Owls in Europe: A Shelby Hayes Blog
6/3/2025 8:38:00 AM | Women's Basketball
HOUSTON – Rice women's basketball is on the road for the team's summer foreign tour to Italy and Greece. Rice senior Shelby Hayes gives a day-to-day look into the team's trip in Europe.
Day 1 – Travel/Florence
We started off the trip having Chef before we went to the airport, which is always a great way to start off a trip. We then got on the plane and flew to Amsterdam before arriving in Florence. After arriving, we went on a walking tour and saw all of the beautiful churches and museums of Florence from the outside.
We closed the night with a dinner at Lorenzo de' Medici that had really, really good pizza. I'm looking forward to tomorrow and the next day and getting some Affogato because I love coffee.
Day 2 - Florence/Game Day
We start off the morning with some breakfast, and then we went on a bike to the city, which was so beautiful and so much fun. We split up into three different groups to go sightseeing, and we all had so much fun riding around the city.
After that, we had our pregame meal, which was very good, and then we went and played the Basketball Sisters here in Florence. It was a great showing, and we came away with the win. We played really, really well together first game out. Everyone looked really good. So it was fun and a great experience for everyone.
We drove back to the hotel and had our postgame meal, which we got some pizza, and then some of us left to go out on the town and just walk around and see Florence at night. It was beautiful. Got some gelato and then came back to the hotel
Overall, just a really fun day. Great experience and good vibes all around. We are excited for tomorrow to explore Florence on our own for the full day.
Day 3 - Florence
We woke up this morning and went and had breakfast at the Rooster Café, which was very, very good. We got some smoothies, and I had this like hash brown bowl thing, and it was delicious. It was right next to the river, and I got a cinnamon roll and a vanilla iced coffee that was so good, like actually to die for.
After that, we went to the leather store and got some real Italian leather purses that are super super cute. Look out for them in the Instagram post later. We later just walked around to a couple of stores like Versace and a bunch of different places. We bought some head scarves off a stand next to the carousel, and we got some really cute little head scarves that were so cute.
We then headed back to the hotel to change for dinner, and then we went to dinner, had some very good steak, and they brought us out a charcuterie board. They had aged cheese, which was so good. I feel like the more aged, the better it is. And then after that, we got gelato since we scored 100 points in our game, and we always get ice cream for road wins.
We closed the night at this beautiful rooftop, where you could see all of Florence. It was absolutely beautiful. Such a good time to hang out with the girls, and that's always a good time when you get to spend time with your team. Everyone is excited to leave for Rome tomorrow morning. It'll be super fun starting off with the Colosseum, so a great way to kick off, looking forward to it, and I will see y'all tomorrow.
Day 4 - Rome
This morning, we woke up bright and early, got breakfast from the hotel in Florence, and then left on a bus to go to the train station. At the station, we hopped on the super-fast train and headed to Rome. After arriving, we got to walk around and check out some spots, so we went to an incredible restaurant called Mizio's Street Food, which had some amazing sandwiches.
We then got to go into the Colosseum and explore and see all the ancient ruins, which was a truly remarkable experience. When we left, we got free time, so most of us came back to the hotel, and then a few of us went out later to get dinner. I had carbonara for dinner, which I've been waiting to have this whole trip, so I was super excited, and it was absolutely delicious. I also got some tiramisu, which is one of my favorite desserts, so that tasted yummy.
We stopped at a gelato shop for a couple of the others to get some nice gelato and went to the Trevi Fountain in the middle of the city. That was beautiful, and we continued exploring and walking around until we came back to the hotel. It was a beautiful first day in Rome, we are all super excited to play our second game tomorrow and do our walking tour.
Day 5 - Rome
We woke up and got to go on a walking tour of Rome and see the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon and some of the churches around the area and the Piazza Navona, all very cool stopped and amazing to see up-close in person. Some of us grabbed some gelato as well, and I went into one of the churches, which was absolutely beautiful to see.
After that, we went back to the hotel for a little bit before we went to our pregame meal spot, which was really good. We got to celebrate Jaylen and Pace's birthday, so that was fun for all of us. They got Jaylen ice cream and Pace a pineapple dessert. We then headed to our game and played against the Dream Team, and we won the game with everyone putting up some good numbers. We play really well together. I think obviously it's still early, so we have lots that we need to work on, but we have a good foundation and a great start. Everyone just works well together, and I think you can see that, and something feels different about this team in a special way. I'm really excited and looking forward to getting back to practicing, doing team practice, and our first game. I'm excited for y'all to see the team that we have this year because it's really exciting.
After the game, we came back to the hotel, and as a team, we all went to dinner at La Fata Ignorante. I had the carbonara, which was amazing. We were on a rooftop, which was nice to see some of the views of Rome, and after that, we came back to the hotel, packed, and went to sleep because we are traveling to Greece tomorrow!
Day 6 - Rome/Travel
Woke up this morning and went to the Vatican, which was honestly a once in a lifetime opportunity. It was busy so we waited in line a little bit and got a slight sunburn, but it was definitely worth it. Note to travelers going to the Vatican to make sure you wear pants, but if you don't wear pants and you have shorts on, they'll give you a little tarp or like tablecloth, sort of white sheet thing to wrap around your waist.
After that, we came back to the hotel and got on the bus and drove to the airport. We got to the airport and we were just chilling at the airport for four hours before we got on our flight to Greece and we got in late and went to dinner.
I got some food at McDonald's. I think the McDonald's in Europe is better than McDonald's in the US. I don't feel gross after eating it so that's a good thing. Almost the entire team got McDonald's and some got a little pita from this pita stand. We came back to the hotel and now it's time to go to bed before our boat day tomorrow which we're all looking forward to!
Day 7 - Athens
We woke up super early in the morning and got breakfast from the hotel before hopping on the bus. We headed out to the Athens harbor, and when we got to the marina, we got on a boat and went on an island tour. It was absolutely stunning. The islands, the water, everything was so beautiful. We got to swim around for a little bit, and actually got to jump off from the low and high areas of the boat.
We stopped and got to walk around and shop on a small island off the coast. I picked up some jewelry for the family and for myself. Also got a sweet treat, which can never be a bad thing. Then we got back on the boat and went to one more stop for swimming.
We then headed back to Athens and eventually to the hotel. We showered quickly, and we went back out for dinner and got some Greek food that was so so so so so good. It was absolutely delicious. Then we walked back to the hotel and went to sleep after a long day out.
Day 8 - Athens/Glyfada
We started the day by heading to the Acropolis area for a cooking class where we got to prepare five traditional Greek meals. They were all very good and tasted amazing. After our group was done, we got to walk around the different neighborhoods and shop. Once we had all completed the cooking class and eaten our prepared meals, we headed to the Acropolis.
We walked up to the Parthenon and got to see all of the amazing views of Athens. The Parthenon was incredible to see up close, and we all enjoyed the tour and scenery. After that, we headed to Glyfada and got to lie out by the pool before dinner. I had shrimp and grits that were so delicious. We were all able to take sunset pics too at the beach. We headed back to the hotel and got ready for our final day in Greece, which we are all sad about, but we will get a nice, relaxing day at the pool/beach.
Day 9/10 - Glyfada/Travel
We went to the beach today and were there all day. Got on the tubes and that was so fun. We went flying in the air. I've never done tubing in the ocean, so that was such a tremendous experience. And then, after that, we came back to the hotel, changed, and got ready for dinner. Had dinner with a beautiful sunset view. And enjoyed each other's company, and we took pictures with the sunset, which was so pretty.
Then we came back to the hotel and just hung out with each other for a little bit, and now we are packing because we leave at 3 AM tomorrow to go home. I guess this is my last blog post, which I've had such a fun time doing this. Thank you for allowing me to do this, and I hope everybody at home listening or I guess reading enjoyed the blog updates, but this was just a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I feel really blessed to be a part of this program, and to be able to share this experience with everyone.
Day 1 – Travel/Florence
We started off the trip having Chef before we went to the airport, which is always a great way to start off a trip. We then got on the plane and flew to Amsterdam before arriving in Florence. After arriving, we went on a walking tour and saw all of the beautiful churches and museums of Florence from the outside.
We closed the night with a dinner at Lorenzo de' Medici that had really, really good pizza. I'm looking forward to tomorrow and the next day and getting some Affogato because I love coffee.
Day 2 - Florence/Game Day
We start off the morning with some breakfast, and then we went on a bike to the city, which was so beautiful and so much fun. We split up into three different groups to go sightseeing, and we all had so much fun riding around the city.
After that, we had our pregame meal, which was very good, and then we went and played the Basketball Sisters here in Florence. It was a great showing, and we came away with the win. We played really, really well together first game out. Everyone looked really good. So it was fun and a great experience for everyone.
We drove back to the hotel and had our postgame meal, which we got some pizza, and then some of us left to go out on the town and just walk around and see Florence at night. It was beautiful. Got some gelato and then came back to the hotel
Overall, just a really fun day. Great experience and good vibes all around. We are excited for tomorrow to explore Florence on our own for the full day.
Day 3 - Florence
We woke up this morning and went and had breakfast at the Rooster Café, which was very, very good. We got some smoothies, and I had this like hash brown bowl thing, and it was delicious. It was right next to the river, and I got a cinnamon roll and a vanilla iced coffee that was so good, like actually to die for.
After that, we went to the leather store and got some real Italian leather purses that are super super cute. Look out for them in the Instagram post later. We later just walked around to a couple of stores like Versace and a bunch of different places. We bought some head scarves off a stand next to the carousel, and we got some really cute little head scarves that were so cute.
We then headed back to the hotel to change for dinner, and then we went to dinner, had some very good steak, and they brought us out a charcuterie board. They had aged cheese, which was so good. I feel like the more aged, the better it is. And then after that, we got gelato since we scored 100 points in our game, and we always get ice cream for road wins.
We closed the night at this beautiful rooftop, where you could see all of Florence. It was absolutely beautiful. Such a good time to hang out with the girls, and that's always a good time when you get to spend time with your team. Everyone is excited to leave for Rome tomorrow morning. It'll be super fun starting off with the Colosseum, so a great way to kick off, looking forward to it, and I will see y'all tomorrow.
Day 4 - Rome
This morning, we woke up bright and early, got breakfast from the hotel in Florence, and then left on a bus to go to the train station. At the station, we hopped on the super-fast train and headed to Rome. After arriving, we got to walk around and check out some spots, so we went to an incredible restaurant called Mizio's Street Food, which had some amazing sandwiches.
We then got to go into the Colosseum and explore and see all the ancient ruins, which was a truly remarkable experience. When we left, we got free time, so most of us came back to the hotel, and then a few of us went out later to get dinner. I had carbonara for dinner, which I've been waiting to have this whole trip, so I was super excited, and it was absolutely delicious. I also got some tiramisu, which is one of my favorite desserts, so that tasted yummy.
We stopped at a gelato shop for a couple of the others to get some nice gelato and went to the Trevi Fountain in the middle of the city. That was beautiful, and we continued exploring and walking around until we came back to the hotel. It was a beautiful first day in Rome, we are all super excited to play our second game tomorrow and do our walking tour.
Day 5 - Rome
We woke up and got to go on a walking tour of Rome and see the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon and some of the churches around the area and the Piazza Navona, all very cool stopped and amazing to see up-close in person. Some of us grabbed some gelato as well, and I went into one of the churches, which was absolutely beautiful to see.
We stopped at the fountain at the bottom of the church and I got to fill up my water bottle with the water from the fountain, which was a super cool experience. In the US, I don't think there's a place we can go and fill up water from a fountain like that public fountain, so that was an exciting experience. We also saw a horse carriage and I got to pet the horse and he was so cute!
After that, we went back to the hotel for a little bit before we went to our pregame meal spot, which was really good. We got to celebrate Jaylen and Pace's birthday, so that was fun for all of us. They got Jaylen ice cream and Pace a pineapple dessert. We then headed to our game and played against the Dream Team, and we won the game with everyone putting up some good numbers. We play really well together. I think obviously it's still early, so we have lots that we need to work on, but we have a good foundation and a great start. Everyone just works well together, and I think you can see that, and something feels different about this team in a special way. I'm really excited and looking forward to getting back to practicing, doing team practice, and our first game. I'm excited for y'all to see the team that we have this year because it's really exciting.
After the game, we came back to the hotel, and as a team, we all went to dinner at La Fata Ignorante. I had the carbonara, which was amazing. We were on a rooftop, which was nice to see some of the views of Rome, and after that, we came back to the hotel, packed, and went to sleep because we are traveling to Greece tomorrow!
Day 6 - Rome/Travel
Woke up this morning and went to the Vatican, which was honestly a once in a lifetime opportunity. It was busy so we waited in line a little bit and got a slight sunburn, but it was definitely worth it. Note to travelers going to the Vatican to make sure you wear pants, but if you don't wear pants and you have shorts on, they'll give you a little tarp or like tablecloth, sort of white sheet thing to wrap around your waist.
After that, we came back to the hotel and got on the bus and drove to the airport. We got to the airport and we were just chilling at the airport for four hours before we got on our flight to Greece and we got in late and went to dinner.
I got some food at McDonald's. I think the McDonald's in Europe is better than McDonald's in the US. I don't feel gross after eating it so that's a good thing. Almost the entire team got McDonald's and some got a little pita from this pita stand. We came back to the hotel and now it's time to go to bed before our boat day tomorrow which we're all looking forward to!
Day 7 - Athens
We woke up super early in the morning and got breakfast from the hotel before hopping on the bus. We headed out to the Athens harbor, and when we got to the marina, we got on a boat and went on an island tour. It was absolutely stunning. The islands, the water, everything was so beautiful. We got to swim around for a little bit, and actually got to jump off from the low and high areas of the boat.
We stopped and got to walk around and shop on a small island off the coast. I picked up some jewelry for the family and for myself. Also got a sweet treat, which can never be a bad thing. Then we got back on the boat and went to one more stop for swimming.
We then headed back to Athens and eventually to the hotel. We showered quickly, and we went back out for dinner and got some Greek food that was so so so so so good. It was absolutely delicious. Then we walked back to the hotel and went to sleep after a long day out.
Day 8 - Athens/Glyfada
We started the day by heading to the Acropolis area for a cooking class where we got to prepare five traditional Greek meals. They were all very good and tasted amazing. After our group was done, we got to walk around the different neighborhoods and shop. Once we had all completed the cooking class and eaten our prepared meals, we headed to the Acropolis.
Day 9/10 - Glyfada/Travel
We went to the beach today and were there all day. Got on the tubes and that was so fun. We went flying in the air. I've never done tubing in the ocean, so that was such a tremendous experience. And then, after that, we came back to the hotel, changed, and got ready for dinner. Had dinner with a beautiful sunset view. And enjoyed each other's company, and we took pictures with the sunset, which was so pretty.
Then we came back to the hotel and just hung out with each other for a little bit, and now we are packing because we leave at 3 AM tomorrow to go home. I guess this is my last blog post, which I've had such a fun time doing this. Thank you for allowing me to do this, and I hope everybody at home listening or I guess reading enjoyed the blog updates, but this was just a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I feel really blessed to be a part of this program, and to be able to share this experience with everyone.
Players Mentioned
C
/ Women's BasketballWBB: Rice vs. Marshall Postgame Presser
Wednesday, March 09