May 2 - Florence & Pisa

Today we awoke to a rainy and dreary day as we docked in Livorno, the port for Florence and Pisa. We were booked on a private tour with our friends and we were off the ship by 8 AM and on our way despite the rain. Our first stop was Pisa where our driver Francesco took us right up to the Leaning Tower. The rain stopped and since it was early there were no crowds. None of us were game to try climbing the Tower but we took our pictures and enjoyed looking at it and the Cathedral and Baptistry next to it.

Then we were on our way to Florence. Francesco took us off the main road and we passed through some of the Chianti region before entering Tuscany. The area is renowned for its grapes and wine and the countryside was beautiful even though it was cloudy. Along the way we passed the little town of Vinci, the birthplace of Leonardo da Vinci.

Our first glimpse of Florence was from a hillside park overlooking the city. The park has a large replica of Michelangelo’s David, one of many around the city. The views of the city skyline looking across the Arno River were very spectacular since we could see the Ponte Vecchio, the colonnade of the Uffizi Gallery and the Dome of the Duomo and its bell tower. In the large parking area they were having a gathering of antique Seat cars. There must have been a hundred of them. It was hard to imagine four people in these tiny little cars.

We headed across the river to the historic area of Florence. Our first stop was the Piazza Santa Croce. There was a little market going on in the square so we had to check that out. Next Francesco took us to the Accademia to see Michelangelo’s David. Despite the fact that there were long lines, he dropped us at the reservation entrance and we walked right in. It’s impossible to describe the beauty of the statue so I won’t even try. Our next stop was the street close to the Duomo, the Cathedral. It was raining harder and after looking at the church, the bell tower and the beautiful Baptistry doors, we decided to find a place for lunch. Our hope was that the rain would abate. We found a nice little place on a side street where we had a very nice lunch for a reasonable price.

Unfortunately it was raining even harder when we left the restaurant. We were unfazed though and we walked to the Piazza de la Signoria next to the Uffizi Galllery to look at the statuary around the square. It’s impressive to see the collection there. My favorites are the fountain of Neptune, another replica of David , Perseus with the head of Medusa and the Rape of the Sabine women. Our last stop was the Ponte Vecchio. We walked across the bridge taking in the views from the midpoint both up and down river. When we finished our walk the rain was really coming down so we decided it was time to go.

It was unfortunate that the weather didn’t cooperate, but Florence is so beautiful nevertheless.