Today was our first full day in Italy. It has been very hard to adjust to the six hour time difference here. I have found myself taken longer than usual naps and forgetting about the time difference when calling my parents when I wake up at 9 in the morning, which is 3 in the morning back in the United States. My mother wasn't too happy about that!
Our first stop on our tour was the beautiful city of Lake Como. The tour guide has told us that it is one of the richest areas in the entire world. This morning, we had the opportunity to take a tour of the city and the lake. Our first stop was at a very historical church that was founded in the 1600's. The church was absolutely beautiful. The church's structural detail is quite amazing. It is unbelievable how everything was hand crafted.
After we left the church, we took a boat ride across the lake. We got the opportunity to see the Alps and many beautiful Villas that where located on the shores of the lake. We got to see Villas owned by George Clooney and the famous designer Versace. Coach Dement had joked that when he retires he plans on buying a Villa right next to the both of them.
After the boat tour ended, we all had free time to venture throughout the city. Ricky, Dwayne, Matt and I walked through the downtown area. We got to explore different shopping areas and interact with many of the Italians inside the shops. We all felt helpless because it was hard to communicate with the shop owners because we couldn't understand each other. We had to use a lot of hand gesture in order to get our point across. It was like playing a game of charades.
Around one o'clock we went back to the hotel for our pre-game lunch, which consisted of turkey and pasta. It was a weird combo but it tasted really good. Now we are about to rest up before our first game tonight versus IGNUS a profession team in the 2nd Italian division. Hopefully we will play well and win. Wish us luck!
- Kyle