#MGoEurope Travel Log: Wednesday, Aug. 23
8/23/2017 1:50:00 PM | Women's Basketball, Features
The Michigan women's basketball program is on a week-and-a-half trip to Europe (Aug. 21-31) with stops in Italy and Greece. Follow the Wolverines on social media (#MGoEurope) and with a daily travel log on MGoBlue.com.
Wednesday, Aug. 23
9 a.m. -- The day began with a light breakfast at the hotel after a very much-needed night of sleep for the entire travel party. Refreshed and ready to go, the group divided into three teams for the morning's event: an Amazing Race-style exploration of Rome. The teams were:
Capri - Melanie Moore, Hallie Thome, KeAsja Peace, Hailey Brown, student manager Louis Goldsmith, Cece Arico and Sarah VanMetre
Sorrento - Joy McCorvey, Deja Church, Kayla Robbins, Jillian Dunston, Maria Backman, Emma Arico, Jamie Priess, Emma Golen and student manager Emily Herard
Napoli - Wesley Brooks, Akienreh Johnson, Nicole Munger, Priscilla Smeenge, Samantha Trammel, Danielle Williams and Melissa Pohorence
10:30 a.m. -- The groups were dropped off and given two hours to accumulate as many points as possible.
"We were handed a tablet and allowed to explore everything Rome has to offer," junior Hallie Thome explained. "It was such a fun adventure that got pretty competitive, as per usual with our team. My team, Capri, ended up winning. It came down to the wire though. At the end, in the last 30 minutes, we were in last place. We were able to challenge the other teams through the tablets with trivia. We risked all 1,000 of our points because it didn't really matter if we lost them because we were still going to be in last place. We figured we might as well take the chance and it worked!"
"At the end, we had to meet at the Piazza Novano and that was when it got really competitive," Thome said. "Only one group could get the last 1,000 points so we were all sprinting around trying to find the final clue. It was a lot of fun."
1 p.m. -- Everyone broke up for lunch, once again exploring all Rome has to offer on the culinary side. Thome had a diablo pizza, featuring spicy salami. There are so many cafes and places to eat down every street in Rome. Â
2 p.m. -- The group headed to the Vatican to see everything there after a quick change on the bus. The Vatican requires a proper dress code, so everyone must have their shoulders covered and pants that reach the knee.
2:30-5:30 p.m. -- After getting our tickets and ear pieces to hear our guide, Ava, the group set out to see the museum. First up were statues, followed by tapestries and then maps of Italy.
"I think it is so cool how everything, even though it was made eons ago, is still so clean and fresh," senior Maria Backman said. "I was talking to Hallie how the portraits in there looked exactly like the people they are supposed to. Today, we never think portraits look like the people they are supposed to but they knew how to do it back then!"
The Sistine Chapel was the final stop before St. Peter's Basilica, where everyone had to be silent and refrain from taking photos.
In the Basilica, our guide explained how many people used to pilgrimage to it when it was first opened. It was a dangerous trip for them, but they had never seen anything like it before.
"It is so stunning how much history is in there. For my favorite place, it is a tossup between the Sistine Chapel and the Basilica. The Sistine Chapel is amazing because you look up at it and realize that just one person made all of it! It is jaw dropping to me. The Basilica is cool because how much history it has in it. The amount of effort, attention and craftsmanship that went into building a place like that is just ridiculous to think of."
After some photos outside, it was time to get our Vatican souvenirs. The store we visited gave us the option to leave our stuff with them and it would be sent to our hotel tomorrow after being blessed by the Vatican.
"I think we are all getting better with it," Backman said about being in Rome. "I am still a little jetlagged and know that I am going to crash pretty hard later. But I am just loving this experience. It makes me want to travel more."
"It has been a really cool experience so far," Thome said. "We have taken a ton of photos and I am still loving all of Rome!"
Next up, we are headed to dinner and to rest up before our first of three games tomorrow!
