Greetings from Italy!
This is the end of the third day of our trip, and it has been great so far. We have been to Rome and Florence, and neither of these cities were anything like the US. For most of the guys, this is their first trip to Europe, and some of them are overwhelmed. The plain ride was long and uncomfortable, but we got through it, and finally got to Rome after around 20 hours. We met our tour guide at the airport and went to the hotel, and the on to a bus tour of Rome. We got to see the Colosseum, the Senate, the Pantheon and the Vatican. We were on a bus, so we did not get a a close look. We went out of the bus at some places, like the Spanish Steps. To stay one night in Rome is not enough, but we tried to get as much out of it as possible.

 

We checked out of the hotel the following day, and went on to Florence. We saw a Serie A game, Fiorentina-Catania at Fiorentina's home stadium. The home team won 3-0 and the stadium and the environment was amazing. We went back to the little town we were staying in Montecatini Terme, and went out to explore the town.

While the rest of us went out, Hank Tobener was running around the hotel looking for the spa. He explained that he hadn't had a good pedicure in awhile. Eric McGinnis, on the other hand, was surprised when he found a map and stated that we were on an island.

 

This morning we went back to Florence for a guided tour, and some Italian cuisine. The food is different that what the guys are used to.

"This is not breakfast. Where are the eggs and bacon?"

"Why don't they have a meatlovers pizza? I'll just have one with some pepperoni"

 

We will try and keep you updated during our trip. Tomorrow we are going to the Republic of San Marino, and playing a game against a Serie D team (the fourth level in Italian men's soccer).