Pisa and Florence

Ship docked in Livorno and from there we had a small group tour to Pisa (to see the leaning tower of course) and then on to Florence. We arrived at Pisa fairly early and ther were very few people around....nice! The leaning tower of Pisa started to lean after 3 levels so instead of fixing the footings or whatever the architect tried to straighten it up. The result, according to our guide was that it is shaped like a banana. The tower is actually a bell tower for the cathedral and there is an equally impressive circular building called a baptistry.

From Pisa we drove towards Florence (about an hour or so) and were dropped off in the city centre (one of the advantages of doing asmall group tour as the buses simply would not fit). Florence is the home of Michaelangelo's David. Actually, it is the home of 2 David's - the exact replica which is outside on public view - and the original inside the museum. We didn't bother going inside but I'm sure we wouldn't really be able to tell the difference.

Other sights to see in Florence are the Duomo (church) and baptistry, both made from white, pink and green marble; the Ponte Vecchio which is a bridge that crosses the river Arno and has shops lining the sides. It was a big day and we did a lot of walking. We couldn't get over the crowds of people but this seems to be the norm in Europe.Read more