We Visit a Tower in Pisa, Monacco, and Toulon, and Have a Special Holiday Dinner

Next stop: Livorno, IT, the seaport gateway for Florence/Pisa in Italy’s beautiful province of Tuscany. Famous for its landscapes and Chianti wine, this region is considered the birthplace of the Renaissance, that creative burst of art, architecture, and science that changed the world from the 14^th – 16^th centuries.

City wall

We had a difficult time deciding whether to tour Florence, with its art history, museums, and architecture, or Pisa with its leaning tower. It just didn’t seem right, however, not to see the tower—something that most U.S elementary students learn about. Straddling the River Arno, Pisa has around 91,000 inhabitants with metropolitan population of 200,000. Known worldwide for its leaning tower, Pisa is also home to more than 20 other historic churches, several medieval palaces and various bridges across the River Arno. The city is also home to the University of Pisa with a history going back to the 12^th century.

Baptistery and Cathedral

Beautiful baptismal font

We boarded a bus that would take us through 15 miles of Tuscan landscapes from Livorno to Pisa, and entered the Piazza dei Miracoli or the Square of Miracles. This walled square is dominated by four religious edifices: the Pisa Cathedral; the Pisa Baptistery; the Campanile (leaning tower); and the Camposanto Monumentale (Monumental Cemetery). The grounds also house a hospital and a Cathedral Museum. First entering the round, Romanesque Baptistery that was started in the 12^th century and dedicated to St. John the Baptist, we were astonished by the artistry in the octagonal baptismal font and the pulpit.

Baptistery pulpit

Aside from these feature, however, the interior is relatively unadorned. But the construction of a double dome with a space between the layers serves as a sounding board and produces amazing acoustics.

Baptistery, cathedral, campanile

This was demonstrated by two singers, one on the ground level and another higher up in the dome, who sang a religious chant producing a beautifully amazing sound. Exiting the Baptistery we went to the cathedral. With construction begun in 1064, the church set the model for the distinctive Pisan Romanesque style of architecture, but the pointed arches and the interior mosaics show a strong Byzantine influence. The gray marble façade, massive bronze doors, and the black and white marble interior with its gilded ceiling and frescoed dome are simply stunning.

Cathedral facade

A fire in 1595 destroyed much of the ceiling, but it was repaired by the Medici family and now bears the family’s coat of arms.

Ceiling and Medici plaque

Galileo’s Lamp, an incense lamp suspended from the ceiling, is believed to have inspired the formulation of his pendulum theory.

Cathedral interior

We viewed the elaborately carved pulpit with its 9 narrative panels and the bones of St. Ranieri, Pisa’s patron saint.

Outside the cathedral we saw the Campanile which is simply the cathedral’s bell tower.

Cathedral pulpit

The last of the 3 major buildings built on the piazza, it was built in three stages that spanned 177 years.

The Leaning Tower

Five years after construction began, with the building 3 stories high, weak subsoil and a poor foundation caused sinking on the building’s south side. By 1990 the lean was 5.5 degrees when a team of engineers and architects finally stabilized the building to its present day lean of around 4 degrees (they didn’t want to correct it totally or the tourists wouldn’t visit!).

Our guide pointed out the Monumental Cemetery, but didn’t take us to view it.

Pisa backstreets

Instead we were given free time to peruse the street vendors and shops and take bathroom breaks. Jane purchased some souvenirs from a street vendor, while Capt. Larry bought some limoncello and Chianti wine from a gift shop.

We concluded our visit with a walk through some backstreets and alleys before hiking back to our bus for the ride back to the ship.

Big boats in Monte Carlo marina

Walking along the waterfront

Overnight we sailed to Monaco, waking up to find our ship surrounded by luxury motoryachts and sailboats in the main marina. As we viewed this sovereign city-state scrunched up against the base of the French Alps from our balcony, it became apparent that this was not going an ordinary port of call. The entire landscape just oozed of wealth and money and a certain level of refinement that only a lot of wealth and money can produce.

Oceanography Museum

Officially the Principality of Monaco, as it has always been ruled by a prince or princess and never a king (making it a kingdom), sits on the French Riviera and is bordered by France on three sides and the Mediterranean Sea on the fourth.

St. Nicolas Cathedral

With an area of only 0.78 sq. mi. and a population of almost 39,000, Monaco is the second smallest (only the Vatican is smaller) and most densely populated country in the world. Monte Carlo is the most populous quarter in the country. Through land reclamation and seaward expansion Monaco has increased it land mass by 20%.

Monaco jail with sea view (and chef)!

Millionaires comprise about 30% of Monaco’s population and the country is a popular tax haven. Monaco is also home to the prestigious Grand Prix of Monaco car race.

The included walking tour began with meeting our guide on the pier, and then proceeding through the heart of the medieval quarter known as “The Rock.”

Cathedral interior

We learned that Monaco’s major source of income is tourism, but it has also evolved into a major banking center and promotes certain "green" industries. We walked along a path that ran by the sea and passed by the Oceanographic Museum that houses a renowned aquarium.

Christmas park

We entered a beautiful park with a varied assortment of plants and trees from all over the world, and learned that Monaco was an early leader in environmental protection. There is little space for yards and vegetation areas, so green spaces on top of the high-rise buildings is strongly encouraged.

Monaco has been ruled by the Grimaldi family since 1297 and today is governed by a constitutional monarchy with Prince Albert II as head of state.

Monaco at night

Our guide brought us to St. Nicholas Cathedral where the royal family is buried, and where Prince Rainier III and actress Grace Kelly were famously wed. We entered the cathedral and viewed the graves of the royal family, including Prince Rainier III and Grace Kelly. Grace Kelly was immensely popular with the people and had a very positive influence on the country’s development.

In the park

We then viewed Port Hercules, a 500 acre area created by reclamation and seaward expansion. We made our way to Monaco’s main square, the Place du Palais, and viewed the Prince’s Palace.

The prince's palace

We didn’t get to see the palace’s changing of the guard, but did get to photograph the colorful guards. This concluded our tour and we were given the option of returning to the ship with the guide after an hour of free time or wander back on our own.

The palace at night

We chose the latter and Jane bought a few items at a gift shop and we headed back to the ship. Along the way we came across a Christmas fair and entered to see what it offered. Geared mostly toward children with festive, brightly colored characters and Christmas scenes, there were a few vendors offering jewelry, collectables, and food (something we really didn’t need!). We boarded the ship and decided that Monaco was a really great port of call and a great place to live, if you have the bucks.

Sunrise over Toulon, France

Tour Royale

"Thick Tower" walls

French Mediterranean Fleet (gotta zoom)

We left Monaco at 2300 (so the gamblers had some time ashore) and cruised to Toulon, FR. Toulon is the principle base of the French navy and holds about 60% of the total tonnage, including the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle and support group, as well as nuclear submarines. The navy is a major employer for the Toulon area. We had pleasant but cooler weather as we boarded our bus for the included tour of Toulon. Our first stop was at the naval arsenal and dockyards where we viewed the French Mediterranean fleet, before visiting the Tour Royale. Built in the 16^th century to protect the harbor, the fort was also called “The Thick Tower” because of its 22-foot-thick walls. We left the harbor and headed out for a bus ride for the remainder of the tour. The bus took us to various sections of Toulon, but none really very notable.

Downtown Toulon

Several buildings were pointed out, but hard to gauge their historical importance as most seemed to be ordinary buildings.

Busy Toulon marina

It was also difficult to hear and understand the guide. The tour was short and we returned to the terminal, only to walk back into town to visit a shopping mall so Jane could pick up a few things.

Mmmmm! All kinds of olives

On our way back to the ship we passed by a farmer’s market.

We were given a special treat that evening (Christmas Eve). Jane had spotted one officer a few days ago that she was pretty sure had been on our Antarctic cruise. When we spotted him in his office a couple of days ago, she asked him if he remembered us and the cruise. As soon as she mentioned some details of the cruise, his face lit up and everything came back to him. He told us that he had joined the Viking cruise line four years ago and that he was now the general hotel manager. He said that he was putting together a special table for Christmas Eve and asked us if we would join him and his other guests.

Viking gingerbread!

We affirmed. So, on Christmas Eve we had dinner with the hotel manager and two other couples.

Dinner with the hotel manager

Sinjith Mohan told us about Viking’s ambitious expansion plans, the company ownership, and his responsibilities with about half of the crew (~450) answering to him. We had a delightful dinner with excellent wine (special stuff!), food and conversation. He was called away before the end of the meal, but we spotted him the next day, thanked him for including us, and expressed hope that we could spend another Christmas with him again in the future. It was a great reunion.