Last Day in Tuscany

Today is our final day in Tuscany and we had a full schedule planned. We got up early and took the train to Florence. Some of our group were dead tired, having arisen at 3:00AM to watch the Presidential Candidates Debate from the U.S..

We toured the famous Duomo in the center of town, then picked up our tickets to visit the Uffizi Gallery. Lots of famous "bible art" from the 13th-15th centuries. Many artists seemed to get commisions to paint "Madonna Con Bambino".

This is one of the most famous art museums in Italy, but it is a pain to visit. They only allow a certain number of people thru every 15 minutes, you have to climb to the third floor where most of the art is located, and the lighting/air circulation systems are ancient. They are working on a new wing and renovations, but in Italy that could take another century.

We walked around a lot of Florence, shopping, eating, and of course, sampling the local gelato. Then we picked up our tickets for the Academmia where Michelangelo's famous statue of David is located. You know, the tall male nude with the big hands that little kids run up to and giggle at because the genitals are sculpted in such fine detail.

Back on the train to make our dinner reservation in Chiusi. Our last dinner in Tuscany. Ristorante Zaira was fantastic. They have an underground wine cellar with over 20,000 bottles. We chose a Morellino di Scansano and a Brunello to go with dinner. The wine list must have been 30 pages long.

Breaking News: Alitalia was saved!. The unions voted to agree with the bankruptcy, bailout, takeover plans, so the airline's operating license was not revoked. Looks like our flight back to the U.S. will take off. I hope they have enough cash/credit to pay for fuel the entire way back to LA.