The women's basketball team in Como, Italy
Photo by: Aaron Johnson
Reflecting on Our Trip to Italy - Written By Mastodon WBB Student-Athletes
8/12/2024 10:46:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The Purdue Fort Wayne women's basketball team recently embarked on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Italy for a foreign tour. As a part of the experience, the Mastodons were enrolled in a class for credit in which they learned Italian culture, history and travel tips to prepare for the journey. In the class, the student-athletes were required to keep journal entries throughout the trip, documenting their day-to-day adventures.
July 29 - Rome - Madelyn Geers
The first day in Italy was the most amazing yet exhausting day ever. Getting right off the plane and instantly diving into one of ancient Rome's biggest and most extraordinary builds was very cool, but it was a lot to take in on the first day. However, the Colosseum blew my mind. It totally proved the point that a picture does not do it justice. Following that, we did a walking tour of the city of Rome. The tour exposed me to a great deal of history's most precious monuments from ancient Rome, such as the Pantheon, the Roman Forum, and the Trevi Fountain. I also was able to test a lemonade slushie and a pizza from one of the stores along the way that did not disappoint. As I attempt to compare the City of Rome to the city of Fort Wayne internally, I have difficulty because they are completely different. Americanized cities are more modern and contain more amenities such as public restrooms, air conditioning, and the appropriate amount of space for its population.
July 30 - Rome, Vatican City - Hillary Offing
Wake up call was at 7 am so I got up and took a shower then went down to eat breakfast. I tried an espresso shot for the first time and it actually works very well. I was energized for the whole day. After breakfast it was then time to get on the bus and depart for Vatican City. Once we arrived at Vatican City. Group one was at 9:30 to tour the Vatican and the Sistine chapel. I was in the second group which was at 11, so while passing time I got to see St. Peter's basilica which is where the pope lives. His room window was open and we were told he could have been inside. It was finally time for the Vatican City tour and inside the Vatican is just beautiful. Everything was made perfectly in complete detail and had a meaning or story behind it which I loved; so many art pieces and sculptures it was honestly a once in a lifetime experience, but what I was most excited for was the Sistine Chapel where we got to the story of human creation with our own eyes. It was so beautiful and unbelievable. After the Vatican City tour we had practice then finally got to sleep!!
July 31 - Florence, Montecatini - Lauren Ross
Today, we checked out of our hotel in Rome and headed toward Florence where we began the day with time for lunch and free time to explore the city. Following lunch and gelato, my group decided to not to take the guided tour but rather explore the city on our own. We visited the replica David statue, Ponte Vecchio (filled wall-to-wall with jewelry shops) and the Palazzo Vecchio, where we were unfortunately turned away from reaching the top of the tower by security. We then visited the numerous leather shops where we purchased little purses and bags as Florence is well-known for its leather industry. Once we visited the majority of the little shops, we headed down toward the river where we enjoyed cold drinks, the breeze, and the company of one another for a few hours, before we met as an entire group for a short wine and olive oil/balsamic vinegar tasting experience. We ended the night with free time near our hotel where we found a cute little local pizza restaurant with music and lights to end the night.
August 1 - Cinque Terre - Ella Riggs
Today was my favorite day so far. We woke up and had a great breakfast at the hotel. I had some amazing coffee and espresso again. Then, we headed to Cinque Terre. Riding the train was a surprisingly fun experience, and a good time to connect with my teammates. We went to the beach first and laid out for a bit. Very relaxing. Then, we took the bus to another one of the towns and shopped and ate some lunch. The shops were super cute, and I found two pairs of earrings I liked for a good price. After some more shopping and observing the city, we headed back to the bus and departed for our game. Despite spending all day at the beach, we came out with the win by 30 points. The girls played so hard and fought through the slippery court and lack of AC. Lastly, we had dinner back at the hotel and it was the best of the trip so far. The lasagna was so good. Overall, this was a great day.
August 2 - Lucca - Tia Morgan
On the fifth day, we woke up, ate breakfast, packed our stuff, and headed to Lucca for our bike tour. Honestly, this was one of my favorite parts of the trip! The bike tour was excellent, it was so fun, and I took many pictures on the tour as well. After the tour, we had a lot of free time in the city of Lucca and were able to try some gelato. I love gelato now. We left Lucca and arrived in Milan to go to our last destination. We had dinner at the hotel we were staying at, which was by far the best hotel dinner we had. Italy's pasta has me in a chokehold.
August 3 - Como, Bellagio - Jordan Reid
Add today to the highlight reel! We took a beautiful boat ride across Lake Como and saw the beauty of Bellagio. We walked around the market that was going on and got some cute jewelry! This was a pretty fun but long day walking around searching for pockets of air conditioning!! I really enjoyed the boat ride, though. It was super cool seeing the different houses surrounding the lake, not to mention the amazing view of the mountains that also surrounded the lake.
August 4 - Milan - Taeya Steinauer
Today we had a pizza cooking class! We got to watch how the pizza dough is made, and later on got to roll out our own dough for our own pizza. This was a really fun experience as it is something I've never done before! Doing it alongside my team made the experience even better because we had so much fun while making them together. The pizza was actually super fast to be done as it only took three minutes to cook. I really enjoyed the pizza and overall had a really nice time. After this, we took the bus to our final game in Italy! I had a lot of fun playing with my new team and it was awesome to leave with a win! Then later we got to go out to dinner with all our families and the food was amazing. It was a great way to end our last day in Italy. The only sad part of the day was knowing we had to leave in the morning.
Gallery: (8-1-2024) WBB Foreign Tour to Italy
July 29 - Rome - Madelyn Geers
The first day in Italy was the most amazing yet exhausting day ever. Getting right off the plane and instantly diving into one of ancient Rome's biggest and most extraordinary builds was very cool, but it was a lot to take in on the first day. However, the Colosseum blew my mind. It totally proved the point that a picture does not do it justice. Following that, we did a walking tour of the city of Rome. The tour exposed me to a great deal of history's most precious monuments from ancient Rome, such as the Pantheon, the Roman Forum, and the Trevi Fountain. I also was able to test a lemonade slushie and a pizza from one of the stores along the way that did not disappoint. As I attempt to compare the City of Rome to the city of Fort Wayne internally, I have difficulty because they are completely different. Americanized cities are more modern and contain more amenities such as public restrooms, air conditioning, and the appropriate amount of space for its population.
July 30 - Rome, Vatican City - Hillary Offing
Wake up call was at 7 am so I got up and took a shower then went down to eat breakfast. I tried an espresso shot for the first time and it actually works very well. I was energized for the whole day. After breakfast it was then time to get on the bus and depart for Vatican City. Once we arrived at Vatican City. Group one was at 9:30 to tour the Vatican and the Sistine chapel. I was in the second group which was at 11, so while passing time I got to see St. Peter's basilica which is where the pope lives. His room window was open and we were told he could have been inside. It was finally time for the Vatican City tour and inside the Vatican is just beautiful. Everything was made perfectly in complete detail and had a meaning or story behind it which I loved; so many art pieces and sculptures it was honestly a once in a lifetime experience, but what I was most excited for was the Sistine Chapel where we got to the story of human creation with our own eyes. It was so beautiful and unbelievable. After the Vatican City tour we had practice then finally got to sleep!!
July 31 - Florence, Montecatini - Lauren Ross
Today, we checked out of our hotel in Rome and headed toward Florence where we began the day with time for lunch and free time to explore the city. Following lunch and gelato, my group decided to not to take the guided tour but rather explore the city on our own. We visited the replica David statue, Ponte Vecchio (filled wall-to-wall with jewelry shops) and the Palazzo Vecchio, where we were unfortunately turned away from reaching the top of the tower by security. We then visited the numerous leather shops where we purchased little purses and bags as Florence is well-known for its leather industry. Once we visited the majority of the little shops, we headed down toward the river where we enjoyed cold drinks, the breeze, and the company of one another for a few hours, before we met as an entire group for a short wine and olive oil/balsamic vinegar tasting experience. We ended the night with free time near our hotel where we found a cute little local pizza restaurant with music and lights to end the night.
August 1 - Cinque Terre - Ella Riggs
Today was my favorite day so far. We woke up and had a great breakfast at the hotel. I had some amazing coffee and espresso again. Then, we headed to Cinque Terre. Riding the train was a surprisingly fun experience, and a good time to connect with my teammates. We went to the beach first and laid out for a bit. Very relaxing. Then, we took the bus to another one of the towns and shopped and ate some lunch. The shops were super cute, and I found two pairs of earrings I liked for a good price. After some more shopping and observing the city, we headed back to the bus and departed for our game. Despite spending all day at the beach, we came out with the win by 30 points. The girls played so hard and fought through the slippery court and lack of AC. Lastly, we had dinner back at the hotel and it was the best of the trip so far. The lasagna was so good. Overall, this was a great day.
August 2 - Lucca - Tia Morgan
On the fifth day, we woke up, ate breakfast, packed our stuff, and headed to Lucca for our bike tour. Honestly, this was one of my favorite parts of the trip! The bike tour was excellent, it was so fun, and I took many pictures on the tour as well. After the tour, we had a lot of free time in the city of Lucca and were able to try some gelato. I love gelato now. We left Lucca and arrived in Milan to go to our last destination. We had dinner at the hotel we were staying at, which was by far the best hotel dinner we had. Italy's pasta has me in a chokehold.
August 3 - Como, Bellagio - Jordan Reid
Add today to the highlight reel! We took a beautiful boat ride across Lake Como and saw the beauty of Bellagio. We walked around the market that was going on and got some cute jewelry! This was a pretty fun but long day walking around searching for pockets of air conditioning!! I really enjoyed the boat ride, though. It was super cool seeing the different houses surrounding the lake, not to mention the amazing view of the mountains that also surrounded the lake.
August 4 - Milan - Taeya Steinauer
Today we had a pizza cooking class! We got to watch how the pizza dough is made, and later on got to roll out our own dough for our own pizza. This was a really fun experience as it is something I've never done before! Doing it alongside my team made the experience even better because we had so much fun while making them together. The pizza was actually super fast to be done as it only took three minutes to cook. I really enjoyed the pizza and overall had a really nice time. After this, we took the bus to our final game in Italy! I had a lot of fun playing with my new team and it was awesome to leave with a win! Then later we got to go out to dinner with all our families and the food was amazing. It was a great way to end our last day in Italy. The only sad part of the day was knowing we had to leave in the morning.
~ Feel the Rumble ~
Players Mentioned
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