University of Minnesota Athletics
Ciao From Lake Como, Italy!
8/26/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Hello from Lake Como. Lake Como is the final destination on the Gophers’ four-city excursion through Italy.
During the Gophers’ trip, Becky Bohm, the associate director of athletic communications, will post reports on the Gophers’ first summer international tour in the program’s history. We will have the coaches and player contribute their thoughts, stories and experiences throughout the week. Blogs from Ashley Ellis-Milan, Tanisha Smith and assistant coach Marisa Moseley will be included at the end of this report.
A few things one has to learn when traveling with a group on a tour such as this is to be flexible and just to go with the flow. The itinerary changed quite a bit the last two days, or since we departed Florence.
We checked out of our beautiful Florence hotel and boarded a charter bus for a four-hour drive to Padua. I have to say that everyone’s bags bulged a bit more after all the shopping that was done in Florence. I’m not going to give anything anyway but some of the family members of the team and staff who have been reading these blogs are going to get some awesome souvenirs!
Once again those who stayed awake were treated to some wonderful mountainous scenery as we headed northeast out of Florence. It seemed like each tunnel, taking us through a mountain, was followed by a bridge offering a spectacular view. I have to admit that try as I might I took a 20-minute snooze and awoke to a drastic scenery change. It was totally flat. We hadn’t lost altitude. Instead it was the high plains.
We made a quick stop to pick up some lunch or snacks. It was at this rest stop that Sara, our Italian tour guide, warned us that it is customary to tip the bathroom attendant 0.20 euros when you are finished. Well, we lucked out and no one was in there. We’d have a more expensive toilet break later on though.
I mentioned the confusion at a rest stop in a previous blog, well, I think we are now travel savvy in this particular situation. We all were able to spend a few minutes wandering around and noticing some interesting things. I paged through a Harry Potter novel in Italian, and saw one of those M&M dispensers with a soccer theme (I’m sure somewhere they have them in the U.S. but all I’ve seen is basketball, football and baseball ones). As we head north, we are also seeing more and more selections of different chocolates to purchase. Back on the bus, a lot of snacks were shared. Oh the European chocolate is good stuff let me tell you. Ted Riverso bought a baguette of bread (very Italian, Ted!) and was tearing off pieces to share. Our other Italian on the tour Joel Maturi, well, he bought a tube of Pringles potato chips. Not very Italian, Joel. Anyway, he shared those too and the players noted that they were less salty than those in the States.
As we got back on the road it wasn’t long before we saw some interesting cone-shaped mountains in the distance. Sara explained that these mountains were shaped by volcanic activity, a detail we would hear again later when we reached our next destination a winery tour of the CaLustra Winery outside of Padua.
Franco, the owner of the winery, taught us some of the basics of the winemaking process and then took us through the wine cellars. I asked Franco how long the winery had been in his family and his reply was just over 40 years. His father had bought the land and produced wine only for the family. When Franco took over, it was he who started the business. As Franco put it bluntly even as he struggled with his limited knowledge of the English language, “the history here is not in the winery, it is in the vines.” Well stated.
Franco also told us that since the soil was formed by volcanic ash and with the lack of pollution in the area, the grapes are grown without any pesticides or chemical, thus organic. The winery tour was interesting, but what I’ll take away from it was the location high on one of those mountains. What a view to admire every day. It was so quiet and peaceful as well. A rooster was crowing from a nearby barn, a sound perhaps only I picked up on. There was plenty of laughter and photo opps. One of the photos in the gallery is Ted with Franco and one can certain tell that those were two Italian gentlemen in that picture.
We all learned that our way of dipping bread into olive oil was not the correct way in Italy. Sara taught us the Italian way to do this. The bread is set down and the oil is sprinkled on the bread. No dipping. This was new to all of us. The olive oil, of which I have a bottle packed for home, is so much more flavorful than what we get at home. As for the salami and cheese, well, let’s just say that each of those treats have their fans as well, and there were no leftovers at the snack table.
We returned to the bus to travel back down the mountainside road, not a good one for those who tended to get motion sickness. Those to suffer the most from it especially Emmy Fox could be found in the front seats of the bus looking straight ahead. Those of us lucky enough to not be affected were awed by the view outside our window.
We finished our traveling for the day in Padua (also Padova), which is about an hour from Venice and one of the top university cites in Italy. Galileo taught here in fact.
Anyway, we checked into our hotel and had the evening free to explore the town. A lot of the players used the evening to catch up on some sleep while others ventured out a bit. Moira Novak, her son Ian and Abby Kalland took to the streets with map in hand (luckily) to find a few of the historic locales of the city. We found the Duumo and then the Basilica di Saint Antonio.
OK, since we didn’t have too much time in St. Peter’s in Rome, this may be one of my most unexpected and treasured memories of the trip. I’m not Catholic, but with the tutoring of Moira, I learned little interesting details on this little excursion. First allow me to set the mood. We entered the basilica and discovered that mass was being held enter the beautiful sound of a pipe organ playing, then the priest first singing and then speaking in Italian, followed by the congregation joining in. The nave of the basilia was beautiful fresco and fresco. The basilia housed the tomb of St. Antonio, the saint who believers pray to return the lost. I was moved to see by the tomb a bulletin board filled with photos and letters of people from around the world who had visited this tomb and had posted their lost loved ones on this board. It reminded me of the photos we saw of people searching for family members after 9/11.
We also had an interesting experience at dinner that evening. Pretty much everything is closed on Sundays here to finding a ristorante for dinner wasn’t easy. We finally found a place and sat down only to find that we were in a very authentic locale. The menu was completely in Italian, our waitress spoke absolutely no English and there really wasn’t anyone there who did. We stumbled our way through and enjoyed a nice meal. I’m so glad this happened to us after we had been in Italy for almost a week and have at least a little of the language down.
That evening we received word of a change in plans for the following day. We were going to tour Venice and then play a game in Venice that evening. The game, however, was cancelled due to various logistical reasons and the new game plan was formed for the day.
We checked out of our hotel in Padua and headed to Venice, where we now had some extra time in the city. We drive about an hour to the harbor to catch a water taxi to Venice. The bus had to once again stop and pay a tax about 270-300 euros I was told to enter the area.
We split into two water taxis for the tour into Venice and most of us enjoyed the beautiful warm sunshine, the blue/green of the water and the waves. Emmy (you remember the motion sickness?), well this wasn’t her favorite.
It was amazing to see the same rules of the “road” so to speak apply to the waters of the lagoon and canals as well. Drive on the right side of canal. No wake zone here though. And, don’t cut other boats off. One of our water taxi drivers was verbally attacked when we docked being accused of just that. We asked Sara to translate the argument though I can tell you that some words (and not good ones I might add) are not in need of translation. Italians talk with their hands for sure. Well, those hands fly when upset.
We started our tour of Venice at the famous Murano glass factory. We saw a glass blowing demonstration, which some of the players described as one of the most interesting of the whole trip thus far. We could only take photos of the demonstration which is why you’ll see none of these very exquisite, not to mention expensive, pieces in our photo gallery. They showed us six vases, all of different colors depending on what material is added to the sand. Red is the most time consuming in the process, thus the most expensive. The cost of these six vases together were about 1,000 euros. We watched our step going through their gallery that’s for sure, since there were plenty of gorgeous glass pieces worth plenty more.
Our next stop was a gondola ride. Our group of 18 was split into three gondolas. The coaching staff took one and the players and the rest of us split into the other two. Those gondolas are quite wobbly, one shift of weight and it feels like the whole ship is going to tip. Anyway, the trip was a blast. You’ve heard the tradition of kissing as your gondola passes under a bridge, right? Well, 3 year-old Ian Novak thought this was the coolest thing. A very cute photo is included in the photo gallery of Ian smooching his favorite player Emmy during the trip. One very disappointing thing to say about the gondola ride, though, the gondoliers were rather rude and didn’t sing for us. Our gondolier didn’t speak any English so we could even ask any questions. You’ve probably seen the poles in Venice that kind of remind you of a barber shop pole? Well, if anyone knows the significance of the different colors, email me.
After this we had about three hours of free time before meeting back to take the water taxi back to the mainlaind. The streets of Venice are filled with shops and the city is crowded. There were a lot of stores selling blown glass artwork and more with items we had the chance to purchase in Florence (leather, shoes, scarves, etc.).
Some of us had intended to tour the inside of Basilia di San Marco in Venice, known for its amazing displays of mosaics of gold. Now, we have all be vigilant in reading our various tour books about all the sights to see and their history. Well, we all screwed up on this one. We didn’t check how long the basilica was open. When we arrived at a few minutes after 5 p.m., we got the totally disappointing news that the basilica closed at 5. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Well, the only way to look at it now is that we all have a reason to return to Venice someday.
We took the water taxi through the lagoon to the main docking area to return to the bus. It was here that we got to experience paying to use the toilets. One euro. Chalk that one up to experience. We won’t look at making a quick pit stop at a fast food place in the U.S. the same ever again.
Since the game that evening was cancelled, we drove to Lake Como instead. It is there that the Gophers will spend their last three nights in Italy and play their final game on Tuesday night. We did receive some exciting news. Our game will be played in Switzerland. And, I received an email from Leslie Knight. She’ll be there to greet us!
Ciao for now!
Tanisha Smith
Ciao Gopher fans!!
We are out here in Florence having an amazing time. This might be my favorite place on our trip so far. Everything here is so much cleaner and well kept. The scenery is indescribable and is something previously I only saw on television or in books. Unfortunately, we only spent two nights here, but they were two nights I will never forget. Yesterday, we went to an art museum and saw a bunch of Michelangelo’s works, including the famous statue of David. Our tour guide spent thirty minutes discussing the intricate details of this piece alone. I was in awe at the amount of care Michelangelo took when building this remarkable piece.
Well, right now as I write this blog we are sitting on the bus beginning our 3-hour trip to Venice. I’m so excited to go to our next destination because I’ve heard so many good things about it. I hear there are no roads there and that their main form of transportation is by boat because of all the water canals. I am also anticipating our visit to the winery. Well that’s all for now, see you guys when we get home. Go Gophers!
Marisa Moseley
Ciao Ciao Gopher fans!! Greetings from Venice...I can’t believe that we are on day seven and it is finally my turn to blog. Where do I begin? Well, let me take you for a ride down one of the streets filled with water. Close your eyes for a second and imagine you are floating along in a gondola down a narrow canal with a man in a stripped shirt rowing you away. Can you picture it? Now think about all of the classic colors of Italy, the yellows, terracotta, greens and blues. Imagine now, the classic window boxes with impatiens and ivory covered walls suffocating buildings that have been standing for centuries. This may have been one of the most enjoyable and beautiful boat rides I have ever taken. The gondoliers are so talented and can maneuver in and out of the “traffic” that they sometimes encounter. I realized after riding that this is no easy feat and I am not cut out for this job...I mean honestly, I have a hard enough time navigating the shopping cart at Lunds!
One of my favorite moments actually took place on our way over to Venice while Ian, Moira’s son was sitting on my lap and twirling my hair (one of his many endearing traits). Ian asked me matter of factly, “Marisa, do you know what happens when you go under the bridges? I said, “no Ian, what happens? “He said, we have to kiss!” Ian proceeded to give me a very sweet kiss on the cheek and melted my heart all at the same time! He has been an absolute delight to have on this trip and I couldn’t imagine it without him! I told you in my first blog that I never imagined my first gondola ride would be with my players but now I have had the pleasure of sharing one with a 3 year old! It doesn’t get any better than this!
Okay, now the moment you all have been waiting for....THE SHOPPING!!! I started off strong with an amazing purchase in Rome, that I will debut at a game this season in the Barn; and let me tell you it will be all the rage!!! We then landed in Florence and as I mentioned in my first blog sensory overload set in. We arrived at the markets and had we not had a guide (grazie, Sara) I would have been lost!! There were bags and scarves and T-shirts, oh my!! (Sorry I couldn’t resist!) Now there is an art to shopping in the markets. Never, and I repeat NEVER do you pay for the original price of the merchandise. So you are guaranteed to get a great deal. I found some beautiful items and let me tell you, my loved ones cleaned up!! But I digress, gondolas right that is where we began and that is where we shall end!
Close you eyes one last time... we are arriving back at the dock and our gondolier puts my parallel parking skills to shame, and I lived in Boston for four years!! Thank you for joining me on this amazing excursion through one of the most memorable places I have ever been!!
Ciao for now!!
