#euromavs Blog: Soaking Up Our Final Hours in Rome
Aug 22, 2015 | Men's Basketball
#euromavs Italy Blog: Post #9
by Alex Allbery
Hello and greetings from Rome! To start off I want to express my gratitude for the opportunity that has been given to us. I want to thank everyone who helped make this trip to Italy possible because it has provided us all with experiences and memories that we will look back on fondly in our dotage. We finished the trip going 4-0 and we made numerous strides on the court, none more important than good team chemistry. I believe we have an extremely talented team this year and playing these games has helped give us some positive momentum heading into a big season.
Today was our final day to really explore Rome, and we took a three hour tour of the Vatican City. When we arrived at the Piazza San Pietro, I was astonished at how beautiful and wide open it was. The tour started in the Vatican Museums, where there was a diverse collection of paintings and sculptures depicting the history of Catholicism. Following that, we were led into the Sistine Chapel, where no photos or videos were permitted. Even though I don't have a copy of the paintings to look back on, they are still etched in my mind forever. I couldn't believe the prowess with which Michelangelo painted, considering the ceiling was his first piece using that painting method.
The final leg of the tour consisted of walking around inside St. Peter's Basilica, which caused most of us to lose our legs because of its enormity. The Basilica is nearly two football fields long and rises to over 385 feet in its highest dome. We saw the remains of past popes and the stunning main altar. As a Catholic, witnessing the Vatican has been a dream of mine and I am incredibly thankful I was able to do so.
After our tour let out, we still had some free time before our game so some of us decided to rent some Segways to see parts of the city we hadn't discovered yet. This was the third time on this trip we Segwayed, so Jake White, Jason Sanderson, Daniel Meyer and I deemed ourselves the Segway Squad. Rome has some top-notch roads that make it easy to cruise at more than 10 mph, and two 6-8 guys riding these led to people taking pictures and casting inquisitive looks our way. We were able to see the Pantheon and the Castle of Illumination, which was part of the movie "Angels and Demons."
Overall I've had a tremendous experience in my first time out of the country, and I'm glad I was able to share it with my brothers. Thanks one last time to all who had a part in making this possible. We'll see you guys back in the States tomorrow! Go Mavs!
Check out previous entries from the #euromavs blog below:
#1 -- Benvenuti a Milano! (Aug. 13, Kyler Erickson)
#2 -- Lake Como and Gameday #1 (Aug. 14, JT Gibson/Randy Reed II)
#3 -- More Exploring in Milan (Aug. 15, Jake White)
#4 -- Next Up, Florence (Aug. 16, Devin Newsome)
#5 -- A Free Day in Florence (Aug. 17, Marcus Tyus/Ben Kositzke)
#6 -- Ciao, Roma! (Aug. 18, Zach Pirog/Tim Smallwood)
#7 -- A Few of Our Favorites in Italy (Aug. 19, Daniel Meyer/Zach Jackson)
#8 -- Big Sightseeing and a Big Win (Aug. 20, Tre'Shawn Thurman)
Browse our ongoing trip photo gallery from our Facebook page:Â #euromavs photo album.
