Editor’s Note: Anna Heise of the University of Maine has agreed to write a blog during the Black Bears women’s basketball team’s trip to Italy. The senior center from Halle, Germany, will provide readers with a student-athlete’s perspective on the experience as the team enjoys the history and culture of Italy while playing a handful of games.
ROME, Italy — Everything comes to an end eventually and sadly Sunday was the last day of our trip in Italy. The last 10 days went by extremely fast and I can’t believe that it;s about to be over.
We left the hotel for one last time at 8 a.m. The first thing on the itinerary was a visit of the catacombs. I didn’t really know what to expect. It’s one thing to learn about it in your history lessons but something completely different when you are actually standing in it.
After our guide told us about somebody who got lost in the catacombs for three days, everybody wasn’t too excited to see it anymore. Luckily, we all made it back out and it was a great and interesting experience and definitely something everybody should have seen.
After the catacombs we had three hours of free time before we had a tour of the Coliseum. In the usual groups of five we explored Rome for one last time, of course not without eating pizza and gelato while doing so.
We met with our local tour guide from Saturday, Francesca, next to the Spanish Steps and started our walk to the Coliseum. During the walk she told us a lot about ancient Rome and the Romans.
Standing right next to the Coliseum is something I will never forget. It is such an impressive building with so much history. We walked around, took pictures and listened to all the stories and facts Francesca had to tell us. It was definitely one of the most memorable tours we had during this trip.
After the tour it was time for our last dinner together. We went to a very nice restaurant, which was about five minutes away from the Coliseum. The food was delicious and everybody started to get a little bit emotional, especially when Coach Richard Barron talked about the fact that this trip felt like a big family vacation.
I couldn’t agree more. Not only did this trip help regarding the cultural and educational part, it also helped everybody to grow closer together. Players learned more about the friends group members, while friends group members learned more about the coaching staff and the athletic department staff.
It was an amazing trip and I am so grateful that I was a part of it. Each of us might go different ways over the summer, but we have memories that will forever connect us.
The preparation for the new season already started and so far we are doing pretty well.
Last but not least I just want to say thank-you to everyone who made this trip possible, to all the people who came with us and to our amazing coaching stuff. You guys are amazing and all of this would have never happened without any of you.
THANK YOU!
About the author: Anna Heise is majoring in journalism at UMaine with a double minor in child development and family relations and creative writing. She enjoys hanging out with her teammates, traveling, reading and watching movies.