Europe 2014 - Pisa and Florence

7^th October

We must have known today was going to be a busy one…so we ordered coffee..and it arrived to our room at 6.08am.

I guess if you have to wake early…it might as well be to coffee.

Once again we met Ron and Donna on the deck and enjoyed the sunrise in Livorno..all excited for the day ahead.

This was one of the days we had booked a Princess Shore Tour so we joined the other sheep in the dining room and were mustered off the ship into the waiting buses like clockwork.

It certainly takes the thinking out of the day.

First stop was Pisa… to see of course…the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

What I hadn't realised prior to our visit is that there are a number of other beautiful buildings (Duomo, Bapistery, Campo Santo as well as the famous Leaning tower all together in what is called the ‘Field of Miracles’..so it was a really lovely spot.

The tower took 177 years to build and has been leaning since 1173.

It is the free standing bell tower for the cathedral.

(Oh look....we did the dorky "leaning tower photo")

Then it was all aboard the bus and an hours trip through the Tuscan region to Florence.

We found our way to a quaint little restaurant for a pasta lunch…omgosh it was delicious.

(Here we are patiently waiting....all good things take time)

Then we wandered the beautiful streets of Florence which is ranked as one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

The sights included –

Ponte Vecchio – with its unusual shops built along the sides (almost all of which sold jewellery) – the current bridge was built in 1345 but the original built in Roman times was first noted in literature from 996.

Piazza Della Signoria – with its many statues including a copy of the ‘Statue of David’

Catherdral of Santa Maria del Fiore and Duomo - - absolutely beautiful Gothic style cathedral covered in pink, white and green marble…built between 1296 and 1461 !!! and until recent times was the largest dome in the world.