Pisa and Florence, Day 1

We spent Memorial Day Weekend in Tuscany! MWR had a group trip going and we signed up, which was especially nice for me. I didn't have to plan anything! It was great! Dexter is getting to an age where he's beginning to understand that we're going on a trip. He loves any vehicle, so it was very exciting for him to ride on buses and PLANES! He watched the planes go by at our gate.

And he was very good on the flight!

I love Mahlon for always letting me sit by the window <3

We flew to Pisa and immediately got on a bus to the Field of Miracles!  The site is breathtaking and surreal!  We had a guided tour of the area and learned a lot!  Some of the things I remember from the tour:
1. The baptistry (round building in the foreground) was separate from the church because no one was permitted to enter the church until they were baptized.
2.  Galileo was from Pisa.  He was baptized in that baptistry.
3.  Just like Mark is represented by a lion in Italian art, John the Baptist is represented by an eagle.
4.  The leaning tower was built to be the bell tower in the square.
5.  No one knows the tower's original designer.  Whoever it was was too ashamed because it was leaning.
6.  5 hours is way too much time to spend in Pisa.  (I didn't learn this from the tour guide.)

There was some police banquet happening that day.  They were doing some ceremony in front of the tower.

You're not allowed on the grass.  Dexter had a very hard time following that rule.

Here's the inside of the cathedral.

At lunch time everyone headed to various restaurants.  We took panini to go and sat on the steps of this statue.  It was less expensive, and we had the best view by far.

After lunch we toured the cemetery.  It had this beautiful courtyard.

And these frescoes that they were restoring after damage from WWII.

Right after I took this picture he darted towards the frescoes.  Mahlon grabbed him before he grabbed them.  Which is more devastating to precious art, Dexter Andrews or WWII?  We almost found out!

Mahlon made me take a picture of this car.  I don't remember what it is, besides ugly.

After 5 long hours in Pisa we got on a bus to Florence.  I love it there!  It's probably my favorite city in Italy.  Here's the beautiful duomo.

We love to find little trattorias on the side streets in Italy.  They're always the best places.  This place was no exception.  We wanted some traditional Florentine dishes.  We had ribolitta (bread soup), artichoke pasta, pasta with wild boar and steak Florentine.  It was all delicious!  Dexter had pork chops milanese and fries.  He loved his food too!

Mahlon could see well out the door.  He noticed lots of people were coming to take pictures of the place across the street.  Turns out this is where the Jersey Shore cast worked in Florence!

We were pretty worn out.  We had gotten up at 3am.  But I really wanted to see the river and Ponte Vecchio before we went back to the hotel.  It was a beautiful evening!  One reason to love Florence over Sicily is that you can go for an evening walk without swallowing a bunch of gnats.

There was some car show going on.  Mahlon loves this stuff.

After we got our photo with the bridge we walked back to the hotel.  Great first day in Tuscany!