#MGoEurope Travel Log: Saturday, Aug. 26
8/26/2017 12:31:00 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
7:30 p.m. -- After arriving in Sorrento after a 45-minute bus ride from Pompeii, the group quickly checked in and cleaned up before heading down into town for dinner. The hotel is on a cliff overlooking the ocean so we have to walk down a hill into town. It has one of the most amazing views ever. You have the mountains to the right, the ocean right in front of you and the remainder of the cliff to the left.
We met in the lobby as a group and headed out for another amazing dinner - antipasto, gnocchi, seafood pasta, fish and dessert were just a few of things on the menu last night.
After dinner, small groups explored the city and got some shopping in before heading back to the hotel.
Saturday, Aug. 26
The day everyone had been waiting for ... a day with no travel and plenty of fun in the sun! After an amazing breakfast, the group headed back into town to a bank of outdoor elevators. It just so happened that one of the most amazing views in the whole peninsula was right where we ended up. Sorrento sits up on a cliffside so you have to get down somehow.
To reach the beach, you have to take an elevator down from the cliff to the very bottom ... after some sunscreen application. The "beach" in Sorrento is not a normal beach that we think of like white sand and seashells. It is lined with large rocks and has large rocks throughout the water. The water was crystal clear, allowing you to see all the way to the bottom…even when you were at the top of the cliff!
"My Saturday was great," sophomore Akienreh Johnson said. "I really enjoyed going to the sea. It's not like we just went to the pool or the beach and just sat; it was really the sea. I was really proud of all the girls for getting in and getting their hair wet. Everyone got in and swam. As we all know, Jillian (Dunston) is an excellent swimmer. It was something that you can't experience every day."
The good times just keep coming on our #MGoEurope trip! #goblue pic.twitter.com/FklsV0GNjH
— Michigan Basketball (@umichwbball) August 26, 2017
"My beach day was a lot of fun," freshman Priscilla Smeenge. "It was so cool to see the Mediterranean and then we got to swim in it. I really enjoyed bonding with my teammates and getting to see them in a different atmosphere. I had such a good time."
After about two hours down at the beach, small groups started to head back up to the hotel to hit the pool. Some people stopped for lunch on the way and others ate at the pool. Everyone got in the pool - and even got their hair wet! Â
As for pool or ocean, both Smeenge and Johnson agreed that the ocean won out.
"The ocean because you can't really see that type of scenery anywhere else," Smeenge said. "This whole trip has just been a once in a lifetime experience and I am so grateful to have this opportunity. It has been great getting to know both the coaches and my teammates better."
"Ocean," Johnson answered immediately. "You can go to a pool any day. Sure, the pool might be a little different but you can't swim in the Mediterranean every day."
Next up this evening is dinner and shopping in small groups around the city.
Tomorrow, we head to Athens on a morning flight!
