BUON GIORNO FROM PISA AND FLORENCE!

Sunday, December 1, 2013 / 8:30 p.m. Europe / 2:30 p.m. Erie
Sunny, 50s / very windy / casting off from Livorno

Rising early at 6 a.m., we were ready for a full day in the Tuscany region of Italy and another Princess tour of Pisa and Florence on our own.  Pisa, about ½ hour from the port, still reveals the famous bell tower that took over 177 years to build and has been leaning since construction began in 1173.  We headed straight for very strong coffee at Il Turista and the use of bathrooms. There are virtually no public restrooms in Europe, and if there are, one has to pay, e.g. .20 € to 1 € (30 cents to $1.36 or so). That is not much to pay, but finding the public “toilettes” can be difficult. It is far easier to purchase a coffee or something like that and use that bar or restaurant’s restrooms.  Usually these little restaurants give one a sense of the local culture!

 

Even though today was supposed to be warmer, it was not. I admit I was downright cold because of the wind. Brisk walking helped some, and we trudged on. I kept telling myself it was colder in Erie and there was no snow!

On the freeway to Florence, an hour and a half from Pisa, our escort told us it has snowed once already in Tuscany and people were anxious for skiing.  The Pyrenees (Apennines) were in view, peaks white with marble. I noted that regular gasoline in Italy was about $5/gallon. 

 TK and I decided to eat first and we chose Ristorante Finnisterrae (www.finisterraefirenze.com) at 12, Piazza Santa Croce. I had “Pizza Margherita,” pizza with fresh tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, and basil (6.5 €). TK had “Rigatoni al pesto Mediterraneo,” rigatoni al dente, finely chopped walnuts, garlic, olives, and fresh tomatoes (9 €). We both had Coca Cola Light (3 € each). This restaurant is in the shadow of the Church of Santa Croce where Michelangelo, Dante, Galileo, and Marconi are buried

 After lunch we went to the outdoor Christmas market in the plaza nearby. Countries like France, Italy, Poland, Latvia, Germany, Scotland, England, Russia, Bavaria, and others were there selling handmade goods and food representative of their regions. Such a bonus to our trip. We saw boar sausage, stag sausage, donkey sausage, huge pretzels, pierogis, hot cider, strudel, special candies, a pig roasting, roasted chestnuts, and special breads like struchen.

We walked by leather goods stores with beautiful gloves and jackets, jewelry shops, and high end fashion shops (like Mossoni) but we could not walk by Gelateria dei Neri. TK tried two gelato flavors, mixed berry and lemon, and I had my favorite, strawberry. My advice to myself and all, never walk by a Gelateria no matter how cold it is outside. Our only criteria today was that we could stand or sit inside to enjoy!

I couldn’t go to Florence without reflecting on Ghiberti’s bronze Gates of Paradise on the baptistery, its leather and silk market (TK photographed the bronze boar), Michelangelo’s statue of David, and the Ponte Vecchio (the only bridge that Hitler spared on the Arno River in Florence in World War II).

Before we knew it, four hours passed and it was time to meet our bus. The ride seemed shorter this time as we returned to Ruby Princess. As soon as we were in our room I phoned our tour companions for tomorrow’s journey to Rome. I arranged this special tour with romeinlimo, a tour company we used last year. Tomorrow will be another early day and it is time to relax.