I see dead people

Italy is stuffed with famous dead people. They've had a couple of millenia head start on us. So quickly, a list of some of the dead people we have seen.

• Victor Emmanuel II...not a big fan among the Romans
• Rafael
• Pope John XXIII...whose body did not decay after death
• Michelangelo
• Galileo
• Enrico Fermi...for your physicists
• St. Francis of Assisi
• St. Clare...his Assisi homegirl
• The final resting spot of Julius Caesar, but you know the saying, ashes to ashes
• St. Ignatius de la Salle
• His homeboy, Luis Gonzaga...he has an NCAA powerhouse named after him

That's just to name a few. They history is rich, byzantine, convoluted...hey, it's Italy where the government has changed over 40 times since the end of World War II.

We are cruising through our last day in Florence. Next stop, some excellent gelato, then a 15th century home, and a few other stops before dinner tonight.

Bad fashion idea: men in capri pants, there ought to be a law.

Also, we have seen our fair share of Germans on this trip. Other than Italian, it's the next most spoken language we have heard here...even more than English (and we've got the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the good old USA to contribute to that lingua franca.) The Germans have a history of marching through Italy, from barbarian days until, well, barbarian days. In Rome you could spot the German tour groups with no problem. They all dressed alike, the most disturbing a group of middle aged men in black shirts and pants and orange and yellow striped ties. Then another group in traditional dress.

We added Siena to our city list, visiting because our amazing niece, Katie, is heading here next school year for a semester abroad. She'll miss the Palio but will have a great time living in a medieval city.

Arriverderci!