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Published: October 6th 2007
Although we had a bit of a late start today, it was a busy one. We decided to take the ship’s tour “Florence and Pisa on your own” in order to maximize our time and have the chance to see both sights. We boarded our air-conditioned coach at 9:30 and headed straight to Pisa. Once there, we had 45 minutes to explore the Field of Miracles and take pictures. The tower really is leaning, and in comparison to the Cathedral in front, it is very drastic (especially since the cathedral is leaning slightly in the opposite direction.)
It is interesting to look at the leaning tower in detail - the first 4 floors are definitely leaning and all very consistently so. Once these four floors were finished the architect was so ashamed, he abandoned the project. Many years later, another architect took over and tried to straighten out the building by lengthening / shortening the pillars appropriately on the top two floors. It is very clear that the tower actually bends between the 4th and 5th floors!
The crowds at the Field of Miracles were incredible and it was very difficult to get a clear shot of the buildings.
Ponte Vecchio Locks
Couples attach a lock to various places on the bridge then throw the key into the river.The marble work on the baptistery, cathedral and tower was all very detailed and impressive. Unfortunately, 45 minutes wasn’t long enough - we didn’t have time to explore any of the souvenir stalls!
Once back on the coach, it was just over an hour to the heart of Florence. We were dropped off by the church of Santa Croce and had the rest of the day to ourselves to explore. We began at the Arno River, passing the piazza which is home to a large number of statues and fountains, including the replica of Michelangelo’s David. Unfortunately, since it was Monday, all of the galleries were closed today, so we didn’t have the chance to see the real thing. We had a quick lunch by the Ponte Vecchio - the “old bridge” crossing the Arno. We walked a lot - but luckily, everything is really close in Florence. We passed through the Piazza Republica on our way to the Duomo. Unfortunately, the cathedral, baptistery and bell tower are very close to one another and it is very difficult to stand back and just enjoy one building at a time. The green, white and pink marble work on the tower
Holding up the tower
Apparently the tower doesn't fall because it is constantly being hel up by tourists. and cathedral was intricate and detailed - the baptistery, however, was very plain in comparison. A quick walk through the cathedral revealed a very barren, wide-open interior. The impressive dome is not so impressive inside as it was outside.
Our last stop for the day was the Church of Santa Croce. This is the largest Franciscan church in the world and houses an incredible number of tombs including those of Michelangelo and Galileo. As we walked through the church, we walked over the headstones of many others, laid flat as part of the floor. The age of the church is apparent by the wearing of these tombstones - many of which are unreadable now due to the centuries of traffic flow.
We met back with our tour guide and the air conditioned coach back to the ship was a nice way to end the day.
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