FINAL DAY IN FLORENCE 2012

Margaret Brucato, our neighbor in Tucson, told us not to miss the little known archaeological museum in Florence. Although we all slept in, it did not take us long to find the place, since it was diagonally across the square from our hotel. Among the many Etruscan works was "an exact copy" of the famous bronze Chimera of Arezzo, a cuddly creature dating back to about 400 BCE. The Royal Academy in London has the original.



Then we visited San Miniato al Monte Church, which dates back to about 1207 and honors a saint who, when he had his head cut off around 250, picked it up and walked up to the exact spot where the church now stands. From there we had a splendid view of the City of Florence, as we did when we walked down to the much more touristy Piazzale Michelangelo.

The rest of the day, as tour guides like to say say, was "at leisure," which for one or two of us translated into "shopping."

Tonight is back to Lo Skipper for our final dinner in Florence. Tomorrow morning we catch our train to Venice!