We pulled out of Civitaveccia in the early evening and headed north along the Italian coast to the port of Livorno. Not only is it the port for Pisa and Florence but it is also a NATO naval base and the home of the Italian Naval Academy. We arrived in the early morning and set out by bus for the 1 and a half hour journey to Florence. The Tuscan country side is beautiful and the weather was cooler and refreshing. In Florence we set out on foot to visit Brunelleschi's masterpiece cathedral in pink, green and white marble, and it's adjacent bell tower and baptistry. We saw Michelangelo's statue of David in the Plazza della Signoria and visited the Church of Santa Croce. The original statue of David is squirreled away in some museum and the one we saw is a copy set in the original location. Nontheless, at 17 feet tall, it is impressive. We ate lunch in a local Florentine restaurant and it was very good. We had some free time to shop and then it was off to Pisa where we saw the Piazza dei Miracoli Cathedral and its leaning bell tower. The bus parked about two miles away and we walked through end to end street stalls which took some of the glamor out of the place. Enjoy the pics.
Jim
A couple of comments here. I can't remember the complete story of the bronze wild boar but the custom is to rub its nose for good luck. We did of course. Note the lady scrubbing the inscription of the tomb in the floor of the church. The young lady in the last photo was our tour guide. Now on to Pisa.
I just had to get a picture of Patty holding up the tower.
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