My first taste of Italy! Today we are going in from the port to Pisa and Florence in a small group tour arranged with folks we met on the Cruise Critic website. I don't usually book excursions to other towns with anyone but the cruise line since if you do, and you are late returning to the ship for any reason, it may leave without you. I was very thankful that my mom and I were on a Princess excursion in Guatemala, when the bus broke down and we were two hours late, to see the ship waiting there for us. That said, the group booked some excursions with SPB who provide smaller group excursions in the Baltic and now the Mediterranean, and they have a return guarantee that they will get you to your next port if there is a delay, so we will try two excursions with them.
My first impressions are how beautiful the landscape is here with fields of sunflowers along the way.
Pisa was interesting and great to see but it is now a "been there, done that" location for me. We drove through the town a bit and then went to the cathedral. The leaning tower is the bell tower for the cathedral. Apparently it took more than a hundred years to build. It started straight but when they got to the third floor after the 5th year, it started to lean so they stopped building it and it wasn't until 100 years later that someone figured out a plan to shore up the foundation and build the remaining part in a curve to maintain balance. A huge lead counterweight was added in the 1960's and then it was closed for a decade at the end of the last century to be anchored and stabilized.
We then drove to Florence, I really liked this city and, although I don't need to go back there, if it were on an itinerary I would be glad to return. We first went up the hill to a viewpoint with a beautiful panoramic view of the city, and then down to the town centre. Our driver/guide dropped us off near the cathedral and suggested a walking route that would take us to most of the sights and bring us back to where we would be picked up. The 3 sets of doors to the baptistry of the cathedral are sculpted bronze, and those on the east side were called by Michelangelo, The Gates of Paradise. They really are amazing.
After the cathedral we wandered down to the Piazza della Signoria. We had a nice, but expensive (since we were on a touristy plaza), lunch as we looked across at the Palazzo Vecchio ("old palace" or town hall) where the statue of David stood for many years (it has been moved to the Academia museum and a copy stands in its place). There are also many works of art in the plaza in a covered but open area called the Loggia dei Lanzi.
We then headed to the river, and the Ponte Vecchio ("old bridge"). It is the only bridge that survived the second world war in Florence. It's a two-storey bridge above the arches with shops on the street level and the upper level being part of a private covered walkway between the Palazzo Vecchio and the Palazzo Pitti, which was the home of the ruling family, the Medicis.
We then headed back up to the Piazza della Republica, the actual centre of town and the location of the forum in ancient times, resisting the many shopping opportunities along the way. for some real gelato - YUMMM - while we watched the carousel and waited for our driver.
My first impressions are how beautiful the landscape is here with fields of sunflowers along the way.
Pisa was interesting and great to see but it is now a "been there, done that" location for me. We drove through the town a bit and then went to the cathedral. The leaning tower is the bell tower for the cathedral. Apparently it took more than a hundred years to build. It started straight but when they got to the third floor after the 5th year, it started to lean so they stopped building it and it wasn't until 100 years later that someone figured out a plan to shore up the foundation and build the remaining part in a curve to maintain balance. A huge lead counterweight was added in the 1960's and then it was closed for a decade at the end of the last century to be anchored and stabilized.
We then drove to Florence, I really liked this city and, although I don't need to go back there, if it were on an itinerary I would be glad to return. We first went up the hill to a viewpoint with a beautiful panoramic view of the city, and then down to the town centre. Our driver/guide dropped us off near the cathedral and suggested a walking route that would take us to most of the sights and bring us back to where we would be picked up. The 3 sets of doors to the baptistry of the cathedral are sculpted bronze, and those on the east side were called by Michelangelo, The Gates of Paradise. They really are amazing.
After the cathedral we wandered down to the Piazza della Signoria. We had a nice, but expensive (since we were on a touristy plaza), lunch as we looked across at the Palazzo Vecchio ("old palace" or town hall) where the statue of David stood for many years (it has been moved to the Academia museum and a copy stands in its place). There are also many works of art in the plaza in a covered but open area called the Loggia dei Lanzi.
We then headed to the river, and the Ponte Vecchio ("old bridge"). It is the only bridge that survived the second world war in Florence. It's a two-storey bridge above the arches with shops on the street level and the upper level being part of a private covered walkway between the Palazzo Vecchio and the Palazzo Pitti, which was the home of the ruling family, the Medicis.
We then headed back up to the Piazza della Republica, the actual centre of town and the location of the forum in ancient times, resisting the many shopping opportunities along the way. for some real gelato - YUMMM - while we watched the carousel and waited for our driver.
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