hold on......let me catch my breath.........WOW! What a day this has been....
Today we sailed to Livorno which is a port town outside of Florence. The cruise had only given us 12 hours to see what I think is one of the most interesting part of Italy. We hit the ground running. We caught a bus to catch a train to Pisa. We arrived in Pisa a little after 11 and walked straight to the Tower.
WHAT A SIGHT! Again, this was one site I never got to see so I was excited to see it with Sam. There was a race going on along the side of the tower which was really funny to watch the people trying to take pictures avoid the runners. Everyone was taking pictures of themselves "holding up" the tower! It was a funny sight and of course Sam and I played along and took some great pictures!
As we were waiting in line to go to the top of the tower, I of course made friends with the lady in front of us. She was from Scotland and she was there visiting with her family. She told me that she didn't have her camera so I volunteered to take pictures of her and email them to her. As we started to enter into the tower the guard told me that I couldn't enter with my purse. I didn't know what to do, so I stepped out of line and excepted the fact that I wasn't going to be able to go to the top of the leaning tower. The women, Mary told me to give my purse to her daughter, I hesitated for a minute but then thought, if she was with me, then I could hold her hostage until I got my purse back! :) I gave my purse to her lovely daughter and headed to the top. It was insane walking up the tower because your eyes want to see a straight line and there isn't one. You can feel the tower leaning as you walk up. As we got to the top we had a great view of Pisa, we took pictures of Mary and she was kind enough to take pictures of Sam and I. As soon as Mary took the picture of Sam and Me on the top of the tower our battery went dead on the camera! I was so upset, but I was also happy we got the photos that we had!
As soon as we exited the tower her daughter was there with a smile and my purse! I kindly handed her mother back to her and we exchanged emails. I would NEVER give my purse to a stranger, but I thought two things about this, 1) they were Scottish and 2) they were Scottish! :)
I love this picture!
with my new friend Mary.
Once we said our good-byes were were off to Florence!
So since I had been to Florence before I was more comfortable walking around then I have been in the other cities (besides Rome). However, since we had very little time I was worried Sam wouldn't get to see the best parts of Florence. The very first stop we made was to a tiny store near the train station. What kind of store you ask? A pluming store! Yes that's right, a PLUMING store....not like a store that sells plums or liquor of plums a store you buy parts for your toilet! Why, you ask? Well that's a great story. A few years ago when my mom and dad were building their house my mom wanted to have true Italian faucets. Seems silly but let me tell you, the faucets in Europe are amazing compared to US faucets. So one day my mom took my older brother to Florence. Steve thought it was a trip for just the two of them, but no, it wasn't. It was a trip for my mom to have someone HELP her carry the faucets back to the US. Long story short....poor Steve had to carry the faucets up and down all around Italy. He finally broke down one day and swore at the faucets like a truck driver. If you have ever been to my parents house, you will know that they are called the "f*cking faucets". ANYWAYS, a part broke on one of the f-ing faucets and Sam and I were lucky enough to go to the ONLY place in the entire world that sold this part. With my terrible Italian we managed to get the part that my mom needed. The funny part about this experience is the guy that was working in the store apologized for not being able to speak English. I shook my head no and smiled and said, "I can almost guarantee you, I will be your only English speaking customer!"
As we walked through Florence we were offered to buy Gucchi (yes I speleld that wrong) bags and such,we avoided them by all costs knowing full well they were fakes. Not to mention, I have a lifetime supply after being in Manila.
We walked to the Falso David and the Duomo plaza. We then did a little shopping and headed back to the ship since it was 1.5 hours away from Florence. It was a rushed trip and that was my only complaint to the cruise line. It was a lot to see that its almost a blur....but hey, at least we saw Pisa and Florence!
Here are some pictures I was able to take with my iPhone!
Today we sailed to Livorno which is a port town outside of Florence. The cruise had only given us 12 hours to see what I think is one of the most interesting part of Italy. We hit the ground running. We caught a bus to catch a train to Pisa. We arrived in Pisa a little after 11 and walked straight to the Tower.
WHAT A SIGHT! Again, this was one site I never got to see so I was excited to see it with Sam. There was a race going on along the side of the tower which was really funny to watch the people trying to take pictures avoid the runners. Everyone was taking pictures of themselves "holding up" the tower! It was a funny sight and of course Sam and I played along and took some great pictures!
As we were waiting in line to go to the top of the tower, I of course made friends with the lady in front of us. She was from Scotland and she was there visiting with her family. She told me that she didn't have her camera so I volunteered to take pictures of her and email them to her. As we started to enter into the tower the guard told me that I couldn't enter with my purse. I didn't know what to do, so I stepped out of line and excepted the fact that I wasn't going to be able to go to the top of the leaning tower. The women, Mary told me to give my purse to her daughter, I hesitated for a minute but then thought, if she was with me, then I could hold her hostage until I got my purse back! :) I gave my purse to her lovely daughter and headed to the top. It was insane walking up the tower because your eyes want to see a straight line and there isn't one. You can feel the tower leaning as you walk up. As we got to the top we had a great view of Pisa, we took pictures of Mary and she was kind enough to take pictures of Sam and I. As soon as Mary took the picture of Sam and Me on the top of the tower our battery went dead on the camera! I was so upset, but I was also happy we got the photos that we had!
As soon as we exited the tower her daughter was there with a smile and my purse! I kindly handed her mother back to her and we exchanged emails. I would NEVER give my purse to a stranger, but I thought two things about this, 1) they were Scottish and 2) they were Scottish! :)
I love this picture!
with my new friend Mary.Once we said our good-byes were were off to Florence!
So since I had been to Florence before I was more comfortable walking around then I have been in the other cities (besides Rome). However, since we had very little time I was worried Sam wouldn't get to see the best parts of Florence. The very first stop we made was to a tiny store near the train station. What kind of store you ask? A pluming store! Yes that's right, a PLUMING store....not like a store that sells plums or liquor of plums a store you buy parts for your toilet! Why, you ask? Well that's a great story. A few years ago when my mom and dad were building their house my mom wanted to have true Italian faucets. Seems silly but let me tell you, the faucets in Europe are amazing compared to US faucets. So one day my mom took my older brother to Florence. Steve thought it was a trip for just the two of them, but no, it wasn't. It was a trip for my mom to have someone HELP her carry the faucets back to the US. Long story short....poor Steve had to carry the faucets up and down all around Italy. He finally broke down one day and swore at the faucets like a truck driver. If you have ever been to my parents house, you will know that they are called the "f*cking faucets". ANYWAYS, a part broke on one of the f-ing faucets and Sam and I were lucky enough to go to the ONLY place in the entire world that sold this part. With my terrible Italian we managed to get the part that my mom needed. The funny part about this experience is the guy that was working in the store apologized for not being able to speak English. I shook my head no and smiled and said, "I can almost guarantee you, I will be your only English speaking customer!"
As we walked through Florence we were offered to buy Gucchi (yes I speleld that wrong) bags and such,we avoided them by all costs knowing full well they were fakes. Not to mention, I have a lifetime supply after being in Manila.
We walked to the Falso David and the Duomo plaza. We then did a little shopping and headed back to the ship since it was 1.5 hours away from Florence. It was a rushed trip and that was my only complaint to the cruise line. It was a lot to see that its almost a blur....but hey, at least we saw Pisa and Florence!
Here are some pictures I was able to take with my iPhone!
1 comment:
Hahaha, lifetime supply of purses from Greenhills! :D Lovely honeymoon, Keri and Sam. The Europe trip seems amazing! :)
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