We Came. We Saw. We Blogged.

Everyone was grateful for a 9:00 wakeup call as we had a long day ahead of us. After breakfast, we checked out of the hotel and then had a quick bus ride to Vatican City. We met a local guide who led us on a walking tour, beginning with the Vatican Museum and ending in St Peter's Square. Luckily we had a reservation for our tour, because the line to get in was several hour long. We gratefully bypassed the long line and walked straight to the entrance, where we were subjected to metal detectors and x-ray machines.

Along the way we saw many of the important places in the Vatican. We were allowed to take pictures everywhere but the Sistine Chapel, as it is a place of worship and because camera flashes can damage the paintings. We also visited the biggest church in the world, St. Peter's Basilica. Inside the basilica, there is an alter that stands 100 feet tall (the size of a nine-story building), and it doesn't even come close to reaching the ceiling. 

The Pope was not in Vatican City but the guide pointed out his residence and the place where he addresses the pilgrims in the square. The Swiss guards, however are always in place, even when the Pope is away. 

Dr. Pelosi's excitement about seeing the Sistine Chapel for the first time was equal to Dr. Walker's (Chair of Sport Management) enthusiasm for the Roman Coliseum, which we saw yesterday.

After the tour we immediately got on the bus to head to Pesaro. Along the way we stopped to get lunch and when we got back on the bus we learned the results of round 2 of Coaches vs. Students. The students were able to squeeze out a narrow victory over the coaches, evening the score at 1. We then took our third quiz and listened to presentations on Ancient Rome and the Roman Coliseum, before having a little time to rest up before the game. 

Coaches' Pre-game Strategy Session on the Bus

We arrived in Pesaro and began to warm up for our third match and the team was ready to redeem themselves. They started off strong by possessing the ball and creating chances early. The Golden Bears capitalized half way through the first half on a great combination play that ended with Shawn Fitzpatrick placing the ball perfectly in the bottom left corner of the goal. Unfortunately the Italians, who were extremely technical, equalized in the final minutes of the first half. The second half began and the Italians capitalized on a second opportunity to take the lead 2-1. After back and forth play the Golden Bears finally drew even with less than 10 minutes to play. It was a great pass from Eric Marcelino to the outside midfielder, Ryan Mastalerz, who played a spectacular ball to the back post where Austin Santolini headed it home. The game ended soon there after in a tie which was an improved result but disappointing and will allow the Bears to build on their mistakes.

After the match, we headed five minutes into town to get dinner at a local restaurant. The mood was light as we munched on our salad and pizzas. One of Coach Sullivan's colleagues, a technical director for a local Italian soccer club, came to the game and stayed for dinner. The faculty and coaches enjoyed talking with him and learning more about the Italian Soccer Club system and the business of professional soccer in Italy. We are becoming more fluent in Italian and we have mastered some simple phrases like please and thank you, hello and goodbye, and let's go! The bus ride after dinner took us to San Marino where we checked into our hotel for the night.