Florence, Italy

Florence, Italy

Well, I've waited a long time, and I'm finally here, in the birthplace of the Renaissance.  After studying history for so long, it's an absolute dream to be in this city that caused so much change.  Florence is certainly more lived in than Venice, and the hordes of tourists are far more manageable here--still a lot of Asians.  My favorite groups to study are the Americans, though.  I can spot them from a mile a away.  Here are the signifiers:

1)  Middle-aged dad with cut off t-shirt
2)  Teen with dangerously baggy cargo shorts
3) Blonde hair, brown roots
4)  Middle-aged dad dressed for a golf outing
5)  Baseball caps
6)  Silly fucking thong flip-flops
7)  Weird looks on their faces

There's just so much history and culture, but there is one thing I would like to highlight.  About half-way down the list of pics here, there are images of gold doors.  These are the doors for the Baptistry of St. John.  For starters, they're beautiful and absolutely glimmer in the afternoon sun.  But more importantly, historians have found consensus that these doors mark the beginning of the Italian Renaissance.

In 1401, A competition was held to design these new doors, which was held in celebration, as the city recently pulled through a great level of turmoil due to the plague.  Lorenzo Ghiberti won the competition, and after 21 years of work, these doors were unveiled which Michelangelo referred to as being fit to be the "Gates of Paradise".  The use of depth and perspective that these doors display had not been used before, and there is no doubt it shaped the minds of the other emerging artists in this century.

Also of note, I got absolutely hammered on house wine last night--definitely poisoned the temple.  And that will lead me to the first installment in the "TIP OF THE DAY" series.  Wow, this is exciting.

TIP OF THE DAY:  Arrive at an Italian restaurant and request "vino della casa".  Proceed to drink yourself retarded.

The weather here is be-a-utiful, as well.  I'd say it clocks in at about 75 degrees, with a dew point hovering in the mid 50s.  And now back to you Mark with the music of the day.

LISTENING: