Washington State University Athletics
Italy Daily Journal - Josh Hawkinson
August 07, 2016 | Men's Basketball
Each day a Cougar men's basketball student-athlete will write about his experience in Italy.
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Josh Hawkinson: Aug. 5, 2016
We left at 6:15 a.m. from Pullman on Thursday, Aug. 4, to bus to Spokane to take a flight to Minneapolis. We had a couple hour layover in Minneapolis and then flew 9 hours straight to Rome where it was 10 a.m. (9 hours ahead of Pacific Time).Â
Upon arrival we went to the coliseum where we had a guide who explained the history and background of the largest amphitheater ever built. We also got to see the roman forum and later got back on the bus to get a tour of the Rome city center and the Capitol Hill area. One of the cool things we saw on this tour was the Circus Maximus, which was an ancient roman chariot-racing stadium that could hold up to 200,000 spectators.Â
After the tour we went to lunch and had some extremely good pizza and went to the hotel to check in. From there we changed into our basketball gear and headed off to practice. We practiced for an hour and a half at a local professional team's gym and came back to shower up and get ready for dinner.Â
We ate at restaurant called Al Vero Girarrosto Toscano, which was the best Italian food I have had in my life. We were served a five0course dinner with buffalo mozzarella cheese, quiche, olives, fried zucchini, bread with olive oil and vinegar, salad, penne pasta, gnocchi, ravioli, lemon chicken and tiramisu for dessert. After that we went back to the hotel and were exhausted from our day of travel and sightseeing immediately fell asleep. Overall it was a tiring, but great first day in Italy.Â
My parents are leading our tour as part of Basketball Travelers. This trip is unique because I've been on trips like this before with my dad when he has led tours, but it's cool to finally be on one with our team.Â
Ciao,Â
Josh Hawkinson
 
Josh Hawkinson: Aug. 5, 2016
We left at 6:15 a.m. from Pullman on Thursday, Aug. 4, to bus to Spokane to take a flight to Minneapolis. We had a couple hour layover in Minneapolis and then flew 9 hours straight to Rome where it was 10 a.m. (9 hours ahead of Pacific Time).Â
Upon arrival we went to the coliseum where we had a guide who explained the history and background of the largest amphitheater ever built. We also got to see the roman forum and later got back on the bus to get a tour of the Rome city center and the Capitol Hill area. One of the cool things we saw on this tour was the Circus Maximus, which was an ancient roman chariot-racing stadium that could hold up to 200,000 spectators.Â
After the tour we went to lunch and had some extremely good pizza and went to the hotel to check in. From there we changed into our basketball gear and headed off to practice. We practiced for an hour and a half at a local professional team's gym and came back to shower up and get ready for dinner.Â
We ate at restaurant called Al Vero Girarrosto Toscano, which was the best Italian food I have had in my life. We were served a five0course dinner with buffalo mozzarella cheese, quiche, olives, fried zucchini, bread with olive oil and vinegar, salad, penne pasta, gnocchi, ravioli, lemon chicken and tiramisu for dessert. After that we went back to the hotel and were exhausted from our day of travel and sightseeing immediately fell asleep. Overall it was a tiring, but great first day in Italy.Â
My parents are leading our tour as part of Basketball Travelers. This trip is unique because I've been on trips like this before with my dad when he has led tours, but it's cool to finally be on one with our team.Â
Ciao,Â
Josh Hawkinson
 
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