Livorno - PISA Italy

Livorno was a major trading power in the 17th century. Venice and Genoa later formed an alliance to destroy much of the city’s trade.

Up at 5AM. Gray and cold outside. Really cold. 40-something. Quite a shock. Ate and ran out to the pier in Livorno to arrange transportation for a group of 10 to Lucca, Italy. We ended up with a taxi driver for 8 of them at 30 euros each with a stop in Pisa along the way and then some free hours in Lucca and four others decided to rent a car. Gene and I hopped on the complimentary city shuttle to the town of Livorno and arrived there before the churches were open (on a Sunday!) and before the shops opened. Just a very few people were roaming the streets but the wind was blowing fiercely. We met a very nice Chinese woman (of course her shop was open!) and bought a few items and had some laughs. The cathedral was open by now so we went in to look around and came out into a downpour of cold rain. Buckets of rain. And wind. Really cold wind.

We waited for our return shuttle bus and ran back onboard our “home” and up to a hot breakfast of fresh waffles (our first taste since coming onboard!) and hot drinks.

Did a load of laundry and it was like a local Laundromat. You know, sometimes those days were not so bad. People took time to socialize and get to know each other. Not such a bad thing, hey??

I had a quick salad and then met my group inside the ship for a ship sponsored afternoon shore excursion to Pisa – the leaning tower and the cathedral. There were 31 on my bus and since we all had our umbrellas in hand, the sun came out! It was fantastic. There was fresh snow on the mountain tops where they never have snow. And the skies cleared up nicely as we drove the short distance to Pisa. Stefania was our tour guide, until we met up with Antonio, who spoke to us through the VOX headphones so you could wander around on your own and still hear the history and sites around you.

Tourist markets lined the streets in the walled city of Pisa, just 15 miles northeast of Livorno. It was a Roman naval base and the Americans still have a base close by. Galileo Galilei taught at the university and Percy and Mary Shelley lived in Pisa. Engineers race to save the Leaning Tower but they will never correct the leaning – not when you have 5000 tourists a day pumping money into your economy. Lead weights at the base balance the heavy mass; there is little danger of collapse.

We toured the Cathedral where a beautiful lamp created by Galileo hangs, saw finely etched marble work, Murano glass and exquisite paintings on the ceilings and walls…It is overwhelming in detail and size.

Back to the ship by 5:15 and we decided on the Lido buffet for dinner. All three meals were eaten up there today…and the crew are so very friendly and helpful. We have a wonderful time with them, smiling and laughing and learning out about their families. Today I bought a magnet for one nice young man, Mr. Bagus, who collects them. We enjoy our friendships with them just as much as with the passengers. What fun it is to see them again in a new ship on a later sailing!

Luka Burrage, an English juggler for over 17 years, was the entertainer. He has broken three juggling world records and won the int’l Juggler’s Association People’s Choice award in 2004.

Sunday evening worship for the Christian Philippinos is so nice to hear. They worship in the Bridge Room, which has no doors, so as you walk around the ship about 11:30 PM you can hear the beautiful singing.

This is the heartland of Italy – Tuscany. Walled-in towns with festoons of vines and olive trees represent the most archetypal image of the country. We are docked in the Ligurian Sea and this region is now an important seaport dealing mainly with timber, marble, alabaster and craft work.



“Pinocchio” is an Italian phrase that means “pine eye”.