Saturday, August 22, 2009

Under the (SCORCHING) Tuscan Sun

This morning when the captain welcomed us to Livorno (the closest port to Florence and Pisa) he said that the temperature at the coast would be 82 degrees and that inland it would be “scorching.” How right he was! Along the way through the region of Tuscany, we passed by fields and fields of sunflowers. I think the seeds were roasting right on the spot.

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Since this was our first time to this area of Italy, we wanted to get a general view of Florence and Pisa. We started with a walking tour of Florence and saw Michelangelo’s statue of David. The flat ones took a close up look at the intricately carved doors of the Duomo, which was once Italy’s largest cathedral.

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Later we visited the Church of Santa Croce which holds the tombs of Michelangelo and Galileo. The Ponte Vecchio is a bridge that was built in the 14th century. Since long ago, goldsmiths have occupied shops all along both sides of the bridge.

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For lunch we were taken to a restaurant up on a hill that gave us a wonderful panoramic view of Florence. There was a wedding going on there and I couldn’t resist taking a picture of the front of the limo. (This is especially for our grandkids.)

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From Florence, we drove to Pisa to see that famous icon of the city, the Leaning Tower. It was one of those “wow” moments when we first caught sight of it. We were hoping to climb to the top, but when we went to check on the tickets, we found out that we wouldn’t have enough time. That just gives us an excuse to come back!

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