Tue Sept 12, 2006 Pisa

The Voyager is docked in the port of Livorno. From our balcony, I see Warner Brothers characters painted on the side of two ferries named Moby. Our neighbor in the cabin to the left of us steps onto his balcony. I say hi and he smiles back.

We hit the Windjammer, but we can't find Carolyn and Bill. The waterboy has 4 flags on his nametag which means he speaks 4 other languages in addition to English. We return to the room and call Carolyn and Bill's room. Bill answers and tells us that Carolyn is in the library surfing the internet. Time for to get ready for our excursion. We gather again at the La Scala Theater.

Our tour guide today is Viola (Violet) who is 24 and is studying languages. We are docked in a container port so nothing exiting to see. Ancient Pisa was a port city. The silt from several floods put Pisa 7 miles inland. She points out the umbrella pine trees. Good souvenirs are pinochio puppets. She tells us to avoid the fakes Gucci and Prada at the market. I thought that good olive oil should be clear and golden, but it should be green and a bit cloudy. I guess I'm thinking corn oil. Viola gives a sampling of common Italian words...arrivederci, ciao. After going through Spain, France, I'm starting to forget what greeting to use.

It is a bit of walk from the bus parking to the Campo ei Miracoli (Field of Miracles) where Viola hands us off to another tour guide.

The domed structure to the left is the baptistery. In the middle is the Cathedral and in the background is the bell tower otherwise known as the Leaning Tower.

I was in Pisa when I was in first and second grade. The field seemed much longer then and not so crowded. My parents didn't want my brother and I to climb to the top of the tower. They were probably worried that we would break it, but it's already broken. The restoration of the tower is near complete and all of the scaffolding at the bottom is now gone. The weather is still picture perfect.

It surprising that the Voyager photographers are here taking shots of passengers who want them.

A statue of the Capitoline Wolf suckling Romulus and Remus the founders of Rome.

The Leaning Tower or campanile(bell tower) was beautiful as I remembered. Unfortunately, we don't have enough time to climb the tower and see the view from there. Maybe another time.

Our guide completes the tour leaving us with only 45 minutes for a restroom break, photographs and souvenir shopping. She tells us that for 6 euros per person, we can visit the cathedral and baptistery. The Cathedral used marble from all over to show that they were now the center of the world. The cathedral is extremely large and ornate, but like most cathedrals dimly lit especially alabaster is used as windows to provide light. Yes, the interior is darker than these images have you believe. I've never seen so much marble. I don't think we ever went inside when I was a kid. We try to make a WC break, but the line is too long, so we move on to the baptistery.

The baptistry is not as pretty as the cathedral on the inside. The baptistry originally lacked the dome and the statue of Saint John on top. People would be baptized by rain falling through the open roof. I climb to the second floor, but no new view. Bill also makes it to the top but his camera cannot focus on the bottom. It's tough going back down since people are coming up and there is only enough room for one person. I noticed the skull and crossbones on the floor like I did in Germany. Hmmm, pirates?

Of the unique souvenirs, we bought a leaning mug with the leaning tower on the side and a Pinocchio puppet actually 2 - one will become a Christmas Ornament. That's one thing about the places we visited. There are no Christmas ornaments. Pins are hard to come by as well. I picked up another patch. Italy has some wierd souvenirs. Boxer shorts that is a photo of the statue of David's - ahem lower regions. I don't think I can post the photo here. They also sold pasta shaped in men's genitalia.

Passengers are lulled to sleep as the bus driver plays Italian opera over the speakers.

We try to make Brasserie 30, but it's not yet open. Bill mentions that he'd just like to have burger so what better place than Johnny Rocket's? But first we return for our coupon book so we can get in for free. What's disappointing is that they now charge $3.95 for seating. Johnny Rockets won't open till 1330. We have a peacepop from Ben & Jerry's followed by desserts at the Promenade Cafe which also has sandwiches to tie us over till lunch. We wait at the Schooner's Bar for the "Who am I?" Game. No one is there but Carlos who will run the game. Carlos does not how the game is played and hopes that someone will show up who does. We talk awhile with Carlos who turns out to be from Cancun. He used to work in a dive shop. After the last hurricane, the government said that the businesses did not have to pay taxes to rebuild so the hotels took advantage of it. They leveled what they had and started from scratch. No one shows up so the girls get navy blue and gold Royal Caribbean ball caps while Bill and I receive key chains. We head up to Deck 12 for Johnny Rockets. The weather is nice, so we sit outdoors. No jukebox. No dance from the staff. Drinks are extra, but I order a vanilla shake. Fries and rings come with every meal. I order a double rocket and an apple pie. Afterwards, we head to the room for some sleep.

Carolyn calls us at 1800. We missed Christmas Trivia which they won by the way, and she called just in case we overslept. We swap seating positions again. The Captain makes announcements today which he didn't make yesterday. The same announcement is made in Spanish, French and German so yeah, it takes awhile, and it's no fun when you are sitting beneath a speaker.

The Head Waiter speaks to us a bit and wants to know my nationality. I tell him Philippines before Bill has him guess. He tells me that he guessed Spaniard from my size. He has been accused of being Philippines. He asks if I speak Tagalog. I tell him no that I understand my Mom And Dad's dialect. The parade of waiters begins and Orlando leads the line. The waiters and busboys line the three story staircase and sing Solo Mio. After dessert, Carolyn and Bill head off to trivia. We of course pass on the Welcome Back party. Mary didn't want any more alcohol. Mary wants to do trivia but she also wants to check out the photos. Photos are now all digital. During formal photo sessions, they first scan your card which tags the photos that they take. You can order via kiosk or in person. All non-formal photos may or may not be in the system.

I have to get our Ice Odyssey tickets and Mary wants to drop off the baggage tags and soap that Carolyn gave her. We bump into our cabin attendant Neesa who has the look of Jessica Alba. The ice show is amazing. It's amazing that they don't fall more often. Yes they do fall, but Mary noticed that it was always on a bad patch of ice.