By Bob Van Leer

  (FLORENCE, ITALY, Sept. 20, 1994) - Today was for sight-seeing. We visited two of the many museums in Florence including the Bargello National Museum.

  This museum contains masterpieces by Donatelo including his celebrated David, and Michelangelo's bust of Brutus, Drunken Bacchus and Apollo David, as well as many others.

  One male cherub caught my eye because it seemed to be missing an essential part of his lower anatomy. Where he should have had a protrusion, there was a hole instead.

  Inspection of the back showed the hole went through the marble statue at an upward angle from the back. Finally, the light dawned. This cherub had originally been a fountain. In its original placement, a pipe would have gone through the hole and the water stream would have risen slightly before falling in an arc.

   From there, we went to the Cathedral Museum whose most famous work is a Pieta by Michelangelo. Our guide, Roberto, said this was the third of four Pietas done by Michelangelo. This one, unfinished, was sculptured of marble by Michelangelo for his own tomb. It is a lamentation over the dead body of Christ. Michelangelo sculpted this piece at age 80 in 1555.

  The cathedral itself is reputed to be the third largest in Europe after St. Peters in Rome and St. Paul in London. It was commissioned in 1289 and took 140 years to complete. The magnificent dome is 360 feet high. As are so many other buildings in Florence, it is finished in white and green marble which gives it a striking appearance. Next to the cathedral is Giotto's bell tower started in 1334. It is 85 meters tall.

ITALIAN FEAST

  In the evening we walked to the Il Latini restaurant near our hotel for an Italian "pig out". The restaurant is wildly popular. It seats about 120 and opens at 7:30 p.m. There was a capacity crowd waiting in the narrow street for the doors to open and there was a crowd of diners waiting at the door during our entire stay. Our guide, Anthony, used his magic wand and our party was allowed in first. We received some uncomfortable stares as we were led by the people who had been waiting much longer.

  When we were seated, the meal began, a gargantuan feast served in relays by waiters. The ceiling was festooned with dozens of cured hams hanging from their shanks. Anthony said it is a family establishment with family members at all levels of service in the restaurant.

  The first courses were prosciutto (an Italian ham), sliced melons and a liver pate on fried bread. Every course in the meal had to be washed down with red wine.

  The appetizers were followed by soup and pasta courses. A bowl was used for service. In the bowl you spooned ravioli, macaroni, a thick soup that did not flow, and then, over the top of this, a thinner bean and barley soup that did flow. Finally, we poured olive oil over the top of this and ate, probably about 2000 calories per spoonful.

  The main course served was excellent t-bone and sirloin steaks cooked rare and eaten Florentine style, garnished with lemon juice and more olive oil. To finish off the meal, strips of almond cookies were served. The proper way to eat them was to soak them in a dessert sherry wine before placing them in your mouth. The cookies were followed by a pastry dessert and finally, the meal was complete with a small glass of grappa, an Italian distilled beverage.

  The whole meal was about $33.00 U.S. each which does not qualify as expensive in Europe. After that meal, we waddled back to our hotel for a night's sleep before boarding a train for our final destination in Europe, Rome.