Day 9 – 10

We docked at a town call La Spezia which is quite aways from Florence where we planned to stay overnight.

We had to hurry off the ship as our first train was at 8:32am.

It was raining when we got off the ship and walked to the shuttle bus off the port, about 20 minutes. 

Then at the taxi stand with 3 other couples, we couldn’t get a cab to the train stations.  Finally one came and we all shared one van to the train station.

On the taxi ride we met two guys who had been together for over 20 years and lived in Cancun and we ended up sitting with them on both trains to Florence. 

Then we had to transfer trains in Pisa for the remaining train trip to Florence.  The problem was that it was 7-minute window.  We and 8 others literally ran down the planform down stairs and underground to the next set of tracks.  As we jumped onto the train, the doors closed, we all laughed and we now could relax on a nice 1-hour trip to Florence.

At Florence, we took a taxi to our hotel, the Arte” Boutique Hotel and it was everything we expected and more.  The hotel was originally a palace for a rich member of the aristocracy in the 1400’s.  Then it was a home to several rich families.  Since 2019 it has this boutique hotel of 13 rooms.   We had an upgraded room that had an amazing over the main Cathedral in Florance, El Duomo.

When we arrived it was drizzling and it continued throughout the day. 

We had a fine 2-hour walking tour that took us to the major sights in the city and after that we went back to the hotel.

While we were on the ship, one of the couples that we ate with gave us the name of their favorite restaurant in Naples and we made reservations for lunch and it was wonderful.

As it typical in Europe, the good restaurants are small and the owner is always there to greet you.  This restaurant was no different and the owner stopped by at our table several times.   We had to go there for lunch as the only available time for dinner was 11:30pm!!

After we finished dinner, the rain had stopped so we walked around, had some gelato, and then finally went to bed.

On Wednesday, we had an amazing breakfast as I am sure the picture swill show will show and then went to the El Duomo Cathedral to go inside.  We had a line pass, so we skipped ahead of what seemed like hundreds in line to get in.  the guide spent about ½ hour inside telling us all about the church.

This is the third largest church in the world, behind Rome and London.  It still has the largest dome in the world.  The original plans were destroyed in a fire and they still have not figured out how the architect built it.  One of things that made this Cathedral unique was it its exterior is all marble giving it a white exterior – truly magnificent. 

The original church was built in 4AD and was a church for the people and had no domination, rich or poor all were welcome.  The church as stand today began construction in 1296 and the building process lasted 72 years and finished in 1368.  At the time, it was that largest church in the world and still is the church of the people.  Even admission to see the church is free and the church is now a Catholic Church.

We then had time to ourselves to explore more of the church.

They have a clock inside that hs 1 at the bottom.  To the people then 1 was 1 hour after sunrise.  Someone climbs up to the clock every two weeks to reset the clock to keep time correctly - amazing.

Then we went walking for the next couple of hors and of course Barb found some beautiful scarves.

We then checked out of the hotel at noon and took a taxi to the train station.  This time we had 28 minutes to transfer trains in Pisa before getting back to this about 4:30pm

Then it was time to take a fast shower and get ready for the evening.

The show tonight was a production show by the cast of the ship and it was not that good and we had seen it several times in the past.

Then onto dinner in Blu where we shared the last couple of days stories with people we had met before.

Tomorrow is our second day at seas and we are looking forward to just relaxing in the sun (we hope)

Night on the way to our last stop, Naples.

                                                  Ready to go to Florence for overnight

                                              The two guys we met from Cancun

                                     The lunch menu that was recommended to us by people on the ship

Inside the restaurant

Igore the owner

Barb buying rings (4)

                                       Just the bedroom in the hotel 

                                                                El Duomo from our hotel room

                                                   Going out for our second day

                     The front door to the hotel.  At night the doors are closed and our key opens them

                                                            Breakfast at the hotel

 

                                                        The clock

                                                                  The main dome

 

A sandwich for lunch on the train back to the ship

                                           Going out for the evening

                                        Our room at the hotel - one of the best we have ever had