Time without Internet

We finally got connected to the internet.....via tv and keyboard!
I do believe we left you hanging at the Leaning Tower of Pisa.....we've definitely have traveled a bit from there.
We continued our travel to San Marino, the oldest republic of the world. It was truely a spectacular view from the top of the mountain. The hike to get there was the most fun.
San Marino took our breath away....we stayed in the Grand Hotel with a view of the valley below....unless you had an inside room and all you could see was the brick wall to the road! The shopping was fun....tons of shops on slanted streets that lead to the three towers. The fortress towers had absolutely beautiful advantage views and museums . It was fairytale material for sure! Betsy Mehrman kept saying she was cinderella !
After a day of exploring the area, training and eating a great dinner.....we all were pretty pooped!
The highlight the next day was making our own pizzas! After eating delightful pizza and fresh salad we were handed official diplomas of pizza making! Should count for applications for sure!
Then onto the beach! Beautiful!!!!! We were able to dip our feet into the Adriatic sea...and hang out in the sun before heading to another training session, back to the hotel and more exploring and shopping!
Saturday was a great tour of the hillside of San Marino with a tour guide....lunch on our own....a bit of rest and then a pregame dinner at the Fantini Club. Wonderful entertainment was provided.....beach soccer volleyball....gives a new view to"chesters". We were all impressed with the skill of the game....pics and video to follow soon. Then you'll see what we're talking about.
Sunday brought us to Venice.....aaaww Venice....a quick boat ride through the grand canal, a guided walk on the outskirts of the busy plazas and back on our way! Lots of info in a short time....but well worth the visit.
Another highlight of the week......the professional match! We were all excited to wear our A.C. milan gear!1 lookin super flashy in red and black... except for one loney soldier LAUREN G supportin juventus. Unfortunately she was the winner in penalty shots!
what a way to end the match. After the game we were on our way to the hotel to lake como to finally rest. The Hotel leornardo da vinciis where we are staying for the rest of our italian vacation.
The next morning we woke up, had some food and got to tour the beautiful como city. We not only walked around to shop we also got to go on the lake for a boat tour. The lake is home to the famous actor, George Clooney. After pictures and shopping we headed to our second match.... where we had to follow two boys on mopeds... our first time getting lost! Showing up twenty minutes before our match was apparently a great thing because we triumphed the italian team! You may think it was a busy day, but after dinner we had one last adventure for the night. Pino, our bus driver, took us dancing at a local disco bar! Some opted to stay back and play cards.
The last morning to explore we headed to Lugano, Switzerland! The city on beatiful Lugano Lake is near the italian border and Lake Como. Although the morning started out foggy, the weather cleared up and we were able to view all of the villas along the moutainside. It was beautiful! As the swiss are known for their chocolate, all of us picked out a variety of sweets to bring home and share. Now it is rest time before our final match of the trip. Wish us good luck!

Molly, Ashley, Becky

The Leaning Tower of Pisa....and the tour

Surprised that there were so many other buildings around the tower...before you see it in real life you have the image of just that leaning building.....lots of other history in this area.

Common to hear that in each region that we go to...that their region is the best!

We could definitely have spent more time in this area but lots more to see in such a short time!

Our tour guide Charlotte was very entertaining...

lots of great "jokes" among this hisorical facts...kept everyone listening.

Leaving the East coast....we headed West through the mountains. Most slept, others were waken by the quick turns and spectacular views of the mountainous hillside! Yikes....a whole different respect for driving in the states!

After an adventurous night in Florence last night, we woke up early to head west, to Pisa. When we arrived, we started a tour of the old city. We saw Pisa's most popular monument the 'Leaning Tower' andthe Church of Santa Maria della Spina. When we finished the tour we were given some free time to tour more of the city and to do some shopping. Naturally, Kristi was excited as ever to get time to shop and walked around like a kid in a candy shop. Many players also took a very original picture holding up the 'Leaning Tower'



We then left Pisa and had a four and a half hour drive back east to San Marino. The drive was full of beautiful scenery and time for many players to take a much needed nap. After arriving in San Marino, we had our second practice of the trip. It felt really good to get back onto the pitch and practice went very well. When practice was over we headed to the hotel. On the drive our tour guide talked to us about San Marino. San Marino is absoluetly beautiful and as many players learned it is a seperate country in itself. After a long day we had a nice dinner and made our way to bed. All the players are very excited for tomorrow, as we get to make our own pizza for lunch, then to the beach for the afternoon, and then another training session.

Whitney Wilson

Firenza (Florence)

Last night we performed hilarious skits about our experiences in Italy, which included interpretive dance moves by winners, Mallory Fox, Maria Leider, Dani Potter, and Reegan Lloyd we finally went to bed. Today, day four started off a little later than we had planned. After the Canes decided to wake up, we left on our journey to Florence. We arrived in Florence and had a quick lunch, and started our tour at the 'Galleria dell 'Academia' to learn about a famous naked man (oh wait, The David). The David is a marble sculpture that was done by Michaelangelo. We learned how he didn't use a plaster replica and The David was carved out of marble on the fist try. After staring at The David for about a half hour (according to Greg, David's head couldn't fit into a Smart car). Next on our list, was to look at the fourth largest Duomo in Italy, which was called the Basillica di Santa Maria del Fiore. The outside was stunning, white green and red marble, and had bronze doors (although, I must say, the inside was not as beautiful as the outside). We finished up our tour and had about two hours to go shopping. This was hard for us girls, but a lot of us did work and got a lot of great souveniers especially leather. Once we all got on the bus, we decided to have a fashion show of what we had bought. Pino (our bus driver) put on some Michael Jackson songs and we really got into it. Molly, Kelsey, Reegan, Toni ,and even Betsy modeled out their new leather jackets. We even had some of the freshman try on some of their souveniers they got their parents. We arrived at our hotel in Montecatini Terme at checked into the Tuscany INN and headed straight to dinner. We were all happy to see lettuce and have fresh vegetables and have an amazing italian dinner. After dinner we hit the town. A few of us ventured the streets. After a couple of side roads, a couple of hookers, and one creepy hobo who was following us for quite a bit of time, we noticed the night life was A LOT different. After finding our way back, we went to bed and prepared for our morning at the Leaning Tower of Pissa as well as our second practice in San Marino. Talk to you soon.
-Abby Boreen

Day Three!

Day three began with yet another European breakfast of ham and cheese sandwiches. After breakfast we loaded the bus and we were off to visit the Vatican Museums. When we pulled up there was a long line that wrapped around the entire museum that had us a little worried: luckily we were treated like VIP and got to go straight inside. The first thing we did was walk through the Vatican Museums that were filled with sculptures and beautiful architectural designs. We were all simply amazed! Then we were off to the Sistine Chapel where we saw the men's Milwaukee basketball team: but they did not seem too interested in seeing us (unlike all those other Italian boys here). Michael angelos' work was absolutely breath-taking. We were unable to take pictures or talk to each other, which was definitely a struggle for us! From there we went to St. Peter's Basilica which was filled with sculptures and mosaics. Unfortunately, Pope Benedict is residing at his summer home right now so we did not get to meet him! After the tours were done we had four hours of free time to do what we pleased. The previous two days had put some wear and tear on us, but that did not stop us from roaming around the city! At 8:00 p.m. we all sat down for dinner of swordfish and seafood pasta; MMMMMM! Tomorrow we are off to Florence! Ciao Bella!

Mal Fox & Brittany Brown

Starting off in Rome!!! (Maria Leider - Team Captain)

Well, we made it over the Antlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea and landed safely in Rome!!! We wasted no time to rest as we started off with a bus tour of the city and then set out on foot to observe some of the many historical landmarks. We visited places such as the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, and Pantheon, all were amazing. We seemed to be a sight amongst the many tour groups and Romans as we stuck out like sore thumbs. We have gotten many fingers pointed at us and turned heads, plus a few "Ciao Bellas" here and there. After the long plane ride, tour of Rome, and lunch we finally headed to our hotel to check in and clean up for dinner. After dinner the whole team decided that a nice little trip back into the city was needed so that we could get some GELATO... It might have been the second time for some. Thirty-six sleepless hours later we were able to get some shut eye.

Day two began with an European breakfast that most of the girls were not use to. Let's just say that a majority of us would rather have an American breakfast of pancakes and waffles rather than a ham and cheese sandwich. We then set out to Rome again this time to tour the Colleseum and the Forum. It was a lot of walking but well worth it. After the tours... SHOPPING!!!! With all of the different shops and vendors many had success with purchases. During lunch, two seperate groups found out that Italian waiters also love Americans as one group got a free pizza and another got free dessert. We all met up in the late afternoon to head to our first training session of the trip. Even after walking for what seemed like 100 miles our bodies were somehow still able to function to get a good practice in, plus a little fitness. Overall day two was a success other than some sore feet and only one stolen wallet. Don't worry, Kristi cancelled her credit cards and luckily nothing had been spent on them. Tomorrow we are looking forward to our last day in Rome by touring the Vatican. Even though we are spending three full days here I feel like we would have to spend a whole month to capture every detail of the city.