Boston College Athletics
Rowing European Tour: Italy
July 17, 2017 | Rowing
The Eagles continue their four-country tour in Italy
The rowing team traveled through Europe for three weeks to four different countries, practicing, competing and learning about different cultures along the way. Student-athletes chronicled the team's journey. The second is by rising senior Claire Orzel as the Eagles made the second leg of their journey to Italy.
After saying obrigada to Portugal for the wonderful time spent there, the team headed for Italy. Following our flight, we drove an hour to the small town of Gavirate, where the stunning views of Lake Varese were a welcome sight. After a little bit of down time, we had an afternoon practice on the water to become acclimated to the course and take in the beautiful scenery of the surrounding mountains.
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We got in some solid training the following morning. Hearing Italian church bells toll through the mountains during our 3x2k workout made the course all the more surreal. Races on this trip included the 8+, 4+, 4-, 2-, and single. Practicing in these different was a great experience in adaptation and doing it abroad makes it that much more exciting and new.
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After practice, we went out for an afternoon hike and dinner in the Lake Como region.
We began our four-hour hike up and around the mountains of Lake Como with an hour of nearly vertical climbing: a challenging but rewarding feat once we stopped to take in the views. Looking down on the town's surrounding Lake Como was reassurance enough for many teammates who said they would like to come back and stay longer in the future. One thousand meters of vertical elevation, 8.5 miles and over 20,000 steps later, we stopped for dinner and were treated to a variety of Italian cuisine, most importantly, pasta. Our day in Como was one of the team's favorites so far.
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The next morning brought another productive training session back in Gavirate and then an afternoon trip to Milan. The team headed into the city and saw the Duomo, followed by a couple of rounds of gelato and shopping in the fashion capital of the world. We ended the day with bruschetta, pizza and pasta and headed back to Gavirate for our final night's stay in the town.
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Next up is Switzerland for our third leg of the trip and gearing up and excited for racing and representing Boston College internationally.
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After saying obrigada to Portugal for the wonderful time spent there, the team headed for Italy. Following our flight, we drove an hour to the small town of Gavirate, where the stunning views of Lake Varese were a welcome sight. After a little bit of down time, we had an afternoon practice on the water to become acclimated to the course and take in the beautiful scenery of the surrounding mountains.
Â
We got in some solid training the following morning. Hearing Italian church bells toll through the mountains during our 3x2k workout made the course all the more surreal. Races on this trip included the 8+, 4+, 4-, 2-, and single. Practicing in these different was a great experience in adaptation and doing it abroad makes it that much more exciting and new.
Â
After practice, we went out for an afternoon hike and dinner in the Lake Como region.
We began our four-hour hike up and around the mountains of Lake Como with an hour of nearly vertical climbing: a challenging but rewarding feat once we stopped to take in the views. Looking down on the town's surrounding Lake Como was reassurance enough for many teammates who said they would like to come back and stay longer in the future. One thousand meters of vertical elevation, 8.5 miles and over 20,000 steps later, we stopped for dinner and were treated to a variety of Italian cuisine, most importantly, pasta. Our day in Como was one of the team's favorites so far.
Â
The next morning brought another productive training session back in Gavirate and then an afternoon trip to Milan. The team headed into the city and saw the Duomo, followed by a couple of rounds of gelato and shopping in the fashion capital of the world. We ended the day with bruschetta, pizza and pasta and headed back to Gavirate for our final night's stay in the town.
Â
Next up is Switzerland for our third leg of the trip and gearing up and excited for racing and representing Boston College internationally.
Â
Players Mentioned
/ Rowing
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