The Ponte Vecchio...

After arriving in Florence, we immediately hit the pavement to make our appointment at the Uffizi Gallery (thank you Rick Steves' for that suggestion). To get there, we walked along the Arno and right by the Ponte Vecchio or Old Bridge.

It's less of a bridge and more a boulevard of commerce. The bridge is covered in colorful shops selling mostly gold and other precious goodies. From the west side looking back on the bridge, it looks like this.

And a bit closer up:

I can't think of anything quite like this around here. We have the Bridge of Flowers down in Shelburne Falls, MA and the floating bridge in Brookfield, VT but those aren't really quite the same thing. Oh and the Ponte Vecchio dates from 996. Wow!