Tieche European Vacation (Part 5)
A “Firenze” of Activity here in Florence
NOTE: The Tieche family left on a train yesterday for Florence, which was a mere 90-minute train ride. Fascinating coincidence: the girl sitting next to us on the train saw Justus’ water bottle and did a “sic ‘em bears” to Justus. Turns out, she’s a 2020 grad with a degree in ancient archeology who was leading a dig in Siena (the town, not the minivan). Then, in line for the Uffizi Gallery, there was another girl who saw Justus’ hat and did a “sic ‘em bears.” Turns out, she’s a junior there now. That’s a lot of Baylor in Florence in July.
NOTE: Shown here, the most famous piece of architecture in Florence (Firenze), the Duomo (or dome) - an utterly majestic and awe-inspiring church and work of human artistry and engineering. More on that later.
If Rome is basically like trying to drink 3,000 years of human history through a firehouse, then Florence is like getting in a 1985 DeLorean and traveling back to 1420. It’s like going back in time to the birth of the Renaissance.
And Renaissance means re-birth, so technically, that sentence said:
“It’s like going back in time to the birth or the re-birth.”
Europe in the Middle Ages would have SUCKED. It was basically run by a noble class that exploited the working poor to generate wealth for themselves. Wait. That’s the US Economy now! Sorry! I got confused.
But as I understand it, listening to the lectures, it was the relative peace of Florence in the 1400s, who had recently defeated their century long rival Siena, who they’d had a centuries long economic and territorial conflict with. This little upstart, plucky city was going places. And it was growing rich. There was REAL wealth created by Medici Family (who basically invented banking, sorta). This common currency and economic leveraging allowed for trade and transport that allowed Florence particularly to crawl out more quickly from the effects of the Bubonic plague and throw off the rather oppressive shackles of Medieval Hierarchy and Society. There was a burgeoning middle class, the possibility for stable business, which led to trade, which led to leisure time, which allowed for the possibility of art and artistic expression.
It was a time when the lost brilliance of the Romans and Greeks was “re-discovered” now that some of humanity had spare time to sculpt and didn’t need to worry about everyone dying all the time from the Black Death.
Firenze was also home to an astonishing collection of humanity. Living in this city, at the very same time were:
Dante Alighieri (who had an inferno)
Galileo Galileo (most famous for a reference in a Queen song)
Donatello (the famous sculptor and artist)
Filippo Brunelleschi (wildly important genius architect + engineer of the Duomo)
Amerigo Vespucci (the explorer, for whom America is named)
Raphael (the classical artist)
Nicollo Machiavelli (whose tactics were, dare we say, Machiavellian)
Leonardo da Vinci (won an Oscar for The Revenant which, honestly, isn’t even his best film)
Michelangelo (of Sistine Chapel fame)
Two popes: Leo X + Clement VII
That is quite the graduating class. In the words of Alexander Hamilton:
What are the odds, the gods, put us all in one spot?
THE UFFIZI GALLERY
As we walked to the entrance of the Uffizi Gallery - one of the most famous and important museums and collections of art in the world, I stood in awe of the statues of this bold city’s famous inhabitants.
I saw:
Michelangelo.
And…
Leonardo.
And
Donatello.
But…
No Raphael.
<sigh>
or should I say
No Raphael.
<sai>
I am hilarious.
THREE “BESTS”
It’s roughly 100 degrees here (I think that’s Celsius, but I don’t know because these idiots measure things in Kilograms and that’s why we fought the Revolutionary War, so I’m not about to learn what a centimeter is, or roughly how long it is. I will fight tyranny wherever it rears its ugly head.
That being said, we ate AMAZING food.
First, we ate 2KG of this incredible steak Florentine last night with our friends, the Van Meters, our dear, dear friends who drove all the way from [REDACTED CITY NAME IN EUROPE] where they are stationed in a secret location doing important regional directional work with Wycliffe Bible Translators.
I did the math: that’s more than four pounds of meat and people, let me tell you, it may have been the best steak I have ever eaten.
Yes, you heard me right.
Yes, I have been to Outback Steakhouse.
Florence is famous for the way it prepares its steak. And it’s almost worth flying over here to taste it for yourself. It was astonishing.
One downside. Did I accidentally grab the bottle of my wife and Jessica’s Chianti, thinking it was the bottle of balsamic vinaigrette and pour it directly onto my plate, like an idiot?
I did.
Does everyone in our party, including the kids, now ruthlessly mock me for this, holding up various beverages at various times and asking me, “Hey Dave. Do you want to pour this on your plate, or…”
Italy is also home to gelato, which is fancy ice cream. This is Jaelle, holding what to my mind might very well be the “BEST” gelato I have ever tasted. It was the flavor of “melon” which is what Italians call “cantaloupe.” It was ridiculous. It’s Jaelle’s favorite. Might be mine, too. This is the second “best” of the evening.
Finally, the best photo of my best girl, my daughter Jaelle.
Here’s her, staring out over the River Arno that runs through Firenze. She’s the best.
Tomorrow, I’ll talk about the museums we visited: the Accademia Gallery and the Uffizi Gallery.
But for now, more melon gelato.