Wednesday 2nd September
Monaco seems like days ago already. Today we arrived in Livorno the port for Pisa and Florence. We spent the morning on board ship and booked for a tour for Pisa in the afternoon. It was nice just to take our time over breakfast, spend a little time on the computer, settle the ship board account, write a few postcards, then have an early lunch and a nap before joining our tour to Pisa at 1.30. Livarno is a busy port oriented city and nothing of interest to see. Florence was only included in the full day tour and a bit much for us oldies. It was about a ½ and hour bus ride to Pisa then on arrival we hopped on a trolley train to the garden of miracles where the leaning tower is where we had refreshments, complimentary (a vino or a beer), then a walk to the tower and the cathedral. We didn’t walk to the top. Once again, we’re glad we made the effort to take the tour. The history of it is fascinating, particularly for the engineering minded. They knew it was sinking before it was finished and took steps to try and counterbalance the building as it went upwards. A few centuries ago Pisa was a sea port but now it’s miles from the sea. This is all as a result of natural reclamation of the sea. We arrived back on board in time to shower and dress for dinner. Tomorrow morning we will wake up in the port of Civitavecchia (Rome).
Monaco seems like days ago already. Today we arrived in Livorno the port for Pisa and Florence. We spent the morning on board ship and booked for a tour for Pisa in the afternoon. It was nice just to take our time over breakfast, spend a little time on the computer, settle the ship board account, write a few postcards, then have an early lunch and a nap before joining our tour to Pisa at 1.30. Livarno is a busy port oriented city and nothing of interest to see. Florence was only included in the full day tour and a bit much for us oldies. It was about a ½ and hour bus ride to Pisa then on arrival we hopped on a trolley train to the garden of miracles where the leaning tower is where we had refreshments, complimentary (a vino or a beer), then a walk to the tower and the cathedral. We didn’t walk to the top. Once again, we’re glad we made the effort to take the tour. The history of it is fascinating, particularly for the engineering minded. They knew it was sinking before it was finished and took steps to try and counterbalance the building as it went upwards. A few centuries ago Pisa was a sea port but now it’s miles from the sea. This is all as a result of natural reclamation of the sea. We arrived back on board in time to shower and dress for dinner. Tomorrow morning we will wake up in the port of Civitavecchia (Rome).
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