FLORENCE, ITALY

We docked in Livorno and took a bus 1 1/2 hours into Florence, or as the Italians call it, Firenze. Originially we were going to go to Pisa & Florence, but we ended up deciding to skip Pisa so that we would have more time in Florence. It was about $100 less and we decided we could use that to shop. We had a tour guide on the bus that talked to us the whole way about the things we were passing as well as explaining points of interest on the map for once we arrived in Florence. Her name was Patrizia. She was fantastic. We got to pet the Boar's nose that is supposed to bring good luck, see the Statue of David, Ponto Vecchio (the old bridge), visit the Duomo as well as many of the other cathedrals/basilicas, and last but certainly not least......we sat on the steps at Santa Croce Square to enjoy some gelato while listening to the music of 4 Italians in the piazza.