This was written on 6/11/19 and posted on 6/14/19.

As soon as we got off the boat today in Livorno, we were met by Francesco, our private guide for Firenze (Florence) and Pisa. Because I misunderstood, we did not get tickets to any museums, which included seeing David. However, we had a full day of Firenze, the Tuscan country side, and Pisa. First, after passing through the city walls of Firenze, we went to Piazzele Micheangelo to view Firenze from a higher spot. There we saw a replica of David, but it was surrounded by bleachers and seating in preparation for the city’s celebration of St. John the Baptist, the patron saint of Firenze.

After taking in the breathtaking view of the city center, we headed that way. On the way, we stopped at Santa Croce, the church where Micheangelo, Maciavelli, Rossini, and Pisan-born Galileo Galilei was buried. Also, there is a statue of Dante outside Santa Croce. Again, there were bleachers being wet up outside the church for the celebration.

On the way to Firenze, Francesco mentioned that just over a mountain was the village that Pinocchio was based in. He mentioned that this is a common souvenir of the region. The kids mentioned that they would like a Pinocchio as a souvenir, so I asked Francesco where we could get a Pinocchio that was better quality than the street market. He took us to a quaint little woodshop know for Pinocchio. The kids got a Pinocchio marionette and book. It was such a great place that we never would have found on our own.

Then we stopped by a gelato shop that Francesco highly recommended, as the Firenze region is the home of the accidental creation of Gelato in the 1600’s. This Gelato was perhaps the best I have ever had. So Good.

Next, Francesco dropped us off at one end of a street and he picked us up at the other end. We started at Ponte Vecchio, a famous bridge across the Arno River, known for the jewelry shopping on the bridge, and headed through a shopping district. Along the way, Dan picked up some truffle oil and dips, which the region is known for. This area was so congested with tourists, and vehicles were also driving down the road.

We also saw another replica of David, again surrounded by the setting up of bleachers. The kids saw a carousel in another beautiful square, so they took a ride.

We ended our walk at Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, also known as the Florence Cathedral. It is the home of Duomo di Firenze , the largest brick dome ever constructed.

After this Francesco took us to a quaint little Italian restaurant in city center. It was a great recommendation as it was not covered up by tourists, but there were a few there.

After our bellies were full, we headed to Tuscan wine country. Along the way, we saw a Grotto. These religious Grottoes were used for people who lived in rural areas of Italy as a shrine.

Francesco took us to a small family-owned winery in the Chianti region out of the way of tourists. We got a tour of the wine making process and of course, tasted some wines. We also picked up some souvenirs in the form of wine and wine glasses 😊.

From there, we were off to Pisa. We saved Pisa for last, because we knew other than the tower, there is not a lot to do there. So we went and snapped some pictures and made our way back to the boat.

We had a wonderfully exhausting day under the Tuscan Sun!