Veni Vidi Vici

We arrived in Istanbul in good time from Boston. There was a party of 54 from Weymouth High school heading to Athens. The only good thing about traveling with a school group is the fact that if they miss their connecting flight it would be a disaster for the airline, so you know you’re gonna get there on time.

 Everybody has heard the phrase “if you don’t have anything good to say, then you don’t have say anything.” So, for once in my life I’m going to abide by that maxim and continue the story at Istanbul airport, which is wicked nice! 

I’ve been to a lot of airports and Istanbul might be the nicest. It is massive and it’s busy. The planes don’t even take you to the terminal gate - they just seemed to park anywhere and then put you on a bus to the terminals. It seemed like we drove forty miles and then just parked in an open area. It was like parking at Gillette Stadium at a Patriots game. Felt like we might see some fellow travelers tailgating. 

The airport has all the usual stuff you’d expect to find in Turkey. The first place I actually saw was Arby’s then Starbucks. It also has tons of moving walkways and guys absolutely flying around at light speed on mini golf carts, so strong accessibility score. I saw at least three duty free stops, a Nap Zone with fully reclining chairs, a spa where you can get manis, pedis, massages, or even sleep in a bed in a private room (I guess you could do other things on there too), lounges with trees and green space, a terrace for smokers, and each gate had its own lounge and bathrooms! The place is just amazing. If I had one niggle, it would would be that the bathroom I went in could have been nicer.

On the connecting flight to Rome, we were seated together, but separated by the aisle. Since most domestic flights are 3x3 seat plans and Aer Lingus seems to be flying more 3x3s instead of 2x4x2s it was a good trial for future flight preferences. It turned out to be pretty good, but you’d be surprised how much shit Amanda had to hand me across the aisle - insulin (in the Kylie Jenner mesh purse), pills, and I’m trying to think of what else I bothered her for - water to take my pills because I drank mine too fast. Sitting across the aisle could work for us in the future. I just dread being trapped by the window or in the middle with strangers on the outside. 

We touched down in Italy and Fiumicino airport is amazing too! We breezed through passport control and our bags were the first ones out! Outstanding! From touching down on the runway to getting into a taxi in about 30 minutes! 

We busted through the line for white taxis and somehow all the people in front of us parted like the Red Sea. I actually think a group was in the wrong line. The guy in front organizing the queue asked where we were going and I didn’t know exactly so I just showed him my phone with the address because it made no sense to me. 

We were treated to a rally car F1 drive into the city.  Amanda hit the back of the seat at one point. I thought anyone riding a bicycle or motorcycle was insane to be on two wheels in Rome.  It was exhilarating for me though. I don’t know anything about F1 racing or any other type of racing, but now I feel like I need to live my life a quarter mile at a time. 

We checked in to the hotel, which is a sneaky gem. We dropped the bags in the room and bolted to the Colosseum at a pace that would make Mario Andretti’s head spin. We were trying to catch the last moment of the golden hour. Despite sweating mightily, still in our plane outfits with compression socks and all we missed every last ray of sunlight on the Colosseum! Oh well, we’ll probably never forget the mad dash though. 

We snapped a couple of pics and took it in. Then we retreated back to our hotel to peel our clothes off and grab a bite. 

We had no reservations and no idea where to go so we followed our instincts. If there’s somebody outside a restaurant trying to recruit you inside then that’s definitely a place to avoid in my mind. We eventually got tired of wandering and looked up a place on the phone because it was 9 pm and we were starved. Amanda found a place that looked pretty good, so we navigated there. 

The fraschetteria we found was a cute little place. Amanda asked the guy sitting by the door of we could sit 2 people. He said he didn’t work there, but was helpful enough to point out the place was tiny. Thanks pal. There were only 6 tables and they were all occupied, so we waited. Went in to the wine shop part of the establishment. Picked out a bottle of rosé. The woman behind the counter opened it and gave us a couple of glasses and poured the wine. It was chilled and that was refreshing because we were heated up again due to the walking. Waited. Drank wine. Waited. The single table on the stoop outside the wine shop opened up. Grabbed those seats. Waited. The procedure is to wait in the wine shop and the restaurant part calls over when tables are ready. We waited some more. Didn’t mind because the weather was nice. Cooler now, but nice. I had a summer sweatshirt on, so I was comfortable. Eventually, the woman came out to us and asked us if we wanted to just eat there. That idea was almost too perfect. We ordered. Amanda loves carbonara and got that. I got the amatriciana.  We could tell the place was a superb hidden gem because as we were sitting outside, we saw everybody that left the restaurant was picked up by car service. We spoke briefly to one big family who were from Philadelphia and Connecticut. Pretty much confirmed what we suspected.

The pasta was outstanding, a true delight. It didn’t even spike my blood sugar and I ate every bite of mine and a third of Amanda’s. Extremely rom com fairytale and an unforgettable first night in Italy.

The next morning I showered and was pleasantly surprised to have good water pressure. Good rainfall shower and powerful handheld whatever you call it. The hotel room is spacious. I needed that because we are staying for eight nights. The previous night I unpacked all my clothes and used the hangers in the closet and drawers. I’ve never done that in my life, but that was part of the plan. Base ourselves in Rome and take some day trips. Seems brilliant so far. 

Breakfast. turned out to be way more than I expected. Buffet with hot and cold food. The fresh pear slices - well, I guess they were more like stewed pear halves. There's probably a fancy name for them, but I'm just a masshole who likes Keno and buffalo wings. Anyways, the pears  did something for me that I can’t really explain except say, mamma Mia! 

Saturday’s plan was to day trip to Florence. I booked train tickets like 2 months ago and wisely booked them for 1140 am to allow for a bit of a sleep in after just arriving. 

The walk to Roma termini train station took 14 minutes door to door. Another reason I picked the Rome Life Hotel. Easy to walk to the train station. We arrived with plenty of time, so we located a Nasone to fill our collapsible water bottle. Nasones are drinking water spouts that are located around Rome. If the Roman Empire can be summed up in 2 things, they’d be military conquest and water. Nasone translates to big nose. That's what that kind of look like. 

We took Italo to Florence. There’s the National train system and the private train company, Italo. I picked Italo simply because their app was more user-friendly and easier to actually buy tickets. 

The train arrived at Firenze - Santa Maria di Novella before I even realized it. We walked toward the Uffizi gallery because we had 2 pm timed admission tickets. I was really excited to be in Florence and I just wanted to explore the city, so in my mind I was thinking we’d do a rush job of Uffizi , like we did at the actual palace of Versailles where we rushed through like thieves looking for the Hall of Mirrors. We took a lot more time exploring the grounds there. 

The first thing we noticed in Florence was an Irish bar called The Joshua Tree, only a block or so from the station. We were going to just keep walking because of the  timed admission tickets, but we had a few minutes to spare, so we decided to have a go and chug a Guinness because it was open. Walked right in and had a seat at the bar. 

We were greeted by the owner, who opened the bar in 1998 after visiting Ireland and loving the pub culture. He decided that he needed to bring it to Italy. We only stayed for 10, maybe 15 minutes tops. Cool place.

Arriving at the Uffizi gallery, we began to see the crowds. Florence was packed. Neither one of us had any desire to linger in the gallery. We had a lot to do and not a ton of time. 

We went through the Uffizi in about an hour. I watched YouTube videos on what was there and saw everything I wanted to while we were there. I like art, but I didn’t need to spend five hours there. At one point we took the elevator down 3 floors and skipped a bunch, but didn't miss anything in my mind. Sue me. I had things to do. 

After Uffizi, we walked across the Ponte Vecchio. It’s all jewelry, so I couldn’t get across fast enough - it was jam-packed and had nothing that interested me. Bring back the butchers! I had my mind set on getting a belt in Florence. Tuscan leather. Amanda probably had her mind on all sorts of things so we popped into a leather shop just over the bridge. My you’re-going-to-get-ripped-off instinct went to defcon 5, if that’s the highest level. Or defcon 1, if that’s the case. 

I didn’t see any belts and Amanda was looking at jackets, so I glanced at the men’s side, not too much or anything, but I rolled the leather on my fingers of one jacket. The sales guy knew she was more likely to buy so gave his attention to her he helped her try one on after she stressed the type of collar she preferred. I just kind of stood there looking gruff, like a bouncer, preparing myself for battle. He told her he’d give her a good price, of course.

Then he said that one would look great on me. I asked how much. I did like it. Then he opened it up for me to try on. I refused to put it on. Asked how much. Good price he said. Obviously. Amanda was really liking that one she put on. I tried one on too after I left him on ice for a minute. Armada said it looked “great" on me.  I was actually thinking the same thing. The guy knew he had us, but he didn’t know I’ve secretly wanted a leather jacket my whole life. I just have never found one soft enough to fit around my shoulders and the arms are always too long. This jacket fit like a glove. The arms were only slightly too long, but the cuffs opened so it just kind of worked. 

We were going to buy two jackets near the Ponte Vecchio, so I just didn’t want to get robbed blind. That was my only goal. He got out the calculator. Large enough font, so I could actually see it too. He said, “The men’s is 1500.” I said, I don’t want it.” He said, “I’ll give you a discount of 50%.”  Back to the calculator to crunch numbers. He said, With the 50% discount, it comes out to 750 for both.”  I said, “600 right now for both.” He said, “That’s a low price.” I said, “You can do it. Ring it up.” We got leather jackets in Florence. So much for a belt.

Amanda’s only request in Florence was to go to a wine window, so we walked the narrow streets to one. We went right up to the window then were informed that there was a big line around the corner. We waited for about 20 minutes, but it seemed like 3 hours. She had rosé and I had the Pinot Grigio special. I dutifully recorded the experience for her - photoing and filming everything. About 5 minutes later, she went, “Holy shit yours is gone?” The wine was good and I wanted to keep rolling.

We’re crossed back over the Arno River to Palazzo Vecchio. That square was jumping off. I thought it was cool because that’s where Machiavelli used to work. 

What immediately comes to mind when you hear Machiavelli's name? Probably his handbook for rulers, The Prince, right? Is it better to be feared or loved? Well, which is it? Of course it's better to be feared. Machiavelli thought people were fickle and more likely to betray you if you only had their love. People would be less inclined to betray you if they feared you. Terror sticks in a man's heart.     

There’s a replica of big Mich’s David sculpture at Palazzo Vecchio. We decided to skip the original in the Academy. The original David used to be located in Palazzo Vecchio before it was relocated inside to protect it from the weather. The replica is an exact copy of the original. Michelangelo’s hands didn’t sculpt it, but you don’t to have wait in line or to try to get tickets, so there’s definitely a trade-off. The choice is yours. We made ours. 

Perseus holding Medusa’s head sculpture is pretty cool and the Neptune fountain is lively. Cosmo di Medici riding a horse is the last thing we saw before satisfying our craving for gelato.

The Medicis were the backbone of the Renaissance. The reason for that can be summed up in one word. Banking. Italy was a hub of trade  between three continents - Asia, Africa, and Europe. Somebody had to manage the vast fortunes that resulted from the commerce. Banking essentially protects wealth, so the Medicis became very useful to powerful people, which made them powerful. The Medicis may not have invented the double-entry bookkeeping, but they were the first to fully utilize the method most effectively. Maybe you’d think something so fundamental to accounting had been used forever, but no, 13th century Florence seems to be where it originated. 

 The cash really started flowing when the Medicis became the bankers of the Catholic Church. Then the Medicis could really make it rain. They could hire big names for art and building projects. Splashing the cash to commission projects like Michelangelo's David and Brunelleschi’s dome got people’s attention. Leonardo da Vinci also spent time at the Medici palazzo. The Medicis also helped finance the War of the Roses in England and at that time, the Medicis ruled Florence. 

The Medicis were chased out of Florence by the French at one point and were somewhat responsible for the Protestant Reformation when a Medici pope began selling indulgences to raise money to rebuild St. Peter’s Basilica, which caused Martin Luther to rail against the practice of selling God’s grace in his 95 theses. 

 Medici pope, Clement VII, was asked by Henry VIII for an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. That fiasco resulted in England breaking away from the Roman Catholic Church.  The Medicis did take back Florence. Pope Clement VII also commissioned Michelangelo’s The Last Judgement in the Sistine Chapel. He also approved Copernicus’s theory that the earth revolves around the sun. 

 Medici kids were tutored with Amerigo Vespucci, who North and South America are named after, and Amerigo wrote letters to Lorenzo di Medici from the “new” world. Lorenzo also commissioned Botticelli’s Allegory of Spring for his son’s wedding, and his son commissioned Botticelli’s Birth of Venus. 

The Medicis had a hell of a run during the Renaissance. They were in the mix just doing the damn thing appearing in pivotal moments in western civilization.  Their 300-year legacy can still be seen in Florence and it is by millions every year.

The first thing to avoid with getting gelato is long lines, obviously. You also don’t want to see huge piles of gelato because rust means it’s full of artificial chemicals. So, we walked away from Palazzo Vecchio, but not that far and saw a reasonable establishment with no line. First gelato in Italy! In Florence where gelato was invented.

I asked for “this cone” and pointed to it, then asked for pistachio and pear gelato. I was still feeling pears from breakfast.  It was  spectacular. The pear was refreshing and the pistachio was creamy. 

We walked see the Florence cathedral, the duomo, the Santa Maria del Fiore. Saint Mary of the flower.  It deserves all the those names because it is a stunning building to behold. Then there’s Brunelleschi's Dome. The whole thing is incredible. 

Around 5 we were both starving. Our bodies were begging us to rest and eat because we had walked 6 miles around Florence already and hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast, besides gelato. 

We had a reservation for 630 at Trattoria Dall’oste and planned to have the famous Bistecca alla Fiorentina "Chianina.” We decided to just go there and hope it wasn’t busy. 

We arrived at about 530. The hostess greeted us and said it would be no problemo to set us. It was pretty empty due to the early hour. 

We sat. Waited. Waited. Waited. It probably seemed longer because we were so ravenously hungry. Finally a server came and took our drink order. I ordered a bottle of Tuscan water and two Aperol spritzs. The guy at the table next to us started with a giant bowl of pasta then had a huge streak. Mercy. I was impressed. 

After barely wetting my beak with the spritz the server was back asking us if we’d like to order and I did because hungry. He asked how I would like it cooked, so I asked him what he recommended. Medium rare. I ordered some mixed vegetables on the side. I almost got the toasted potatoes because potatoes, but went with the more blood sugar friendly, less filling option.  

When I came back from the bathroom there was a surprise waiting for me. Wild boar ragu crostini. I thought I had missed my chance to try it since this was our only meal in Florence. The wild boar ragu was rich and tender. Check. 

The steak came out sizzling. A sensory delight. It looks impressive, sounds exciting, and smells amazing. It’s cut off the bone and sliced and seasoned with just a bit of salt. I expected it to be rarer for some reason, but medium rare was exactly what it looked like. 

We ate the entire kilogram, which we split and a kilo  is the minimum amount you can order. It was a wonderful steak and a cool experience. 

There was about an hour to kill before the train back to Rome. The only thing I hadn’t done in Florence that I kinda wanted to do was get a Negroni because Florence is where they were invented. Since it was by the train station we just went back in to The Joshua Tree, mostly because we didn't see any other options. First stop and last stop in Florence. The Joshua Tree. Negroni. Check. 

We walked back from Roma Termini station and entered the hotel’s front doors. I don’t know why this happened but standing in the lobby was the porter who assisted us with our bags, the guy who checked us in, and Alessandro, the bartender we made friends with the previous night. I said “hey” and then they started clapping! A round of applause. What a return. I felt like Caesar returning after conquering Gaul! 

We had a nightcap in the bar and ended a splendid day. 

New leather jacket!