Well these past few days have again been filled with many new sights and foods. On Friday we got to visit the Mediterranean Sea and the medieval village Castiglione della Pescaia which is located right on the coast. In the village we climbed to the top of a castle which opened up to a beautiful view of the water and beach. During lunch, a small band began playing live music and Abby and Anna began to dance to the music, which was just as entertaining to the local people as it was to us. As we were on the beach, we took some funny group pictures and an older man in a pink speedo joined us for a photo, this was a nice addition to our group picture and provided some laughs.
After a
relaxing day on the coast we traveled to play our first of two games against
Grosseto F.C. We came out to start the game very well, and were able to get a
shutout and a win, which everyone was very excited about. I felt that we were
able to control the tempo of the game through our ability to possess the ball. We also were able to create many
offensive opportunities which was very good for our first game.
The next
day we traveled to Florence which provided many of us with new purses, wallets,
and jackets because of their many leather markets. The architecture and buildings
here were again very beautiful and some people went to see the Michelangelo’s
famous Statue of David. There was also a large chapel that has the world’s
largest man-made dome which was very beautiful and detailed. The dome and the
chapel were so big it was not possible to get a photo with the entire building.
As we
went into practice that night everyone was a little fatigued from the long day,
but that did not stop us from keeping the intensity high during all of the
drills. Also, our fitness sessions during practice have had very high intensity
and effort from everyone. By pushing ourselves now during practice and fitness we
all know it will definitely help our performance during preseason and set us up
for being well-conditioned this season.
On Sunday
we took a trip out to the country side of Tuscany at a local farm to have
lunch. The food was delicious, and many of us tried a mystery food that we
later found to be chicken liver. I personally thought that it was good as it
was served on bread and looked like beef, but others did not share the same
opinion. After lunch we traveled to a local village to enjoy more leather shops
and jewelry as well as the best gelato we have had. This place has been on the
New York Times top ten places for gelato multiple times and definitely lived up
to its reputation. Again the fruit flavors tasted just like fresh picked fruit and we couldn't get enough of the nutella
flavor.
After
the village we went to our last regular practice which again was very intense
with a high team effort during fitness and drills. Then we got to have some fun
and play a parents vs. players game. The parents unfortunately won after
getting four penalty kicks to begin the game that gave then a two- goal lead.
Even though we wanted to win it was hard to play seriously and not laugh because
a few of the parents and siblings took some spills of the turf. We luckily got
video of the game and hopefully will be able to post it once we get back in the
states so stayed tuned if you want some laughs.
Tomorrow,
we will be traveling to the Italian Riviera and going to another beach and five
different villages. Afterwards we will be traveling to Milan for our last night
in Italy before we will travel to London.
Talk to you soon! Ciao!
Morgan
