June 24, 2005
Day 1: Tuesday, June 21/Wednesday, June 22
By Whitney Fair '06 & Katie Rademacher `07
 Boungiorno! Greetings from Italy! We left Ithaca at noon on Tuesday and when we landed in Rome at 6:30 p.m. local time, we couldn't believe that we had been traveling for 24 hours straight! It was definitely worth it. For those of us who had never been to Europe, which was pretty much everyone, the trip had an added bonus of an eight-hour layover in Paris. When we got on the metro at Charles De Gaulle airport, a man was playing "La Vie en Rose" on the accordion - a fitting start to our stop in Paris. We walked along the River Seine and took pictures of some beautiful bridges. It became more real in our minds that we were actually in Paris when we saw the Eiffel Tower. We've all seen it in pictures many times before, but nothing can really compare with actually seeing it in person. Of course, we had to take about a hundred pictures at the Eiffel Tower (including some recreations of the Tom Cruise/Katie Holmes marriage proposal - we couldn't resist) before we headed over to the Champs Elysees. We saw the Arc de Triumph and ate lunch (mostly cheese, no escargot). Even though we had only a short time in Paris, it still was incredible to actually be able to see landmarks in person that we had only seen in pictures before, and we think that the number of pictures we took everywhere makes it seem like we were there for a long time. After hopping on the metro back to the airport, it was off to Rome! When we got back to the hotel, we had an amazing meal served family style outside at a restaurant by the hotel. We're hoping all the volleyball we are going to play will cancel out all the good food we're eating. After some gelato it was off to sleep (this time actually lying down as opposed to sitting on a plane). We've got a full two weeks ahead of us ... Ciao! (p.s. Roddy (Rademacher) says GO PISTONS)
Day 2: Thursday, June 23
By Heather Young `06 and Rachel Adomat `06
Hello again from Rome. Today's events started early as we woke to the sun shining in our window and the bustle of the busy street below. The alarm came at 6:30 a.m., and we began our day. After breakfast we headed out on the town. We took the metro with our fearless leader Tim Kelly (the organizer of the tournament) and headed off to the sites. First on our agenda was St. Peter's Basilica and the Sistine Chapel. It was a sense of awe walking through all those ancient portraits and canvas paintings. The statues were incredible and the stories they told were amazing. The fact that we were standing in the same room as the Cardinals stood in when they were electing the new Pope was something I will remember forever. From there the team split up into smaller groups with some heading off to the Spanish Steps for some good old shopping, Roddy (Katie Rademacher) and Alaina (Town) climbed to the top of the Basilica (where the tip reaches higher than a 40 story building) and the rest heading to more sites. The group that went on to more locations was comprised of Tex (Rachel Adomat) and I, assistant coach Sarah (Bernson), Kenan Guilmette (our athletic trainer), Jo (Weiss), Kristen (Hughes), Alex (Dyer), and Tex's mother. We walked by the Castel de St. Angelo, a beautiful old fort that was built to protect the Pope in times of trouble. Our first stop was the Piazza Navona where we stopped for a relaxing outdoor lunch by the beautiful Bernini fountain. After we got our energy back, we headed to the Pantheon (not the Parthenon, as Heather keeps saying). We also had time to see the famous Trevi Fountain. After throwing coins in the fountain we were told that we are guaranteed to come back to Rome someday. We arrived back at the hotel in time to put up our feet for about 30 minutes and then we were headed out again. This time it was for dinner and then to play. We competed against A.S. Fidia Roma, the Italian B2 Professional Team. They had some talented players, and we were unable to take more than a game from them. The night came to a close when we came back to the hotel, had some more food at the restaurant, and headed off to bed. Tomorrow we are traveling to our next location in Falcanara, Italy... Ciao! (p.s. I hope those Pistons fans out there are taking the loss better than our Roddy... her words this morning when she got the news... "Today is going to be a rough one!")
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