Today we docked in Livorno, the port town for Florence and Pisa. We took aPrincess Shore excursion and were greeted by Katia, our guide and Diego our bus driver at 730am. We then travelled to Pisa to view the tower and the adjacent cathedral before the throngs arrived later. WE had to walk about 800M from the bus parking lot to the site and negotiate our way through the many dark skinned street vendors and beggars. The tower was closed a few years back to stop it from falling over completely. It is still 5 ft. out of plane after some heroic efforts pumping concrete under one side of it to take it back to it's 1800s posture.
After leaving Pisa, we made our way to Florence through the Tuscan countryside. Our group of 38 strolled the side streets past the famous Duomo and Baptistery to the Statue of David (the double) at the Accademia . The Uffizi gallery of renaissance art was closed (today is Monday) so the normal lineups and crowds didn't materialize. We stopped for lunch at a little bistro restaurant before walking to the Church of Santa Croce, where among others, Michaeangelo, Machieavelli, daVinci and Galileio are entombed. We had an hoour of free time to browse the many leather and gold shops, but even at a season ending 50% off, the prices were exhorbitant.
I must say, Florence left us slightly underwhelmed. Maybe our expectations were too high, or maybe we have been spoiled by the earlier ports that really were special and memorable.
Tomorrow we are off to Cannes, France.
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