FLORENCE (08/19/02) - Another busy day begins early with a walking tour of Florence, including stops at the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (Duomo), the Baptistery, the Piazza della Signoria and the Piazza della Republica. The team then returns to the hotel for a pregame meal. During lunch, however, the team gets word that its opponent for the evening (Arrezo) will not have enough players to field a team and the game is cancelled. With the evening now free the team takes advantage of the extra time to further explore Florence. The team takes an extended run along the Arno River in the late afternoon due to the absence of the game. **************************************************************** Today we are in Florence. We began the day by going on a walking tour of the gothic city. We began the tour by visiting the oldest building in Florence. We saw a castle that is now city hall and the marble cathedral St. Mary of the Flower. The exterior of the church was beautifully decorated in the famous green, pink and white Florence-style marble. We contined to the next church. The tombsof many famous Florentines are located inside, including Michelangelo, Dante, Rossini, Machiavelli and Galileo. We ended the tour with a visit to the attached Franciscan leather making factory. After the tour we had some free time to shop or explore Florence. We met again for lunch, where we were served lasagna and gelati for desert. After lunch we found out our game was cancelled. Instead we would be going for a team run at 5:30. With more free time available, many people from the team headed to the local markets to purchase leather, which is what Florence is famous for. On the run we ran along the Arno River andtothe summit pointof Florence. From there, you could see a panoramic view of the city. We concluded the day with dinner andmore shopping. - Esther Hoffer, Hootie Mohan, Kelly Springman