Canisius College Women's Basketball Italian Tour - Day Seven
I woke up in a panic this morning,
only because we did not get a wake-up call. Monica, Ellie and I were the only
ones not at breakfast at 7:30 a.m. so Mrs. Radke ventured down to our room and
woke us up. It wasn’t the greatest of mornings but things were looking up, we
had a day of pizza making ahead of us. As we arrived around 1 p.m. for our
pizza-making lesson we were instructed on how the pasta is made and how the
dough rises and all that fun stuff. We each got a piece of dough to roll and play
with. Gavin and Anna were absolutely adorable, playing in the flour and covered
head to toe in it. Down on our end of the table, Bree was writing funny things
and Cavo was making designs in the flour on a long table. We did not get to
actually MAKE the pizza; nonetheless, it was amazing and super thin. There were
three of four different kinds with zucchini, cheese, anchovies, olives and
salami. We finished our final few minutes at the pizza-making place by
listening to Steph play Chopin on the piano while Gavin and Anna danced along
with Ellie.
About 4 kilometers down the road we
arrived at our hotel in beautiful Montecatini, Tuscany. It was scorching hot,
like every day we have been in Italy, and as we entered the hotel and read the
large sign that read ‘POOL’ everyone’s eyes lit up. We had the entire day to
ourselves to do whatever we liked. Most of us went to the pool immediately and
played keep up with a beach ball and then colors. We couldn’t have asked for a
better day to have all to ourselves. Coach Gwin went for a run during dinner
and said it was a gorgeous town and informed us that the park behind the merry-go-round
was amazing but extremely hilly. After dinner, most of us ventured out and
walked around the town waiting for some stores to reopen. In Montecatini, on
Wednesdays and Saturdays the stores close at around 7 p.m. for dinner but then
reopen for night shoppers at 9 or 9:30 to 11:30 p.m. Most of us found some
sweet deals and can’t forget to mention the gelato. My favorite gelato so far
has been from Montecatini, I am pretty sure almost everyone on the trip has had
Gelato at least twice a day. The best flavors I have tasted thus far have been
hazelnut, coffee, vanilla, tiramisu and today’s winner was amaretto.
As we arrived back to the hotel a
band had set up outside of our hotel and the veranda was filled with the most
adorable elderly Italian couples. Mr and Mrs. Radke had a couple nice slow
dances, but the highlight of the night was Ellie. She was in one of her dancing
moods and grabbed this small Italian boy, probably around the age of 10 and
begged him to dance with her. Next thing we all knew, they were streaming
across the dance floor, first slow dancing then doing the robot and the
sprinkler! It was hilarious to watch, but it was clear Ellie had truly left a
mark on this little boy. As the parents gave her the European double kiss and
thanked her, he jumped into her arms and they swung around in circling laughing
and singing. It was an awesome way to end the night, and it just goes to show
how personable, special and outgoing the young ladies on this team are.
Ciao!
Mic
