I woke early enough again to see the sunrise as we came into La Spezia port and to see the "pilotti" drop off a local port pilot to bring the ship in; that's occurred several times on the cruise. We decided to rent a car and see Florence and Pisa on our own. I wasn't sure what to see in Florence; the thing I wanted to do was go to the Fratelli Piccini store on Ponte Vecchio because its symbol is the seahorse, they design quite a bit of jewelry with seahorses and I wanted to get a seahorse pendant - plain gold or with aquamarine stones. The ship anchored off shore and we were tendered in to the dock. It was a unusual way to go ashore, but it allowed us to view the ship "at sea" and see its grandeur. Once onshore, port police directed us to Hert
z and we set off walking to find it and rent a car. When we didn't find the car rental place after about an hour of walking, we returned to the tender dock and someone with the taxis called another rental place called Europcar to see if they were open. They said there was a festival on Friday, Saturday, Sunday so many places were closed. Europcar was open and we took the taxi to their office. Another hour was spent in line to rent a car. It cost 87 euros, which was cheaper (even with 41 euros for gas and about 20 euros in toll fares) than a shore excursion at $79 to $229 US per person. We 
got a Fiat Corso, which was a four door car, and a highway map of Italy - and around 11:30 am, we were on our way! I was the navigator. We took the A12 to the A11 east; both were four lane (two in each direction) divided highways. Lil Z kept asking "Are we on the right road?" It took us a little over an hour but under an hour and a half to reach Florence, about 12:45 pm. We quickly learned that blue signs with white arrows pointed which way to go, similar to our one-way signs. We reached Ponte Vecchio and scored primo parking just around the corner. Lil Z and I bought a 
bottle of Coke Zero and used the toilet while Zman exchanged US dollars for more euros; then we had a light lunch. The Fratelli Piccini store was closed for siesta, but that was all right with me, as it saved me some money. We took pictures on Ponte Vecchio, then headed out of Florence (which is called Firenze on the map and road signs); I took lots and lots of pictures out the car window as we drove down streets with such beautiful and old architecture. On the way out of Florence, we passed an accident with a car overturned on its roof; Zman said it looked like the car may have turned a corner too fast and rolled over.
I was trying to get Zman to a different road than we came into Florence on; it seemed to be more direct to Pisa and we'd see more of Italy. We ended back on the A11 and then instead of going north on A12 back to La Spezia, we went south to Pisa via the SS1, which reminded me very much of California's Highway 1 through Malibu. We passed a McDonald's,
a Holiday Inn, and a Best Western. Again, we just followed the blue signs with white arrows. I had told Zman I just wanted to take pictures of the Leaning Tower, didn't need to go up inside it to the top since we had to back on the ship by 7:30 pm, even with returning the car and taking the tender back to the ship. I don't know how he did it, but again he scored primo parking about a block away from the "Field of Miracles" where the Tower is located. We had our picture moments, bought some souvenirs, and then had a gelato (ice cream), Coke, and toilet stop. On the way back to La Spezia, I didn't want Zman to get back on the A12 because signs said to Livorno and Genova; Livorno I knew was south and we didn't want to go that direction, I wasn't sure where Genova was, but I thought it was south too. We just stayed on the SS1 and had to use many turnabouts, the circles used instead of stop signs or traffic lights. After a time, I discovered Genova was north and we would be going the right direction if we got on the A12 headed toward Genova. We transitioned to the A15 and reached La Spezia, which was where the A15 ended, approximately 5:40 pm. And we passed another accident! As directed by the car rental agent, we parked the car at the port and left the keys with a port officer.
When we left La Spezia, it seemed we were going at a clip. The swells were the biggest I've seen all cruise long, and I definitely felt the motion of the ship. All three of us were tired and didn't have any trouble going to sleep. We had a great time driving on our own in Italy! It was one of the best things we've done!
z and we set off walking to find it and rent a car. When we didn't find the car rental place after about an hour of walking, we returned to the tender dock and someone with the taxis called another rental place called Europcar to see if they were open. They said there was a festival on Friday, Saturday, Sunday so many places were closed. Europcar was open and we took the taxi to their office. Another hour was spent in line to rent a car. It cost 87 euros, which was cheaper (even with 41 euros for gas and about 20 euros in toll fares) than a shore excursion at $79 to $229 US per person. We 
got a Fiat Corso, which was a four door car, and a highway map of Italy - and around 11:30 am, we were on our way! I was the navigator. We took the A12 to the A11 east; both were four lane (two in each direction) divided highways. Lil Z kept asking "Are we on the right road?" It took us a little over an hour but under an hour and a half to reach Florence, about 12:45 pm. We quickly learned that blue signs with white arrows pointed which way to go, similar to our one-way signs. We reached Ponte Vecchio and scored primo parking just around the corner. Lil Z and I bought a 
bottle of Coke Zero and used the toilet while Zman exchanged US dollars for more euros; then we had a light lunch. The Fratelli Piccini store was closed for siesta, but that was all right with me, as it saved me some money. We took pictures on Ponte Vecchio, then headed out of Florence (which is called Firenze on the map and road signs); I took lots and lots of pictures out the car window as we drove down streets with such beautiful and old architecture. On the way out of Florence, we passed an accident with a car overturned on its roof; Zman said it looked like the car may have turned a corner too fast and rolled over.I was trying to get Zman to a different road than we came into Florence on; it seemed to be more direct to Pisa and we'd see more of Italy. We ended back on the A11 and then instead of going north on A12 back to La Spezia, we went south to Pisa via the SS1, which reminded me very much of California's Highway 1 through Malibu. We passed a McDonald's,
a Holiday Inn, and a Best Western. Again, we just followed the blue signs with white arrows. I had told Zman I just wanted to take pictures of the Leaning Tower, didn't need to go up inside it to the top since we had to back on the ship by 7:30 pm, even with returning the car and taking the tender back to the ship. I don't know how he did it, but again he scored primo parking about a block away from the "Field of Miracles" where the Tower is located. We had our picture moments, bought some souvenirs, and then had a gelato (ice cream), Coke, and toilet stop. On the way back to La Spezia, I didn't want Zman to get back on the A12 because signs said to Livorno and Genova; Livorno I knew was south and we didn't want to go that direction, I wasn't sure where Genova was, but I thought it was south too. We just stayed on the SS1 and had to use many turnabouts, the circles used instead of stop signs or traffic lights. After a time, I discovered Genova was north and we would be going the right direction if we got on the A12 headed toward Genova. We transitioned to the A15 and reached La Spezia, which was where the A15 ended, approximately 5:40 pm. And we passed another accident! As directed by the car rental agent, we parked the car at the port and left the keys with a port officer.When we left La Spezia, it seemed we were going at a clip. The swells were the biggest I've seen all cruise long, and I definitely felt the motion of the ship. All three of us were tired and didn't have any trouble going to sleep. We had a great time driving on our own in Italy! It was one of the best things we've done!
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