Day Four - An Oasis of Peace in the City.

Located just a block away from our hotel is the Bonnet House museum and gardens, a 35 acre plot in the middle of the hotels and condominiums. Sylvia and I made our way there as the gardens opened at 9.00 am this morning. The tours around the house were all guided and as both Sylvia and I have a low tolerance level where guides are concerned, we decided a trip around the gardens would suffice.

Although the history of the site goes back to to pre-colonisation days, the modern house was built and the gardens were laid out in the 1920s. They were given by the owner to his daughter when she married Chicago artist Frederick Clay Barnett and latterly left to the State of Florida on the condition that it would not be developed.The site would be worth multi-millions today if development were possible.

We started our exploration by the Lily Pond with the pavilion on the far side which was used in the 30s for playing cards and afternoon tea.

To our left was the main slough with the Chickee Bridge in the distance with a roof originally thatched by local Seminoles.

This area of the garden is known as the Hammock with the trees forming a canopy over the paths.

There were plenty of opportunities to take the weight off your feet as we walked around such as this one with the main house in the background.

When I tried to sit down I found that the seat was already occupied.

Although the day was getter warmer the walk around the grounds was very pleasant as in the main you were protected from the full glare of the sun. The bright skies however gave the chance for some lovely photos.

The gardens are famous for their orchids but the greenhouses containing these specimens are only open in February and August, which I presume are the times when they are best seen. Throughout the gardens there were examples of flowering plants and these are some of them...

…and some more.

Although we didn’t have the guided tour of the house we did get the chance to look through some of the windows to see the eclectic collection of these artists.

We also came across this alligator skull which Sylvia reckoned was another victim of the US Immigration services and had wasted away in a small back room with other potential incomers.

Leaving nature and history behind us we next made our way to the Galleria Mall and the local Macy’s store for some retail therapy. Suitably laden with shopping we caught the Sun Trolley back to our hotel to check out the rugby results. As I couldn’t see any of the action all I can say is “Well done England”.
Dinner this evening was once again taken at the Village Inn with Win & Jim, Win partaking in a turkey sandwich which would have provided Christmas dinner to a small family. Jim and I went for pasta while Sylvia tried out the Fish and Chips.

Tomorrow we board the Royal Princess for our cruise. This is the first time we have been on this ship but with the first two days being at sea this should give us a good chance to explore.