Friday morning, we awoke in the port of Livorno, Italy. We didn’t stop to check out this port directly, since we were going to Florence. We had to make choices for our day in Florence since we only had about 8 hours to see the majesty of the history and art in Florence. With prior planning assistance from Rome Private Excursions (RomePrivateExcursions.com), we picked the Academy Gallery, The Duomo, Pointe Vecchio, The Baptistery and the Bell Tower, followed by lunch, a tiny bit of shopping (of course), and Pisa. We also reserved 4 hours with a guide to help navigate all of these sites.
The ride to Florence is about an hour and half from Livorno, and as promised, our driver was waiting for us right outside the cruise terminal when we disembarked. We were escorted to our private minivan and off we went. Italian drivers do like to drive fast!
Since Florence is so compact and there are so many tourists, you actually cannot drive into town. Our driver parked just outside of the main area where our guide met us, and we walked back to the center of Florence. We immediate saw all of the tourists milling around the Duomo and the Baptistery.
Our first view of The Duomo in Florence, Italy
The centuries old church is so large I couldn’t get a good picture of the entire structure. I guess I needed a postcard.
We walked by quickly in order to get in line to enter the Academy Gallery to see Michelangelo’s marble statue of David. First, we saw the Gallery’s historical collection of musical instruments. The evolution of the piano was amazing. Many things originated in Florence.
Some of The Gallery’s historical collection of musical instruments
The next exhibit showed initial carvings of Michelangelo’s ending with the huge circular room with David standing in the middle. You can walk around the statue and study the masterpiece from every vantage point. One of the most interesting items to note are the shape of David’s eyes.
Initial carving by Michelangelo in The Academy Gallery
Initial carving by Michelangelo in The Academy Gallery
Initial carving by Michelangelo in The Academy Gallery
Michelangelo’s carved marble statue of David
David’s eyes
We stood in awe of David for a while and then our guide suggested we should continue our brief tour of Florence. We walked through the Piazza Della Signoria and close to the Uffizi (didn’t visit this time, on reserve for our next trip). All those statutes outside the Uffizi were staring at us as we walked by. We ended up overlooking the water and off in the distance was Ponte Vecchio, one of the oldest bridges.
Ponte Vecchio, one of the oldest bridges in Florence
We went toward Ponte Vecchio and walked across the bridge. Our guide warned my spouse that we could spend a lot of money in Ponte Vecchio since that was where all the jewelry shops were in Florence with lovely pieces on display in the windows. As we walked across the bridge, I looked, but was not tempted to step inside any of the shops. I was waiting to go to the leather shops which are supposed to be some of the finest in the world.
With pictures taken, we strolled back across the bridge and through the square to try to take a better picture of the Duomo.
Another view of The Duomo in Florence
Our guide left to meet our driver who smartly had arranged for us to have lunch at a local restaurant. The staff of the restaurant was most accommodating to the American Tourists, although this was not the average tourist place. The food was authentic Tuscan and smelled wonderful.
Visit Trattoria da I Matti for authentic Tuscan food
With a little fumbling of our Italian and the assistance of our driver, we ordered lunch and a bottle of wine. I wish I had taken pictures of this lovely lunch.
Since I still wanted to do a little shopping, the driver wasted no time telling us where to meet him in order to go to one of the leather stores in Florence. I was in search of leather gloves. Everyone had told me to look for gloves in Florence because I would find some that actually fit. I was on the search and had waited days to do this.
I must say this was one of the few disappointments of the trip. We did in fact go to a lovely and old leather store, but not the one I was hoping for. With all of the beautiful leather goods in the store, there were no gloves. Truth be told, I did buy a lovely Mediterranean blue purse. It was not what I had set my sights on, but the color called to me. Payment made and back in the van.
Mediterranean blue purse purchased from a lovely old leather store in Florence
Before we left Florence, our driver took us to the Piazzale Michelangelo. The park like area overlooks all of Florence. The driver parked the van and let us walk around the area. I think I took several of my favorite photos of Florence from this beautiful park.
Photos of Florence taken from Piazzale Michelangelo
We wished we could have stayed in the Piazzale Michelangelo longer, found a place to have a drink and just watch the people and the scenery, but that was not on today’s itinerary. Back in the van and off to Pisa.
The day was clear and warm for May and I began to doze off in the back of the van. Next thing I knew our driver was telling us to look out the windows to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa off in the distance. As we drove closer, our driver told us he would drop us off at the end of the road and we could walk to the Square of Miracles. We would have an hour to visit the area before we had to continue our journey back to the ship.
It seemed like there were a million people in this little area as we exited the van. Makeshift souvenir stands and food trucks lined the areas surrounding the road. We walked on, drawn into the grassy areas near the Duomo and the Baptistery and of course the Leaning Tower. We walked around the building and took several pictures.
Pisa, Italy – Piazza dei Miracoli (Square of Miracles) and The Leaning Tower
After looking at the lines and all the people, not to mention the sun and the heat, we decided to look around and find some shade. Could we find some water?
We walked back to the road to look for the van and our driver. Luckily, he was close by and saw us. Although concerned why we returned so quickly, he picked us up, turned the car around, turned up the A/C and headed back to the cruise terminal.
We returned to the ship and our lovely cabin with plenty of time to spare. I even had time to download and look at all the pictures I took that day before heading off to dinner. We knew that Florence was a place we would return to, and not just for a day.