mascaras meet the mediterranean, part four: florence and a leaning tower.

We left France and headed for Italy on Day 4 of our honeymoon. We arrived in Livorno, enjoyed yet another sunrise and headed to Florence.

We drove through the beautiful Tuscan countryside enjoying views of vineyards and quaint little houses before arriving near the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore.

We walked up to the cathedral with our tour guide and got a very thorough history lesson while admiring all the details of the Duomo and neighboring baptistry.

The cathedral

The amazing doors of the baptistry.

We walked a little further and stopped for a photo-op of Ponte Vecchio before heading to another

church (my memory is escaping me, I cannot remember what it's called!).

Ponte Vecchio

By this time we were hungry, and lucky for us a delicious lunch was planned for our tour group at the beautiful Palazzo Borghese. The vegetarian lasagna was to die for! Best lasagna I have ever had, period. Next was veal (or was it pork?), potatoes, and spinach (though I did not eat the mystery meat) and we had some wonderful tiramisu for dessert! And of course, lots and lots of wine! This was one of the best meals we had on our entire trip!

Inside the restaurant.

Seriously, the best lasagna EVER.

After stuffing ourselves full of delicious Italian cuisine and vino, it was time to travel to our next destination: Pisa! When we arrived we walked around the Miracle Square and took the obligatory pictures next to the leaning tower.

Umm...our photographer was a little out of calibration apparently.

There wasn't much else to see in Pisa, so after picking up a few souvenirs and admiring some pretty flowers, it was time to head back to the boat! We spent the evening enjoying dinner with our tablemates and prepping for the our next trip to a city that wasn't built in a day, otherwise known as Rome!

Has anyone else taken the ridiculous "holding up the tower" pictures in Pisa? I felt like a true tourist at that moment.