Day 13- Florence [originally posted on facebook June 23]

Arrived in Florence last night to a crummy train station hotel that kind of got us off on the wrong foot here. Crowds of sweaty tourists, shifty looking street denizens, searching for food and a wi-fi connection that worked, etc. Anyone who travels knows the drill. Today we went across the river to our much quieter spot where we'll spend the next 4 days to explore Florence. 

Bridge leading to our new quieter spot in Oltrarno. 

We're actually staying in an apartment that was part of the monastery attached to the Brancacci Chapel (art historians will know this one as one of Masaccio's early masterpieces and an influence on many later Renaissance artists.) 

Sister Marianne, cloister peeker

It's a little funky and dusty, with no AC, but fortunately the weather is great right now and it does have fans. It also has a kitchen, so we can save by cooking our own food. We have a tough time in restaurants since I'm allergic to wheat (no pasta, no pizza, no bread) and Marianne is vegan. On Theresa Cheek's recommendation, we are going to the Central Market tomorrow, so we'll have lots of yummy stuff in our bellies for the next few days I'm sure.

Great knockers!

We bought a Museum pass for 50 Euros today too, so we are majorly committed to going to a lot of places over the next 72 hours that the pass is good for. Our first stop was the Pitti Palace, which overlooks the Boboli Gardens and contains four separate museums in one building. This place was massive!!! And it was built as a house. Unfortunately, the expense of building it bankrupted the family and they had to sell it (to the Medici family, natch) within about 50 years. It's all right, cleaning it would have been a bitch! The damned photo police were in effect here too, so I had to be surreptitious with my shooting. Got some good ones anyways, but it would certainly be nice to be able to frame and shoot details from straight on, instead of always having to sneak from some doorway or shoot from the hip!

In many Italian palazzi and castles you find these steps leading up to the windows.  Not exactly sure, but I'm assuming it gave them some privacy and security from arrows and projectiles. These were some of the most extraordinary ones I saw on the whole trip. Museo Argenti in the Palazzo Pitti.

Trellis ceiling in the Pitti Palace

Well, I'll leave you here- have to go climb a hill and watch the sun set from the Roman Gate overlooking the town whilst enjoying a gelato- first one of the day!!

The Palazzo Vecchio at dusk