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The Amalfi coast

By Chrishawn Orange
Augustana men’s basketball

My day to write and it began with a wake-up call at 7:30 a.m. from assistant coach Jordan Delp. He told me in the most monotone voice I’ve ever heard “wake up”.

We headed down to breakfast, which was pretty good. They had croissants with lemon powder on them and it was the best croissant I’ve ever had. From there we lined up in a single file line and started our morning walk down to our bus, so we could visit one of the most beautiful coastlines in the world – the Amalfi Coast. On the busiest street in Sorrento, because of the people heading to work, our bus driver was making tight turns and not at a low speed.

Traveling on the bus we were able to see some breathtaking views. The kind that look like they belong on a post card. Seeing views we have never seen before and at some points it almost looked fake because of how beautiful they were. With no sun out there was a calm fog on the water and it made the scenery look very majestic.

When I looked out onto Mediterranean Sea I couldn’t tell where the water ended and where the clouds began and it was truly unbelievable. Driving to Amalfi Coast we ran into some major traffic congestion. At one point we almost crashed into another bus and the locals around the area helped us maneuver out and we made it to Amalfi Coast in one piece.

There was bumper-to-bumper traffic and we were barely moving. With all of the houses on the mountain it created a vertical city. This was remarkable because in city of Positano all of the houses are on a cliff. It’s crazy to see how people built a city on a mountain and with the limited technology they had it still is maintained today. We maintained a positive attitude, despite the slow going, because of all of the picturesque views we saw along the way.

When we arrived at the Amalfi Coast, we split up into groups. I enjoyed my day at Amalfi Coast with fellow sophomores Nolan Ebel (Regis Jesuit HS, Englewood, Colo.) and Pierson Wofford (Springfield Lutheran HS, Springfield, Ill.) and Nolan’s parents. We all went out to lunch at an authentic Italian restaurant. There I had an unusual dish that I wasn’t sure, if the combination went together until I ate it. It was ham and cantaloupe and it was incredible.

After lunch I met up with my roommate Dylan Sortillo (Bettendorf HS, Bettendorf, Iowa) and we went down to the coast-line to take the famous picture we always see other people take. The kind when they are in the water and the beautiful building are in the back.

We headed back to Sorrento where we finished our day doing some shopping. This is where Coach Delp made his first purchase of the trip and bought his mom a bottle of olive oil.

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Leaving Spain, barely

By Dylan Sortillo
Augustana men’s basketball

Today was our last day in Spain. It was such a good time that it was certainly hard to leave but a little easier knowing that we get to spend the next five days in Italy.

Leaving Spain was kind of an eye-opening moment in realizing how surreal this whole trip is. As we prepared to board the bus to head to the airport, we reflected about how lucky we all are to be in this position. We are getting to explore some of the most amazing parts of the world with our best friends and get to play the game we love while we do it.

It’s crazy to think about the places basketball has taken us and this trip, specifically, has made us realize how blessed we really are. And of course none of this would have even been possible without the extraordinary support of our parents, other family members, coaches, and Augustana College.

Not only was Spain a blast but we also learned a ton of new information about the history and the culture by experiencing it first-hand. The one thing that became extremely evident was that absolutely none of us actually knew how to do the salsa. Although some tried like senior Michael Hoekstra, it did not go over so well. Besides our less superior dance moves, it was special to interact with the local people and see their everyday life and what it would be like to live in Spain.

Now, Spain was incredible but I think it’s important to mention we did nearly get left there.

As we sat at our gate 20 minutes before our flight was to leave, nobody seemed to realize that the plane wasn’t there and we were the only ones at the gate. Mrs. Giovanine made the biggest play of the trip thus far; bigger than any basket or shot, by doing some research and realizing our gate had been switched. We rushed to the appropriate gate and made it just in time.

When we got to Naples we got onto a bus and headed towards Sorento, Italy. After a scenic drive we approached the town that sits right on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea with enormous mountains on all sides. The layout of the city with houses of all colors scattered in all directions and hotels and shops directly lining the coast overlooking the endless crystal blue water. As we stopped and took in the view my fellow junior and 100% Italian friend Joseph Ranallo and I agreed it was probably going to be one of the most beautiful sites we’ll ever see in our entire lives.

Yesterday I talked about the winding roads of the Monterresot but today we will have to multiply that times 10. I actually personally shook the bus drivers hand for being able to maneuver through the mountain and beautiful villages that looked straight out of the movies. Finally it got to the point where it was too tight for the bus to fit, so we had to get out with our luggage and walk single file the rest of the way to our hotel, Hotel Spicy.

Once we settled in we got back in our single file line and headed to the city to explore the shops and city center. One of the biggest hits was a world famous Gelato shop that nearly everyone explored before dinner. For dinner at Hotel Spicy we got our first taste of the wonderful Italian food. For starters we had bruschetta, followed by pasta with gnocchi and mozzarella. At this point many of us thought we were done and began to head to our rooms. Little did we know we still had grilled Italian sausage and potatoes to eat and even chocolate powdered cake to finish it off for dessert.

Tomorrow we look to explore more of the beautiful sites of Italy as we visit the Amalfi Coast.

This amazing journey continues.

Go Vikes!