Since our centre of Tuscany has been Volterra for the 6 days we've spent in this beautiful land, everyday we've choosen a different destination to experience and see as much as we could.

Unfortunately, the weather hasn't been very kind in Florence so we didnt' get to see as much as we wanted to, but I hope I will manage to evoke at least a little bit of the amazing emotions from this lovely city.

If the road leads you from either Volterra or Siena, you will find on your way a beautiful viewpoint that looks at the river  Arno and the entire Firenze.

There are two viewpoints: one is very popular among tourists, Piazzale Michelangelo, a point that views an amazing scenery of the city and you will find it on the left side of the road, while the other one will be on the right side, just one minutes before the Michelangelo square. 

The only problem is that there is no parking spot for this one, so you will have to manage on your own, but the hill is higher, less crowded and you will recognize it by the fact that there is a small cemetery there.

Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany that lies on the river  Arno & it is well known as the cradle of the Italian 
Renaissance.The Historic Centre of Florence attracts 13 million tourists each year and it was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982, definitely deserved since this city leaves you speachless with its architecture, cultural heritage, but also with its romantic promenades by the river.

There are over 370.000 residents in Florence, but it is full of tourists all year long, so crowd is to be found all over its streets. 

Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore.

If you are a chocoholic, don't miss out Magnum Firenze, situated just before the main square where the cathedral is found.

It is a sort of sweets shop/cafe' opened all over Italy, where you can enjoy your favourite icecream.

You make up your own Magnum icecream, so pleasure must be guaranteed!

After Magnum, the road led us to Piazza della Repubblica and the entrance to the Old town.

Something trully magical happend on this square that I will never forget...it was like time has stopped for a whil here.

There were water baloons flying all over the place while a slow music from Snow Patrol was playing in the background by an acoustic guitar. For a moment I felt complete inner peace & it is a feeling that will always follow when I get back to that moment.

In the absence of time, but also for bad weather conditions, we conitnued quickly straight ahead to Ponte Vecchio, an interesting old bridge where you can find luxury shops, especially jewellary shops, but the experience of being there and looking at Florence and river Arno was really special.

We didn't get to see the David square and enter the Uffizi museum to see the real Michelangelo's piece of art and even to sightsee some of the other important sights of the city, which is definitely full of, but let's say we left that for next time.

We passed through Mercato Nuovo, a shopping market where you can find all sorts of leather products and scarfs and arrived to the famous Bronz Boar, "Il Porcellino".

He supposedly brings good luck when visitors rub his nose and put a coin in his mouth. If the water washes the coin from the pig’s mouth and it falls into the grate below, you will have good luck and you will definitely return to the Renaissance city of Florence.

And lastly, Pisa, a formerly crucial economical, commercial and political centre of Tuscany, an extremely important strategic point for its location on the sea, along with Venezia, Genova and  Amalfi.

We visited Pisa separately from Florence, but I decided to place them in one post so I can show you the beauty of the smaller towns in next and last Tuscany post: Siena, San Gimignano te Lucca.

To be perfectly honest, I really didn't know what to expect from Pisa, I thought that the area where the Leaning Tower is located will be larger and different, but actually it is situated on the formerly known Piazza del Duomo-Piazza dei Miracoli,  a place full of tourist in search for the perfect shot with the tower.

We didn't explore the other parts if the city, but I will show the most important part that Pisa is actually known for!

Personally, Pisa did not leave me speachless, but we are all different. Maybe I will be given another opportunity to explore the city once again and with more care and change my mind about that. ;)

First encounter with almost every city in Italy looks like that...

The Leaning Tower is simply the bell tower of the cathedral of the Italian city of Pisa. The construction of the tower began in 1173., but it finished at the end of the 14th century.  Since it was built an inadequate foundation on ground too soft on one side to properly support the structure's weight, it is no wonder the construction itself took so long to adjust all the irregularities that were found.

The height of the tower is 55.86 metres from the ground on the low side and 56.67 metres on the high side.  It leaned 1 mm per year ballpark, that's why it was closed for visitors from 1990 to 2001. They managed to straighten the tower  45 cm before reopening it again for the public.

The tower is built completely of white marble and inside you can find  300 stairs that lead you to the top of the tower. People say you get a unique view at the city and sea that is 10 km away. We didn't climb the stairs due to extreme crowdiness, but I bet it's worth it.

Piazza dei Miracoli is the main sqare of Pisa, surrounded by mideval walls is an important cultural, religious and touristic sight of the city.

I am glad we visited this part of Tuscany as well and saw this famous construction, but our visit was over in 30 minutes. All in all, it did not leave a spectacular impression on me, but noone can say that this sqare is not impressive and particular.

The romantic story of Tuscany will be over with the next post when I am taking you to Siena, San Gimigano and Lucca.

Until then, write and plan your own journeys and send some of your personal reccomendations and ideas so we all can get inspired for another unforgettable trip!

“Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent,in the ideas of living.”

Miriam Beard