Follow along for updates on Baylor women's basketball's foreign tour to Italy & Greece!
Let's call this day 0, but also day 1, because it was a LONG day. After a send-off from the Ferrell Center that was started off in prayer with some of our program's most loyal supporters, we made our way up I-35 to DFW Airport. Getting through security was a breeze, and after just a couple of delays, we were on our way across the pond! It was a long flight to say the least (nearly 10 hours), but we were super thankful to not have a layover after the delays we experienced.
Once we landed it was off to the races! We immediately made our way to the Colosseum to kick off our guided walking tour of Rome on Friday afternoon. Believe it or not, you all were just waking up for work when we were trekking around Italy! We had stops at the Trevi Fountain (of course the players and some staff members tossed coins into the fountain as part of the tradition) and the Spanish Steps.
After a short stop at the hotel to freshen up, it was off to our first team dinner that included the players, coaching staff, support staff, families and special guests of the trip. We enjoyed each other's company and a five-course meal, before returning to the hotel to get a good night's sleep before another busy day.
It was another BEAUTIFUL day in Rome! We were able to get some much needed sleep and take our time getting up. There was time to explore in the morning and afternoon on our own, before meeting back up at our hotel. Some of our travel party went back to monuments from the first day of exploring and did some shopping, while others ventured off to the Pantheon and even found a castle!
The afternoon and early evening was saved for a bus ride and tour of the Vatican City. Did you know Vatican City is the smallest country in the world?! To start, were given a guided tour through the Vatican Museum, learning a lot of history about Michelangelo and his paintings inside the Sistine Chapel. Two of his most important scenes on the ceiling are his frescoes of the Creation of Adam and the Fall of Adam and Eve/Expulsion from the Garden. We were then able to walk through and spend some time in the Sistine Chapel, but we were not allowed to take photos and were asked to stay silent out of respect.
Once we were finished, we made our way to St. Peter's Basilica where we had an hour to explore inside and the surrounding area. The artwork and sculptures were beautiful and intricate. There are not enough words to describe what we saw. There was also a mass going on while we were there.
We wish you were here, but we hope you're following us on social media (@BaylorWBB) to keep up with our adventures! It's time to pack up and leave Rome, as we're headed to Naples tomorrow! Ciao!
It was time to pack our bags and make our way towards the next stop on our trip - Naples. We took a bus ride through the country side, stopping at a local farm for a food tasting while taking in the breathtaking views of Mount Vesuvius and Tyrrhenian Sea. A walking tour of Pompeii highlighted day three for the Bears before getting settled into our hotel in the middle of the busy streets of Naples. Hear more from the Voice of Baylor Women's Basketball, Derek Smith, on the team's trip so far below!
Another busy day started with breakfast on the rooftop of the hotel, soaking in the breeze off the water and the amazing view. Side note, we might not be able to bring back the views, but we are going to try our best to bring cooler temps back to Texas with us. From there, we made our way to the Amalfi Coast for a private boat tour. We got to ride the waves of the sea and we made our way to our first stop - Amalfi. Fun fact, the Amalfi Coast is known for lemons, so everywhere we went you could find ANYTHING lemon - soaps, ornaments, clothing and giant lemons filled with lemon sorbet.
After Amalfi, we continued our excursion on a ferry due to stronger waves and made a quick stop in Positano. When we tell you the views were immaculate, we aren't exaggerating! Pictures cannot even do it justice. The Amalfi Coast is STUNNING! It's like a picture taken right out of a book (or Google these days). The evening was spent exploring Naples on our own (in small groups, because safety first), before calling it a night. We've got an early wake-up call for day five as we head to Capri before our first exhibition game!
WOW. That's the only word we can use to describe Capri. The winding roads to the top of the island were very narrow, but before you knew it, we had breathtaking views of the entire coast line. The players didn't have as much time to explore, to allow them extra time at the hotel to prepare for the game, but some family members and team managers took the chair lift in Anacapri that gave them an aerial of the island. Sarah, Kyla and Darianna ran into some locals and taught them how to Sic 'Em!
But the BEST part of the day was GAMEDAY! We finally got to get back out on the basketball court and compete against a team that wasn't ourselves. Everyone who was available saw action, and it was truly a great experience to wrap up our time in Italy. Our competition, the Slammer Team out of Denmark, brought goodies for us while we gave them each a Baylor basketball T-shirt after the game. We've got another early start tomorrow as we fly to Greece! Ciao, Italy, and thank you for the memories!
We said so long to Italy and made our way to Greece early Wednesday morning! After a long time standing in line at check-in, and a delay at the gate, we were finally airborne. Once we landed, we enjoyed a 7-course family-style lunch on the water in a peaceful part of Greece. We were even greeted by a stray dog who wanted lots of pets and a little bit of table food (don't worry, we took care of him).
Afterwards, we went to The Smile of the Child for our community service event. The organization was founded by a 10-year-old boy who passed away of cancer, but had written in his journal that he dreamed of a place where kids would be helped and have a smile on their face. We all took part in making cards for the children specifically in the hospital, who could be there from three weeks to three months or maybe even seven years.
Once we got checked into our hotel, we made our way to dinner, where we shared a 9-course meal with a beautiful view of The Acropolis in the background. Stay tuned for our adventures in Greece!
GAME DAY! GAME DAY! GAME DAY! We played our final game of the tour against the University of Regina out of Canada in the same gym that Giannis Antetokounmpo played in growing up. Fun fact: head coach Nicki Collen also played in the same gym when she was playing professionally in Greece in the 90's. It's been a great experience to play against teams other than ourselves and work on different combinations and plays.
Earlier in the day, we took a guided walking tour of the Acropolis, where we learned about the ancient history and what they've done to preserve it and restore parts of it. When you look closely at the different columns, you can see they used a different color of limestone to be able to track what is original and what was replaced. It was VERY hot and the rocks were slippery on the way down, but you could see the entire city from the top of it. In the morning, we'll make our way to Santorini where we will spend the next couple of days enjoying each other's company on the water.
With basketball in the books, it was time to relax and enjoy the last couple of days overseas. An hour-long flight from Athens to Santorini started off our morning. After a quick lunch, it was time to make our way to the hotel and get ready for our day on the water. We loaded up on a catamaran at the Port of Santorini for a 5-hour private sunset cruise. We enjoyed fellowship, singing and dancing on the boat, dinner and swimming in the sea before admiring the most beautiful sunset onboard. That's all for today, but we're extremely grateful for the opportunity to build these connections with one another. As one of our program's core values, that's something that we know will be very beneficial down the road and it starts now.
Today was our final full day of our foreign tour and we're sad it is coming to an end, but still feeling so fortunate to be able to experience this. We cannot thank the donors who supported us and helped make this once-in-a-lifetime trip a reality. We were able to go out and explore the island today and enjoy all that Santorini had to offer. Some went to the hotel infinity pool, others went to a beach club and there was some sightseeing and shopping done as well!
The night was capped off with a nice dinner overlooking the Aegean Sea while we watched the sunset. It was absolutely breathtaking and was the perfect night to end the most amazing trip. You know what else made it special? Aijha Blackwell and Dre'Una Edwards graduated with their bachelor's degrees from Baylor and we couldn't be more proud of them. They had to work tirelessly in the classroom over the last year to make this happen, and we're excited that they were able to achieve their goals!
Time for us to take a short nap before our alarms go off bright and early to start making our way back to the states! Thanks to all who came along for the ride the last 10 days.
