Art Bomb

This is what they should call Florence. The Art Bomb. You feel bludgeoned over the head by all the culture. Somehow Florence's small size and centuries-specific collection make you feel like your are drowning in a sea of quattrocento (1400's) and cinquecento (1500's) art. Rome has just as much history, much much more in fact. But the homogenous Florentine spirit overwhelms me and I run looking for some crumbling marble or gilded bronze. Don't get me wrong, Florence is incredible in every sense. Just store up your energy. You gonna need it. I'm a Roman at heart.

Our group has officially disbanded from Rome and we took our act on the road, arriving in Florence last Friday. Traveling with 25 people is a feat. But we did it - with surprisingly few snags. Our hotel was right by San Lorenzo - conveniently located near Michelangelo's Medici Chapel. Our three days in Florence were about art and only art for me. I didn't shop at all. I repeat, Lauren didn't shop. In Florence.

The one art-respite is worth a tell. On Friday night our professors took us out the Tuscan countryside to a restaurant that is very near their research institute. We walked through the hills as the sun was setting with cyprus trees all around and the light radiating off the green countryside. It was breathtaking. We had dinner at a family run restaurant at the base of one of the hills. This could have been one of the best meals of my life. No joke. We had pappa al pomodoro - Tuscan unsalted bread mixed with tomatoes and olive oil. We had farfalle made with pressed olives - it was tangy and savory at the same time, incredible. We had roasted pork with baked tuscan potatoes. To top it off, simple, pure vanilla gelato. Every bite was better than the last. Simple and epic. Just epic.

The next few days were filled with, you guessed it, art. Any iconic major Italian painting or sculpture you can think of is probably here in Florence. Botticelli, Cimabue, Giotto, Titian, Parmigianino, Raphael, Michelangelo, Donatello, Da Vinci (all four ninja turtles), Bronzino, Pontormo, Durer, Caravaggio, Gentileschi, Masaccio, Ghirlandaio, Giambologna, Cellini, Ammananti, Bandinelli, Barocci, Fiorentino, there are more, but this list is getting boring. We covered a lot of ground both with the program and during our own free time. Two things I had never done before that I did this time. The first, hiked to Piazzale Michelangelo and San Miniato - up a very steep Tuscan hill on the edge of the city rewarded by spectacular views. The second, saw Michelangelo's David. Finally.

As I write this, I'm sitting in my hotel on the Grand Canal in Venice. T'will be another adventure to regale you with as my time on the program winds to a close. Abbracci da Venezia.