We had a beautiful day off in Florence today and our motto was "Shop until we drop." We did exactly that! As we left the hotel, we followed the river down to Ponte Vecchio, a street that runs across the river and has many different little shops. The jewelry and leather were spectacular to look at and of course BUY! We made our rounds up and down the street before stopping for lunch. Florence is very different than Milan, yet both cities personalities are beautiful!
We made our way towards the Duomo in Florence called
The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore. We stopped many different times looking at all the beautiful Italian made merchandise. We went into a market where most of us found beautiful scarves, bags, and jewelry to bring home for friends, family, and ourselves.
Just like in Milan, Florence has its own traditions. One I learned about today is when couples lock a lock on chains or gates around the city. They then throw the lock into the river to symbolize trust, love, and eternity. I thought that was a very cute tradition showing that Italians really do believe in love and I wish America had tradition like these.
