ITALY: FLORENCE {GETTING TO KNOW YOU}

Sleep: Hotel Scoti, Via de Tornabuoni 7, Firenze, Italy 

Eat: La Scaletta Hotel Florence, Via de Guicciardini 13, Firenze, Italy (this place has the most beautiful rooftop views. Only 5 tables at the very top, so get a reservation if you want a guaranteed spot!)

See: Ponte Santa Trinita, Ponte Vecchio, Galeria de Academia (The David statute), Central Market, Boboli Gardens,  winery tour, Palazzo Pitti, Duomo

You can't tell me you read the title of that post to the tune of anything other than the Sound of Music. 
We got into Florence in the early afternoon so just spent our first day wandering around our neighborhood and getting our bearings. Two of the biggest attractions in Florence are also the most innocuous: the ponte santa trinita and the ponte vecchio. 

When the Germans were retreating as WWII wound down, Hitler had ordered all of the bridges spanning the Arno river to be destroyed to halt the allied advance. That is, all of the bridges except the Ponte Vecchio. Rumor has it Hitler had an appreciation for art and history (as was evident in the recent book/movie The Monuments Men).

{ponte santa trinita} 

{ponte vecchio} 

There are jewelry and souvenir shops spanning the bridge, which were once butcher shops. 

{the Uffizi gallery}

Overall, Florence is a lot less crowded and bustling than Rome was, and everything is in even closer proximity for walking.

Up next: Central market, and a winery tour.