Lean on me,
When you're not strong,
I'll be your friend,
I'll help you carry on.....
Our theme for the day. The port of LaSpezia, home to Florence and Pisa, home to the Leaning Tower of Pisa...more on that later.
Today was a tender port. DCL has hired tender boats that haul about 350 people per tender, so it was pretty fast. We needed to get off the ship as early as possible because we had arranged for a private tour for the day as Celeste had recommended and Shari had agreed it was a great way to see the most in the short period of time we were there.
We were up at 7 a.m. and to the Buena Vista Theatre for our tender ticket to get to shore. There were only 8 of us wanting to get off the ship! Guess the rest were sleeping or on ship excursions. We had to wait about 10 minutes to get the okay to go join the tender. We were on the first tender of the day at I was number 311 off the ship.
We left the ship at 7:40 a.m., arriving to land promptly at 8 a.m. (our scheduled tour time). Max was waiting for us and Robert, Jamie and I followed him to his Mercedes Van that was to be our vehicle for the day. Jamie quickly decided the backseat was the place for her where she climbed directly to and went right back to sleep on the journey into Florence.
We had a nice ride and the weather was overcast and a few rain showers here and there. The temperature was perfect. Not too hot and not too cold. Took us about 1 1/2 hours to get to Florence. Max explained alot to us about the countryside on our way in and showed us different sites. Saw huge slabs of granite alongside the roadways at the granite plants that they have hauled off the mountain. The size of the granite was incredible. We drove through Florence pass the city walls and over the Arno River and then up to the top of the city to a beautiful cathedral that looked over the city. This cathedral was only accessible by car. There was no way that the buses could make it up to the top. We took a nice tour through the cathedral and then started down the hill and then Max stopped and there was an overlook where we were able to take pictures and see the whole city of Florence.
We then headed down alongside the Arno River and into the heart of the city. By then it was about 11 a.m. and Max took us to the Plaza S. Croce and gave us one hour to shop and walk to the Ponte Vechhio (where all the gold shops are). The Ponte Vechhio is an ancient Medieval bridge crossing the Arno River. It has been a marketplace for centuries. Many beautiful pieces of gold jewelry were for sale and the prices were way over my budget!
We then walked to the Palazzo Dell Signoria which is the town hall of Florenece. The massive, gothic fortress-palace is impressive overlooking the Plazza della Signoria with its famous statue of David as well as the gallery of statues in the adjacent Loggia del Lanzi. It was packed with tourists. We asked Jamie if she wanted a picture in front of the naked statues........she declined to get a pic in front of the copy of David (later we were going to see the original). We headed back and met Max at noon and he took us to this lovely little restaurant right by the museum where he had made reservations for us ahead of time to see the David at 1 p.m.
We had a great italian lunch (and only spent 45 Euros today) and then headed for our 1 p.m. reservation over at the museum. It started to rain some, but was still pleasant and not hot. The first day where the temperature has been bareable.
We headed right into the museum and saw Michaelangelo's David. It was larger than I would have ever imagined. And the detail was incredible. Robert was able to "sneak" a picture, so hopefully it came out. We spent an hour in the museum. We really enjoyed the exhibit of musical instruments they had on display. Some from the 1300's. The marble keys and details on the instruments were just amazing. Any one thinking of visiting the museum should definitely make reservations prior to. The stand by line was 2 hours long.
We then met Max back at our meeting point promptly at 2 p.m. and headed to Pisa for our scheduled 3:40 climb to the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
The traffic to Pisa was horrendous, however, we got a little nap in and we were there in no time at all. Max dropped us off right outside the city walls at 3:15 p.m. and then we proceeded walking down towards the leaning tower. Ran into the Disney photographers so we got our picture taken before we climbed up the tower. I had made reservations on line before going and it was a great way to see the tower. We went right in and exchanged our confirmation for our ticket and at 3:40 p.m. headed up the 294 stairs to the top. (If you didn't have a reservation, the earliest you could have gone up when we got there would have been 7:30 p.m. at night).
Thus, the reason for my title for the song of the day-Lean on Me. Walking up the stairs was an interesting journey. At times it seemed strenuous, but at other times it felt like I was going downhill and was leaning into the towers walls. It was a wierd feeling. You would climb about 30 steps before being able to step out on a kind of platform to see your progress.
I learned that during the second world war, the Nazis used the leaning tower as a watchtower. Also, in the early 20th century, Benito Mussolini allegedly ordered the Leaning Tower to be straightened. They poured more concrete into the base of the tower which only made the tower lean more. The bells on the tower are rung daily. 1st at 8 a.m. and then a second time at 9:30 a.m.
The closer you got to the top of the tower, the more narrow the stairs became. They were marble and you can actually see and feel the imprints of the feet of the millions of people who have taken this journey before we did. The very top of the tower there is a winding staircase that is so narrow and winding that I got a little dizzy, but besides that, the journey at the top was well worth the 294 stairs that it took to get there. The view was stunning and you could see thousands of people down on the ground level enjoying the area by sitting on the grass and walking the area.
At 4:15 p.m. we met Max again and once again it was time to head back to the Magic to continue our journey. We arrived back to La Spezia at 5:30 p.m. and then take the tender boat back to the ship. They were running 4 tender boats (holding 350 each) and it went really fast. Max wasn't quite sure why Disney was porting in LaSpezia. He said everyone else ports at the other port which is closer in to town. I figured it had to do with the number of port spots they had for cruise ships and Disney either couldn't fit in at the other port or it cost alot less money to port in LaSpezia.
We were one of the 1st 500 guests back on the ship. The bus excursions are all taking longer than expected due to traffic and congestion.
Once again dinner was delayed 30 minutes for both seatings tonight, so we would not be eating until 9 p.m.
We headed to the stateroom and headed up to the pool for an hour and then I used the spa shower and got ready for dinner. The swimming pool was once again really warm and felt great after another long day.
Many people on the ship are still missing their luggage.
On Wednesday we are visiting Villefranche and then on Thursday we are in Marseille. It was suppose to be the other way around, but there was alot of port traffic in Marseille early in the week due to the Tour de France so DCL switched the port day and we will go to Monte Carlo, Monaco and Nice first.
Tonight before dinner was Twice Charmed (I think, cuz I'm doing this from memory). Robert and Jamie went, but I stayed and enjoyed the pool before dinner.
That about does it for LaSpezia, Italy!
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