Day 9 - Florence, Italy

On this day we woke up in our first Italian port, La Spezia (or at least I think we did - I think they ended up changing our port but I don't remember the name of the town) - whatever town it was, it was not as scenic as the French towns we had docked in.  But that was ok, because we had plans to load up the tour bus and head to Florence any way.

So, after our morning nap on the bus, we arrived in Florence.  The first thing we see is their "Free Hug" art exhibition...there were these signs on every tree in town with "Free Hugs" written in every language.

Once off the bus, we made our way through some side streets and finally came out upon the Duomo.  I was taken aback by how huge and ornate it was...

And then we found out we were on the "dirty" side (the only side where cars were allowed to drive on the streets so years of exhaust had dirtied it).  The front was even more impressive.

The arch under the big circle is where the David was created to go...

The famous "Gates of Paradise" bronze doors of the Baptistery

And then we arrived in the Leather Market, aka Purse Paradise.

Il Porcellino (aka The Lucky Pig).  This day was also our 9th wedding anniversary...so I think it was extra good luck for us to rub that boar's nose that day!

Mounds of gelatto...

Ponte Vecchio

David (replica...didn't have time to wait in the real line)

This bride was leaving her wedding at one of the museums...it was adorable...

We had a great tour guide in Florence...she is "required" to promote certain restaurants that are somehow sponsored by the ship but she was kind enough to tell us about an actual good restaurant - she even joined us for lunch.  She was from Scotland but had lived for over 30 years in and around Florence (she had a fantastic blended accent), so she provided very lively conversation and commentary on the local culture.

Today's local spirit - Chianti...

I can still taste this eggplant and zucchini pizza...I ate every last bite, it was delizioso.

The vibrant colors (I am wearing bright green pants) and stripes were actually not planned.  (We should have gotten our guide in our picture...)

Once back on the ship for the day, we were able to watch some tennis on the deck...not a bad way to watch tv...

Florence is definitely a town that I left feeling that I didn't get to spend enough time in.  It was small and very touristy in the main areas we were in (with lots of gypsies!), so I wished we could have branched out of the main square a bit to explore and that we had more time for the museums.  So, needless to say I need to make another trip back here!