Shopped till I dropped

Ponte Vecchio

The plan for the day was to do nothing but enjoy what Florence, the city of art, had to offer us.  We were lucky to have a hotel close to the main the river and always enjoyed walking along this historic river. We first stopped at a Murano glass store where in Florence, is a traditional type of jewelry. I have never seen or heard of this kind of jewelry but to my surprise all of the designs are carefully crafted blown glass.  We walked through ancient streets and heard all different languages, especially English which was shocking. We finally ended up on to Ponte Vecchio, one of the highlights of Florence. When we were approaching it, I thought I saw windows and little protrusion from the bridge and wondered what it was but I was right, they were stores!  The bridge is filled with colorful shades and windows and once you enter the street it is filled with jewelry stores selling gold, gems and leather goods. Each store was specialized in some type of jewelry but where we spent most of our time was a leather and gold store called Manelli. It provided all of us with wonderful authentic Florentine jewelry and sincere customer service. 

Jewelry shops along Ponte Vecchio

   We explored throughout the day going in and out of the narrow streets and sidewalks and I couldn’t help but notice that the city is small but filled with so much history and warm environment.  The architecture all resembled each building and coincided with the rest of the city.  We stopped by the colorful Duomo of Florence to see its natural beauty. The colors and details were unique since most Duomos in cities are neutral colors with little or no geometric details. 

Leather Market

Duomo

   Lastly, we hit the infamous leather market by the Boar or what the locals call “ Il Procellino”. The nose is rubbed for good luck and a coin is placed in its mouth to make a wish. I wish I knew that was the tradition because I would have done it instead of walking passed it. The leather market was full of bags, stationary items, hats and scarves. One can easily be lost with all the vendors in the little square. It is actually close to Via Pitti by the Pitti palace where the ideal men market was first presented.  Tomorrow we will be going to the 2011 Uomo Pitti Market, I wonder if they would have an area to see the markets growth through time from the beginning to now. This day ended with 9 gold and leather bracelets and beautiful memories.

On June 15th