SuperFreak

When Coach Small told the team that Florence was by far his favorite city in the world I thought to myself there is no way that any city could compare to Venice. I quickly learned why Florence is Coach’s favorite. Surrounded by mountains and hills, Florence has everything one would imagine a historical renaissance Italian town to have and more.

The first order of business when the bus arrived in Florence was to quickly check in to the hotel and get right back on the bus to head to our second game. Our game was against “Camp Darby”, a US Military Base. I speak for all of my teammates when I say there was something bigger than just ten men playing a basketball game. It was such an honor and a privilege to play a team comprised of the men who sacrifice so much so that people like myself can enjoy the everyday freedoms that we so often take for granted. I would like to give a shout out to the entire Team Darby and my man “SuperFreak”, as his friends so affectionately called him.

Our second day was comprised of a walking tour of Florence and a tour of The Accademia, the museum which houses the statue of David. I am far from a fine art connoisseur but I can see why the statue is so famous. We then had some free time to explore the city on our own. The open air markets, fine Italian leather shops, and the street performers all added to the unique charm of the city.

The main event of the day was dinner. Mr. Mike Piotrowicz, an alumnus of Ursinus basketball and who also had his son, Teddy, play for the Bears in both basketball and baseball, picked up the tab for our entire group to eat at his favorite restaurant in all of Italy, Il Latini. The word feast does not come close to describing the amount of food that was served. Everything from Liver to flan was served and it was all delicious. The courses were as follows:

Course 1:

Bruchetta, cantaloupe wrapped in prosciutto, liver patte

Course 2:

pasta fagiol, tortellini with tomato sauce and basil, penne Bolognese, boppa with vegetable

Course 3:

Veal, lamb, chicken, T-bone steak, pork, potatoes, and vegetables

Course 4:

Rasberry tarte, almond crub cake, flan, cream puffs, biscotti

The dinner culminated with speeches by two former Ursinus players, Bill Furry and Bret Jenkins. In them, they recounted past unique Ursinus Basketball experiences, memories that included the Piotrowitz family, and reminded us of how lucky we are to have Coach Small as the head of our Basketball Family. Our whole group would like to thank Mr. Piotrowicz for his generosity and a great experience.

We are currently on the bus heading to the beach to enjoy the Mediterranean Sea, stopping at the Leaning Tower of Pisa on the way. But, we had the morning and early afternoon to do some more exploring. The Duomo was a popular spot for many of us. The Duomo is a massive church with a huge reddish dome that can be seen from everywhere in the city, just like Lou’s head.

Blogs about our trip to the beach and Rome will be up soon.

P.S. – Laura (my sister), I tripped when I was on the balcony atop the Duomo and almost fell over the edge. Don’t worry, I am ok. Your camera did not fare so well and broke. Love ya!