Mediterranean - 11 - May 23 2023 Florence Italy, the arts, leather and gold

 Florence is near rolling vistas and sprawling vineyards. It is considered a living museum of the Renaissance.  Brunelleschi's famous Duomo dominates the cityscape and for good reason, it sure impressed us today!  So another day of long bus rides to get to famous Italian cities.  Today the ride was a full 2 hours in and 2 back to and from Livorno, with 5 hours to tour Florence on our own as we liked.  This was not an included tour, Viking's included tour stays more local, that'll be tomorrow for us.  The ship stays at Livorno Italy overnight, so some passengers have opted to find a hotel and stay over night in Florence.  With five hours to tour the city, a city with far fewer sites than  Rome, we had a much more relaxed visit.  This first photo is from our hike up to Piazzale Michelangelo and Bardini Gardens, where you have the option of looking through a suitcase like art structure to frame the view of Florence.  So cool.

The ship arrived in Livorno at 9am this morning.  This statue of the Madonna of the People greeted us as we sailed into the port.

After the 2 hr ride into Florence, the 1st thing we did was find an out of the way place to eat.  The menu was hand written in Italian (with translations to English) in notebooks. We had paninis, chianti, and espresso (me not Phil).  Can't get much more Italian than that!

Michelangelo's David is in a museum in  Florence.  This is one of two replicas, this one is in Piazza della Signoria. 

                                               

Groups of school children were everywhere.  This was a group of the youngest ones.  So cute.  The teacher pointed out many of the statues and told simple stories.  It looked like only 3 of the kids were actually listening.

First glimpse of Brunelleschi's Dome.

We proceeded to walk around the entire set of buildings, capturing more detailed photos. 

Long line of artists on the far side of the Dome, selling their works.

We walked through the shopping area to the next piazza.

Bridge over the Arno river. It looked like houses were built on the bridge, they were shops, selling high priced gold jewelry.

Where there is an abundance of art, there are interesting looking people too!

Another group of school children, a good bit older. Nice to see a male teacher...he had the children under control.

Bardini Gardens, high on the hillside.

A lot of picnicking, wine sipping and napping in the gardens.

Then a 15 minute walk back to the meeting spot for the 5pm meet up to then walk another 15 minutes to the bus.  The guide called a taxi for a couple would couldn't make the last walk, it was a long day, another 5+ miles for us.  Then 2hr ride back to the ship.  As we waited, Phil enjoyed a beer, while I had my 4th coffee of the day, espressos are small.  Weather was hot and sunny today, about 80 degrees.

Tomorrow is 2nd day in the same area, we will go to Pisa in the morning and see the famous tower. Also tomorrow we've been asked to attend the Explorer Society celebration for passengers who have sailed on at least one other cruise.  We will be honored for having the most number of cruises.  I'm guessiing that is why we were moved to a bigger cabin.!!!