Max's High School Graduation Trip: Pisa and Florence

The ship docked in La Spezia today - a longer distance from Forence than the usual port of Livorno. I hadn't known that we would be in this port so I had to make a quick change of plans with our favorite Italian tour company (Romecabs) We have used them for all trips to Italy since 2005 when it was just a small company. Of course, the greater distance to Florence means time in the car and more expense :).

We had another early morning wake- up call for teens who like to go to bed late. They have been really good about getting ready in the morning (knowing that nap time can start as soon as the car leaves our meeting place,

Breakfast on early mornings is now at the Diamond Lounge where Nick can have his morning cappuccino and we all like the bagels, lox and cream cheese and fresh fruit and pastries. The staff is excellent and it's an uncrowded, attractive and quiet start to the day.

As always, our car was waiting when we exited the ship. Today we had to take a shuttle bus to the pick up place since it was just outside of the dock. We were off to Pisa by 8 AM.

What a huge disappointment...Pisa was so very different from our visit 10 years ago. It is totally commercialized with the Cathedral undergoing renovation, huge crowds (even though it was early in the day) and people are not allowed on the grassy field near the tower. In the past, this was where people took pictures of each other that made it look like you were either pushing the tower over or trying to push it back up, We have no pictures to show us doing that! In addition, across from the tower, a huge museum building is under construction
and it was very hot and crowded. Needless to say, we were out of there in a hurry. My suggestion -- Skip Pisa and look at pictures of the leaning tower on the Internet.

Baptistry

It really leans!

The drive to Florence was an hour away...so nap time came again.

Our first stop in Florence was Santa Marguerita Church from which we could view all of the city.

Fields of Sunflowers on the way

Florence - Duomo on Right

Synogogue with green dome

We then drove to the Synogogue hoping to go inside. We were surprised and saddened to see armed soldiers guarding the building and grounds and a slow line with people having to put electronics, purses, etc in lockers and go through security to enter. We decided to just take pictures and have lunch near Santa Croce - the oldest Franciscan Church in Florence - know for the many tombs inside of 'the Glories' - Michelangelo, Marconi, Garibaldi, Leonardo Di Vinci, and many more.

Lunch was at a cute little hole in the wall on the square near Santa Croce. Excellent Lasagna for the guys and a salad for me. Service was excellent...complimentary Prossecco for the grandparents and orange drinks for the boys while we waited a short time for our table.

Santa Croce

We continued our search for the best Gelato and enjoyed the choices here as well. Then on to the Duomo where, once again, part was undergoing restoration - a never ending cycle for these ancient buildings. Then we viewed the statue of David in the Plaza, did a bit of shopping, and headed back to the ship. The temperature today hit 101 degrees and we anticipated the joys of air conditioning and a leisurely dinner before the chores of packing and getting ready to debarkation in the morning.