Tom

Florence is a wonderful town to visit, a must for anyone interested in Western Civilization. However, the Ponte d'Vecchio (I'm sure my spelling is wrong; don't have timew to look it up) is worth only a quick run through. It is a jewelry trap made for ladies with their husband's money to blow. I couldn't get my old lady away from there fast enough.

Buyer

Tom, thanks for the warning, but if you referred to me as "your old lady" it would cost you more then Florentine jewelry to get off the Ponte d'Vecchio.

Feminist

And of course it is the "husband's money."

Guess

What´s the problem of having a kind and lovely husband giving you jewels? I´m independent, work in business, and I´d love that...

Rose

Tom, the trick to the Ponte d'Vechhio is that it's great to look at...not necessarily be ON...I've been to Florence a few times and spent about 3 minutes on the bridge before writing it off as a tourist trap. BUT I've spent many hours along the river walkway looking at the bridge and it's environs. The situation requires a paradigm shift away from being 'in or on' to 'looking at or around'. <BR> <BR>I've seen many tourists fall into this trap. Has anyone seen this at other tourist sites?

Rose

Oh another thing, I too resent the "husband's money" remark. The phase is from another time, one in which has long passed.

elaine

ACtually, my sister and I were very happy with the quality and price of the items we bought in a shop on Ponte Vecchio. We had some idea of what we wanted and what similar items might cost at home in the US. On Ponte Vecchio we went into several shops and compared quality and price. We didn't buy on the spot, but took business cards and made notes on the back so we'd remember what we liked or didn't like about each shop. <BR>We went back on our last day, and bought what we liked at a price that seemed more than fair, at least compared to prices at home in the US (in New York and Atlanta) <BR>If the poster isn't a troll, he's still a troll.

marie

Back to Rose's point about tourist sites which are best enjoyed from the 'outside' - Statue of Liberty, outstanding from almost every other angle except from the inside!

sally

found the prices here not worse but not any better than what i am familiar with in the u.s.

Tom

I earned the money. I'm often happy to part with my money as long as it is not for jewelry, a materialistic joy for the eternal child. As for feminism and feminists, I hate them. My wife does too. We have a very pleasant traditional, Christian marriage. Seems to me, all those I know who are divorced are non-traditional and the wives basked in feminism and "my career."

kk

Whoa baby! You opened a can of worms there. <BR>Define feminism. If it's someone who is for equal pay for equal work, how can be you against that and hate it? <BR>Define Christian. Is that someone who, among other things, is tolerant of others? <BR>Also, "materialistic joy for the eternal child," nothing wrong with that to a small degree. Rampant consumerism, nah. <BR>Maybe your middle name is Troll? <BR>Somehow, I think not. <BR>Oh well, God bless and enjoy your day.

anothermale

Tom, what a bunch of crap!

Tom

Ok, kk. First, I'm no egalitarian in any form, including in relations between the sexes. Almost alone among men, I give up my seat on the subway to women, feminist or not. Hah, hah. When it is 100% outside in the summer and my 2 acre lawn has to be mowed, I mow it and my wife does not. Equal pay for equal work? By whose standard. Who's more important, a black male trash collector or a female public relations "associate" of which there are many in Wash., DC.. The trash collector is more important, in my mind, and he does far tougher work. He should be paid more than the pr gal but, in most cases, he does not. At my small print shop, my all male staff is required to hoist their own paper around, boxes of which run 50-70 pounds. How many women can do that? If a woman could run a press here but couldn't hoist boxes, should she be paid less, dear? The staff is also required to miss as few sick days as possible and it has been five years since any of the men have missed a day. I don't know of any women who could get by with lees than five sick days a year. Most require more. So who's equal?

Santa Chiara

Just step away from this thread, and no one will get hurt.

Bets

Santa Chiara, that was the perfect thing to say.

Buyer

Tom, a troll should never claim to be a Christian,,,,, it gives Christians a bad name.

WHATSTHIS

Tom, you're a dinosaur. Go away.

tinders

Don't worry folks...Tom's just compensating for having a small male sexual organ. Pay him no mind.

XXX

Brawn (perhaps), but no brains there. Whew! I'm glad he is not a feminist; I would hate to be on the same side as he.

Tom

Dear liberals, <BR> Who is more important, the man who works with his hands (ie. farmer, mechanic, plumber, auto worker, roughneck) or the liberal (male or female) who works with his or her mouth? This old world can do without PR associates, interior decorators, computer hackers, telemarketers, lawyers, communications directors and poorly educated school teachers but it can't do without the men who grow the food, slaughter and pack the food, mine the coal, build the cars, build the roads, forge the steel, rivet the steel, fish the seafood, keep your toilets running, run the power plants etc., etc.. Your average liberal lives on the backs of the working men they so adamantly despise.