August 16, 2007

Childers Chronicles Part TwoOne: Travelling with Women's Soccer In Italy

As the Bryant Women's Soccer team travels throughout Italy, senior tri-captain Lauren Childers (Franklin, Mass.) is chronicling the team's journey as they sight-see and take on Italian clubs in friendly matches. The team will open its 2007 season Sunday August 26 against Adelphi at Bulldog Stadium.

Day 5 – Tuesday August 14th
This morning we were up early for breakfast and to check out of the hotel. Afterwards we got on the bus and headed to Lake Garda. We stopped at Verona, which is the location of Romeo and Juliet. We saw several historical sights including Juliet’s house, the Roman Theatre, and the Verona Arena. It was a very hot day and we were all very tired. After Verona we continued toward our next hotel. The next hotel was a lot different than the first. It was very big and had a huge pool with a huge bar. It was very tempting, but before we could swim we got back on the bus once again and drove to practice. Practice was short and we got back in time for dinner and went straight to the pool. We soon found out that the Johns Hopkins men’s soccer team was staying in our hotel. We swam in the pool and hung out for a little while at night before getting some rest for another busy day.

Day 6 – Wednesday August 15th
We knew today would be a long day and it certainly was. We went to Venice and it was extremely hot. It was an Italian holiday so everyone in Italy had the day off, and it seemed like everyone decided to go to Venice. We took a boat ride over to San Marco’s Square where we had time to walk around and look at the shops and the sights before we had a guided tour of the monuments and the cathedral. Some of us were lucky enough to get on a gondola ride around the canals of the city. They were pretty expensive but turned out to be a good price with 6 people. The sights were unbelievable and definitely worth the trip despite the heat. Afterwards we were tired again from walking around and shopping and we got on the bus to the hotel. The hotel that we were at conveniently had a field in the back and we were able to practice on that for a little while (even though it was surrounded by horses and an electric fence). After practice we went to dinner, used the pool again, and hung out with some of the Johns Hopkins players. We eventually had to get some rest though because we knew we had a special day ahead of us.

Day 7 – Thursday August 16th
This morning we were up early once again and checked out of the nice hotel. We got all of our things on the bus and headed to Tuscany where we stopped at a vineyard for a tour and wine tasting, complete with a four course lunch, on our way to our next hotel in Montecatini Terme. The vineyard was called Castello di Verranzzano and was in the heart of the Chianti Classico wine production area. It is home to the Verranzzano family, and we were lucky enough to be guided by Gino, who was very sweet, interesting, and funny, and who also had the ability to remember each of our names (there were 45 of us)! We got a complete tour of the castle and saw where the wine was made and stored. We then were treated to a great meal; each course accompanied by an appropriate type of wine. The food was delicious and we learned a lot about how the wine is made, how to choose it, and how to drink it properly. Many of us purchased bottles of wine for our families. It was a much needed break from shopping and walking that we had being doing a lot of in the past couple of days. The bus ride home was a blast as we got to listen to some U2 and even some karaoke from Coach. We got back with some time to check into the hotel and for some spare time before dinner and then we all went to bed early for a change.

Day 8 – Friday August 17th
We got up early to go see the Leaning Tower of Pisa and to spend some time at the beach. The Tower was much smaller than a lot of us had imagined, but it was still really cool. We spent some time taking pictures of us holding it up and pushing it over. We were not there for long but had some time to shop around and look at the other monuments in the area. It was 15 Euros to go up to the top of the tower, so a lot of us passed on the opportunity since it is late in the trip and our money supply is getting short, but for those who went up, it was a great experience. Coach went up and said that they had to hold on to the railings when they went toward the leaning side because you really felt like you would be the one to tip it over. After Pisa, we got on the bus to Viareggio to spend some time at the beach. We got there and found out that most of the beaches were private and you had to pay. Some of us found out the hard way as we got scolded for being on a private beach. They directed us to the public beach and it turned out to be a strip of the beach right by the rocks no more than 30 yards wide and about 100 yards long. We also learned the hard way that you need to pay to sit on a chair under the umbrellas. Needless to say the Italian beach experience was much different that any in the United States. We did get to swim in the ocean though, so now we can say we have been in the Liguria Sea.

After the beach we went to our final game. The game was against Sarzana, a local Italian team. The game was early this time so the sun was very hot especially on the turf field. We ended up winning by a score of about 12-0 and the game only lasted 70 minutes compared to our usual 90 minutes. By the end of the game, some players from the other team were playing without cleats on and just their socks (we have no idea why). After some fitness we were back on the bus and got back in plenty of time for dinner. We had another delicious dinner and then enjoyed a night out on the town in Montecatini.