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We left France and headed for Italy on day 4 of our honeymoon. We arrived in Livorno, enjoyed yet another sunrise, and headed to Florence.
We drove through the beautiful Tuscan countryside enjoying views of vineyards and quaint little houses before arriving near the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore.
We walked up to the cathedral with our tour guide and got a very thorough history lesson while admiring all the details of the Duomo and neighboring baptistry.
The cathedral
The amazing doors of the baptistry.
We walked a little further and stopped for a photo-op of Ponte Vecchio before heading to another
church (my memory is escaping me, I cannot remember what it’s called!).
Ponte Vecchio
By this time we were hungry, and lucky for us a delicious lunch was planned for our tour group at the beautiful Palazzo Borghese. The vegetarian lasagna was to die for! Best lasagna I have ever had, period. Next was veal (or was it pork?), potatoes, and spinach (though I did not eat the mystery meat) and we had some wonderful tiramisu for dessert! And of course, lots and lots of wine! This was one of the best meals we had on our entire trip!
Inside the restaurant.
Seriously, the best lasagna EVER.
After stuffing ourselves full of delicious Italian cuisine and vino, it was time to travel to our next destination: Pisa! When we arrived we walked around the Miracle Square and took the obligatory pictures next to the leaning tower.
Umm…our photographer was a little out of calibration, apparently.
There wasn’t much else to see in Pisa, so after picking up a few souvenirs and admiring some pretty flowers, it was time to head back to the boat!
We spent the evening enjoying dinner with our tablemates and prepping for the our next trip to a city that wasn’t built in a day, otherwise known as Rome!
Has anyone else taken the ridiculous “holding up the tower” pictures in Pisa? I felt like a true tourist at that moment.
It looks like you two had so much fun! I did the holding up the tower picture… super cheese touristy fun. I found Pisa to be so lack luster too - there’s a few dozen stands of key chains and mini towers waiting for you after you have your fill of holding up the tower photos and that’s about it. Can’t wait to see Rome!
I would love to see those doors in person!!! I saw an exhibit (I think it was in Chicago at the art institute) about the restoration. I love the leaning tower pic, the lack of calibration makes it even more fun!
Awesome! I love your Leaning Tower pic. I’ve always wanted to go to Pisa because when I went to Italy with my mom after high school (on a cruise) we had to pick either Pisa or Florence, and we picked Florence.
Very cute picture @ the tower! LOL I would TOTALLY do the leaning pic too if I ever go there 
Definitely took a “holding up the tower” pic in Pisa - I love doing that touristy stuff. I wasn’t disappointed with Pisa at all but that’s possibly because we’d just spent two days travelling down from Provence in hot weather dealing with terrible traffic (we were on a motorbike). Also, we hadn’t been to Florence the day before! I have been to Italy twice now and still haven’t seen Florence - definitely on the list for next time!
I took a picture of my friend Katie taking a big bite out of it
Have I mentioned how badly I want to go on this cruise?
I LOVE Florence with all of my little heart. <3
This post made me miss it so much.
Wow, what an awesome trip! My mom has a photo of her and my aunt “holding up” the Leaning Tower. Too funny.
@ Mrs. Mouse — be REALLY glad you picked Florence over Pisa. I lived in Italy a few years ago, and I always describe Pisa as “the Compton/South Central LA” of Europe. Every time we went there we were terrified. It can be very *very* rough around the edges. Besides the fact that, like some pp’s have mentioned, there isn’t much else to do there once you see the tower.
@cheerful - I think the 2nd church was actually Santa Croce. It’s the church where many famous people (Galileo, Michelangelo, Machiavelli, etc.) are buried.
@Mascara - I too have taken the “holding the tower” pics in Pisa. Cheesy? Yes. Necessary? Yes again.
Sorry, but that church is definitely not Santa Maria Novella. (SMN was one of my favorite lesser known churches I saw in Italy.I was in Florence in May– the FI proposed during the trip!) A quick google search of Santa Maria Croce confirmed that the unidentified church is indeed Santa Maria Croce, but I hadn’t personally seen it (Thanks goes to Miss Slice).
And yes, we did the shots of us holding up the leaning tower. We did Pisa in 3 hrs, including lunch and all the buildings on the Field of Miracles. I agree– not much to see there but the tour, but the tour was worth the visit.
That chandelier is ridiculously gorgeous.
Jealous of your trip!
lol I love the offbeat pisa pic w/ you two…
The architecture is amazing.. *drool* Most of our buildings are so plain and they get torn down every 30 years… blah!
Beautiful pics
That restaurant in GORGEOUS! And that food… I’m so hungry for fancy Italian food now
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Mrs. Mascara, Chicago/Upper Michigan Age and Occupation: 25, Biomedical Engineer Fiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Process Engineer Engagement Date: July 27, 2008 Wedding Date: September 2009 Venue: Catholic ceremony, reception at local armory About Me: A lover of Mr. Mascara, crafting, baking, Gossip Girl, diet soda, and all things wedding. A Yooper girl somehow displaced in the Chicago suburbs, planning a wedding from a distance, and counting down the days until I marry my best friend.
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