University of Mary Washington – Italy Field Hockey Blog
May 17, 2012
University of Mary Washington Blog:
Day 1 – Rome – Blog by: Mallory Peebles and Sarah Rankin
We arrived in Rome at 2:30 and met with Chad, our AIST tour manager, and Giancarlo, our Italian guide, they will be travelling with us on our trip throughout Italy. We immediately freshened up, exchanged currency, and headed to the city of Rome. The first place we went was the Piazza Navona, where we met our Rome tour guide, Fabio. He then walked us past the House of Senate and we headed toward the Pantheon. The Pantheon is a dome building built by Emperor Adrian. The center of the ceiling has a huge hole, which lets sunlight and rain into the Pantheon, the rainwater is drained through vats in the floor. After the Pantheon we headed to the Trevi Fountain. Everyone throws a coin into the fountain while making a wish, but obviously our wishes have already come true since we’re in Italy. Our last stop is the Coliseum, the arena was absolutely huge and we took many group pictures here. Finally, we head back to dinner at the hotel, with a delicious desert of gelato. We all crashed as soon as we laid down in bed, relieved to sleep but excited to see the Vatican in the morning.
Day 2 – Rome – Blog by: Mallory Peebles and Sarah Rankin
Today we woke up and had breakfast at the hotel, and then dressed for the Vatican. The Vatican requests that everyone dress in clothes which cover knees and shoulders. As we drove into the city everyone enjoyed seeing the sights, because we slept on the bus yesterday. We meet with Fabio again in front of Vatican City, which is the smallest country in the world. Fabio had already gotten our tickets so we didn’t have to wait in any of the very long lines. The Sistine Chapel, the Vatican museum, and St. Peter’s Basilica are all located inside of Vatican City. We began our tour in the museum which is overwhelming with so many paintings and sculptures, Fabio explained the history and importance of all the art as we walked through. From the museum we made our way to the Sistine Chapel, fortunately Fabio had explained the history of the Sistine Chapel before we entered, because the guards are very particular about too much noise and camera flashes. Every few minutes the guards enter the chapel and shushed the crowds when they become too loud. The chapel was absolutely beautiful, and it amazed us that everything was built and painted completely by hand. Our last stop In the Vatican was St. Peters Basilica. In the Basilica we had 20 minutes to walk about and see all of the dome ceilings, statues, and artwork. Afterwards, we had a couple hours of free time around Rome before we would meet up at the bus. We walked all around Rome and saw the Spanish Steps, the Capitol, ate Italian pizza and went shopping. Now we are heading to Tuscany, a welcome 3 hour ride that allows us to rest our feet after so much walking and touring.
England / Ireland Last Day
July 29, 2011
The first half of the day we were free to roam the city of Dublin and get some last minute shopping in. We all met at the hostel and rode the bus to endless mountains and farm lands. It was called Glendalough and was the most amazing beautiful place I have ever been too. It was exactly what we all wanted to see and was exactly what we all pictured when we thought, Dublin. We then ate alongside the ocean and all agreed it was the best meal we had thus far. After lunch/dinner we went to the game vs. Ireland. They were a developmental team and had improved greatly from the years before. After we chatted and traded shirts with them. They invited us out tonight so we are going to meet them their! Great last day and the best trip I have ever been on!
Ali Green
East Stroudsburg University
England / Ireland Lacrosse
July 28, 2011
Today was our first full day in Dublin, Ireland! We started off with a typical irish breakfast at O’Shea’s. After breakfast we started our tour around the city centre. First stop was Trinity College where we got to see the Book of Kells. We then got back on our bus and had an hour+ guided tour by the wonderful Mr. Vinny Butler. Our last stop was a tour of the Guinness Factory. The bus dropped us all off at our hostel. We showered, regained our energy and headed back out into the city to Temple Bar for dinner at Thunder Road Cafe. The live music, good food/drinks, and the girls made this second to last night really fun and a time I’ll never forget. GAME TIME TOMORROW!
England / Ireland Lacrosse Update
July 28, 2011
Tuesday the group had a day off and we went to Liverpool which was about an hour away from where we were staying. The shopping and scenery were great to see over there. Later that night we had team dinner at a restaurant in Manchester, Tiger Tiger, and enjoyed a great meal. We then went onto an outdoor pub with everyone, which was a great ending to our time in Manchester. Wednesday we left Manchester and were on our way to Dublin. From a two and a half hour bus ride to a three hour ferry ride, it was a long day of traveling, but definitely well worth it. Once we arrived in Dublin we got to our hostel, went out for a team dinner next door and then went to pub to listen to some Irish music and watch Irish dancing, which one of our teammates took a part in for part of it. This was a great start to our time in Dublin. After the pub a few of us went to a club and had a fun time dancing and meeting new people.
Kelsey Reilly, Stonehill College
Prague Cup Lax – Daily Blog
July 5, 2011
Day 1:
The plane has landed in Munich, we’ve gotten our luggage, and it was time for the fun to begin. Our first stop was Dachau concentration camp. Between 1933 and 1945 200,000 people were interned there, over 40,000 died. We toured the grounds and saw where the prisoners lived, worked, and were tortured. It was a chilly, misty, day so you really got the eerie feeling of what we were seeing. We went into the gas chambers, the crematorium, and the museum/memorial they now have.
Straight from Dachau we went over to Olympiapark where the 1972 Olympics were held. The park is huge and the buildings are quite impressive. From the top of the Olypmic tower you could get a real sense of where the Olympic games were played. On our way back to the bus, we stopped at the beer garden that was next to the beautiful stadium. From the stadium, we got back on to the bus and headed to Hotel.
Hotel Novotel was wonderful and it was only a block away from the tram that takes you into the middle of the town.
Lauren Fillipone – Bryant University and Kylie Gregory from Iona College
