I arrived in Florence, Italy, March 14th and took a taxi to my hotel - the Borghese Palace Art Hotel. Since my brain was still in France, and Italian was not yet on my radar, after attempting to communicate in Italian, we switched to English. I told the desk clerk I needed to improve my Italian and we decided that from the next day on, we would speak Italian and he would correct me.
I was not able to book my full stay there on line and he agreed to see what he could do and we would sort it out the next day. Pictures of my hotel will show up in some other posting... The next morning, after sorting the room situation out (in English so I would be sure to understand what I was agreeing to) I set out to explore. [I will be staying here for my whole stay although I will have to switch rooms over Easter weekend.]
 |
| View from my Room. |
I love the roof-top view from my room. This is early morning with the sun just rising. The angles, tiles, and spaces are such fun! This balcony is in the courtyard of my hotel. It is on the second floor and can be seen from the glass elevator or from the stairway which curves around the elevator. It probably is not part of the hotel, itself.
I saw all the major churches, museums, and interesting buildings from the outside. I will save the insides for rainy days. I will also not show those things in this blog as you can find better pictures from Google, etc.
Here is a subset of my interesting adventures:
 |
| Una Gelateria! |
The gelati stores display their wares in interesting ways so that you will know what the flavors are without having to try to ask. I am not very interested in sweets, so have not tried any yet. The dark pieces on the pile of gelato above are not chocolate, but coconut pieces. And the melon below looks like cantaloupe to me.
 |
| More Gelati! |
As with many tourist destinations, horse-drawn carriages are available to take you on a tour. I have not done this, but love the juxtaposition of horses outside the Chanel store...
 |
| Horse-drawn Carriages outside Chanel. |
Getting this picture was a challenge. There are so many tourists all over. Everyone is taking pictures. So no one is paying attention to whose way or picture or view they are spoiling. I wonder if he made this bicycle himself or if they are for sale?
 |
| Man and Dog on Bicycle. |
The merry-go-round was not open for rides, so a little boy was just wandering around checking out all the horses. When they finally did open it, his mom plopped him on a horse. Dad paid for the ride. And he had the whole carousel to himself! (It was so much fun, that dad paid for a second ride and again, he had the whole thing to himself with mom standing along side to make sure he did not fall off.) He chose a different horse for his second ride.
 |
| Merry-go-round. |
There must be some significance to this boar, but I don't know what it is. His snout is shiny from people touching it. And he slobbers. (I.e., a tiny trickle of water comes out of his snout...)
 |
| Brass (?) Boar. |
 |
| Detail of Boar Statue. |
 |
| Same Boar - Different Angle. |
 |
| Statue of Gallileo Gallilei Outside "his" Museum. |
 |
| Sundial. |
This is a sundial outside the Gallileo museum. Some of the months are in Latin. Others are in English! And the traditional astrological signs are also employed.
 |
| Roughly 1 PM, so the shadow is to the side. |
Cannot get these two pictures to sit next to each other. Sigh.
 |
| March. |
 |
| October. |
 |
Outside a Leather Shop.
|
This little statue was sitting outside one of the ubiquitous leather shops. I love the cigarette!
 |
| Cupid? |
This is not a statue, but a person. He was adorable, but with all the people walking between us, I was not able to capture many of his expressions! At least he was more cheerful than the grumpy lions!
 |
| Flowers and Lions inside a Building. |
Stores: Dance attire and "Bread, Love, and Fantasy."
 |
| Tutus, Anyone? |
OK. I guess gambling is everywhere. You have to be at least 18 to go in. I didn't. And, guess what is right next door? An ATM! The two seem to go hand-in-hand the world over...
 |
| Gambling Den. |
 |
| ATM... |
I sat for a while in this little park enjoying the sun. I can't identify the trees, but the one that looks kind of pink has pink blossoms. The birds seemed to enjoy the "berries" on the other trees.
 |
| Pink Blossoms. |
 |
| Green Door on the Right is the Children's Bathroom. Green Door on the Left is for "Adulti." |
 |
| Berry Tree. |
This Thai restaurant looks inviting. It made me wonder if, now that they have stopped teaching cursive writing in American schools, someone should be creating a new Rosetta stone. Will cursive writing perplex archeologists of the future just as hieroglyphics, runes, and cuniform writing have done?
 |
| Thai Restaurant. |
Later on my wanderings, I heard what sounded like live music. On investigating, I found what appeared to be a Carabinieri band performing on the steps of the museum between David and Neptune. They left after about 2 songs. Wish I had found them earlier!
 |
| Look at how strong the wind was to blow his cape that way! |
Finally, I found this window display in an apothecary shop.
Back to my hotel for a shopping bag and then to a Salumeria to buy a bottle of wine and some cheese.
Not all my pictures uploaded here, so this will be continued next week. A good time was had by all!
