Day 6, Florence to Rome

The following post is by sophomore Savannah Johnson!

It's been real Florence but off to Rome we go!! After sleeping in a little and another hotel breakfast, we braved a three hour bus ride to Rome. About two hours into the drive we stopped at what I'd call the most glorious rest stop ever. The stop had a full "ristorante" (said in my newly assumed Italian accent) ... with a cheese bar I might add... some seriously chic bathrooms, and of course your average snacks, drinks, etc. 

We finally arrived in Rome and settled into the hotel around 2pm local time and quickly turned around for a pregame "stretch" with Coach P (insert dramatic air quotes here). Unlike the previous hotels, there was no space big enough for us to stretch thus forcing us to find a local park. Easier said than done... Us girls and Coach Behn followed behind Coach P through the mostly beautiful streets of Rome in search of a suitable park with his handy dandy map in hand. With no luck, we eventually settled for a stretch of shaded sidewalk.

After we returned from what seemed more like a walking tour of the entire city of Rome rather than a quick park stretch, we had pregame meal which consisted of grilled chicken parm, pasta, and salad at a small restaurant across the street from the hotel. 

Game 3! We played Omega Basket, which despite the final score proved more competitive than the 2 teams from Milan. We won 89-22 and enjoyed a packed gym with some of the most enthusiastic fans I've ever played in front of. 

Today was a good day!

Better brace yourself Rome! The Lady Beahs have officially arrived!

VannahLeighBaby

Day 5, Florence

The following blog post if from Janie White!

This morning we all got up for some breakfast at the hotel, where there is an amazing view of Florence. Soon after, we departed for a tour of the city and Galleria dell’Accedemia. We then departed on our tour exploring the narrow and charismatic streets of Florence, as our tour guide explained many different aspects of the city along with its rich history. We reached Accedemia at about 10am where there were a variety of paintings and sculptures that were astounding. We all were the most excited to the statue of David, which was the most beautiful piece of art I had ever seen. We spent a while taking in all the detail and precision of the sculpture and were just in awe. 

Once we departed, and our tour came to a close, we all separated and had a successful day of shopping. We all learned very quickly that Coach Pimentel has the most aggressive bargaining skills out of everyone. 

After a few hours to ourselves, we all met back at the hotel to depart for Pisa. After an extremely quiet, and sleep filled bus ride, we made it to Pisa. We walked through more shops and were bombarded with men trying to sell everyone “genuine” Rolexes and handbags. As we reached the Leaning Tower of Pisa we all took a ton of pictures, but my personal favorite is this one with the whole team pushing against Coach P. 

We then split off. Some had a bite to eat while others explored the Cathedral. Personally, my favorite part was when Kennedy, Natalie, and I were talking to a children's Table Tennis Team from China. They were so adorable so we had to get pictures with them. After we explored Pisa, we departed for Florence at 5:30 pm and had a little time to freshen up before Dinner. 

Our dinner for the night was very upscale, and we all enjoyed it, and of course after dinner we had to keep with tradition and go to get some gelato! After that the team enjoyed the rest of our night walking through the streets of Florence and as usual, making it very interesting! 

-Janie

Day 4, Milan to Florence

This blog post was written by junior guard, Rebecca Musgrove!

Today we were up bright and early on the roof top for a harsh workout. We had an intense conditioning and body weight session to start the day.

After our workout we packed our stuff, ate breakfast, and were on our way to destination number two! It was about a 3 hour ride to Florence. Some of us got a nap in while others played games to pass the time. Coach P. even discovered he was the "perfect alpha male", describing himself as a combo of the hulk, captain american, and a few other superheroes.

When we got to Florence we were all ready to shop. We walked through the world famous leather market and treated ourselves to some great bags, jackets and belts! The city was beautiful and the shopping was endless. Needless to say we were in our glory and quickly blowing through our Per diem! There was also much to see!

The city was beautiful and the team made it to the famous Ponte Vecchio. Then some of us came across the huge, gorgeous Duomo Cathedral. We shopped until the stands closed up and off to dinner we went. We had a great meal at Canto De' Nelli and bragged about all the great haggling we did and tried outdoing eachother with what deals we got. It was a very eventful and enjoyable day which of course ended with gelato. 

We are extremely grateful for the opportunity we were given and have truly been enjoying every minute of it with out friends and families! Looking forward to the rest of what Italy has to offer us!

Day 3, Milan

The following post is written by junior guard, KJ Veldman!

Today we got to sleep in! It was much needed after the late game last night. One downside of sleeping later was that we missed hotel breakfast (where they serve orange eggs) but we got gelato and coffee instead so who's the real winner?

We had most of the day to explore on our own. Since it was our last full day in Milan, the fashion capital of the world, we figured shopping would be a "fitting" way to spend it. We made our way to the Piazza del Duomo and branched off to different shops from there. 

(At the Piazza del Duomo in front of the cathedral)

Although we were told we could probably find less expensive things in the other cities, a few of us had to splurge on some sunglasses. I'm also proud to say the selfie stick I got bargaining on the first day is still holding up and is one of my best purchases so far! Some of us also bought a metro ticket and we saw the outskirts of Milan.

(Senior captain, Natalie Ball, and I on the Metro) 

In the afternoon we had another solid stretching session with Coach P where I found out I've been doing jumping jacks wrong for 20 years... you learn something new everyday! After that we had our pregame meal at the hotel with great pasta, bread, chicken, and salad. 

Tonight we played the Varese All Stars in our 2nd game of the trip. It was interesting walking in the gym and seeing our opponents' ages ranged from 18-35ish. The opposing team, the Varese All Stars, gave us Italian cookies as a gift which might have made the long bus ride worth it. We had another great game with a lot of fast breaks and great team basketball. After our great win, pizza was waiting for us at the restaurant for the post game meal. 

It was late when we got back to the hotel, and we started packing up since we head to Florence in the morning! 

- KJ

Day 2, Milan

The following post is written by senior captain, Jordin Alexander!

7:45 AM After an early 7 am breakfast, we departed on a 1.5 hour bus ride for our boat tour on Lake Como.

9:05 AM  Having been in the town of Como for less than five minutes, it has been noted that "the police officers here [Como] are not near as attractive as those in Milan." @kennedymartin

9:15 AM Upon arriving at the lake, we proceeded to take 47 selfies, with Kieja's newly bought selfie stick, before boarding our boat.

* Kieja's bargaining skills saved her 4 euros on her selfie stick purchase yesterday.  

9:30 AM On our tour of Lake Como we got a look at some of the incredible villas and summer homes on the lake, a few belonging to well known American celebrities. Nine of the properties on the lake are owned by Russian billionaires. We also got a rundown on some of the history in the area, including Mussolini's brief stay at one of the towns on the lake, prior to his death. 

Fun fact: John legend was married on Lake Como. 

10:20 AM After our tour of the lake, we took a short stop in town of Bellagio, where we had time to walk around, shop, and get more gelato (debatably the best part of Italy).

The streets in Bellagio were unbelievably narrow, but that didn't stop car traffic from filing through them.

Fun fact: Steve Wynn's Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas was modeled after the original hotel, here in Bellagio, where Wynn stayed while vacationing.  

Below is a pic of Bellagio as we headed back towards Como.

12:40 pm After the short stop, we headed back to Como, ultimately making our way back to our hotel in Milan. 

2:00 pm At the hotel, some of us got in a quick nap before meeting for a rooftop, pregame stretch with Coach P. 

4:00 PM After an invigorating stretch, we headed downstairs for a pregame meal of Chicken Parmesan with grilled chicken and a red sauce that was "noticeably better than that of the U.S.," according to Megan. 

5:45 PM  We departed for our game against BTF Cantu 92 at 8pm. 

8 PM GAMETIME 

Bears won!! Brown 96, Cantu 29

We finished the night with some amazing post game pizza from al Cabolinea. 

Side note: I ate an entire pizza on my own. #wheninitaly

That's all for today ! Ciao 🏻

-Jord 

Day 1, Milan

At 10:45am the Brown Women's Basketball Team, and accompanying travel party, departed Pizzitola Gymnasium and headed to the airport. We had a short first flight to Newark and then continued on the second leg of our travel to Milan, Italy.

* Luckily, this was not the size of the plane that we took from Newark to Milan!

We arrived in Milan the following day at 8:30am. With tired eyes from the flight, we all grabbed a coffee and headed to the bus and then on to the hotel. We quickly dropped our bags at the hotel before walking only a few minutes down the street to the main square in the center of the city. There we saw the Duomo di Milano, the cathedral church of Milan, Italy. This beautiful and historic church is one of the largest in the world!

With grumbling stomachs, we all departed the church and walked the streets to grab some lunch. The rest of the afternoon was spent eating, shopping, and sightseeing before we all met back at the hotel to shower, change, and get some much needed shut eye.

At around 5:30pm our group gathered to depart back to the city square and once again visit the Duomo di Milano. However, this time we got a different view. Climbing over 150 steps, we were able to get up to the roof of the cathedral and walk along the "Duomo Terraces." The view was absolutely spectacular.

After an exciting but exhausting day of travel and sightseeing, we headed for our first authentic Italian meal. We had a delicious dinner and an even better dessert, gelato! I'm sure everyone will sleep well tonight and get ready for another great day tomorrow. Our first game in Italy is tomorrow at 8:00pm... GO BEARS!