#BirdsAbroad Coach Gillespie's Travel Log: Aug. 16

The Illinois State women's basketball program is on an 11-day foreign trip (Aug. 6-16) exploring Italy. Follow the Redbirds on social media (#BirdsAbroad) and with a daily travel log on goredbrids.com. Today's blog entry post is brought to you by Advocate BroMenn Medical Center. 

Buongiorno! We had an incredible 10 days in Italy. Our group enjoyed learning about the Italian culture, eating all the pasta and pizza we could, and partaking in more than our fair share of gelato. Rome is such a historical city that showed us sites like The Colosseum, Sistine Chapel and many more. 

Florence was a good change of pace. It is a quaint city, where you can get lost exploring on the cobblestone streets. Venice is one of a kind. The gondola ride was the highlight of the day. We made a short stop in Verona on our way to Como, where we saw Juliet's balcony. As we turned the corner to our last destination, Como, the ooh's and aah's from the entire bus would not do the sight we saw justice. It is one of the most breathtaking cities that I have seen, and we got to enjoy a boat tour of Lake Como to top it all off. 

The three games we got to play over here were so beneficial for our team. I felt that we improved each time we took the floor, which is what our staff was hoping to see. The experience our newcomers gained will be invaluable. The opportunity to see our returners take on new roles, especially in game situations, will only help us prepare for the upcoming season. 

As much as I enjoyed the sightseeing and games, the highlight for me was watching our team strengthen their bond and make lifelong memories. There were more laughs shared than we could possibly count!

I would like to thank President Dietz, Larry Lyons, Leanna Bordner and all of the other administrators who understood the importance and value of a trip like this. To our donors, thank you for helping to provide our program this incredible experience. A special thank you to all those who accompanied our group. It was awesome to have so many family members with us. Lastly, thank you to Basketball Travelers, Josh Carper and Mario Marcosano for organizing and guiding us on this incredible adventure! 

Arrivederci! 

#BirdsAbroad #TogetherWeWill

GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App:  Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.