Accademia and short trip to Pisa
Morning Routine
Although the hotel is great, the breakfast here is stale. I think it is because it is the time of year where the hotel doesn't have many guests. We're getting the place for 105Euros a night. The advertised rate on the placard in the room says 165. I'm sure it's a seasonal thing. On a positive note, the hotel hosts are very nice. They give us tips on what to do and also ask us how our day went. It doesn't make the coffee any better. Keri thinks the coffee in Rome was much better. We both agree that the food in Rome was better.
Duomo
After getting our caffè lattès and walking around a bit in the morning. I wanted to go for a walk up the Duomo (Dome). Keri waited for me at the coffee shop on the corner and I walked the 425 steps to the top. The stairs to the inner dome were very cold and cramped. The spiral staircases went on for a dizzing amount of time.
At the first stop, the inside of the dome, I could hear someone singing at the floor of the church. The pictures on the inside of the dome reminded me of something from Dante's inferno. I took some more stairs to the top of the dome. Great view of all of Florence.
Accademia
Then we made the short walk to Accademia. This is where the statue of Michelangelo's David is. The museum was fairly small so we didn't spend as much time here as we had planned.
Daytrip to Pisa
After the Accademia, we walked to the train station and found a train to Pisa. The trip didn't take very long, less than an hour. Once in Pisa, we grabbed a bus that looked like it would go to the Field of Miracles, where the tower is. Instead, it took us to the airport and then around parts of the city. Finally, it dropped us of at the right place.
The leaning tower of Pisa isn't as tall as I had imagined. Although it was leaning more that I had expected.
I took a picture of Keri trying to hold up the tower that actually turned out quite well. Good stuff as all the other tourists were doing the same thing.
The entire place includes the Bapistry, Duomo, Tower and a 20 foot high wall around the entire thing.
Worth the trip, but I'm glad that we didn't spend the entire day here. You could probably see the entire place in several hours. We didn't go into any of the Museums or the Tower as we were a bit Museum'd out.
We walked around Pisa trying to find a toy store to buy something for the girls. The town is pretty small but very beautiful. Here are some of the pictures I took on our way back to the train station.
Great Dinner
We stopped by our hotel room and rested for an hour before heading back out for an early dinner. The Rick Steves book recommended a place on the other side of the Arno called Golden View Open Bar. Because we were early, we got a corner table next to a view of the river. It was a great table and we stayed there for several hours.
Look at that steak! Heavily salted and not as good as it looked. Not too crazy about the Tuscan food.
After that, we walked around a bit more and then went back to the hotel.
25709
steps today. I think we are finally getting used to the exercise as it wasn't as hard today walking as much as we did.
Tomorrow
We travel to Venice for three days and then head home. Florence is our favorite city so far but we can't wait to see Venice. Hopefully, it isn't raining as the dry days really help the siteseeing.
Allie and Kiki
Keri and I have missed the girls tremendously. We are ready to get back home to see the girls. Hi Allie and Kiki. We miss you very much and can't wait to get home to see you. We have some wonderful suprises for you when we get back.
Although the hotel is great, the breakfast here is stale. I think it is because it is the time of year where the hotel doesn't have many guests. We're getting the place for 105Euros a night. The advertised rate on the placard in the room says 165. I'm sure it's a seasonal thing. On a positive note, the hotel hosts are very nice. They give us tips on what to do and also ask us how our day went. It doesn't make the coffee any better. Keri thinks the coffee in Rome was much better. We both agree that the food in Rome was better.
Duomo
After getting our caffè lattès and walking around a bit in the morning. I wanted to go for a walk up the Duomo (Dome). Keri waited for me at the coffee shop on the corner and I walked the 425 steps to the top. The stairs to the inner dome were very cold and cramped. The spiral staircases went on for a dizzing amount of time.
At the first stop, the inside of the dome, I could hear someone singing at the floor of the church. The pictures on the inside of the dome reminded me of something from Dante's inferno. I took some more stairs to the top of the dome. Great view of all of Florence.
Accademia
Then we made the short walk to Accademia. This is where the statue of Michelangelo's David is. The museum was fairly small so we didn't spend as much time here as we had planned.
Daytrip to Pisa
After the Accademia, we walked to the train station and found a train to Pisa. The trip didn't take very long, less than an hour. Once in Pisa, we grabbed a bus that looked like it would go to the Field of Miracles, where the tower is. Instead, it took us to the airport and then around parts of the city. Finally, it dropped us of at the right place.
The leaning tower of Pisa isn't as tall as I had imagined. Although it was leaning more that I had expected.
I took a picture of Keri trying to hold up the tower that actually turned out quite well. Good stuff as all the other tourists were doing the same thing.
The entire place includes the Bapistry, Duomo, Tower and a 20 foot high wall around the entire thing.
Worth the trip, but I'm glad that we didn't spend the entire day here. You could probably see the entire place in several hours. We didn't go into any of the Museums or the Tower as we were a bit Museum'd out.
We walked around Pisa trying to find a toy store to buy something for the girls. The town is pretty small but very beautiful. Here are some of the pictures I took on our way back to the train station.
Great Dinner
We stopped by our hotel room and rested for an hour before heading back out for an early dinner. The Rick Steves book recommended a place on the other side of the Arno called Golden View Open Bar. Because we were early, we got a corner table next to a view of the river. It was a great table and we stayed there for several hours.
Look at that steak! Heavily salted and not as good as it looked. Not too crazy about the Tuscan food.
After that, we walked around a bit more and then went back to the hotel.
25709
steps today. I think we are finally getting used to the exercise as it wasn't as hard today walking as much as we did.
Tomorrow
We travel to Venice for three days and then head home. Florence is our favorite city so far but we can't wait to see Venice. Hopefully, it isn't raining as the dry days really help the siteseeing.
Allie and Kiki
Keri and I have missed the girls tremendously. We are ready to get back home to see the girls. Hi Allie and Kiki. We miss you very much and can't wait to get home to see you. We have some wonderful suprises for you when we get back.
posted by Alex at 9:46 PM
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