Cruising the Med – 6/2/07 – La Spezia (Florence, Pisa), Italy

Today we visit La Spezia (Florence, Pisa), Italy
Arrive: 7:30am
Depart: 7:30 pm

It was hard to decide which excursion to take… but after much thought we decided on Florence and Michelangelo. While we both had an interest in seeing Pisa, we decided it’d be best to focus our time in Florence.

Our Excursion: Ten and a half hours!!!!!!

We boarded a motor coach for a 2.5 hour ride through Tuscany, past the cities of Lucca and Prato and we arrive in Florence! Lots of scenic country side. We went through the Marble quarries, olive groves and nursery farms. Our guide, Paola, was very informative and talked to us most of the way pointing out various sites and buildings.

Before I begin talking about our actual time in Florence, please keep the following in mind. It was a national Italian Holiday! It was a Saturday. Think of a major US city on a holiday where all the people and tourists are out and about. To say it was crowded was an understatement!

We left the bus and began our 2.5 mile walking tour of Florence. This was the city Linda was most excited about seeing. At first the streets were not busy, but soon we were on the street of the Accadmeia Museum, home of Michelangelo’s David. It was packed. Fortunately, our tour included timed tickets, so our wait to enter was about 15 minutes. Once again, we went thru metal detectors (like in the airports). No photos of any kind were allowed in the museum.

In the first room we saw a sculpture called “The Rape”�, actually a model for the final piece. Our guide spent a great deal of time pointing out the specifics of the sculpture, it felt like Art History class. While I wasn’t very thrilled with the theme, I did enjoy the art of the piece.

From here we entered a hallway dedicated to Michelangelo. The first half of the hallway had several sculptures from his “Prisoner”� series. He was commissioned to make many of these, but only did 4-5. These were unfinished sculptures.

We couldn’t help but be drawn to the end of the room where David was located. Standing 17 feet tall on a huge pedestal, this has to be the most incredible sculpture Linda and I have ever seen. We couldn’t take our eyes off of it. The detail was incredible. Really, there are no words to describe the beauty of this piece of art. It was worth the 2.5 hour drive to Florence to see. As we slowly made our way around David, our guide described what to see in great detail. It was just magnificent!

From here, things just went downhill for us. The crowds were barely passable and very unmanageable. It was so congested we rarely felt safe stopping to take photos. We were concerned we’d either lose our group or be victims of crime. Our guide kept warning us to be aware of pick pockets and to protect our belongings. At one point she had us in an area off to the side of the public plaza – our attention focused on her – all of a sudden she started yelling in Italian and we realized a thief had made his way into our group and was attempting to steal from someone. Suddenly our group of 40 cruisers became best friends, huddling together as we walked and looking out for each other. It was very stressful.

(Again, from here it is now very confusing to remember where we went. We had little time to stop for photographs and are following a map of our travels.)

We did see the Campanile di Giotto, Orsanmichele, Galleria dell’Orcagna, and Ponte Vecchio. Both Linda and I were really looking forward to seeing this bridge. Actually, we had hoped to walk over it but that was not part of our tour. We were across the way from the bridge. We barely got to see it through the crowds. It was so difficult to get to the railing for a photo. Again, the crowds really took away from our excitement and enjoyment. It was hurry up, look and go.

At some point, while in a marketplace, there was a Wild Boar statue – touching its nose would bring you good fortune to return to Florence. Sad to say, neither of us wanted to touch the nose, but with hesitation Linda finally did.

Lunch was at the Palazzo Borghese. A several course meal that began with sliced meats of salami, proscuitto and bread. There were bottles of wine and water at the table. Then we were served penne pasta with ground beef and peas, and spinach ravioli. Followed by a most delicious and tender piece of beef, like a pot roast, with potatoes and creamed spinach. Next, dessert, tiramisu! We actually were the last table to leave lunch as we had met a fellow cruiser and had a most wonderful time talking.

Our next and final stop was S. Croce Church plaza. Here was a statue of Dante that was just magnificent (you’ll see in our photos). Then we had 20 minutes on our own. We went off in search of a gelato shop and had a new flavor, Torrone – tasted just like the candy!

Soon, it was time to meet and walk to the bus pickup point. We were exhausted, not from all the walking and standing, but from the stress of the crowds.

This tour had a great deal of standing and walking, several hours. The guide was excellent. We only wish the crowds were much fewer as it really ruined the city for us.

Most of us slept on the bus back to the port. La Specia was a beautiful port town, with many flowers and plantings.

Tonight’s show was the Crew Talent Show and Dancing with the Stars duo Joey Fatone and Kim were to dance! Unfortunately, we didn’t get back to the ship in time for the first show and the late show conflicted with dinner. We heard it was fun!

We did have some time prior to dinner and went to Promenade lounge just in time for TV Tune Trivia! Well, 5 of us put our heads together and won first place! For that, we received DCL medals that said: “I’m a winner”�. It was fun.

We had hoped to celebrate our sailing mate Sandy’s birthday tonight at dinner, unfortunately she wasn’t feeling well and skipped dinner.

Deb and Linda – Life — IT Too Short!

Complete 2007 Mediterranean Cruise Information –
Navigators, Blogs, Photos, Excursion Reviews, Podcasts and more!

Other Mediterranean Blogs from AllEars®
Glo from Miami
Guest Blogs – including Chris and Beci Mahnken

Post a Comment