Completed Event: Women's Basketball at Eastern Kentucky on March 19, 2026 , Loss , 58, to, 72
Final Score
Women's Basketball
58
at Eastern Kentucky
72
The University of Utah Athletics
Utes Take Italy: Potter Posts About Rome
8/9/2017 8:34 AM | Women's Basketball
Ciao from Rome!
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Well actually, ciao from a highway between Rome to Florence for a couple hours. As we travel to our second destination, I have some time to reflect on our first stop in Italy.
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It has been a crazy couple of days since we first landed Sunday morning and we've been going nonstop since. I've been tracking my miles walked so far (6.76 miles on Sunday, 8.20 miles on Monday and 3.06 miles on Tuesday) and I guess you could say, I am definitely getting my steps in.Â
Flashback to before we left: a couple of my teammates and I decided to stayed up all night before we left Saturday and then sleep on the plane as much as possible so that we could adjust to staying awake all day Sunday! I think it worked out pretty well, but I have also been drinking a lot of espresso and cappuccino. I am not a coffee drinker at all, but I thought if I was going to do it, might as well do it in Italy in the hopes that it would help me stay awake during the day. The days have been super busy, but I do not want to miss a thing, so I catch my naps and sleep whenever/wherever I can.
Â
So, to start from the beginning, we landed Sunday morning and we did a little bus tour right away. It was around 100 degrees outside, plus the humidity was high, so it was definitely the best choice to see some of the sites from an air-conditioned bus. A few things we saw were St. Paul's Basilica, which is not by the Sistine Chapel or St. Peters Basilica, but outside the Rome walls built on top of Paul's grave.Â
Â
After that, we had a couple of hours to unpack, shower and nap. We then walked to dinner where we had pizza and pasta, of course! After dinner, we walked all around downtown to the Spanish steps, the Trevi Fountain, and the Pantheon. My theme for Rome has been the Lizzie McGuire movie, which if you haven't watched it, it's a classic. She visits Rome and goes to the Trevi Fountain, so it was great to be able to toss a coin in the fountain, snap some pictures and get some gelato just like the movie.Â
Â
We spent the rest of the evening walking around buying snacks and souvenirs. We then took public transportation back to the hotel, and immediately went to sleep. I had a great sleep, but some people struggled to stay asleep as they were still adjusting to the time difference (we are eight hours ahead of Salt Lake City time).Â
Â
Day two was just as eventful as day one, and we started the morning with breakfast on the hotel rooftop. It had an amazing view of all around the hotel and it was still cool enough in the morning to enjoy being outside before it gets too hot. We then left to go to the Colosseum and toured it and learned all about the history from our great tour guide. One of my favorite facts from the day was that the Colosseum could fit 250,000 people in it at one time, which was about a quarter of the total population at the time.
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The gladiators were some tough dudes because underneath the sand arena there were trap doors that could open at any moment and they never knew what was going to come out. Animals from all around the world were shipped in to fight, including elephants, hippos, rhinos, wolves, panthers and tigers. It was very big, but quite destroyed from people taking the marble and materials to use elsewhere in construction around Rome. I imagine it would be magnificent during its use, even if the games were quite gruesome. It was definitely another place to cross off my bucket list and we got some great pictures.
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After the Colosseum, we ate lunch at a little cafe (more pasta and some sandwiches) then had some free time to ourselves! We rested for a couple of hours and then headed off to practice. It was great to get the kinks out and move around after being stuck on a plane for so long. It's so easy to forget about working out when you are sightseeing all day, but as soon as we stepped back on that court, it was like we were home, even on the other side of the world. The gym was nice and toasty, so we were all extra loose and springy. Even I felt like I could jump off the floor! After our practice, we stretched it out and then headed back to the hotel to shower and go out for some sightseeing during the cooler evening hours.
Â
We made our way to the mile of shopping near our hotel called Via Del Corso for dinner and shopping. We started at one end and made it all the way to the other after we all bought some cute clothes and some more Italian souvenirs for our friends and family. At the end of the night after a dinner outside that consisted of, you guessed it, pizza and pasta, we needed to get back to the hotel for curfew. I was in a group of five and we quickly realized that with the unpredictable bus schedule that we might not make it in time. We flagged down a big cab, all jumped in and raced back to the hotel with five minutes to spare. None the less, we all made it back safely and tucked into bed.
Â
Wednesday morning was our last day in Rome and we finished it with my favorite tour thus far, the Vatican museum, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's Basilica. Being a catholic myself, it was amazing to see the birthplace of my religion and marvel at the architecture and art that covers every wall I walked by. I took tons of notes on my phone as the tour guide spoke because I didn't want to forget a thing!
Â
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Some of the highlights of the things I saw included the dome of St. Peter's, which is 450 feet tall and the tallest building in Rome, and it was the last piece Michelangelo worked on. After we saw the outside of the church, we walked through some galleries and saw ceilings that looked three dimensional, but were all flat and hand painted to look like moldings. In the following gallery, we saw tapestries that hung from the wall that were 500 years old and still so vibrant and full of different colors.
Â
After we walked through the galleries, we made our way into the Sistine Chapel. Honestly, I don't know if I have words to describe it. For years, Michelangelo stood with his neck strained looking straight up and painting the magnificent ceiling. There are nine different scenes on the ceiling and this was the first painting that Michelangelo ever did for the public. If I was given some brushes and told to paint that ceiling, I could probably draw some stick figures and a basketball hoop. On the front wall of the Chapel is another piece by Michelangelo called the Last Judgment, and it might have been my favorite. It shows the struggle between paradise, purgatory and hell, but depicts them in a circular wheel instead of just the three divisions. Some of the subjects in the painting are enjoying paradise, while others are trying to help those in hell escape, or pushing/pulling people down as well.
Â
I could go on for days about the Sistine Chapels, but St. Peter's Basilica was just as amazing. I don't even have a reference for how big this church was, but there were letters painted near the top of the back wall that looked like normal writing, but really, each letter was six feet tall! We walked around the entire church, got to say a prayer, and even rubbed the feet of the statue of St. Peter for good luck! That tour is something I will never forget, and I feel like I must go back again someday.
Â
There were so many different domes and statues you could fit thousands of people in that church, which is exactly how many came through it that day. Our tour guide told us that there were 20,000 reservations for the museum for Tuesday, August 8Â alone, and that about six million people visit the Vatican every year. I was super overwhelmed and tired after the tour, but before we hopped on the bus, we grabbed a quick lunch and then piled on to hit the road. I didn't spot the pope, but I did get a picture with two nuns.
Â
I couldn't think of a better way to start our trip to Italy besides Rome, it was completely picturesque. As Lizzie said, questo e cio che i sogni sono fatti di!
Â
On to Florence!
- Emily Potter
Â
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Well actually, ciao from a highway between Rome to Florence for a couple hours. As we travel to our second destination, I have some time to reflect on our first stop in Italy.
Â
It has been a crazy couple of days since we first landed Sunday morning and we've been going nonstop since. I've been tracking my miles walked so far (6.76 miles on Sunday, 8.20 miles on Monday and 3.06 miles on Tuesday) and I guess you could say, I am definitely getting my steps in.Â
Flashback to before we left: a couple of my teammates and I decided to stayed up all night before we left Saturday and then sleep on the plane as much as possible so that we could adjust to staying awake all day Sunday! I think it worked out pretty well, but I have also been drinking a lot of espresso and cappuccino. I am not a coffee drinker at all, but I thought if I was going to do it, might as well do it in Italy in the hopes that it would help me stay awake during the day. The days have been super busy, but I do not want to miss a thing, so I catch my naps and sleep whenever/wherever I can.
Â
So, to start from the beginning, we landed Sunday morning and we did a little bus tour right away. It was around 100 degrees outside, plus the humidity was high, so it was definitely the best choice to see some of the sites from an air-conditioned bus. A few things we saw were St. Paul's Basilica, which is not by the Sistine Chapel or St. Peters Basilica, but outside the Rome walls built on top of Paul's grave.Â
Â
After that, we had a couple of hours to unpack, shower and nap. We then walked to dinner where we had pizza and pasta, of course! After dinner, we walked all around downtown to the Spanish steps, the Trevi Fountain, and the Pantheon. My theme for Rome has been the Lizzie McGuire movie, which if you haven't watched it, it's a classic. She visits Rome and goes to the Trevi Fountain, so it was great to be able to toss a coin in the fountain, snap some pictures and get some gelato just like the movie.Â
Â
We spent the rest of the evening walking around buying snacks and souvenirs. We then took public transportation back to the hotel, and immediately went to sleep. I had a great sleep, but some people struggled to stay asleep as they were still adjusting to the time difference (we are eight hours ahead of Salt Lake City time).Â
Â
Day two was just as eventful as day one, and we started the morning with breakfast on the hotel rooftop. It had an amazing view of all around the hotel and it was still cool enough in the morning to enjoy being outside before it gets too hot. We then left to go to the Colosseum and toured it and learned all about the history from our great tour guide. One of my favorite facts from the day was that the Colosseum could fit 250,000 people in it at one time, which was about a quarter of the total population at the time.
Â
Day ??? in Rome. Colosseum tour and practice followed by shopping and currently eating dinner outside. ?????? pic.twitter.com/vmHBqViNNd
— emily potter (@empotter10) August 7, 2017
Â
The gladiators were some tough dudes because underneath the sand arena there were trap doors that could open at any moment and they never knew what was going to come out. Animals from all around the world were shipped in to fight, including elephants, hippos, rhinos, wolves, panthers and tigers. It was very big, but quite destroyed from people taking the marble and materials to use elsewhere in construction around Rome. I imagine it would be magnificent during its use, even if the games were quite gruesome. It was definitely another place to cross off my bucket list and we got some great pictures.
Â
Questo è ciò che i sogni sono fatti di - This is what dreams are made of. ?? pic.twitter.com/PNJt2FUuXT
— emily potter (@empotter10) August 8, 2017
Â
After the Colosseum, we ate lunch at a little cafe (more pasta and some sandwiches) then had some free time to ourselves! We rested for a couple of hours and then headed off to practice. It was great to get the kinks out and move around after being stuck on a plane for so long. It's so easy to forget about working out when you are sightseeing all day, but as soon as we stepped back on that court, it was like we were home, even on the other side of the world. The gym was nice and toasty, so we were all extra loose and springy. Even I felt like I could jump off the floor! After our practice, we stretched it out and then headed back to the hotel to shower and go out for some sightseeing during the cooler evening hours.
Â
We made our way to the mile of shopping near our hotel called Via Del Corso for dinner and shopping. We started at one end and made it all the way to the other after we all bought some cute clothes and some more Italian souvenirs for our friends and family. At the end of the night after a dinner outside that consisted of, you guessed it, pizza and pasta, we needed to get back to the hotel for curfew. I was in a group of five and we quickly realized that with the unpredictable bus schedule that we might not make it in time. We flagged down a big cab, all jumped in and raced back to the hotel with five minutes to spare. None the less, we all made it back safely and tucked into bed.
Â
Wednesday morning was our last day in Rome and we finished it with my favorite tour thus far, the Vatican museum, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's Basilica. Being a catholic myself, it was amazing to see the birthplace of my religion and marvel at the architecture and art that covers every wall I walked by. I took tons of notes on my phone as the tour guide spoke because I didn't want to forget a thing!
Â
Vatican City this morning ?????? #UtesTakeItaly pic.twitter.com/Fyvp24Alti
— Utah WBasketball (@UTAHWBB) August 8, 2017
Â
Some of the highlights of the things I saw included the dome of St. Peter's, which is 450 feet tall and the tallest building in Rome, and it was the last piece Michelangelo worked on. After we saw the outside of the church, we walked through some galleries and saw ceilings that looked three dimensional, but were all flat and hand painted to look like moldings. In the following gallery, we saw tapestries that hung from the wall that were 500 years old and still so vibrant and full of different colors.
Â
After we walked through the galleries, we made our way into the Sistine Chapel. Honestly, I don't know if I have words to describe it. For years, Michelangelo stood with his neck strained looking straight up and painting the magnificent ceiling. There are nine different scenes on the ceiling and this was the first painting that Michelangelo ever did for the public. If I was given some brushes and told to paint that ceiling, I could probably draw some stick figures and a basketball hoop. On the front wall of the Chapel is another piece by Michelangelo called the Last Judgment, and it might have been my favorite. It shows the struggle between paradise, purgatory and hell, but depicts them in a circular wheel instead of just the three divisions. Some of the subjects in the painting are enjoying paradise, while others are trying to help those in hell escape, or pushing/pulling people down as well.
Â
I could go on for days about the Sistine Chapels, but St. Peter's Basilica was just as amazing. I don't even have a reference for how big this church was, but there were letters painted near the top of the back wall that looked like normal writing, but really, each letter was six feet tall! We walked around the entire church, got to say a prayer, and even rubbed the feet of the statue of St. Peter for good luck! That tour is something I will never forget, and I feel like I must go back again someday.
Â
There were so many different domes and statues you could fit thousands of people in that church, which is exactly how many came through it that day. Our tour guide told us that there were 20,000 reservations for the museum for Tuesday, August 8Â alone, and that about six million people visit the Vatican every year. I was super overwhelmed and tired after the tour, but before we hopped on the bus, we grabbed a quick lunch and then piled on to hit the road. I didn't spot the pope, but I did get a picture with two nuns.
Â
I couldn't think of a better way to start our trip to Italy besides Rome, it was completely picturesque. As Lizzie said, questo e cio che i sogni sono fatti di!
Â
On to Florence!
- Emily Potter
Â
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