Canisius College Women's Basketball Italian Tour 2009- Day One
For the past month or so, the forthcoming of our Italian tour has consumed 90 percent of the locker room chat. What to bring, how to pack light, how much money to bring and spend. That was the gist of the conversations outside of preparing physically and mentally to get back into game shape and game mode. Our team put in another summer together working as a team to get better and mold into our new squad. As the days towards Italy drew closer and the last days of camp and team camp rolled around, it became more realistic that Italy was just a few days away and it was time to go.
Seven straight hours of being in a small area with little leg room and stuck in a stiff sitting position are not things I prefer; however, Air France was unbelievably accommodating and the flight attendants were very friendly and it made the flight go a lot smoother. I now can understand the full meaning of the term 'jet legged'. After spending an entire day in the air and in an airport we finally arrived in sunny Milano at approximately 9:20 am Friday morning. The little we did see of Milan was beautiful, but Lake Como was breath taking.
One short, forty-five minute trip from the airport to Lake Como left us with most of the day to tour and take a scenic tour of the lake and to the Bellagio. Every single feature of the water and the homes located in the surrounding mountains were amazing.We also cruised by George Clooney's house located right off the waterfront and a couple other historical buildings and beautiful homes. We stopped at the Bellagio for about an hour, grabbed some gelato and headed back to catch the bus to our hotel. After a quick stop off at the hotel, the players and coaches took another forty-five minute trip to the gym where we will be playing our first game Sunday night. It was great to loosen up and get our legs moving after a long and tiring day of travel. Following a light warm-up and shootaround, we headed back to the hotel for a delicious dinner of pasta, chicken and potatoes and can't forget the tiramisu.
Hotel Cruise is an exquisite building filled with funky furniture and glass doors and windows. There are two single beds located in each room, a huge glass shower, pretty high-tech television, a safe to lock away any valuables and the most interesting aspect of the entire room is the fact that you need to insert your room key into the wall in order to retail power in the room; thus saving electricity! What a great idea! White-water rafting in the morning should be interesting, there is a first time for everything!
Ciao!
Mic
