Will update soon!

The past five days have been really busy getting settled and exploring London, but I'll post some updates sometime this week!

In the meantime, check out the masterpiece (or zee massa-piece, as the Florence tour guide would say) that our team put together while we were in Italy: http://youtu.be/YdT7Obpr-rc. Love my team!

5/23/12: Rest Stop Resilience

            Our last day in Italy wasn’t quite what we expected. After hitting the road early, our bus came to what we thought was a normal stop two hours into the four hour drive to Milan. We exited the bus to use the restroom, stretch our legs, and check out the convenience stores. Word began to get around that our bus was having mechanical issues. Horrible traveling luck struck the Emory Women’s Soccer team once again. When our bus broke down in Virginia at a rest stop this fall, we knew it was the first, but we soon came to learn that it definitely wasn’t our last. The only redeeming part about the bus breaking down this time around was that we didn’t have to run agilities around the rest stop as we had a game later that evening. We hung out in the parking lot and inside of the convenience stores, which luckily had seating area. Many of us played cards or caught up on the season finale of Grey’s Anatomy. Luckily there was semi-decent sandwiches at these rest stops so we were able to have something sort of substantial for lunch, although that’s not saying much.

            After three hours, the replacement bus came and we bid farewell to Danielo as we departed the place of our temporary respite. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to travel into Milan because of this debacle. Though we were disappointed, we still had our final game to look forward to later that evening. After one more rest stop and a few more hours on the road, we arrived at the location where the team was to eat their pregame meal. We tossed our bags in a holding room and proceeded to the dining area. The self-serve buffet was certainly a morale booster. Salad, cooked veggies, potatoes, bread, pasta, and chicken lined the table cloth coated tables for us to choose from. We fueled up and waited for Danielo’s arrival so we could head to our game. During this down time we rearranged some bags, and were happy to see that our uniforms survived their washing at an Italian Laundromat.

            We suited up, geared up, and drove 20 minutes to the location of our game. I think I can speak for our entire time when I say that we have never played in a location as beautiful as this one. The field was settled in a valley and flanked on one side by three distinct mountains. Though our game in California versus Redlands had a beautiful backdrop, this one definitely blew it out of the water. Following the warm up, run out, and pregame cheer, we began the match. It has been great to see our play improve throughout the entirety of the trip. This by far was the game in which we played the best. Though we went down early 0-1 when they scored off a breakaway that rebounded off of my first save, we came back strong and were able to put in a goal literally in the last few seconds of the first half. Claudia bent a ball in from a corner on the left side, and through a scrum of players it got slotted into the left side netting. This definitely shifted the momentum in our favor as the first half drew to a close.

            In the second half we saw a lot of strong possession and movement of the ball to both sides of the field. We took advantage of our speed on our flanks and were able to oftentimes break through and get a cross off. We secured two more goals and came back to “get the dub” and victory in our last game. Our cheers of “ole, ole ole ole” (led by Caroline Coates) reverberated throughout the field as we came together as a team following the game. In great spirits, we bussed to our final hotel location for our last night in Italy. We couldn’t believe that it was already our last night. We had seen so many cities and done so many things in our nine days in Italy. Arriving at the hotel around 11:30 PM, room keys were sorted out and Coates gave a meaningful speech to the team about her time with us. Not going to lie, I had to hold back tears…and I’m pretty sure I saw Charlotte (Butker) tearing up out of the corner of my eye. We also had debriefing talks from Charlotte (XL Travel) and Sarah, who has been incredibly helpful and great with us the entire trip. As the rest of the time celebrated together in the lounge area of the hotel, I spent the rest of my evening doing final packing preparations as I was catching a cab at 5:00 AM to head to the airport for my London departure. The team had a great time relaxing after a successful game and an amazing time in Italy. It was time for one last buona sera before our journeys back to the States, other locations in Italy to travel, or myself who headed to London for my study abroad program. We truly did Eagle Reign on Italy. Grazie mille for following my blog about Italy!

5/22/12: Cinque Terre

We began our day early once again to spend as much time in Cinque Terre as possible. Bussing to our first stop at Portovenere, we drove alongside the coast and through the town of La Spezia. Our tour guide for the day hopped on our bus in La Spezia and talked us through the city’s history and the role that the massive naval base plays in the lives of the people who live there. Rather than the naval base seeming like an enclosed structure in itself, she explained, many of the citizens feel like they themselves are enclosed as it stretches far along the coast throughout the city. She pointed out the orange flags draped from some of the balconies which indicated a resistance movement to the base. As our bus rolled to the stop at the departure area for the ferry, we were told we had 30 minutes until heading to sea.

We spent this time wandering the streets of Portovenere. We explored uphill to what seemed to be the main road, of which many shops were lined. “Main” however is a relative term, as the narrow cobblestone streets would not be able to fit more than five people across. First, we sampled some incredible pesto from a storefront. It was accented with pecorino cheese which gave a very unique flavor to one of the famous products of this area. Another product that this area is known for is anchovies. As I’m all about trying new things and really getting the best out of where we go, I decided to try some fried anchovies from another restaurant (shout out to the Stein side of the family, I know you all would appreciate this). I guess the fact that they were cooked hampered the usual saltiness of the fish that we are used to when eating them on top of salads, for example, but they were quite good. We also checked out a few artisan shops and clothing stores.

            Before we knew it, our time in Portovenere quickly passed and we were off to the dock to board the ferry to Cinque Terre. We sped across the wavy Mediterranean Sea on a two story boat. Myself, Kaiser, Kaelyn, Jess, and Bri spent some time up on the second level initially. The tour guides provided information about the random towns that dotted the coastline. Steep mountainsides met the water with almost no gradual incline. It was incredible to see the houses and terraces that had been constructed on terrain that was practically vertical. We made our way downstairs eventually to see the view from there, which was just as beautiful. Perhaps we spoke too soon about not getting splashed too much from sitting at the front, as we were met with a very generous bout of water as we crashed through one wave closer to the end of the trip. We passed by four of the five towns before finally arriving at the last one to dock and begin our day there.

            Monterosso al Mare is by far one of the most beautiful towns I have ever seen. The buildings are overrun by color and accented by the laundry hanging on clotheslines outside their shuttered windows. A small beach dots the coast as we approach, but is overrun by debris and rocks from the ocean. We learn how a major flood in this past October damaged a large part of the city. Signs are posted throughout that demarcate where the water levels rose and where damage was done through photographs taken during the flood.  After being told some history about the parish church of St. John the Baptist, located near the entrance to the city, we had a few hours of free time for the afternoon. Many people shopped for jewelry, clothes, scarves and more. Myself, Claudia, and Charlotte (the XL tour rep) had lunch at a great restaurant with perhaps the freshest Caprese salad and Bruschetta I have ever had. After free time, we had the option to either take the train directly to Riomaggiore, or get off a stop early at Manarola and complete the walk on Lover’s Lane to Riomaggiore. The majority of us chose to journey on Via dell’Amore.

            The supposed 15 minute walk turned into maybe a 45 minute journey, as we couldn’t help but stop and take photographs along the way. The view was breathtaking the story about the road held much cultural significance. Right at the beginning of the walk, a metal grate was home to numerous locks with couples’ names etched or drawn on them. We learned how lovers would come attach their locks to the grate, or various locations throughout the walk, and throw their key into the ocean to signify their enduring love for each other. Random cacti also dotted the path, which also had names  drawn into it. We were feeling a bit daring so we ventured off the beaten path, literally, upwards on some stone steps on the side of the mountain. Though I hesitated at first, I made it about halfway due to Sue encouraging me to have a “YOLO mentality.” We safely climbed down, continued on the path, and make our way to Manarola. Props to our tour guide who stuck with us and waited despite our dawdling while taking pictures and truly getting as much out of the walk as we could.

EUWS on Via dell'Amore.

            Arriving in Manarola we were greeted by a large mural which indicated our meeting place after some time to venture through this town. We walked through a tunnel to the main part of the city, where many of us bought some fresh fruit to snack on to hold us over. Though the colors of this city were the same as Monterosso, they appeared more worn and washed out-it was still beautiful nonetheless. Many of us also tried some gelato or a frozen lemonade drink-as this area is also famous for their lemons. Perhaps the coolest part of Manarola was the small port at its base that we were able to travel down to by steps and hang out on the rocks. Elderly men sat chatting at the entranceways to their shops, fishermen lined the edges of the sea, and brightly colored row boats rested around the path downward. In the area where we were sitting, a fisherman reeled in a fish for a stray cat. We enjoyed time relaxing in the cove and taking in all of the sights before departing via train back to the bus.

            After a respite at the train station while a decent wait for one to arrive, we headed back and eventually drove back to the hotel in Montecatini. We were off for dinner on our own that night as opposed to our normal meal in the hotel restaurant. I ate with Lidija, Veronica, Kuehl, Meredith, Jess, Kaelyn, Charlotte, and Feldman at a restaurant off of one of the main roads. Afterward we sought out gelato as we would be unable to get any before our game the next day. Eventually we ventured back to the hotel and called it a night.

5/21: Fast Times in Florence

This day came with our earliest wake up call at 6:15 AM in order to hit the road to Florence as early as possible. The three and a half hour drive took us through Tuscany. Many of us slept during this ride, but those who were awake were able to see the rolling green hills that lined the highway in perhaps our prettiest drive so far. We were greeted in Firenze by grey skies and drizzling rain. Despite the cloudy weather, we tried to make the best out of our brief stay in the city. Unfortunately the museums are closed on Monday, so we were not able to visit the Academia or Uffizi to see the treasured art that is housed there.

After briefly stopping in the Piazza del Duomo to discuss the schedule for the day, Sarah led our group to a wine and olive oil shop. The woman who worked there certainly knew her stuff, and dove into telling us the intricate process of making the various degrees of olive oil in addition to its various health benefits. The team had the opportunity to taste three different types of extra-virgin olive oil and two kinds of balsamic vinegar. We used pieces of bread to taste each kind, and for the most part were able to taste the subtle differences between all of them. Sampling completed, some people made purchases and we were off to the next store. Next, Sarah brought us to a leather factory/shop, a product that Florence is famous for. The distinct smell of leather took over as we browsed the wallets, jackets, purses, and belts that made up the store. Some girls purchased leather jackets, many purchased gifts for other loved ones. One of the cool things from this store (in addition to the 50% minus 10 euro discount) was how they were able to imprint an individual’s initials into any of the products. We were lead to the back of the store where an employee selected the appropriate letters, heated them, and then pressed it into the leather to give all of our purchases a more personal feel.

Most of the group split up after the leather store. Myself, Kaele, Lee and Merrill grabbed lunch at a restaurant within Piazza di Santa Croce. Waiters, hosts, bartenders, and chefs were buzzing around the entrance to the restaurant. A frantic nature that in America would be identified with disorganization and chaos somehow fell into some sort of efficient harmony for them. Once seated, we skimmed the menu and noshed on bread, olive oil, and balsamic. I ordered a salad, Lee got carbonara pasta, Merrill got spaghetti and meatballs, and Kaele got the classic Florence dish of barley and bean soup. While we were dining, we also befriended one of the waiters who turned out to be American and lived in Texas. Apparently his family lives in Florence, but he is returning to University of Texas next year. Later on into the meal, he asked us what we were doing in Italy, how long we were in Florence, and more about our plans. We later learned that the (really, really good looking) Italian waiters  had been using him as a middle man to converse with us as they were interested in seeing what we were up to that evening. We told him that we were only in Florence for the afternoon and had a match later that evening before transferring to another city. As we were paying for our meal at the bar counter, the same waiters were also very eager to help us figure out the check.

Following lunch, we headed back to the cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore to explore its interior. This by far was the most sizable and enormous structure we had seen so far. When inside, the main dome towered over our heads at a height of 295 feet. Though the interior architecture was fairly simple compared to the other churches we had seen, its sheer size was enough to draw awe and amazement. As our free time was drawing to a close before the tour, the four of us set out to find the restaurant and bar Astor that Kaele’s family friend owns. Coincidently enough, the bar is the same restaurant where I watched the World Cup finals with my family when we were visiting Italy two years ago. We chatted with the owner and enjoyed coffees on the house as they were having a promotion for the first day of many study abroad programs. At 4:00 we headed back to meet the group for our tour.

Beginning at the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, our tour guide Paula discussed the historical, architectural, and religious background of the church. We learned how its exterior is made up of three different types of marble and its interior is able to hold 30,000 people (which Rachel pointed out to be the entire population of San Marino). We moved from there to the Piazza della Repubblica, the historic political center of the city. The Medici palace dominates the other architecture around the square, and is flanked by numerous marble and limestone statues. The scale replica of the David rests outside the doors of the palace, distinguishable from the original as he has all ten toes. Other statues in this area included one of Perseus’ defeat of Medusa, in addition to Neptune guiding a chariot through the sea. The last stop on our tour was the footsteps of the Uffizi museum so Paula was able to inform us about Ponte Vecchio. If you have not seen Ponte Vecchio before, it almost looks like a miniature apartment complex has been built across the water. The artisan shops (mainly jewelers and tourist shops) line the edges of the bridge, their windows overlooking the river. Some of us who had not been on the bridge earlier in the day ventured over to explore and take photographs after the tour

 

As our afternoon in Florence drew to an end, we began to get prepared for our game. The clouds ominously overshadowed our drive as the rain temporarily picked back up. After we made it through the warm up mostly dry, it began to drizzle again which unfortunately continued much into the first half. The team we played was much better than the first one even though they were in a division lower. The rain added to the fast paced nature of the game, which ended in a 3-4 loss for us. Lidija put away two goals while Charlotte had one of her own. After the final whistle blew, we shook hands with their team before heading out. The rain continued to fall as we bussed to our next location at a hotel outside in Montecatini for the next two nights. 

5/20/12: History and Heights in San Marino

EUWS in San Marino.

Rising seniors in San Marino.

We had the luxury of sleeping in until 8:45 AM this morning, as opposed to our usual wake up time of 8:15 AM. The breakfast at the past two hotels have had a hard time living up to the one at the first in Como.  Regardless, we had a good spread of prosciutto and cheese on bread in addition to some yogurt and pastries to last us until lunchtime. After breakfast we drove up the mountain to meet our tour guide in San Marino. The bus ascended higher and higher and it felt like the roads were becoming more narrow as our altitude increased. Eventually we arrived at the bus parking lot and waited outside the Museum of Torture for our tour guide. Our ascent on foot up into the heart of San Marino was broken into different legs where we would stop at various spots and she would tell us the history of the country.

            San Marino is a country independent of Italy. They have their own government, judicial system, economy, and more. During elections, 60 representatives are chosen by the people to represent them. Of these 60 representatives, 10 are chosen and heads of smaller sections, and two presidents are selected to do the general overseeing. What is interesting about San Marino is that despite it’s population of 60,000 residents, there are still seven political parties. A unique part of this country is that they have had the same political system since it was originally established and haven’t altered it at all because it has worked so well. They also were so satisfied with the size of their country, they refused Napolean when he offered them more land. We also learned of San Marino’s “luck” with Garibaldi, Mussolini, in addition to the British during World War Two. To get citizenship for San Marino, you must either be born there, live there for 15 years, or have been married to a citizen for 45 years. They also only work 10 months out of the year. Mothers who stay at home receive penchant around the age people retire there “because they realize the hard work that has been put in during all of those years.” To any of the moms reading this-time to start considering moving to San Marino?

            The country was very unique in many ways, when we stopped outside of the government offices we were gathered very close to a nice car. We soon learned that the car, in fact, belonged to one of the presidents. It was pretty cool learning about the tight-knit community that kept so close to its original political and geographic roots. Following the official tour, we continued our way up the mountain on foot to check out the three towers. A group of us decided to climb to the top of the second tower where we got an awesome view of the surrounding area. It was definitely a little terrifying making our way to the top, especially as the walkways were very narrow when we finally reached the summit (mom you would hate this). After snapping some photos and exploring the top of the fortress, we headed back down in search of somewhere to grab lunch. A large group of us found a restaurant near the top of San Marino. I was able to finally get a Caprese salad and we were treated to free granita courtesy of Fillipo the waiter. Following our afternoon in San Marino, we had about a half an hour at the hotel before going to the beach and our training session.

We also had leftover money from lunch. Such a rare occasion to have overpaid than underpaid in a group that we treated ourselves to nutella and banana crepes afterward with the spare change!

            As it was drizzling, we only stayed at the beach by Rimini for about thirty minutes. It was enough time to take some photographs and secure more footage for our video on the shores of the Adriatic Sea. The trip to the beach was followed by a good training session at a field that they had reserved for us. We started with a fun and always competitive game of handball and ended with team trains the keepers, which is our typical pregame drill. Our team bussed back to our hotel in San Marino and pretty much went straight to dinner which consisted of carbonara pasta, turkey, golden potatoes, and an apple crisp dessert which had been the collective least favorite of the team so far. Some of decided to check out the pool and sauna after dinner prior to heading to bed for the night. It was definitely a good way to loosen up our muscles after a hard training session leading into our game the next day.

5/19/12: Venice-A City of Glass, Masks, Pigeons, and Tourists.

Team on the ferry to Venice.

After our night outside of Padova, we drove one hour to the ferry that would transport us to Venice. Myself, Mullins, Lidija, and Claudia presented the group with some background information on the city and which sites to keep an eye out for. I recounted Venice’s history and Venice by the numbers, detailing the 100 islands and 2000 bridges that made up central Venice. The 26 of us and the three coaches boarded the vessel and made our way up to the second level where we were able to get the best view of the Venetian waterways while journeying into the heart of Old Venice. After docking in front of the Palazzo Ducale, we walked as a group to the front of the cathedral of San Marco to discuss our schedule for the day’s events. One thing that was immediately evident was the hordes of tourists within the city. Because I had researched the city beforehand, I learned that their economy mainly thrives on tourism and the lasting wealth from the 17^th and 18^th century during which they dominated East-West trade until America was discovered. Although I read about this beforehand it definitely didn’t prepare me for the masses that we would encounter.

Glass blowing demonstration.

            Following the discussion of our schedule, we trekked away from the square to our first stop at a glass blowing factory and museum. We were lucky enough to have a private demonstration in which a glass blower created both a pitcher and a glass horse in less than a few minutes each. A museum guide explained the process as he was completing the various steps. We learned about the intricate designs that could be created with using three simple tools. After this demonstration, we proceeded through the museum to a table where the guide explained more about the glass itself. We learned how different colors were produced by adding various elements and compounds to the sand when it is being processed. Much to our amazement he also knocked a piece twice on mirror without it shattering to demonstrate its strength. Once the exhibition was complete, we were able to peruse the gift shop and museum. Many of us purchased jewelry or items for our families. After our trip to the museum, we had free time until 4:00 PM (it was probably around 12:00 PM at this point).

            As many of us were hungry, we immediately grabbed food at a pizzeria near the museum. I ordered a funghi (mushroom) personal-sized pizza. Once we were refueled, the group I was with proceeded to St. Mark’s cathedral to wait in line and make our way inside. Even though the line stretched fairly far, it moved at a decently swift pace as we made our way inside. As we entered, we checked out the five mosaics that lined the top of the front side of the cathedral. Once inside, our breaths were taken away with the ornate style and massive size of the church. I was able to sneak one photograph while we were leaving. After regrouping outside, most of us headed to Ponte Rialto to see the main bridge that crossed over the Grand Canal. Others departed to take a gondola ride with members of our team. Navigating through the narrow and hectic streets of Venice was both an adventure and also a pain. The only street signs that really exist are ones that point your toward important sites, otherwise you have to rely on your sense of direction or following where the crowd is coming from/going toward in order to find the place you are attempting to go.

            Eventually we found the bridge, snapped some photos, and decided to explore on the other side for a bit. Myself, Kaele, Bri, Jess, and Jen spent the majority of our afternoon wandering around and stopping in various shops (and getting gelato). Kaele and Bri both purchased masks, which is the other product Venice is famous for aside from glass. We also made it a point to get some more footage for the video our team is making while we are here. Kaele, Bri, and I may or may not have Wobble-d down the Ponte Rialto. Our afternoon was also spent seeking out somewhere to get water, luckily we found an oasis after a few hours of exploring. Water fountains in Italy pretty much shoot the water toward the ground at a constant rate. What we learned from trying to drink water from these fountains via Jess: A wide stance is best, otherwise you’re most likely going to get sprayed in the face. After our first round of attempts, we admired the skill of a 10-year-old in filling up her water bottle without getting a drop on herself. Hydrated and ready to move on, we walked to the water around 2:30 PM where the America’s Cup was just passing through Venice.

            The streets were as packed as ever, and tourists lined the guardrails by the water to catch a glimpse of the different sailboats racing their way toward the finish line of this leg of the race. I was able to snap a couple of good photos of the Italian vessel in addition to the United States’ boat sponsored by Oracle. When my dad worked for Oracle I remember him telling me about this race, so I was pretty excited seeing it in person and in Italy. When the Italian boat sailed by, the crowds let out loud cheers. When the American boat sailed by, Kaele let out a loud cheer. We joined in with a brief “U-S-A, U-S-A” chant that was immediately met with strange looks from the other bystanders. After observing the race, we had about an hour left of free time to kill. We spent about 30 minutes resting our feet by taking a seat on a bench outside of Doges’ palace. During these 30 minutes, Bri chased pigeons and we watched a kid throw up in a trashcan. Good times. As our meeting time was approaching, we headed back to St. Mark’s Square to walk around a bit more there before we had to depart.

USA and Italy in the America's Cup.

            What I learned from walking through St. Mark’s Square: Apparently tourists have little to no concern about the unhygienic nature of playing with pigeons. We couldn’t believe our eyes as we watched a family sit or squat near the ground and allow the pigeons to approach and crawl on them. Oh, this family also had a baby in a stroller with them. Bird flu, anyone? It was hard not to chuckle at the various people allowing the pigeons to crawl over them for the sake of a photo op. I usually do what I can to get as great of pictures as possible, but this was a bit extreme. We also watched a little girl run around trying to kick the pigeons, which ended up being pretty unsuccessful on her behalf (which I guess you would consider successful on the pigeon’s behalf). While we were people-watching, a couple of other tourists who didn’t speak English asked Jen to take a photograph of them. What we learned from Jen taking a picture of non-Americans: You’re able to identify who is American and who is not by asking someone to count to three on their fingers. Apparently Americans count “pointer finger, middle finger, ring finger”, whereas Europeans count “thumb, pointer finger, middle finger.” It’s actually a pretty cool cultural difference and one that I had no idea about before. She counted with her fingers as she was taking the picture, and one of the people in the group asked her if she was American afterward because of this. While all this was happening, rumor had it that a pigeon had too close of a call with Caroline Coates and its feathered life ended a little hour too early.

Girl playing with pigeon in St. Mark's Square.

            Right before 4:00 PM we walked back to our meeting spot, which was also occupied with a group of students that we soon learned were from England (plus one girl who was from Atlanta and DC which was pretty neat). We chatted with them briefly, while also challenging them to a dance off to be incorporated in the video we are producing. Mullins pretended to be an intern at MTV to provide some legitimacy to what we were trying to do, but I’m fairly certain they would have agreed anyway as they were pretty friendly. Once the entire group was there, we began a thirty minute walk through the crowded streets to a different dock than the one we arrived at. We had to depart from the other side of Venice as the America’s Cup had the main entryway blocked off for the remainder of the afternoon. I would easily equate this walk to the rush hours of both DC and Atlanta. It involved a lot of standstills, frustration, and a big sigh of relief when we finally reached our destination. After ferrying back to the mainland, most of us paid the .50 Euros in order to use the restroom before our three and a half hour bus ride to San Marino. Yes, we had to pay to use the restroom.

            Once again, I fell asleep on the drive to San Marino and awoke only when we stopped at a rest stop again. The rest of my drive I read through my London travel book and asked our XL Travel Representative, Charlotte, about London as she is from Great Britain. We eventually drove from the hills of Italy into nation of San Marino, which is a country in itself. Our rooms got rearranged for our two nights in San Marino, so I am rooming just with Kaele for this portion of the trip. Our dinner was one of my favorite we’ve had so far. It still followed the same pattern of pasta then veggies and protein, but it provided a nice variety to our dinners that mostly consisted of chicken. We started off with bread then meat lasagna, afterward came the salad and flank (I think) steak. Lastly we had fruit cups for dessert. It was great to have both steak, salad, and fruit all in one meal. After dinner most of the team went to watch the Chelsea vs. Bayern Munich game on the television in the hotel’s lobby. It was really fun to watch the game with everyone, including Sue and Rachel. Our team had fans cheering for both sides, G would chime in with a “Go blue team!” which would always draw chuckles. After the nerve-wracking win by Chelsea in penalty kicks, we split up and went back to our respective rooms for the night. 

5/18/12: Emory Women's Soccer and the Chocolate Factory

After spending our second night in Como, we packed up our belongings and boarded back onto the bus to make our way to Switzerland. The drive was only about an hour and included a checkpoint at the border. It’s pretty crazy that we had the opportunity to travel to another country during our tour. The roundabouts turned into winding roads as we traveled deeper into Switzerland. Red rooftops were replaced by colorful houses, many with rose bushes lining their front lawns. Though the trip began with a slightly archaic vibe in Como, our venture into Switzerland had a much more rural and agrarian feel. On the outskirts of Lugano, the bus pulled into our first stop on this leg, the famous Swiss Alprose chocolate factory. 

            We were greeted upon entry with a small biscuit that had been dipped in a chocolate fountain located right at the entrance. It definitely wasn’t too shabby of a way to start off our tour, as many of our stomachs were already grumbling with excitement.  One of the women who helped hand out our initial snacks proceeded to explain to us the process of refining a cocoa bean. Sara translated as she took us through the steps it took to produce their world-famous Swiss chocolate. This elaborate process began with the harvesting of the beans from where they are originally grown in South America and other regions of warmer temperatures. As Switzerland’s climate is not suitable for cocoa bean growth, they get these raw materials from abroad. Also included in the process is shelling the bean, grinding it into a finer powder, and mixing it with the other key ingredients of milk, sugar, and vanilla extract. What we learned from this portion of our tour: Apparently cocoa bean shells are a staple of pigs’ diet. Following the recap of the production process, we made our way to observe the factory itself.

Kaele and Kaiser looking through selections of chocolate.

            A strong aroma of chocolate immediately filled our nostrils as we entered the first room. I’m going to be honest, I’m not sure what many of the machines did but it sure as heck smelled good when we went in there. We walked along a narrow walkway overlooking the factory. Every so often there was a sign describing the machinery below. The machine I think we were most amused with was the one that would shoot the molded chocolates onto a conveyer belt, which eventually made their way downwards to be wrapped and inspected by employees. Following our brief tour, we headed to the factory’s museum area. Well, a few of us prematurely detoured toward the free samples in the gift shop, and then made our way to the museum area to watch the film they had for us. The film essentially explained what we had observed in the factory accompanied with some lighthearted background music. With its completion, we made our way to the gift shop where we took full advantage of the free samples. The samples included dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate, chocolate covered nuts, chocolate covered krispies, and what we believed to be the remnants of a dismantled chocolate bunny.

            I had no idea that purchasing chocolate could be so meticulous. We were a little overwhelmed with all of the options, which certainly wasn’t helping the fact that many of us are chocoholics in the first place (shout out to Claire Rubel). After much sampling and internal debating, I chose to purchase a dark chocolate bar for myself to enjoy. I also choose a bag of mini chocolate bars to bring home to my family as I felt they had the best chance at surviving my six weeks abroad in London after this trip (sorry to ruin the surprise Mom, Dad, and Sam…hope you can wait that long now). Chocolates in hand, and in stomach, we exited the factory both excited and a little less hungry than we did when we entered. From the chocolate factory we drove about twenty minutes into the town of Lugano where we were spending the afternoon.

Lake Lugano and surrounding mountains.

            After arriving in Lugano, we split up to explore the city. The city resides on the shore of Lake Lugano, which is surrounded by towering Swiss mountains. The city itself is a fairly modern niche within Switzerland, and is considered one of the three major cities in the country. The stone covered streets were lined with colorful shops and restaurants. The words I continuously used to describe the buildings as we walked around were “cute” or “pretty”. Vague, I know, but it was really a beautiful area. Myself, Lidija, Veronica, and Kaele explored the town and eventually grabbed lunch at a to-go bar of sorts outside of a market. They opted for pizza and I chose to order a sandwich. Though we paid with Euros, we received change in Swiss Francs that we later chose to spend in order to not have them go to waste. The rest of the afternoon was spent finding somewhere to sit and hang out, taking photographs by the lake, getting about six inches away from a swan, and beginning to produce the next video sensation on YouTube (sorry folks, can’t reveal more information than that).

Buildings in Lugano

            Following our brief stint in Switzerland, we drove back across the border into Italy to make our way east toward Venice. What I learned from this drive: I am literally incapable of staying awake during bus rides lasting longer than 45 minutes. I wish I was able to tell everyone in vivid detail what we passed during this drive, but I was sleeping for at least two out of our four hours across Italy. I awoke as we were rolling into a rest stop in which we were able to hop off the bus and go to the restroom, in addition to purchase some snacks. After an morning of sweets, I grabbed a bag of chips while others opted for either chocolate, wafers, or the Italian version of Cheetos which were immediately snagged by Meredith. Soon enough, we were off for about another hour until we arrived at our hotel outside of Padova.

            Once we checked into the hotel, threw our bags in our rooms, and became slightly disgruntled about the lack of free wifi (especially Merrill who has been dying to finish watching the first episode of the Bachelorette), we met in the dining area for dinner. While we were eating bread to hold us over before the meal was served, Liz proposed a heartfelt and hilarious toast about her journey as an Emory Eagle. Pasta with alfredo sauce was the prima piatti, followed by chicken con funghi (mushrooms), carrots, and tomatoes for the secondo piatti. For dessert we savored ice cream with chocolate flakes in it. As our evening was winding down, I couldn’t believe that we had been in a different country earlier that day. From Como to Lugano to Padova all in 24 hours, we called it a night to rest up before traveling to Venice on Saturday morning! Ciao!

5/17/12: Clooney (or lackthereof) and Como

On Thursday morning we arose at 8:15 AM and headed down to a fairly elaborate selection for breakfast. Eggs and bacon were accompanied with various pastries and spreads. There was also cereal and fruit available in addition to the traditional Italian breakfast items of formaggio (cheese) and prosciutto (ham). Everyone was fairly alert and seemed to be adjusting well to the time change. After a bit of time to get ourselves ready for the day after breakfast, we headed out at 9:30 to begin our full day in Como. We were able to make a pit stop at BNL bank to get Euros for our trip. After getting equipped with the proper currency, Kaiser, Veronica, and Feldman gave us an overview of the city in addition to telling us about some notable sites within the city. Following their presentation, we were off on our own for about two hours.

            Myself, Kaele, Kaiser, Lidija, and Veronica made our way toward the Duomo of Como, which was built between 1396-1740 AD. This church is one of the dominating structures in the relatively smaller city of Como, and after taking some time inside it is evident why it took so long to be built. After taking in the beautifully detailed architecture, we were ready explore more of the city. We decided to walk toward Lake Como and eventually came upon a park about ten minutes from the piazza where we originally met. Within the park was a temple, Tempio Voltiano, dedicated to Alexander Volta-the man who invented voltage. Not as architecturally prominent, but exciting to us nonetheless, was the merry-go-round that was Disney themed. It’s been interesting seeing the various products with American origin in their Italian form: Disney, Pringles, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s. After finishing our walk by the lake, we headed back to the market to grab some food before our boat tour of Lake Como.

            After reconvening back at the piazza, an intense game of cards by the freshmen, and Kaele getting attacked by a bird, we made our way onto the vessel. Sara translated for us what the boat captain was explaining to her about the numerous villas lining the shores of Lake Como. The owners of these villas ranged from Russian casino owners to pop singers to Alfred Hitchcock. The colorful and luxurious houses dotted the mountainsides and created a beautiful scene as we made our way around the lake. Though we learned that George Clooney resides much further north on Lake Como, we did get to see the villa where Ocean’s Eleven, Twelve, and Thirteen were filmed. When we arrived at shore, the majority of us made the decision to make our way to the Funiculare up the mountain to the town of Brunate to see what it had to offer. Others decided to stay down in Como and go paddle boating.

            Following a mad dash to guarantee our spots in one of the four cars that made up the funiculare, we began our 45 degree ascent upwards in very packed cabins. Myself, Bri, Sam, and Jess made it to the front of the first cabin. Immediately afterward I remembered that although I do not get scared looking down on rollercoasters, I always get a little bit of vertigo when looking upward. Nerves aside, we began our ascent which supposedly took around three minutes. The view from the top was breathtaking, you could see the red rooftops that made up the heart of Como, much of the lake, and even the snowy caps of the Swiss Alps. This panoramic view is one that I will definitely not forget. We explored the streets of Brunate, found the best places for photo ops, and got our first taste of real gelato. Eventually we made our way back down, and once again a large group of us ended up in the first cabin on the train. The descent wasn’t as terrifying as we thought it was going to be, aside from the close call when we almost hit a cat that decided to inconveniently cross the tracks just as we were approaching it.

            Once we were back to the streets of Como, we ventured to our hotel for our 5:00 PM pregame dinner. After fueling up, we grabbed our bags and departed on the one hour bus ride to our match against Real Meda C.F. What we learned from this drive: expect a roundabout every 10 minutes (maximum) if you are not traveling on a highway. When arriving at the sport center, we were shown to the locker room. What we learned from the sport center: do not take American toilets for granted, some places you’ll have to just settle for a hole in the ground. We geared up, had our pregame pep talk by Sue, and made our way to the field to warm up. While proceeding with our normal warmup, we began to wonder about 30 minutes in where the other team was. Eventually they arrived, and wanted to begin almost immediately. The referee blew his whistle to call over who we thought was just the captains. We soon figured out he wanted the starting eleven. While trying to ask him if he wanted the starting 11 or the whole team, the Italian team greeted us with chuckles as they thought we were asking if 11 people played on the field at a time. The language barrier added more hilarity and uniqueness to the experience rather than making it immensely difficult to proceed with the match. The starters followed the referee and ran out onto the field, in a fashion that we were definitely not used to, and we lingered in confusion before finally getting in a line and waving to both the fans and the teams’ benches.

            We had a brief moment to regroup and do our team cheer, before running back onto the field to take a picture of both teams and finally begin the game. It was a very hectic start, but our love for the game of soccer brought us together to combat the wall due to the language barrier. What we learned about Italian soccer: the substitutes and coaches will get laughed at if standing while spectating the game, not sitting on the bench. It was evident during the first half that the Italian team was akin to trying to draw as many fouls as possible, which many of us have only observed from afar while watching the World Cup. We held possession the majority of the first half and got a break when Charlotte sent the ball into the box from the left side and Meredith got a foot on it. Her volley was directed toward the goal and deflected off of a Real Meda player as it soared into the net. I got a decent amount of action in goal, most were coming out to scoop up through balls or setting up free kicks. The best chance they had during the first half was a free kick when we “fouled” them right outside the 18. Luckily that shot sailed wide. We ended the first half up 1-0 and were beginning to adjust to their style of play which mainly consisted of relying on their forward’s speed and having one of them hang very high on our central defenders. The match also flowed smoothly due to the help of the assistant referees, one of which was our own Merrill Bachorous.

Midway into the second half, they had a strong attack forward followed by a well-placed shot into the far corner of the net, tying the game 1-1. We countered with a tough offensive effort that included some great opportunities. Perhaps our best chance was a string of possession followed by a great shot from Veronica across the goal that unfortunately hit the post and went wide. The game ended 1-1 as the final whistle blew. We shook hands with their teams, and they presented us with the larger trophy even though the game ended as a tie. Some of us also exchanged t-shirts with them as mementos of our game, they also gave each of us rubber bracelets with their club name stamped into it.

After another photo op with both teams, we were informed that they had a reception of sorts organized for us after we put our gear back on the bus. They had set up a few tables outside of the sport center (which we think also doubled as a club or bar at night) under a tent, and proceeded to bring us Italian hors d’oeuvres at a fairly constant pace. Eventually some of their team members joined us. Claudia and myself spoke with one of the girls in both broken English and Italian. We learned that they are a club team that is based in Milan and not associated with a university. They have also played two American teams before-one from Philadelphia and either UConn or Utah, we couldn’t exactly tell which one. After spending about thirty minutes mingling and enjoying the food they had to offer, we journeyed back to Como for our final evening there. Once back, we had free time until hitting the hay prior an early wake up and departure for our day in Switzerland.

The Eagles Have Landed in Italy

Ciao from Italia! After an eight hour plane ride from Atlanta to London, a two hour layover in London, two hour flight from London to Milan, and a one hour bus ride from Milano Malpensa airport to Como, the Emory Women’s Soccer team finally arrived in their first destination. As much as we enjoyed our time traveling, which included Sue befriending a one-year-old and Jen/Kaelyn/Emily’s recounting their adventures in the Atlanta airport prior to our arrival, we were beyond excited to finally get settled and begin our journey in Italy. To help us along the way we are accompanied by Sara, our translator and guide, in addition to XL Travel representative Charlotte and bus driver Danielo. After checking in and bringing our suitcases up to our rooms, we had about ten minutes before we began our team run through the streets of Como. Sue and Joan led the pack of 30 of us, still donning our bright and easily identifiable yellow Emory Soccer shirts, throughout the city. After about 10 minutes in, we began to run through a piazza where a few groups of men were sitting outside of a restaurant. At the same time, Sue conveniently ran us into a dead end, which she then played off as being a stretch break.

Despite her smooth moves, we couldn’t help but draw attention to ourselves due to our matching uniforms and foreign demeanor (I would assume). Claudia was able to converse lightly with some of the Italians that were sitting outside to explain who we are and where we are from. After this brief respite, we continued on our run which could arguably be one of the coolest runs I have at least ever taken. Como is a quaint town in Northern Italy very close to the border of Switzerland. It is nested at the bottom of a beautiful mountain range and borders Lake Como, one of the three largest lakes in Italy. As we kept our run at a pretty brisk pace, we only got to observe the city in brief. It was stunning nonetheless, but we have the entirety of tomorrow to explore. After returning from our run, we were able to go immediately to dinner in the hotel where we are staying. The bread, pasta, chicken, salad, and dessert we ate made up a great meal after a long day of traveling and consuming airport food.

Following a brief discussion of rules and guidelines for the trip, we were given an hour to either explore the city if we wanted or just relax before curfew. As I was feeling wiped from traveling (as was the case for most of my teammates), I chose to unpack some and hang out in our room with Kaele and Merrill-who I am staying with for the entirety of the trip. Looking forward to our first full day in Italy tomorrow, which includes a boat ride on Lake Como and exploring the city. We also have our first match tomorrow evening against Real Meda C.F. at 8:00 PM! Buona sera!

T-minus two days!

I was feeling inspired a few weeks ago and decided that I wanted to get into blogging (@Mike/Kaele) and what better place to start that detailing my upcoming journey this summer. Out of boredom yesterday in between my hours of packing I also decided to design the above header, naturally. I am beyond excited for what is to come over the next month and a half!

In two days, myself and the Emory Women's Soccer team depart on a 10 day trip throughout Italy. As a team, we are venturing to Milan, Lake Como, Venice, and Florence-with some additional day trips to other places along the way. A group of us will be blogging about our experience which will also be posted on www.emoryathletics.com. We will be training and scrimmaging three Italian club teams, in addition to a line-up of other tours and excursions that are planned.

This guy was the man. His name is Albion and owns
 a shoe shop in Florence.  Perhaps we'll come across him again.

On May 24, I head from Milan to London where I will be studying abroad for about six weeks. I am so happy to have been accepted into this program through Syracuse University. After mulling through Emory's summer programs, I decided I wanted to branch out and look for further opportunities that fit my interests to get the most out of my study abroad experience. Throughout the college application process, Syracuse University, specifically their S.I. Newhouse School of Communication and the College of Human Ecology (sport management), was always at the top of my list. I began to look through their extensive study abroad opportunities and fell across the perfect fit. Not only did it align with my Italy trip perfectly, but it combined multiple of my passions into one incredible course.

From May 24 to June 30, I will be taking the course "London 2012: Global Games, Local Perspectives" taught by Professor Sharon Hollenbeck, an instructor at Syracuse and NBC's intern coordinator for the Olympics. In short, this program is about learning what goes into being a host city for the Olympics-financing, media, infrastucture, marketing, and more.  I could not ask for a program that aligned more with my interests of marketing, event planning, media, and of course athletics.

"This multi-disciplinary experience will focus on London's preparations for the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympics, looking at progress and issues as they are emerging for the host city and country. Students will get in depth, behind-the-scenes exposure to London's active building, financing, and planning for these huge events - from a sociological, political, management, sports and communications perspective."

I am so excited for both Italy and London, but in the meantime I must pack, attend graduation...and attempt to brush up on my Italian from freshman year. We'll see how that goes. I will do my best to update this blog throughout the summer, I'm not sure how consistent of internet access I will have but I figured this is probably the best way to keep people updated. I also just bought a Nikon D5100 so I will be obviously taking and many pictures as possible, so at the very minimum I'll try and update with those. Ciao! Cheers!