| Glenn's Florence Journals #6 4-18-02 The plan for Thursday was a day trip to Pisa and Lucca. Before we headed out on our day trip we decided to try and get into the Galleria dell' Accademia first thing this morning. I set the alarm for us to get up one hour earlier than our usual (8:00 a.m. is our usual) so we could beat the crowds. We also knew that the train to Pisa (that we wanted to catch) left at 10:30 a.m.. We quickly got ready and off we were. We made it the Galleria around 8:30 and found ourselves walking right in. Yeah!!! The Galleria dell' Accademia houses paintings from Florentine artists dating from the 13th to 16th centuries, but the most impressive piece is Michelangelo's "David". It is more impressive in person than you can imagine from seeing the copies all around the city or on a postcard. We spent 2 hours there and felt like we had completely enjoyed the museum. Again, another highly recommended sight to see in Florence. Now we were off to catch the train to Pisa. Of course on the way to the train station we stopped to buy bread, salami, ham, and cheese for sandwiches. Erin was craving salami so this made her very happy. She didn't even want to wait until we had arrived in Pisa to eat but I quickly put the sandwiches in the day pack and locked them up. We caught the train as planned and arrived in Pisa around noon. Erin could not wait any longer so we had lunch right outside the train station. She enjoyed her salami very much!! We walked to Campo dei Miracoli which is where the Duomo, the Battistero, and the Torre Pendente (Leaning Tower) are. The 3 sites together are amazing!!! The day was very sunny with plenty of people enjoying the day by relaxing on the grass surrounding the Campo dei Miracoli. We joined in and napped on the grass, getting some sun, surrounded by these amazing structures. We gathered up in time to catch a 4:30 train to Lucca. Lucca is another small town surrounded by imposing Renaissance walls, which became a Roman colony around 180 BC. We arrived around 5:00 p.m. And, like we always do, verified what our choices of times for trains leaving back to Florence were. We didn't want to get stuck in Lucca overnight. We found a return train scheduled for 8:00 p.m.. We walked into town from the train station, enjoying a chance to walk through and on the wall surrounding Lucca. It was really neat to walk along the wall as it provided a good view back over the city and surrounding area. In Lucca we visited the Duomo in Piazza San Martino and made our way to the Piazza Anfiteatro (Amphitheater). Here we enjoyed a relaxing dinner sitting outside a trattoria in the anfiteatro while watching the local kids play. We also met a nice family sitting next to us who had just arrived in Italy the day before. They were a little jet lagged still but had enjoyed a day in Pisa and, like ourselves, having a relaxing dinner in Lucca. We all got to chatting and had lost track of time. We both had 8:00 p.m.time targets to meet, they with their car parked in a lot that closed at 8:00, and us with the train. We both scurried away around 7:50 p.m.. We managed to arrive at the train station a few minutes late so the train we wanted had left. (I am not sure how the other family fared!) We noticed another train at 8:24 p.m.on the partenze (departure) board but must have not read the board correctly as it never came through. We finally caught a 9:00 p.m. train back to Florence arriving in around 10:30 p.m.. We were tired from our long day so I went to bed while Erin watched a movie. (She just loves movies and it must be her way to relax!!) |
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| The Leaning Tower of Pisa, as seen from ground zero! The grasses surrounding the Campo dei Miracoli were great for napping in the sun! |