Just got back from Florence, Italy

[Fixxxer]

My wife and I just got back to Michigan from Italy. We rented a villa for a week in the hillside of Tuscany. For the first and last day we had a hotel room in Florence right next to the historic Ponte Vecchio bridge. It is the oldest stone arch bridge in Europe. Walking across it there are many merchants and small local stores.

A lot of leather and jewelry stores are on the bridge. At one point I saw a small crowd gathered around one of the store windows. It turns out it was a Rolex window display. When the crowd cleared I snapped a few photos. Unfortunatley I missed one of the windows that had some great looking watches.

Definitely one of the best vacations I have been on.

[dinan545bmw]

Welcome home! Sounds like you folks had an absolutely wonderful time visiting Italy. Love those pics here.

Is it just me salivating worse than a dog whenever I see an authorized Rolex watch display like this? Very sharp timepiece you have there yourself!

[MortgageGuy]

Great shots, thank you for posting... I am still drooling over the window with all the Rolex's in it

[Aitken-Smith]

Dear Ryan {Fixxer},

Cassetti is superb.... there is another superb watch shop just over the bridge on the Porte Roma side on the left. It is a pre-owned shop and superb. I spend alot of time in Tuscany in the Summer and good to know you enjoyed yourself, did you go to Siena? .. regards Stephen

[Fixxxer]

Originally Posted by Aitken-Smith

Dear Ryan {Fixxer},

Cassetti is superb.... there is another superb watch shop just over the bridge on the Porte Roma side on the left. It is a pre-owned shop and superb. I spend alot of time in Tuscany in the Summer and good to know you enjoyed yourself, did you go to Siena? .. regards Stephen

We did drive to Siena. The villa was about 20 minutes outside of Florence in San Vincenzo a Torri. It was a private 16th century home with modern amenities. One day we decided to go for a short drive that turned into a long one. We ended up in Siena and spent the day there. It was a great place. Here is picture from Siena and one from the patio of the villa.

[Gerry62]

Florence is the heart of Italy, excellent choice of itinerary.
Did you see Michelangelo's David?
Even that window has some wonderful works of art.



ciao da Bologna

[SDDS]

great pics thanx for sharing

[nickriebe]

Great pics and story, thanks for sharing and welcome home!

[NYStockboy]

Hey Fixxxer, I was in exactly the same spot at the end of April. My daughter, who goes to the University of Wisconsin, spent a semester (4 months) in Florence going to school. My wife and I went to Rome, then visited my daughter in Florence, then we all went to Paris. I had a long and interesting talk with the manager at Cassetti about the watch business in general and business conditions in Florence. Business there used to be much better but as he pointed out, the majority of the foot traffic was younger people, not the core Rolex buyer demographic. I almost purchased an Anniversary Sub, 16610LV, from them but was slightly uncomfortable and foolishly so, with the mechanics of getting the VAT tax returned at the airport. We had a great time throughout the entire vacation and particularly so in Florence. A week after we got back, I purchased an SS GMTII C at my AD in Manhattan.

Thanks,
Ken

[Engi]

Hi Fixxxer,
I'm very happy you enjoyed you vacation in Tuscany.

Florence and Siena are really beautiful palces where to spend holidays (and to live as well ... ) !

Cassetti, the Rolex dealer, opened the shop at Ponte Vecchio recently and he has a lot of models available and on display. Prices are OK too

I hope the other people here will visit Italy

Ciao

Engi

[sea-dweller]

Great photos !