Florence, Italy brought with it a challenge issued by Brad: To see art by Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Rafael. Fortunately for us Florence, Italy is fertile ground for the fine arts.
We checked into our hotel, which caused me to have a few flash backs to movies about Americans visiting Italy and finding themselves in some dodgy hotel with a slick hotel manager ripping them off. As we climbed the 4 flights of slightly crumbling marble stairs I had a sinking feeling that we would be spending the next few days in some sketchy accommodations that might rival Antwerp. My suspicions were briefly confirm when we arrived to a locked door.
Fortunately my suspicions were unfounded and the hotel turned out to be lovely. There were a few issues with the plumbing and it was certainly not a new building, but the manager was incredibly friendly, it had heaps of charm, and our room even came equipped with a shower/time-machine!
With my mind at ease about where we would be resting our heads, we set out to meet the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle challenge with a stop at the Uffizzi gallery. The Uffizzi offered a stunning display of Renaissance painting and an impressive collection of sculptures. It was here that Brad and I had a lengthy discussion about the major flaw of all great collections of impeccable art. We have come to the conclusion that putting large collections of beautiful/astounding/impressive things all in one place is a disservice to the genius at work. The overwhelming abundance of great works diminishes the value of each individual piece, because it is surrounded by equally amazing pieces.
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