Volendam 2026, Livorno, Italy...

Up again at the crack of dawn in the dark to capture our sail into the port of Livorno being docked at the commercial port not that much to see. Our driver Leonardo picked us up at the ship in Livorno for a tour of the Tuscany region. Before heading to Lucca, Leonardo took us on a panoramic tour of Livorno. Livorno is a charming, colorful city built on a grid of canals. We passed the old port flanked by the old and new forts that once protected the city. We made a quick stop at the beach to see the crashing waves then we headed for Pisa. Leonardo parked the car in Pisa close by the Tower and Ann, Cathy, Gwen and I walked to the Piazza dei Miracoli (The Square of Miracles), home of the iconic Leaning Tower, Cathedral and the Baptistery. The Leaning Tower of Pisa is a freestanding cylindrical white-marble bell tower, legendary for its 3.97-degree architectural tilt caused by unstable 12th-century foundations. We were able to obtain the 9am climb spot so Gwen and I made the 251 narrow steps climb to the top for panoramic views of Pisa. The stairs form a narrow circular staircase with very well-worn sunken marble steps from hundreds of years of people climbing them. After all the previous visits I have made to Pisa, this was my first time climbing the tower…happy we did it. The views from above were spectacular!  On our way to Lucca, we had a complete change of plans for our visit to Lucca…the largest Comic Festival in Europe was taking place in Lucca over Halloween and the city was preparing with tents being set up everywhere. We stopped briefly in Lucca to pick up our guide Christian. Alternatively, we decided to visit the Tuscan countryside and some villas. So off we headed into the Tuscan countryside on our way to find the Devil’s Bridge. This is a deck arch bridge crossing the Serchio River near the town of Borgo a Mozzano. It's one of numerous medieval bridges known as a vital river crossing on the Road to Rome Medieval Pilgrimage Route. This was a very nice stop to photograph the bridge…wonderful reflections. Our next stop was the Villa Marlia or Villa Reale di Marliais, a late Renaissance Royal villa. The estate's property includes; renowned gardens, chapel, and outdoor theatre all within the compound. It is located in Capannori, west of Florence, in the northern Tuscany. The estate has had several owners such as; Eliza Bonaparte, sister of Napoleon, moved in to the Villa in 1806 and lost the estate in 1817, the Bourbon Family from 1817 until 1923, Maria Letici Pecci, grandniece of Pope Leo 13th took control until 2015 when a young Swiss couple brought the historic property back to its former glory. Making our way back to Livorno with a stop in Lucca to drop off Christian, we decided to make a quick walk inside the medieval walled Old Town of Lucca. Christian guided us to the Clock Tower and we bid him farewell. On our walk about we passed Piazza San Michele and San Michele Church, a stunning church boasting an incredibly elaborate, wedding-cake-like marble facade as well as many narrow medieval cobblestone alleys. Gwen and I climbed the clock tower for a great unobstructed 360-degree panoramic view of Lucca's red rooftops, surrounding hills, and nearby Guinigi Tower. The clock tower is the tallest surviving medieval tower in Lucca, Italy, standing at 50 meters (164 feet) tall and 207 steps to the top. We made it back safely to the ship…It turned out to be a very nice day thanks to Leonardo!