*FLORENCE*

Florence was much more relaxed, a day full of car rides through ripe vineyards, walking through farmers markets and listening to stories and jokes from our tour guide, Fritz the Cat (he asked us to call him that).

We started the day in Pisa to get a good picture of the tower. Beyond that, there isn’t much more to the town, so we went on our way. Fritz the Cat (FtC) took us on a round-a-bout way to Florence, hitting the hilly country side and old vineyards with big purple grapes just waiting to be picked in a month for some delicious wine! We also saw a ton of other produce; pumpkins, zucchini, and squash. In Florence FtC dropped us off at the Academia to get a long look at The David then walked us around the city for more architectural marvels and wonders. We meandered our way through the farmers market where I managed to pull my husband out with only purchasing a ‘few’ items (black truffle salami anyone?). We then headed for lunch and a quick sampling of some local Grappa (very, very strong wine/liquor) before heading back to the ship. Florence was a really nice day, the weather was wonderful and the town has a much milder manner in comparison to Rome.

Pisa

My happy husband at the farmers market