Get Thee to a Nunnery

We arrived in hot and humid Florence yesterday about noon.  A short taxi ride took us from the train station to Casa Santo Nome, di Gesu otherwise known as the Convent Hotel.  Once a 15th Century palazzo (a wealthy familys' mansion), it fell into disrepair, changed hands, was a military hospital in 1915, provided lodging for female university students, and finally was donated to an order of nuns, who now run it as a hotel.

Sister Nicola checked us in, explained the curfew (1 a.m.), pointed out the breakfast room and sent us upstairs.  Our room overlooks the garden.  The ceilings have to be 18 feet high.  On our floor there are three lounges with comfortable seating; the big sitting room has an artfully painted ceiling with cherubs and more, and you can look out tall windows into the garden.

After settling into our room we walked a few blocks to the Boboli Gardens  By this time the late afternoon sun was providing beautiful golden light as we walked the grounds.  The garden is huge, built on a slope, and we only had time to see part of it.  A classical Italian garden, started in 1549, it's been changed and modified over the years, and now also has some modern sculptures.

Neptune, spear fishing with his trident

 During the night there was a terrific thunder and lightening storm, with torrential rain, which cleared the air and cooled the temperature.  It was a much more pleasant walk this morning, over the Ponte Vecchio, to the Uffizi Gallery.

We had reserved online for a timed entry and so got right in at 10:00.  It's an enormous building, and was crowded, but we were able to get close to the paintings, and move right along.  We stopped for coffee at the terrace on the top floor, which was a nice break.

Taken through the window on the second floor of the Uffizi.  Zoom in to see the rower about to go under the Ponte Vecchio

Primavera - the Botticelli room was a favourite