Rome Travel Log: Wednesday, April 26
4/26/2017 12:00:00 AM | Football
April 26, 2017
The Michigan football program is on a one-week special educational and football experience for its student-athletes with a week of learning and practice in Rome, Italy. Follow the Wolverines on social media (#HailRoma) and with a daily travel log on MGoBlue.com.
Wednesday, April 26
7 a.m. -- Dressed in coat and tie, the players, coaches and staff arrive for breakfast prior to departure.
7:44 a.m. -- The travel party begins loading buses for the ride to the Vatican.
7:52 a.m. -- The trio of buses start rolling toward the Holy City.
8:04 a.m. -- The Wolverines arrive outside the 100-foot walls that protect the Vatican City.
8:14 a.m. -- A 12-minute walk takes Michigan through different checkpoints to St. Peter's Square.
8:26 a.m. -- Group, family and individual pictures are taken before moving to their final checkpoint.
8:41 a.m. -- U-M goes through metal detectors and enters a secure group seating area for seating no more than 100 yards from the stage.
.@grant_newsome and @SalimMakki_ were soaking up today's experience at the Vatican. #HAILROMA 〽️ pic.twitter.com/cPr2eyhB03
— Michigan Football (@UMichFootball) April 26, 2017
9:26 a.m. -- Pope Francis rides around the fans saluting the well-wishers and making brief stops to kiss a few babies.
9:33 a.m. -- The University of Michigan team is recognized by the Vatican as one of the many groups in attendance at today's General Audience. The contingent yells "Go Blue" when they are announced.
9:45 a.m. -- The General Audience with Pope Francis begins with readings in different languages.
9:54 a.m. -- Pope Francis addresses the crowd and speaks for about 11 minutes to the approximately 30,000 people in attendance.
10:42 a.m. -- The General Audience concludes with the singing of "The Our Father" in Latin.
11:45 a.m. -- The Michigan group walks out of Vatican Square and to the rooftop of the UBE building for lunch overlooking the papal city.
Ann Arbor ➡️ Vatican City.@UMichFootball and @CoachJim4UM visited the Vatican and Pope Francis Wednesday: https://t.co/IJ5QCh2UBK
— Michigan On BTN (@MichiganOnBTN) April 26, 2017
11:51 p.m. -- Jim and Sarah Harbaugh presented Pope Francis with a Michigan football helmet and pair of Jordan shoes.
12:05 p.m. -- A relaxing lunch with great views is enjoyed by all in attendance.
1:20 p.m. -- Players and staff gather outside the building where our rooftop lunch was held and begin heading toward the Vatican Museum for an afternoon tour.
2 p.m. -- Coach Jim Harbaugh participates in a press conference hosted by EWTN.
2:39 p.m. -- A team photo is staged on the Vatican Museum Terrace once the groups clear security and the team breaks into Emperor Groups for tours, with stops in St. Peter's Basilica, the Sistine Chapel and other memorable locations.
3:20 pm -- Harbaugh, his family and the five players leave the Vatican City for a visit to the SOS Children's Village. They visit with children ranging from 2-23 years of age.
3:46 p.m. -- Greeted upon arrival, Harbaugh and group learn about the history of SOS and the Italian village.
4:21 p.m. -- They are given a tour of the SOS facility, including a home that the children live in with their caregiver/surrogate mothers. The women at the village dedicate their lives to building better lives for these children.
4:28 p.m. -- The Michigan group has snacks and deserts while playing with the children inside one of the six homes on the property.
4:58 p.m. -- Coach Harbaugh, his family and the players hand out gifts from the team, including footballs, soccer balls, hats, T-shirts and sweatshirts.
5:21 p.m. -- The players play with the youth on their soccer field, losing a game 3-1. They also toss the football around with some of the youngsters willing to learn the game.
5:28 p.m. -- One more team photo is staged at a fountain in St. Peter's Square and the team loads the buses to head back to the hotel for a change of clothes.
6:14 p.m. -- Now changed into comfortable clothing, the team heads over to Le Officine del Pizzo for a cooking competition with Cordon Bleu Chef Michele Verrillo. They are soon joined by Coach Harbaugh and the travel party that had spent time at the SOS Village.
7:31 p.m. -- Each Emperor Group hands in their homemade pizzas for cooking and grading by Chef Verrillo.
9:09 p.m. -- Chris Evans and Maurice Hurst take the mike at the dinner and begin a little freestyle to slow jazz before Nate Johnson is called up to freestyle.
9:18 p.m. -- The house band comes out and performs a cover of American 1980s and 1990s music for the team for about an hour.
9:49 p.m. -- The restaurant brings out a cake, complete with sparklers, made in the shape of Michigan Stadium for players and staff to enjoy before leaving for the night.
