Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Day Eighteen. Liverno Italy.
After the rat race and hustle and bustle of Rome, we were looking forward to exploring the Tuscan region of Italy on a private tour. This meant the itinerary was flexible and we could make changes to the day as we saw fit.
We met our guide, left the port at 8am sharp and headed to neighbouring Pisa. After about 30 mins we arrived at the famous landmark. I've got to say it leans further than we had imagined and it is a great looking tower made of marble. A lot of the buildings in the area are made of marble as the local mountains are rich in the mineral. We spent about 45 mins in the 'Square of Miracles' which included a cathedral and some perfectly manicured lawns.
From here we drove to the ancient town of Lucca. It is surrounded by walls built in the 13th century and was one of our favourite places on the trip. A beautiful town with piazza's (squares), restaurants, markets and specialty shops. We paid a couple of Euro each and hired bikes to cycle around the city walls. Just a 4km trek, it only took us about 20 mins at a slow pace, stopping off to take photos. We then spent about 90 mins walking around parts of the town, doing some shopping and grabbing an espresso.
We left here at 12:30pm and headed to the seaside town of Viareggio. This is a summer destination and there are thousands of sun lounges stretching for kilometres up the beach. We went for a stroll and found a small cafe for lunch. As the season is coming to a close, it was not too busy. After lunch, we walked back towards our guide and grabbed the now standard gelato. Most of the shops had closed (they close between about 1pm and 4pm for siesta) but we had an enjoyable walk none the less.
We got back tot he car a little before 3pm and drove to Torre del Largo which is a large lake on the way back towards Livorno. We stopped for a couple of photos, jumped back in the car and got back to the ship about 4pm. Happy to be back early after yesterday's stress and sat on the balcony with a drink and relaxed before dinner.
We had dinner at the dinning room and Steve had the Lobster while Donna had the usual New York Steak cooked to perfection. It was a great surprise when the waiter came around and offered us another course of mains if we wanted it. Of course another serve of lobster is always welcome, so we jumped at it.
We left the dining room and decided to try some of the bars we hadn't been to yet. This lead us to the Karaoke Bar which was a great surprise. We soon found ourselves singing to some great songs from Queen, Neil Diamond, and Boy George. A great night had by all.
Tomorrow is our last day on the ship and we stop at the French town of Provence.
- comments
Neil " New York steak cooked to perfection" - I guess Donna that means you have convinced the chef to burn it until it is almost charcoal haha