Florence - Pitti Palace and the Ponte Vecchio

The Pitti Palace is huge, as you can see below - we could have spent a whole day in here.  No pictures allowed in most rooms and it was really tough to abstain as some of the exhibits were really stunning, especially the ivory exhibit.  The carvings were so exquisite I was dying to capture some of them - alas the guards were vigilant.  

Love the colours and patterns on this piece of embroidery

 A most exquisite pearl pendant

 An elegant art deco pin

What a stunning dress!  One of many in the Costume Gallery

Square in front of the Pitti Palace - great place to hang out 

The Pitti Palace is only a short walk from the Ponte Vecchio on the south side of the Arno.  It is quite interesting though while there were hordes of tourists on the bridge and on the north side of the river, they didn't seem to go much farther than the Ponte Vecchio.  I suspect many came just to walk back and forth on the bridge - obviously some shopped but most just gawked.   The jewelry price on the bridge seemed quite reasonable but the other tourist goods in the shops close to the bridge were much more expensive.  I noticed panna forte and porcini selling for double the price we paid in Siena.

The bridge, however, is very picturesque, rain or shine, day or night...