BATON ROUGE – The LSU volleyball team wrapped up its 12-day European Tour by spending time in Verona and Milan before facing off with the Italian Junior National Team. The Tigers will return home on Tuesday.
Khourtni Fears and Haley Smith have the final installments of the team’s blog.
Fears
“We finished our 12-day trip by touring downtown Milan and played the Italian Junior National Team. Shopping in Milan was fun and playing against the national team was interesting.
It was interesting because even though we feel short in the fifth set, 15-13, our team learned how to rally out of tough times. There was a positive outcome coming out of a situation that most people would look at negatively.
Coach Flory had a plan for what she wanted us to accomplish by coming on this European Tour, and we were able to exceed those goals. We came, we saw and we conquered our way.”
Geaux Tigers,
Khourtni
Smith
“Sunday, we had the chance to visit Verona and Milan. Both of these Italian cities are full of history and had beautiful historic buildings. In Verona, we got to see the third largest coliseum in Europe.
However, Verona is most famous for Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet. The city is full of references from the play. We got to see the famous Juliet statue along with her balcony right beside. In the same area of town, there was also a wall where people from all over write love notes to loved ones and stick it on the wall. On the bus ride to the city, we all participated in this tradition and each wrote an individual love note to place on the wall with chewing gum. It was a wonderful experience that we all will not forget.
The pizza for lunch was also delicious by the way- can’t leave that out. After we spent the morning in Verona, we then continued our journey to Milan which is known as the fashion capital of the world.
We got to meet our new tour guide Tim. We said thank you to Bookie and Kiki, who were awesome tour guides and made our experience one to remember. After we said our goodbyes, Tim took us on a streetcar to the middle of Milan. The amount of stores to choose from was unbelievable- heaven for a few of my teammates. But along with all these stores, the church in the middle of the city stood out the most. We took a picture in front of this amazing place then we were on our way to explore the city some more.”
Geaux Tigers,
Haley
June 1, 2013
BATON ROUGE – The LSU volleyball team heads into the final leg of its 12-day European Tour with a stop in Italy. The Tigers bounced back from a pair of losses to the Slovenia National Team with a five-set victory over the Italian B2 Team.
Katie Lindelow and Angela Peyton have the latest installments of the team’s blog.
Lindelow
“On Friday, we left Slovenia and headed to Italy for the last part of our trip. Our hopes were high for Italy after we had so much fun in Slovenia.
After a few hours on the bus, we stopped in Kiki’s hometown (our tour guide) for lunch. It was a great last stop to get some Slovenian food before we loaded up on carbs every day in Italy. After lunch it was back to the bus for another hour or so until we made it to Trieste.
Unfortunately, the weather was not as pretty as the town was. However, that didn’t stop us from seeing all that we could. This town was on the water. It had a very different look and feel than the other cities we had visited. Half of the group went for more gelato, while the other half scouted out some pizza from a little corner shop.
The language there was completely different than what we had gotten somewhat used to hearing so we had to adjust and learn some new words. After our quick stop in Trieste, we started making our way to the gym for our match that night against the Italian B2 team. It was such a small town. The team and mayor were thrilled to have us there. The match was close the whole time, and we pulled out a five-set victory.
This team was unlike any we have seen so far. Their defense was incredible, and they made us work for every single point. We definitely got better this match and learned a lot from the girls across the net. By the time it was over, it was almost 11 p.m. and we were starving. Luckily, we went to this Italian restaurant that served more food and bread (oh the bread!) than we could even imagine eating. It was delicious and a perfect ending to the long day of traveling and a win of course. We can’t wait to see more of Italy and have a couple of days off to rest and enjoy the sights. This trip keeps getting better.”
Geaux Tigers,
Katie
Peyton
“Our first full day in Italy was a success. It was filled with sight seeing in Pordenone and Venice. After breakfast, we went to downtown Pordenone to do some shopping at the farmers market. If you were quick on your feet, you could bargain with the vendor for anything from purses and clothes to fruit and paintings.
Being that it was Saturday morning, this place was really busy. After the morning in Pordenone, we took a train to Venice which was outstanding. Also very popular – it was interesting to see all the different people spending their afternoon in this beautiful city. Shopping was the main attraction (for me at least) with great food, lots of pizza, pasta and gelato. Six hours was barely enough time to walk around and see everything that the city had to offer. The people were extremely friendly some even blowing air kisses or randomly saying “Chao” in passing.”
Geaux Tigers,
Angela
May 30, 2013
BATON ROUGE – The LSU volleyball team continues its 12-day European Tour with a stop in Slovenia. The Tigers lost their first match of the tour on Wednesday to Slovenia’s national team in Maribor but will face the team Thursday before heading to Italy to conclude the trip.
Helen Boyle and Malorie Pardo have the latest installments of the team’s blog.
Boyle
“We got to experience something today in Slovenia that most people will never experience. We started the journey off at the bottom of a massive mountain. Our travel guide, KiKi, told us we had to climb it. After the bad joke finally ended, we all hopped on ski lifts to reach the top of the mountain.
When we got there, we all got into harnesses and split into groups. The first activity I did was sort of a bungee jumping type activity. It was pretty much a giant swing. While swinging with some pain and the fear of the ropes snapping, I could see pretty much see the whole country of Slovenia. It was a beautiful view.
The next activity was climbing a telephone pole and trying to balance on the very skinny, shaking pole. My group was definitely better than our other group. There’s no doubt in my mind. We had a wonderful lunch and then headed to the alpine sleds.
We rode our own roller coaster down the mountain. It was an awesome experience. When we came back, we had a match against the Slovenia National Team. They were a good team and some of their players have had the chance to play in America. It was cool to play against players who we have played before in America. We lost, but we have another chance to get them tomorrow.
For dinner, we all got a little fancy and showed up at the bottom of the mountain again. We got in a few gondolas and went even higher up the mountain than before. Waiting for us at the top of the mountain was a bountiful feast of Slovenian food. After eating, we rode the gondola’s back down the mountain and had the chance to relax in the hotel café before going to bed.”
Geaux Tigers,
Helen
Pardo
“Yesterday, we traveled from Split, Croatia to Maribor, Slovenia. On our way out of Croatia, we made a quick stop to the capital city of Zagreb. We saw the most beautiful cathedral I’ve ever seen. Inside were these huge stain glass windows, everything had such beautiful details.
After we stopped at the cathedral, we split up into groups and got to explore the capital city. I couldn’t get over how beautiful and unique the architecture is. After we left the capital, we got back on the bus and traveled a bit more.
Along that ride, we got to experience crossing the border which was neat. We entered Slovenia and saw beautiful pastures and farms with very colorful houses. When we got to the hotel, we ate dinner followed by a walk one of the best gelato places.”
Geaux Tigers,
Malorie
May 28, 2013
BATON ROUGE – The LSU volleyball team has begun its 12-day European Tour with a pair of victories highlighted by a five-set victory Monday in Croatia. The Tigers also have had the opportunity to sight-see while visiting the cities of Split and Trogir.
LSU used Tuesday as a travel day and will head to Maribor, Slovenia. Desiree Elliott and Madi Mahaffey shared some thoughts on the team’s first few days in Europe.
Elliott:
“Drink coffee, eat gelato (ice cream) and be European said our tour guide Kiki the first day of sight-seeing in Croatia. The beauty the country of Croatia has is simply unbelievable. From the view of my hotel bed room window overlooking the marina, to the breath taking view from on top of a castle overlooking the Adriatic Sea in Trogir, there are no words to compare my feelings.
Truly blessed, happy, thankful and relaxed are a few I can come up with when I try to describe what it feels like to walk around this gorgeous country. Not to my surprise everything we have eaten has been delicious, octopus salad, scampi risotto, bread, some more bread and a lot of gelato. To get to experience this culture is an experience of a lifetime and to get to compete against teams with a different style of play is fun as well.
Coach Flory told us that volleyball is a game of respect before our first match. To say sorry and be polite when little things during the matches happen is a big deal when playing in a different country. The small points we don’t think twice about in the states means a lot to the teams we play against here. For example, acknowledging that it was your mistake for running into the net or hitting to the wrong side of the court in warm up is very important and a respectful thing to do.
We’ve learned that trying to speak the language is highly appreciated, even if you have no idea what you are saying, it’s fun to try and makes whoever you are talking to very happy probably because they are just laughing at us.
Laku noć which means “Good Night” in Croatian.”
Geaux Tigers,
Desi
Mahaffey:
“Being able to wake up Monday at 9:30 was very nice. We were allowed to sleep in and get up on our own time. Khourtni Fears and I went to breakfast together where we had some wonderful foods such as Nutella filled crêpes, scrambled eggs, Croatian yogurt and hot coco to complement our meal.
Afterwards, I joined Desiree Elliott in looking over the marina where we wrote in our journals. Coach Flory has suggested that we write short summaries so we can reflect and remember things that may slip our minds. I’m really looking forward to going back when I’m older and reflecting on all of these wonderful memories.
The plan for the day was to head to Trogir. The weather was breath taking. I honestly felt as if I was walking on a movie set by the amazing architectures and ancient cobblestone. We ventured around the city and came to this beautiful castle. It was 20 kuna enter, which was worth every penny. As a whole team, coaches and all, we met up on top of the lookout tower. The view was impeccable. After taking many many pictures on the tower, Khourtni and I went down to the sea and actually put our feet in the water. It was crystal clear and surprisingly cold, but we now can say we have been in the Adriatic Sea.
With an hour left before heading to the gym to play out second match, we all decided to grab some gelato. I think I’m becoming a huge fan. Hazelnut was today’s choice, but I also tried vanilla with chocolate and strawberry swirl yesterday.
We hopped on the bus for a short bus ride to the gym where we defeated the second Croatian team we played. We took them to five games but finished very well with the fifth set score being 15-4. All in all, we had a fantastic day and learned many new words and fun facts.
Here are a few: the city of Trogir is known for their olive oils, brandy and wine. I purchased some olive oil for my mom and grandma today. Chao is Croatian for good luck, bravo is good game and hvala is thank you.
Next, we will be going to Maribor in Slovenia which is about a five-hour drive.”
Geaux Tigers,
Madi