Our day began with a 6:30 AM wakeup call (that's 12:30 AM ET for those of you keeping track back at home). After a quick breakfast, we loaded the bus and headed for Rome. Almost everyone fell back asleep on the bus but after a bathroom stop and some parking lot stretches, everyone was wide awake. Once we were back on the bus, we took our second quiz. In this round of Coaches vs Students, the coaches were penalized one point off their final average due to their, seemingly patterned, slight tardiness to group meetings. After the quiz we had six presentations on topics including DaVinci, Michelangelo, The Medici, and Galileo.
Upon arrival in Rome, we had free time to explore and get lunch. Rome is much more of a city than Florence of Como, so though it was busy, there were still plenty of places to eat. Pasta and pizza seem to be the favorite dishes.
After lunch, we had a guided walking tour of the ancient city. Taking about two hours, we saw many historic sights and some modern ones as well. We began at the Coliseum and the Arch of Constantine making our way throughout the city. Along the way we also saw the Pantheon and the Fountain of Four Rivers which are both magnificent.
After the tour, we climbed back on the bus and headed to the second soccer game of the trip. Played in Maccarese, we only had a short drive to get there.
We arrived to the facility around 6pm and began to warm up under the blazing Italian sun. After the teams exchanged banners, they lined up, and the game was underway. The Italian's were a Serie D semi professional team who were extremely technical and very aggressive. The game was full of intense tackles but somehow after great showmanship from the Italians they displayed their abilities to posses the ball in many ways. The match allowed us to employ the tactics from the Italian National Coach which was very beneficial and gave some close opportunities for the Bears to score. Though the Golden Bears maintained constant pressure, the Italians were to much, and with a late penalty kick in the second half the outcome was 2-0 in favor of the Italians.
Departing after the game, we headed to our hotel to check in. After quick showers and clean clothes, we had dinner in the hotel restaurant just outside Rome. Tomorrow we get to see Vatican City and play our third match.
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