Owls in Italy: The Player's Journal
6/9/2019 2:37:00 AM | Women's Volleyball, Blog
Adria Martinez and Nicole Lennon share Rice's experience in Italy
June 15 | Rome
by Nicole Lennon
Our ninth and final day was the most eventful of all. After breakfast at the hotel, we immediately headed out on the bus to Vatican City. Vatican City is categorized as the smallest country in the world, and I could definitely argue that it was one of the most beautiful, too.
First, we went through the Vatican museum, which had hundreds of sculptures, tapestries, and paintings from the 1500-1800s, as well as some contemporary art from the 20th century. After the museum, we got to enter the world famous Sistine Chapel. It was even more beautiful than I imagined, and the room was stuffed with hundreds of people admiring the stunning ceiling and wall frescoes.
After the chapel, my group and I went into St. Peter's Basilica, which is known as one of the finest cathedrals in the world. It, too, had a ton of detailed paintings and sculptures, and there was gold and gold plated things everywhere. My favorite thing was La Pietà, a sculpture created by Michelangelo. It is such a famous sculpture that it was blocked off by glass, just like the Mona Lisa.
We had lunch in Vatican City next, and then we headed to the Coliseum by taking the metro. When we got there, I was shocked by how huge the structure actually was. It amazes me that it has been there for thousands of years. We took lots of pictures and spent about an hour there before heading to the Forum down the road.
The Forum is a collection of ruins that once made up a Ancient Roman marketplace. There were greens and gardens everywhere, as well as ruins from what used to be grocery stores, clothing shops, and bath houses. The area was serene and we really loved to imagine what could have happened there two thousand years ago.
We had a final dinner after the Forum, and now we are back at our hotel in Rome. We head back home super early tomorrow, and we are all going to miss the joyful trip we had to Italy. We all became closer friends this trip and made so many life-long memories. We are so sad to go, but we are so lucky to have this experience to remember forever. Like Dr. Seuss once said, "don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened." Hopefully, we will all get to come back someday and experience the memories all over again.
by Adria Martinez
A perfect day in Rome, Italy!
Our morning started with a nice breakfast at our hotel in Rome. We were so excited to have eggs, rice and beans for breakfast. They really hit the spot!
Once we finished our delicious breakfast we made our way toward the Trevi Fountain. The fountain was far bigger and more beautiful than I had imagined. We each made our three wishes into the fountain as we tossed our coins over our left shoulders. It was so much fun!
Following the Trevi Fountain, our team explored the amazing Spanish steps and the Pantheon! We were shocked with how huge and intricate it was for having being built in 125 AD. It was truly amazing.
After exploring Rome and grabbing a delicious lunch, we hopped on the bus and made our way to our last volleyball match in Italy. Although we started off a little slow, our team finished with a strong win over the Fenice team! We learned so much from each team we played on the trip. I truly think those experiences will help us significantly during our fall season.
Our night finished with an excellent dinner at a local restaurant. We had such a great first day in Rome. We can't wait to explore Vatican City and the Colosseum tomorrow!
June 13 | Florence
by Nicole Lennon
Yet another successful day in Italy for Rice Volleyball! Right when we woke up this morning, our team hopped on a bus to head to Florence. When we got there, we walked along the river and saw a bunch of the artsy architecture, including the city square filled with statues of famous Italians, such as Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, & Galileo Galilei.
For lunch, a few of my teammates and I went to a super nice bistro, which actually had American food. As much as I love pizza and pasta, it was so refreshing to have a burger again. After eating, we headed to some authentic Florencian shops, and they had beautiful handmade clothes, art, and more. We also walked along the Ponte Vecchio bridge, which included extremely luxurious jewelry stores. We looked but didn't touch over there!
After leaving Florence, we took another gorgeous bus ride to dinner. We ventured up the mountainside and saw some stunning views of the Italian countryside, including many large farms and vineyards. I probably got 100 pictures on my camera roll just from that one ride.
Once we reached the the top of the mountain, we had a personalized dinner in one of the towns up there. It was a super peaceful and classic town, and I loved how simple everything seemed up there. From the outside seating, we could see for miles into the Italian mountains.
Now, after eating, we are on our way to the grand finale of our trip, ROME! Tomorrow should be one of our most eventful days yet, and we can't wait!!
June 12 | Pisa and Lucca, Italyby Adria Martinez
Our early morning started with a quick breakfast at the Italian volleyball training center before loading the bus and heading to Pisa.
After a scenic three hour bus ride, we arrived to the beautiful city of Pisa. For several hours we enjoyed the city as we walked around and snapped LOTS of pictures with the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa. We finished our time there with a nice lunch at a local restaurant before leaving for Lucca.
We arrived to the walled city of Lucca mid-afternoon and within minutes the team found group bicycles. We divided up and hopped on three separate group bikes to take on the quiet city. My group of five rode around the whole 2.5 mile wall of Lucca. The adventure required a lot of teamwork but it was so worth it!
After spending our hour on the bikes, a few teammates and I found coffee and gelato. As always, both were phenomenal. We spent the rest of our time walking around the peaceful city and looking in the quaint shops.
Later in the evening, we arrived to our adorable hotel outside the city of Lucca. We had a fantastic three-course dinner of pasta, turkey, and dessert. My favorite course was definitely the authentic tiramisu. It was SO good!!
We had the perfect, peaceful day in Pisa and Lucca! We can't wait to hit Florence tomorrow!
June 11 | Milan, Italy
by Nicole Lennon
Our morning in Milan started early; we were treated to breakfast at 8 a.m. in the Olympic Training Center before we started our day. We left the center at 10 a.m. to head out for sightseeing in Milan! Our first stop was a castle that used to belong to a Milanese noble family for hundreds of years. We couldn't believe that people actually lived in a castle that massive.
After a short walk to the town square, the first thing we saw was the giant, impossible to miss, Duomo Cathedral! It is said to have been built as early as 1400, and it probably had a thousand difference statues. There was super intricate stained glass on all the windows, and the biggest organ I've ever seen. My group was the only ones who actually went inside the cathedral. Because we were wearing tank tops and shorts, and we needed to be covered to enter the cathedral, we had to wear paper dresses. Someone even asked if they were Armani, haha.
Following our visit to the cathedral, we went to a restaurant that a native of Milan recommended to us. There I had a huge ball of buffalo-milk mozzarella, the most delicious cheese I ever had. Jaime ordered a burger, and we were laughing so hard when it came without a bun. But it was the first french fries we have had in days, so we were very happy.
We finished our sightseeing in Milan, and after some nap time, we were heading to the Women's Italian Olympic volleyball gym for our match against the Italian Women's Junior National Team. We worked so hard for five sets, and only lost by two in the fifth. It was super fun and extremely competitive, and it was an honor to play at such a high level. That game really prepared us for the teams we want to play this year, and will help us reach our goals of getting past the first round of NCAAs.
Tonight our team bought a bunch of Italian cookies and pastries and had a giant cookie party to bond further on this trip. Tomorrow we head to Lucca and Pisa and we can't wait for a full day of being tourists!
June 10 | Lurano, Italy
by Adria Martinez
Another perfect day in the books! Our morning started with a nice buffet breakfast before we packed our bags and headed to Verona.
While in Verona, we were given several hours to explore the wonderful city. My group and I started by visiting Juliet's balcony. Shakespeare's play was said to be inspired from the balcony and then it was later used for the Romeo and Juliet movies.
Next we visited a small local bakery and had the BEST miniature desserts ever! To be honest, I couldn't really even tell you the names of what I ate but I do know that they were DELICIOUS! Plus they were only 30 cents each... a steal of a deal.
After indulging in our sweets we walked around a bustling square and bought fresh fruit from local vendors. While eating our delicious snacks we headed to a nearby castle, Castelvecchio, which was built in the 14th century. I was in love with the castle, the moat, and the history behind it! I think I was so interested in Castelvecchio because I'm a huge fan of Game of Thrones and it really reminded me of Winterfell.
After leaving Verona, we hopped on the charter bus and headed to our pregame meal which was delicious as always. It really did a great job fueling us up for our match against Lurano volleyball club which started at 8 p.m. Our clean play and quicker offensive tempo helped us win all four sets. It was so much fun!
After our win, we headed to the Olympic training center in Milan where we will be staying for the next two nights. We can't wait to see what Milan has in store for us tomorrow!
June 9 | Padova, Italy
by Nicole Lennon
Our second day in Italy started out with leisure, as we all got to sleep in until 10 a.m. at our hotel in a town called Galzignano Terme. Once we were up, we were treated to a yummy Italian breakfast, and then we all headed out to the beautiful, gigantic pool! We relaxed there for a couple of hours in the sunny and 75 degree breeze, surrounded by the mountains and lots of trees and flowers. Then, after a calm morning, we headed out to begin our sightseeing for the day.
Our stop for the day was a normally bustling town called Padova, but since it was Sunday, and that's a day of relaxation for the Italians, it felt like we had the whole city to ourselves! There were lots of places to shop and eat there, as well as some cool architecture. At lunch time, my teammate Maddie and I shared a pizza that was half a meter long! Then, some of our team went out to the central park of the town, which was filled with trees and lush plants. After three hours in the city, it was time to head to our match.
Playing our first match in Italy was so much fun! Our game against Legnaro PGS 2000 was very competitive, and because the match was considered a friendly match, we got to play five sets, regardless of the set wins. After five filled action-filled sets, four of those being wins, we had the chance to meet the girls from the other team. We shared some laughs, and we even taught them one of our famous Rice Volleyball cheers! It was really awesome to make some new friends.
After the match, we finished off the evening with a delicious dinner at a Pizzeria. The restaurant had over 50 pizzas on their menu, including some with horse meat! None of us were bold enough to try it though. Following our delicious meal, we rode home on the bus, and we finally made new cheers for all our newcomers on the team. It was a very exciting day, and we already can't wait for day three!
June 7-8 | Travel Day/Venice, Italy
by Adria Martinez
After traveling thousands of miles via two planes, two water taxis, one train and one bus, we finally finished our first day in Italy!
Before arriving in Italy, our day started with a FULL day of travel. After a couple flights, we landed at the Venice airport and hopped in a couple water taxis. We made our way across the water to the beautiful city of Venice. We were absolutely breath-taken by how amazing the city and it's architecture truly was.
We spent about four hours walking around Venice in groups and integrating ourselves in the culture. We tried Italian pastries, candies, and cuisine. We devoured an incredible lunch at a local cafe then shopped around. Our team loved the glass jewelry shops and the local produce stands where we bought fresh fruit.
I was shocked with how well the Italian population spoke English in Venice. We really only had one communication glitch the whole time we were there. At a small coffee shop I tried to order a nice "pick-me-up" iced latte from the menu. I ended up being served slightly chilled plain milk, haha. It's okay though! We got that figured out and I got my coffee.
Around 7:30 p.m. we met with our coaches and the rest of our group for a nice program meal. We loved the traditional pizza, pasta and gelato that was served. It really was exceptional!
After finishing dessert, we headed to our hotel near Padova, Italy. Once we arrived at our hotel, we showered and then CRASHED. We were so exhausted! Our first day was SO much fun and was also dubbed as "the longest day in the history of Rice Volleyball".
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