The Tuscany region is an extremely beautiful and artistic region of Italy. My friend and I spent Labor Day weekend under the Tuscany sun, first by exploring the city of Firenze aka Florence. All throughout the city were statues of Roman Mythology retelling stories of new. With every corner, there was something wondrous about the discovery. On our way to the Art museum La Galleria dell'Accademia to stand in the grandness of the Statue of David, we came across a market from sunglasses to fine Italian leather. After getting a 10 minute lecture on the quality of cloths and how best to wear a cashmere scarf from a very, very knowledge Italian man, I bought two. Hey, the Italians are on the up and up when it comes to style.
At La Galleria dell'Accademia resided art exhibits of religious paintings, marble style statues and of course David. The s
tatue of David was awe-inspiring standing at 17 feet (5.17 m). Now that’s a whole lot of marble! This museum, like mainly who house famous exhibits, did not allow photography of the statue. Nonetheless, I definitely was not going to pass up an opportunity to capture a photo. You best believe I got a photo! After leaving, my parent in crime and I followed a British senior citizen tour group into Piazza della Signoria, origins of the Florentine Republic. Piazza della Signoria vibrant aura reminded me of an outdoor gallery with the collection of numerous statues of Loggia dei Lanzi. I especially enjoyed the Fountain of Neptune. The focal point of this Piazza is the Palazzo Vecchio.
The following day my travel buddy and I set out for the beach at Viareggio. Sometimes the air of uncertainly can be an adventure. The train ride from Pisa city (where our hotel was) and the town of Viareggio was only a 15-minute ride. We however found ourselves on a very chic train with assigned seating and people with extensive amounts of luggage (in hindsight, it was 1st class). Luckily in 15-minutes we arrived at our anticipated designation putting our worries at bay. Viarregio is situated in northern Tuscany, on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea.The water that day was the bluest sapphire with medium sized waves. The only downside to this beach was being harassed by the lifeguards to pay a fee for laying. Apparently much of this beach town has private beach owners and is not free to enjoy. After a day of beach lying, we were sun- drained tired. Back to the chic train for a ride to Pisa.
On the last day of our Italian crusade, we stayed in Pisa. The Leaning Tower of Pisa or the Italian name Torre pendente di Pisa is definitely leaning at a 3.99 angle or 3.9 meters (12 ft 10 in) from standing horizontally up-right. Apparently, over the 177-year construction of the monument starting in 1
173, the base of the tower began to sink in 1178. Construction stopped for nearly a century before resuming the building with an attempt to compensate for the sinking foundation. Additional floors were added to the tower at varies time periods up until 1372 with the final 7th floor. From 1999 to 2001, the tower was closed for architect restoration. On our visit, the tower was open and still with a gangster lean but with more structural support (So the brochure claims). What I don’t understand is why the decision to continuous build on a sinking foundation was not seen with objection. Find a location in the complex and start fresh. The town of Pisa doesn’t have much to offer other then the touristy sights. Nonetheless, our stay in Pisa provided central accessible to other places of interest and some FANTASTIC pasta from our hotel restaurant, Hotel California Park.
