslides had destroyed part of one of the villages of the Cinque Terre. So no tours headed that way and we had to change our plans. We decided on the ship’s tour of “Florence and Pisa on your own”. The ship provided the transportation on a coach bus and also a guide who gave us maps and information about the cities enroute.
Our first stop was in Pisa, where of course we saw the Leaning Tower of Pisa, along with a cathedral. You would think that late October would be considered off-season for tourists. But there are thousands of them—can’t imagine what is must be like during the height of summer when there is no school and families would be travelling. The tower is very impressive and we would have liked to have climbed to the top, but there would have been a wait to do that and we didn’t have enough time at this stop. The tower tilts 14 feet off center due to an underground river and the very heavy stone constructing the tower.
 |
| The Leaning Tower of Pisa |
 |
| Yes, we are here!! |
So it was on to Florence, which means “the Flowering” and is considered to be the jewel of the Renaissance. Since the bus ride to Florence is 1.5 hours each way from the port, we only had about 4 hours to enjoy and explore. Upon arrival it was lunchtime so we enjoyed lasagna in an outdoor café overlooking the Palazzo (a plaza) Vecchio.
 |
| Our choice of restaurant for lunch |
 |
| Enjoying the city of Florence and a glass of wine! |
We then headed toward the river flowing through town, the Arno River, browsing some shops along the way. We stopped by the cathedral in town, the Duomo, that symbolizes the wealth and power of Florence in its golden age. It took 14 years to build, and was paid for entirely by the clothmakers’ guild. The façade is decorated with multi-colored marble in geometric shapes. It was very impressive, inside and out. We had thought about climbing up to the dome of the cathedral for an overview of the city, but the 15 Euros per person to do so (about $45 total) changed our minds. Instead we found a place to enjoy some gelato for an afternoon treat!
 |
| The Arno River |
 |
| Artists and vendors in the palazzos |
 |
| The Cathedral Duomo |
 |
| Ahhh, Gelato! |
A return trip to Florence would definitely include a visit to the Academia and Uffzi Museums, which requires much more time than what we had on our short visit. Inside, among the artwork and artifacts of the Renaissance, we would be able to see Michaelango’s statue of David, certainly a highlight.
 |
| NOT Michaelango's David but one of many, many statues in the palazzos of Florence |
So as we headed back to the ship, we said “Arrivederci” to Italy with hopes of returning again someday soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment