Firenze day one

Day one in Florence was just about perfect. After taking the slow train from Rome to Venice, we checked into our monastery that is more like a hotel because it's a converted palace.  Then we leisurely wandered through the Uffizi, the Medici palace turned residence for the Grand Dukes of Florence turned art museum and saw a ton of very famous art.

A small sample

From there we wandered around the exterior of the Duomo before attending confession and mass there.  

After mass

Before mass

After, a leisurely dinner and now surfing the web, catching up on the bad news from the Archdiocese, and recovering from the cold I have developed as a result of the subpar living conditions at the Institute of the Incarnate Word's seminary (after consulting with the brethren they also shared my concerns).  Tomorrow we have planned yet another leisurely day.