Day 2
Part 3 - Memories of Journey - Paris to Rome by Road
After lunch in the restaurant of Nice and getting some stuff packed for our onward journey , we went back to our hotel . In fact my daughter was too tired and needed some rest for the upcoming long road journey to Italy . We all relaxed in the afternoon .
Again in the evening we stepped out of the hotel to see colorful Nice in the night . We did enjoy some rides near the beach before retiring back to the hotel . We needed to gear up for the next morning .
After we were done with the complimentary breakfast , we started onward for Italy . Baby , as we called our daughter , sat on the wheel and myself by her side in the front while my husband chose to sit on the back seat and spread his legs comfortably . We agreed to exchange our seats from time to time .
We had hardly traveled for 10 minutes when my daughter said “ We are in Monaco . “
When I said I didn’t care much , she said “ Mummy this is a very small country itself . You have been wearing Monte Carlo sweaters . This is the place here . This is a country of some of the wealthiest persons of the world . “
“ I see . “ I said and started looking out of the windows .
We just watched Monte Carlo from a running car . But within a few minutes Baby said “ Papa , we are in Italy now . If time permits during our return trip we will stop in Monte Carlo to have a close look at billionaires houses . “
“ Yes , that will be nice . “
He was also surprised that there was no border post , no customs , no immigration . What a Smooth and free passage from France to Italy . It was altogether a new experience . Baby kept a close look at the google map and a paper map too , which I was holding . Our first destination in Italy was Florence , it was about 400 km from Nice but the distance could be easily covered within five hours .
We stopped after about a two hours journey in a park in a small city . We had some snacks and cold drinks . My husband exchanged seat with me , now he was on the front
seat . Baby asked her papa “ You too can drive on a freeway . It's very easy here ,if you have got your international licence with you . “
“ Yes, it’s easy as the roads are wide and traffic is disciplined but the speed is terrific , I can’t do it . “ He said
“ No problem , I can continue driving for a long time . In the USA too, sometimes I drove nonstop 300 km or even more . “
“ Should we stop for lunch somewhere ? “ I asked
“ If we can bear for another hour we will be in our hotel in Florence . “ Baby said
“ No problem , keep driving .” Both I and my husband said
In the afternoon we reached our hotel in Florence . We decided to relax for a few hours . After about 3 hours of rest we came out . Florence is the capital of Italy’s Tuscany region . It is famous for its masterpiece art and architecture . We drove to PiazZa Del Duomo . We got our first taste of Italy’s wonderful architecture , a lovely magestic view of the famed cathedral . It has a well engineered terracotta tilted dome .
After a brief walk in the city we had Indian dinner in a restaurant . That was all for this day . We went back to our hotel . Next morning we had planned for Giotto’s Campanile . Here we had a beautiful panaromic view of Florence from the top of the tower . From there we proceeded to Ponte Vecchio to see an old bridge made of stones . But it was not so charming for us .
Our next destination was Pisa . The famous leaning tower of Pisa is one of the wonders of the world . Actually our main aim of Italy visit was to see Pisa , Venice and Rome . Florence to Pisa distance was around 85 Km and could take nearly 75 minutes . So my daughter was not worried . But we could see her tired face.
After a couple of hours of rest we started for Pisa . We were in Pisa within one and half hours . We went straight to our hotel and none had courage for any activity for the rest of the day . We ate our dinner early and relaxed in our beds . Next morning we started for the leaning tower. Baby had to park the car far away and we had to walk about 1.5 km before we could reach the Tower of Pisa.
Pisa is also a part of Italy’s Tuscany region . We saw the tilting tower from a distance before approaching the tower . A great sight , a great piece of architecture . But it is known to have started tilting after its completion in 1372 . The 56 meter white marbled cylinder is the bell tower of the striped cathadrel standing next to it . Here we could see tourists from all corners of the world . Hundreds of small shops on the sides of the approach road to the monument . They sold many idols and statues of the Roman era besides replica of the leaning tower in various sizes . We too bought a couple of pieces .
This was the end of our sightseeing activity on this second day . We preferred to relax as the next dream destination was Venice .
Contd .
