#MGoEurope Travel Log: Friday, Aug. 25
8/25/2017 2:16:00 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.
Friday, Aug. 25
7:45 a.m. -- An earlier morning awaited the group as it was time to leave Rome. Breakfast was early and the bus was loaded around 8:15 a.m. We set out for Pompeii via bus, with the majority of everyone choosing to catch up on some sleep. The ride took about three hours with a rest stop in the middle.
Noon -- The bus climbed up Mount Vesuvius on winding roads that would have been hard to drive a car on. We are lucky that our bus driver, Pasquale, is so skilled at maneuvering the bus! The group was prepped on what was to come at our lunch halfway up the volcano -- antipasto, pasta, pizza and dessert -- but no one was quite ready for the amount of food that followed.
"My lunch was unbelievable," assistant coach Melanie Moore said. "The ravioli by far was the best I have ever had in my entire life. The pizza was so good!"
"That was the best ravioli I have ever had," junior Nicole Munger said. "That was probably the best pizza I have ever had too. Fortuna (our tour guide) told us it was going to be really good and she didn't let us down."
"Lunch was pretty good," freshman Deja Church said. "The thing I was shocked by was the view. The way up there, I was really scared because that was a tight road with a lot of turns and we were in that big bus. That was the best pizza I have had on this trip and the pasta was really good, too."
2 p.m. -- The group got back on the bus and headed down the ancient city of Pompeii. We divided up into two groups and set out to explore the ruins with our tour guides. We walked around the ruins for 90 minutes and only got to see about a sixth of the actual city of Pompeii. Everything was so perfectly preserved from two volcanic blasts and everyone was in awe of what they were actually seeing.
Munger had been looking forward to Pompeii ever since she saw the itinerary. Did it live up to what she expected?
"It definitely did," Munger said. "It was really, really neat. Seeing Mount Vesuvius in the background, where we went for lunch, was really incredible. I was talking to the tour guide and he was saying how the volcano used to be two or three times the size it is now before it erupted. That was pretty crazy to hear. I also couldn't believe when he told us that it is still active and that there are four volcanos around it. It is eerie to think that something like that could happen again."
"It was breathtaking," Moore said. "Seeing an entire city and how it was destroyed by lava was mind-boggling. We saw everything how it was and it was just amazing to see. I tried to picture myself back there when we were walking around. Hearing about the gladiators, their training, where people lived, the red light district was all so interesting."
"Pompeii was really interesting," Church explained. "Before coming here, I didn't really know much about it. I knew about the volcano eruption but coming here, I definitely learned so much more about it. Our tour guide was really funny. For the most part, I was really shocked. I was trying to imagine myself in their time. When we saw the skeletons of the bodies, that really got to me.
With the weekend approaching and a slower next few days, Moore, Munger and Church took a chance to reflect on the trip so far.
"This trip has been a great experience so far," Moore said. "For these young ladies to be able to take that orange ball and use it to discover the world just because they play basketball is incredible. To see their faces as they continue to explore is awesome."
"I am having a lot of fun," Munger said. "It has been so different than what we are used to. Seeing and exploring Rome was amazing. I am really looking forward to our weekend in Sorrento and eventually getting to Greece. Overall, this trip has just been incredible."
"My trip has been crazy," Church said. "I still don't think it has hit me yet, what we are seeing and doing. I am just trying to soak everything in because it feels like it is going so fast. I am just so thankful for this opportunity and to be here. Part of me can't wait to get back though, just so I can share everything with my family."
Saturday is a free day for the group in Sorrento, with shopping, swimming and sunbathing on the agenda for the majority of the Wolverines!
