First day in Montecatini

First day in Montecatini
Kellie Younger (sophomore), Logan Rost (sophomore), Alana Carroll (first-year)  01-13-11

We started our day off at 8:15 am with a lovely breakfast of pastries, fruit, juice and coffee.  We met with our tour guide, Ellen, at 10:00am to start a walking tour of Montecatini Terme.  Ellen gave us a brief history of the area and then we began exploring.  After an hour, we split into two groups, one going to the Italian Market and the other hiking to Montecatini Alto.  We were part of the group that hiked to Montecatini Alto, but we heard high reviews of the market. 
The hike to Montecatini Alto was quite difficult as we followed the winding path up a steep incline.  It had recently rained so avoiding mud puddles was a challenge.  Normally you can take the funicular (an electric railway) up the mountain but it was closed for the winter months.  Once at the top, the view was well worth the hike.  We had an aerial view of Montecatini Terme. We saw the church and fortress while we were there.  We ate lunch at a cafe called Caffe Guisti. We then hiked down a shorter route and rested at the hotel for a few hours. 
The hotel provided dinner at 5:00 pm which consisted of Crespelles Florentine style, Roast pork loin and potatoes, and apple pie for dessert.  Though the food was delicious we tried not to overeat because of our game later in the evening.  We returned to the rooms to put on our uniforms and then left for the game.  We played a Montecatini Club team and won 1-0 thanks to Tatum's goal.  We documented our victory with a picture in their goal after the game.