Following Danielle Through the Mediterranean: Trip Report Day 3

If you would like an introduction to Danielle or to start this trip report from the beginning, click here.

Day 3:  Livorno/Florence/Pisa, Italy

The morning of day 3 was a beautiful and hot Sunday, and we woke up feeling groggy but excited to see Italy for the first time.  This was a day that I had dreamed of for my entire young adult life, as Florence was on the top of my travel bucket list, and I was finally going to get to see the epicenter of the Renaissance!

Here is the daily navigator:

Here is the port map and shopping information:

My sister ordered room service the night before, so we got to enjoy the view of Livorno’s port as we sipped coffee and munched on pastries and fruit.  For those early morning excursions, I highly recommend ordering room service for breakfast.  You can leave your order on the door hangers provided to you by 3 AM, and there is no charge for most room service items.  They are also able to accommodate food allergies when you order room service the night before, and my sister was able to get gluten free muffins and doughnuts for her breakfast.

When Layne saw the duration of our excursion for day 3, she decided to stay in the Oceaneer’s Club, knowing that she would be exhausted if she participated in an 11 hour excursion.  So, we dropped her off and met in the Walt Disney Theatre for my first ever taste of Italy. We booked the DCL port adventure called “Florence and Pisa (LV06)“.  If you decide to sail the Mediterranean with DCL, you must select an excursion that goes to Florence.  Even though it is a 90 minute bus ride, the drive though Tuscany is beautiful, and we passed several fields of sunflowers as we drove through mountains and beautiful fields.

About halfway through the drive, we stopped at a gas station for a pit stop.  As I walked into the building, I was amazed by the cleanliness, the smell of food, and the hustle and bustle as people ordered coffee and pastries.  This was nothing like an American gas station.  There was a coffee bar, fresh sandwiches and pastries, and gorgeous snacks all throughout the store.  You could purchase pasta, wine, cheeses, and more.  Furthermore, the entire building was clean enough to eat off the floor.  We loved the foreign labels and Italian names that appeared on the Coca-Cola bottles.

I arrived at the coffee bar to find my mom ordering us cappuccinos, in Italian of course (she is a language guru and manages to pick up a language in less than a day).  We returned to the bus as we sipped on cappuccinos and ate some of the most delicious croissants that we’ve ever tasted in our lives as we finished our scenic drive into Florence.

As we disembarked our bus and began our walking tour, my eyes were almost filled with tears as I took in the beauty of my surroundings.  Just knowing the history of all of the art and scientific advancements that were made where I was standing left me at a loss for words.  We walked down the street and smack dab into the Duomo, which remains the most beautiful building I have ever encountered.

It was a Sunday, so service was just getting out, and the bells began to ring.  It was a beautiful experience to stand in the presence of this cathedral.  The construction of Il Duomo di Firenze began in 1296, and at the time, the technology did not exist to construct such a massive dome.  Confident that they would discover the technology along the way, the Italians began the construction of the Gothic style cathedral, and it was completed in 1436 with Brunelleschi’s Dome.  This anecdote alone summarizes why I love Florence so much – this city was the city of enlightenment, artistic growth, and scientific advancement.

We ran into the ship photographer, and were able to take advantage of some professional family photos. Love the unlimited photo pass that DCL offers!!

After stopping by Il Duomo, we continued our walking tour throughout Florence where we saw street artists and charming buildings as we made our way to Ponte Vecchio.  Ponte Vecchio is one of the most iconic attractions of Florence and spans the Arno River.  The bridge is famous for housing shops on it, which it has always included since its construction (although the bridge originally was home to butcher shops, rather than jewelry and leather shops).

During WWII, the Nazis destroyed every bridge in Florence except for Ponte Vecchio, by direct order of Hitler himself out of appreciation for the marvel of this bridge.  The views and photos that you will take on this bridge are breath taking.  I never wanted to leave this bridge, and wish that we got to spend more time there.

Our next stop was to see many of the beautiful sculptures that are casually placed throughout the streets of Florence, including one of the many statues of David.  I always imagined that the statues of David that were not in museums were replicas, assuming that there is no way that something so precious and beautiful would be left out in the street for anyone to vandalize.

Our guide informed us that when an artist was chartered to create a piece of art, they made many different versions, and that those versions ended up in the streets of Florence.  For this reason, you do not need to wait in a long line to see beautiful art in a museum in Florence – it is out in the open for you to see for free!  While we did not see the statue of David in the museum (the line was 2 hours long- YIKES!), we did see a statue of David that was created by Michelangelo.

We then walked towards the Piazza Di Santa Croce, or the square which houses the Basilica of the Holy Cross.  This piazza is enormous, and it was extremely hot.  It is entirely made of white concrete, so we felt like we were trekking along salt mines, with every bit of the 104 degree sun being reflected back on us.

The Basilica di Santa Croce is also known as the Temple of the Italian Glories because it is where some of the most famous Italian artists are buried including Michelangelo, Galileo (which occurred long after his death – don’t forget that he was originally excommunicated from the Catholic Church for his discoveries), Machiavelli, and Rossini.  This Basilica was very popular among Florentines, and it was very common for monuments to be dedicated to famous Florentines.  You can even see a statue of Dante Alighieri in front of the Basilica.

We were given two hours of free time to eat lunch and shop before we were scheduled to continue on our way towards Pisa.  We ate at a little pizzeria called Baldovino, which was recommended by DCL.  The pizza was excellent and the staff was extremely friendly.  After lunch, we walked around the piazza and nearby alleyways, shopping and photographing the scenery.

We were extremely dissatisfied at the quality of leather goods available in the shops that we browsed, with most of the leather being of subpar quality or far too expensive.  If you want to buy leather goods in Florence, be sure you know what you’re getting so you don’t get ripped off.  Most of the affordable items were not genuine leather, and the genuine items were 5-10 times more than what we would pay in the states.

We did make a stop at Michelangelo’s hill before leaving Florence for good, which is the best place to see Florence from a panoramic view.  I highly recommend making this stop a priority on your trip to Florence.

We then started our journey to Pisa, which is about a 45 minute drive from Florence.  When we arrived in Pisa, I was grateful that we didn’t budget a full day to spend there, granted we did only stop at the leaning tower of Pisa.  As soon as we stepped off the bus, we were swarmed with street vendors trying to sell us fake Gucci bags, umbrellas, and other trinkets that we had no interest in purchasing.  We were so uncomfortable dodging these men as we quickly walked along the path to the leaning tower of Pisa.

My mom loved this sign and called it the “dragging my kid across the street because they’re late for school” sign.

As you walk towards the leaning tower, you’ll pass dozens and dozens of similar vendors with stands selling everything you can imagine.  It was exhausting trying to wave everybody off, but we stayed determined and were in awe by what we saw.

I had no idea that the leaning tower of Pisa was part of a greater cathedral.  Originally built as the bell tower for the Cathedral of Pisa, the tower began leaning long before construction was completed after the construction of only the second floor.  Construction was postponed for almost 100 years due to Pisa’s constant battles with nearby cities, allowing the soil to settle before continuing construction.  To counteract the leaning nature of the tower, the architect, Giovanni di Simone, built the remainder of the tower slanted, with one side of the walls taller than the other side.  For this reason, the tower of Pisa will never be upright, even if the issue of the sinking foundation was resolved.

While visiting the tower, you can also visit the Cathedral and the Baptistery.  Admission is charged for all of the buildings, and tickets sell out very quickly.  If you want to climb the Tower of Pisa, you should plan on arriving very early and waiting for a very long time.  Only 25 people are allowed to climb the tower at a time, so there is typically a very long wait.

After a long day of touring some of the world’s most beautiful sites, it was time to head back to the ship.  We drove about 20 minutes, and were onboard by 6:00 PM to pick Layne up from the kid’s club and get ready for our evening.  We were all exhausted, and most of us relaxed in the room before dinner.  Layne felt a little disappointed when she realized that she missed seeing the Leaning Tower of Pisa, so we took a cheesy picture with the ship background of the Tower of Pisa to make it up to her.

And then we probably started to have a little too much fun with the cheesy background…

We ate dinner at Carioca’s, where we enjoyed the Latin themed cuisine, and sang “Happy Birthday” to Christian and Spencer (see my previous post if you’re lost on the happy birthday joke). Afterwards, Genesis made napkin hats for all of us.  We laughed and sipped coffee and ate dessert as each and every one of us got a different napkin hat to wear for the remainder of dessert.

Then, my mom expressed her disappointment to Genesis that she was yet to see a ship photographer at dinner, so he called the ship photographer to come and take our picture especially for us! Do not underestimate the lengths that DCL will go to in order to keep guests happy!

After dinner, most of us were tired.  The adults headed to Fathom’s for the show, and headed to bed shortly afterwards.  Our next port was Sardinia, and we were excited for a relaxing excursion after such a hectic but memorable day.  Check back soon to read about our experience at a Mediterranean beach before our first day at sea!

Up Next: Day 4

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Danielle is a 23 year old Disney fanatic, ICU Nurse, and travel blogger from Nashville, TN.  When she is not traveling, you can find her snuggling with her 2 English bulldogs and spending time with her family of 7.  You can read more about her trips and adventures at www.daniellefarideh.com.

Instagram: @daniellefarideh

Facebook: www.facebook.com/daniellefarideh