Day 9, Rome

The following post is by sophomore, Megan Riley! 

Today we met downstairs for breakfast at 9:30am and at 10:15am we boarded the bus to head to Vatican City. Once we arrived we met with our guide to start our tour which began outside of the walled enclave and ended inside of St. Peter's Basilica. As a sign of respect we had to cover our shoulders and knees, a surprisingly difficult task for the extremely hot weather conditions. Some of us wore long skirts, and others (shoutout to KJ) rocked a shirt, blouse, and long brown basketball shorts. Yes, super cute.

At the beginning of the tour we got to see Greek and Roman marble statues inside of the Sala Rotunda that represented the highest ideals of art, some of which even inspired Michelangelo in his creation of David. It was cool that we had the opportunity to see the statue of David in the Galleria dell' Academia in Florence, and then compare it to the statues that inspired Michelangelo. 

We made our way to the Sistine Chapel and of course got to see Michelangelo's The Last Judgement. Although pictures were not permitted, I managed to stealthily snap a pic just before I was scolded by an aggressive Spanish woman for doing so. 

Shortly after that we made our way to St. Peter's Basilica, the most famous Roman Catholic church in the world. We walked around inside for a bit to check out the amazing architecture and design. We also saw a gilt bronze tomb containing the body of Pope St. Pius X. 

After the tour we had a chance to grab a quick bite to eat and check out some souvenirs shops. At 2:00pm we boarded the bus and headed back to the hotel. Most of us squeezed in a much needed nap, and packed our suitcases for our early departure in the morning. At 5:30pm we left with the men's team for our alumni event, dressed to the nines, might I add.

The event started at 6:00pm and began with mingling amongst a few Brown alums while snacking on mini pizzas, tomato and mozzarella appetizers, and yummy sandwiches. It was interesting hearing from others about their experiences at Brown, and how they returned to Italy to pursue their professional lives. We had a Q and A and while we gained an interesting perspective about exploring career paths internationally, the alums were eager to hear about what it's like to currently be a student-athlete at Brown and what the recruiting and admission processes entail.

If you thought the fun ended there, you thought wrong! Once the event wrapped up, we headed to our last dinner where I had delicious Penne Alla Vodka. We ended our night by exploring the city as a team, taking in the unique culture and beautiful sights. We are so lucky and grateful for the opportunity to play in and explore Italy. It is definitely safe to say we had an incredible time here. So, thank you Italy for an unforgettable trip. Italia è molto bella!

Grazie è arrivederci,

Megan