re: Italy in Wintertime/Christmas

I did this exact thing about 5-6 years ago. We spent time in Florence, some small Tuscan towns, and Milan. We day tripped all around the area. I didn't notice a ton of tourist. The weather was good, cold enough for a jacket the whole time.

New Years in Florence was memorable. They LOVE fireworks there. Fireworks were shooting off everywhere until the Sun came up the next morning. The smoke was so thick in the streets, you couldn't see across the street at some points! The piles of broken beer and wine bottles in the streets the next morning was pretty impressive...I'm talking 15ft diameter/4-5ft tall. These piles were all over the city. I would have to really dig for the pictures, but it was definitely a cool experience.