Architecture in Pisa and Florence

To see Pisa and Florence we used Romeinlimo. Just eight of us and a driver.  Gianmaria  was fantastic! I would highly recommend the tour company and the driver.  Gianmaria picked us up promptly at 8 am for our drive to Pisa which was only 30 minutes from Livorno where we were docked. It got hot early so the 45 minutes we were given was just enough to take pictures of the three monuments on the site. ….I know what you are thinking….”did he take the requisite picture that looks like he is holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa? “..The answer is no I did not. You’ll just have to wait a couple days until I post some pictures.This was a nice stop.  It was the end of our hour long drive to Florence that made our day.

Next up..some Leather and a stop at the burial sites of Michelangelo, Machiavelli and Galileo

We stopped at the Basilica de Santa Croce which has a Jewish Star on its front.  We then stopped at a lookout point where you could see the whole city from the Ponte Vecchio Bridge to the Duomo and all the other famous buildings in Florence.  After that we stopped in an area where we purchased a leather purse and belt.  Florence is known for their leather….then off to the Duomo. This place is huge.  I had to take multiple pictures just to get all the different architectural designs in photo.

Epicurean Firenze Power Lunch and Florence History

As we began our drive into this historical city, we stopped for a traditional Firenze lunch.  Gianmaria took us to a fantastic Firenze restaurant (La Cantinetta Di Bolgheri).  Andrea and I shared a bottle of Chianti (the wine produced in this part of Tuscany) with another couple. We both had bruschetta. My main course was tagliatelle with wild boar ragu and Andrea had pesto pasta…yes..the pasta was made fresh and al dente 🙂

We continued the tour visiting the  Academia Museum , the Duomo (Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore), the Piazza della Repubblica and the Piazza della Signoria. Pictures will be in the gallery for all of these sites.  I didn’t mention this at the beginning of the post but it is HOT!!! After a quick look around the outdoor market we ended our day tour of Florence at the famous  gelatoria Venchi!