Italy Tour - A Senior's Perspective

After returning from Italy, one of our rising seniors, John Boxberger '13, was asked to share his thoughts about the trip. Now that the dust has settled, here is Box's recap on the Tigers' tour:

It was not until I pulled up to my house at 11 pm on Wednesday that I began to fully appreciate the amazing, whirlwind of a trip that I experienced over the last ten days in Italy. While in this seemingly magical country, I was too busy digesting the moment to fully realize what was taking place. Whether it was gazing at the façade of San Michele in Lucca, walking through the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, or standing in one of the greatest architectural accomplishments of mankind (The Coliseum), each one of our destinations contained bits of Italian culture/history that are old enough to make America seem like an adolescent child. So much was thrown at us over the course of the trip that I had a tendency to forget that we had basketball games to play. Words cannot begin to fully describe the trip, but I will do my best.

Our first stop was the quaint, Tuscan town in northwest Italy named Lucca. Honestly, while Lucca might not immediately pop into an average tourist’s mind, it really should. Once we entered the massive wall that surrounded the town, it was as if we simply walked into a postcard. Everything in the town was pristine, beautiful and historic. It truly seemed like life moved a slower pace in this town. We even spotted a group of paramedics taking a mid day gelato break, which I quickly joined in on. If I could pick any place in the world to retire and spend my twilight years at, Lucca would definitely make the top 5. It was a great way to start the trip and get us acclimated
to the Italian way of life.

Our second destination, Florence was the city that I looked forward to most. Everywhere you turned in this amazing city, the sites became more beautiful. One of the first times in my life I can legitimately say that I was speechless was when I was standing in front of the massive Cathedral in the town center. It is truly amazing that humans were able to create these majestic buildings without any sort of modern technology. Oh yeah, we also saw this statue of David by Michelangelo… that wasn’t too bad. A guest appearance from recent alumnus, Sam Dworkin, made our stop in Florence all the more enjoyable.

Fittingly, our final stop was Rome. It is impossible to fully do Rome in only 3 days, but we did our best. The ample free time that we enjoyed in Florence and Lucca was replaced which constant tours in order to completely take in all that Rome had to offer. While we might have gotten slightly exhausted from being led around like cattle, it was definitely worth it to see the Coliseum, Roman Forum and the Vatican. After an amazing tour of the Coliseum, we came to an agreement that the trinket vendors would be smart to sell bootleg copies of the movie “Gladiator,” because that is all we could think about! After playing our final game against Roma’s u19 team, we enjoyed one last meal in Rome. The meal truly wrapped up the trip as a whole. Although we had spent the past 11 days in close quarters, the entire team could not stop laughing and carrying on about our amazing experience. It is refreshing to know that entering my senior year at Trinity, our team chemistry is better than I have ever seen it. No doubt that this trip helped us bond on a level beyond basketball. I already cannot wait to start working on another conference championship next year.

Italy Tour - Day 10

Wednesday, May 23

7:30 am, Rome - We wake up and eat our last Italian breakfast, then check out of our hotel and load up the bus. We get to the airport and unload the bus. After we take our final group picture with Rebecca, Marta, and Massimo, we realize that we are at the wrong terminal. We load up the bus AGAIN and drive to the other side of the airport. It is a long wait to finally get through check in lines, but we finally make it and are on our way back to the Unites States! It is hard to describe how amazing this trip was. This experience will stay with everyone for the rest of their lives. Hopefully the chemistry and relationships built on this tour will be carried into next year for another great season of Trinity Basketball!

Italy Tour - Day 9

Tuesday, May 22

7:15 am, Vatican City - We slam our breakfast quickly and load up the bus nice and early today, heading to another country - well, kind of...the Vatican City. Governed as it's own city-state, the Vatican City is home of the Catholic Church and the Pope, bursting with priceless history. We meet back up with Jac at the walls of the Vatican, again passing so many people waiting in line to enter. We're starting to feel guilty about never having to wait.

Similar to yesterday, once we get into the Vatican City, the rain clouds start to roll in. The rain here is funny - it pours for 10 minutes, then is sunny, then drizzles for an hour, then is perfect outside. Jac is giving us a thorough tour of the entrance courtyard when the rain starts to come down in sheets and we hustle inside the museum, upon Coach Cunningham's instruction (if it were up to Jac, we would probably still be outside learning about every small picture soaking wet).

As we enter the museum, our guys find plenty of statues to impersonate. The god of athletics is one of the favorite.
Not quite sure this is how most tourists act in the walls of the Vatican.

The halls are so impressive, with not only the walls being decorated with ancient artifacts like maps and statues, but the ceilings are almost even more detailed with paintings.

We make our way to the Sistine Chapel, which because it is considered a holy place, does not allow photographs. A few more "NO PHOTO, NO VIDEO" commands ring out as we stand in the chapel, in awe of quite possibly the most amazing paintings in the world. It almost doesn't feel real being there. Another place for people to put on their bucket list!

11:30 am, Vatican City - We exit the musem to enter St. Peter's Basilica. For most, this is the most amazing sight we have seen. Jac explains that it took 100 years to construct the church and you can definitely see why - each column, archway, inch of wall or ceiling is so detailed with paintings, designs, and statues. Nothing compares.

One of the more impressive aspects to the church is the golden Altar of the Chair of Peter. A massive altar in the middle of an already enormous church.

We make our way outside to see where the Pope gives his outdoor sermon to the people every week. Unfortunately, due to the rain, we are not able to see this live.

2:00 pm, Rome - After leaving Vatican City, we proceed to our last lunch in Italy, a place called Spaghetteria L'Archetto Pizzeria. It is an exhausting hike in the rain to the restaurant, but once we are there, it is totally worth it. 100% fantastic meals in Italy!

6:30 pm, Rome - Our final international game is tonight against the Under-19 Veritas Basketball Club in Rome. They are preparing to play in the Italian U19 National Championship game next week, so it is good for them to get some tough competition from us. For all of the missed shots and dead legs we had in the prior two games, our guys are the complete opposite tonight. Shots are falling, guys are crashing the boards and taking care of the basketball. It was a close game through the first quarter, but eventually we ran away with the game, winning 72-44. A nice way to finish the trip and end on a high note. All three teams we played this week were extraordinary hosts and great competition. We couldn't thank each group enough for the experience.

9:30 pm, Rome - After the game, the opposing coaches gave us a great local place to eat called La Rosa Rossa. There is a nice back area that can accomodate our entire group and we share our last Italian dinner as a group. Our seniors got up and gave a heart-felt toast that topped off an amazing evening and trip. We really do have the most special group of student-athletes any program could ask for. In fact, on the bus ride back to the hotel tonight, we had the privilege of hearing a couple of our players sing some Nat King Cole and Fiddler on the Roof over the bus' PA system. So talented!

Italy Tour - Day 8

Monday, May 21

7:45 am, Rome - Well, it was bound to happen...it's raining today. After getting up and eating breakfast (which is similar to the Florence "american breakfast"), we load up the bus and our umbrellas to head to today's tour of Rome. Once we get to our drop-off point, like in Pisa, we are surrounded by street vendors, this time brilliantly selling umbrellas and ponchos (they had to have made a fortune off of all the tourists today!). Several of us in the group go ahead and buy a few, as the rain has picked up a little.

Our first destination of the day is the Roman Colosseum. Here we met our Rome tour guide, Jac, who might be the most knowledgeable tour guide in all of Italy, but would occasionally get a bit long-winded on the smallest detail. Similar to the Accademia Gallery in Florence, we are allowed to pass up the extremely long line to get into the base of the Colosseum. WOW! This structure is enormous, and according to Jac, only took 10 years to construct. We wander to one of the top levels, while Jac continues to fill our heads with interesting history. It's amazing to think that something like this could be built so long ago, with so much attention being placed on the tiniest of detail. Lots of "thumbs down" (which apparently wasn't the signal for death like we learned in the "The Gladiator") came from our players - I wouldn't want to have fought in the arena if these guys were emporers!

As we are leaving the Colosseum, the rain lets up and the sun starts to shine again! This is fantastic because apparently the bus can't navigate the city center streets of Rome, so we will be walking to our next destination.

The second destination for our morning tour is the Forum. These ancient ruins are more of what should be expected of thousand years old buildings. Many of the buildings are now covered by land, but there are several structures that are still standing after all these years. It's impressive that Jac can know so much about even the smallest rock here.

Our players took a particular interest in some of the ancient columns. We're lucky there were no injuries.

As we are leaving the Forum, we run into Trinity Women's Basketball player Kelsey Daniel, who is on vacation with her family. You never know where you will see fellow Trinity people - the TU bubble spans the globe!

1:30 pm, Rome - After leaving the Forum, we walk around for a bit longer, looking for a good place to take 30+ people for lunch. Luckily, we come across a Pizzeria called Dora. The guys look exhausted. Some actually start falling asleep while waiting for their meals. Once the food started coming out though, they were wide awake...go figure!

We finish up another delicious Italian feast. Sadly, this is where we have to part ways with Sam. He needs to catch the metro to the airport so he can get back to work (if that's what you call it) the next day in Spain. It's amazing how cheap it is to fly around Europe - apparently it cost him less than 20 euro each flight!

3:00 pm, Rome - We continue our walking tour of Rome, this time on the way back to the bus. First we make a quick stop by the Trevi Fountain, which is the largest fountain in Rome (the city with 1000 fountains) and quite possibly one of the most famous fountains in the world. This piazza was PACKED. It took us a while just to regroup and find everyone to leave here.

The next stop on our trek back to the bus is the Scalinata della Tinita dei Monti, or as we all know it, the Spanish Steps. This is the widest staircase in Europe and the tourists/locals use them to the fullest. Each side of the staircase is at least cleared so that our guys can walk to the top and back down.

8:30 pm, Rome - Because we added a third game for this trip, we are having our "farewell dinner" tonight, rather than tomorrow night. We head back to the area we were last night and go to a restaurant called Capo de Fero. Like most of the restaurants we go to, we take over nearly the entire seating area and are definitely not the quietest dining guests.

Italy Tour - Day 7

Sunday, May 20

10:00 am, Siena – We packed up for the second time and left Florence after breakfast, this time stopping for a day-trip in Siena. This is one of the more unique cities we’ve ever been to. Located, what feels like, on top of a small mountain, the streets of Siena tend to stretch more vertical than horizontal. Trying to maneuver through the streets is similar to winding through a maze, with little help at times from the maps we were provided (just ask Coach Cunningham, who may or may not have lead his group the wrong direction a couple of times). The narrow, stone streets give Siena a unique authentic feel.

1:00 pm, Bettolle – Between Siena and Rome, we stop for lunch at a small restaurant named Enoteca Opera in a cool small hillside town, Bettolle.

5:00 pm, Rome – We arrive in Rome! After checking into our hotel, Eurostars Aeterna, Massimo drops us off at Piazza Trilussa for us to tour around the south end of Rome. It is much more crowded than the previous cities we toured, but not as hard to navigate around as Siena was. Every street we go down has interesting shops and small cafe/restaurants. The players are starving by now, so we find a cool little (standing room only) pizzaria-to-go called Da Li Cochi a Trastevere. It is interesting in Italy, pizzas by the slice (which is what our players got tonight) are usually thick, like what we are used to in America, but if you are at a restaurant and order a pizza, they are whole personal pizzas and thin crusted. The guys got plenty to eat and wandered around the streets of Rome, while the parents/coaches found a nice sit-down restaurant to pass the time.