Florence, Ponte Vecchio

A bridge built of wood at this crossing point in 977 was destroyed by fire in 1117, and the next bridge collapsed in 1333. The current Ponte Vecchio is unique in appearance and dates from 1345. Lined with multi-story buildings, the stone bridge is famous for the jewelry stores on both sides of its walkway. Above the shops a long corridor crosses the bridge and links the Galleria degli Uffizi with the Palazzo Pitti, the palace turned museum.

In 1970 Emmy fell in love with an elaborate 18K gold ring that sparkled with 18 emeralds. I wasn’t smart enough to take the hint right away, but on our return from Rome a few days later I decided I didn’t want cold “toast” for the rest of the trip, so stopped and made the $70 purchase. Later I arranged for a friend, who visited Florence the following year, to buy the matching 18k gold bracelet with 64 emeralds, for $125. The bracelet was presented in the restaurant at the top of the Bank of America building in San Francisco, on our 20th wedding anniversary.

An appraisal fifteen years later determined the value of the ring and bracelet had increased to more than the cost of that whole 1970 one month trip for four — plane tickets, RV, food, spending money, everything. In 1995, in that same Ponte Vecchio store, a simple 18k gold ring with one small emerald was priced at $1,000. That convinced me I couldn’t improve on the 1970 purchase, so why should I try.