Day 3: "in the boot" by Kellie Sellers and Kelsey Hall

Ciao Bella! Today was our last day in Pordenone. After getting up to eat breakfast in our hotel lobby at 7 am, we all hopped on a bus (it was a Mercedes!) and took a long, scenic drive to a bus stop where we explored an old monk church tower and experienced more toilets that were just holes in the ground! There were also vendors at the rest stop that sold everything from hemp bracelets to chocolate croissants to italian soccer jerseys. Some of us bought some water and Coke and again, it wasn't very cold :( The next 2 hours on the bus, a bunch of players and parents (and even coaches) played mafia.. but this wasn't your ordinary game of mafia- this was intense! The few of us who were trying to sleep on the back of the bus were quickly woken up by the screaming and interrogating (mostly of Brittany Blackman) and the cheers of the mafia and civilians. The remainder of the bus ride was also filled with picturesque scenery and great photo ops. Finally we reached our destination- the Republic of San Marino!

Here, our bus dropped us off halfway up a huge mountain where we continued the rest of the way by foot. Along the way up to the top of the mountain, we shopped, dined, and used the "toilettes" at cute little boutiques and cafes. But getting up to these places was hard work! It took all of our energy to reach the top. Once there, we arrived at a plateau that consisted of a castle and many places to look at the breath taking scenery down below. We also lounged out on the rocks at the top of the mountain and some of us even got a tan (or burned...). After acquiring a group of 25 people, we got into the castle at the top of the mountain and had fun running through the turrets and climbing up sketchy stairs and ladders. We enjoyed taking fun pictures of us hanging off the side of the castle walls and acting like we were scared. Being at the top of the castle was amazing- it felt like we were on top of the world.. literally. Right before leaving the castle, we dropped pennies down a wishing well and wished for good luck :) After leaving the castle, it was about time to head back down the big hill and head to Urbino- our next destination. We all hopped back on the bus and naturally, passed out. The whole hour and a half bus ride to Urbino, the bus was silent (no mafia here!). Once again the scenery was beautiful with winding roads and beautiful hills.

Once getting to Urbino, we arrived at our new hotel- The Hotel dei Deuchi. At this hotel, we sleep two, that's TWO people in a room (instead of 3 or 4) and we have a somewhat bigger room and bathroom. After resting for an hour, we took off to practice in a nice gym in downtown Urbino. There we saw some younger Italian boys playing basketball and older Italian men playing soccer. We drove back to the hotel to eat at 9 pm and our dinner consisted of rice and vegetables, meat and potatoes, and caramel creme. We were stuffed! After dinner, we all just hung out in the lobby and talked with our parents and teammates.

Tomorrow looks to be an exciting day! We play our first match tomorrow here in Urbino and we will do some sightseeing around the downtown area. Ciao for now!