There’s a wonderful old convent in Lima, Peru that has beautiful and elegant architecture — walls of painted tiles, courtyards with delightful gardens, a venerable wood-panelled library with massive old books. It’s a peaceful haven, but in one area there’s something quite unexpected. You enter through a lobby that features a most unusual floor. You can see it in the photo above — it looks like we’re stepping on big 3-dimensional blocks, but it’s all flat and painted in a wonderful tromp-l’oeil style that reminds me of an Escher drawing. Perhaps it was a way for the architect, or even the nuns themselves, to balance the gravitas of the other spaces, but whatever the case it’s a charming surprise. If you’re going to Lima in the future, don’t miss this sight, and in particular the amusing floor art.