ELON, N.C. – The Elon volleyball team is overseas in Italy for an international and cultural experience. Check in with elonphoenix.com every day to catch the players’ thoughts on their adventures. Fans can also follow the team on Twitter and Instragram.
 
Swiss beauty: Exploring Lake Laugano
 
Traveling to Switzerland was more striking than I had imagined. From the rolling hills that turn into magnificent towering mountains that are the Swiss Alps, to the hypnotizing architecture covering the mountain bases and surrounding the lakes, I was awestruck. Walking along the tree-lined sidewalks, Nutella gelato in hand, gazing out over Lake Lugano was something out of a movie (and there actually was something being filmed at a nearby cafe).
 
Twenty or so sailboats floated out on the breezy, white-capped water. I wished I could have been out there with them and maybe have my sailor parents as my crew.
 
A few of us sat at a lakeside cafe where I ordered the best spaghetti I have ever had (sorry mom, yours is still great!). After we paid, we realized that we were ripped off because the bill was in Swiss francs, but we paid in euros (1 franc = 0.8 euros). Then the change came back in francs that was equivalent to if we had paid in francs. (Apparently we tipped them about 30€.) We decided not to challenge the waiter to save ourselves the trouble of an incoherent argument of different languages that would get us nowhere. We left to walk around a bit longer.
 
As I was looking around at the fountains, the store-lined alleyways and across the lake, I said to myself multiple times, “I could definitely see myself living here, never mind a few barriers. That can be easily fixed.”
 
By Kris Harris
 
Chocolate shopping: It’s a complicated process
 
Well today we crossed Italy’s northern border into Switzerland to explore a chocolate factory, Alprose Chocolat, in Caslano-Lugano. You would have thought it was brain surgery for me. There were so many different types of chocolate that it was hard to just pick one.
 
The stress began after tasting all the wonderful FREE samples! The thought of which type each of my family members would like, how much of each kind, what kind I wanted — because after all I was the one buying it — overwhelmed me at first.
 
But have no fear. Marty, our athletic trainer, came to the rescue. After deciding on milk chocolate, milk chocolate with almonds, dark chocolate, and cappuccino chocolate, I decided it was a successful buying process.
 
By Catherine Head
 
The games begin with a well-matched opponent
 
The host club team from Meda outlasted Elon tonight 3-1 (23-25, 22-25, 25-22, 23-25). Every set was close and head coach Mary Tendler told her quiet players afterward that they played with good effort. They could count on playing even more sharply in another day.
 
Her prediction seemed right considering that the Elon contingent had landed in Milan a day-and-a-half earlier, jet lag was still faintly tugging on them, and they had little time to prepare.
 
Meda’s club team plays in the B-1 division in Italy. That’s the top level for non-professional players. In fact, the players showed up in uniform one at a time, no doubt arriving after getting off work. Most looked to be in their mid-twenties and they played with seasoned skills. They also smiled a lot, which was nice for a friendly match.
 
Some of the smiles were perhaps ironic or even nostalgic. A few supporters explained to me after the match that the team’s corporate sponsor had just ended its financial support, so the team was on the brink of dissolving.
 
We’ll have more on the match soon. The single-court gym was rather dimly lit and windows on the side were uncovered, so the match began a bit after 8 p.m. in a dusky glow.
 
The teams were quite well matched. That made for a good challenge. In the end, the Meda squad had better home-court karma.
 
An unexpected pleasure today was a group ride by private boat to admire the fabulous villas along the waterfront of Lake Como. We ogled the enduring 18th Century homes of opera singers, nobility, dictators, industrialists, actors and athletes.
 
Captain Ignatious piloted the craft — aptly named Fantasy – in a counter-clockwise route around the lake as he told stories through our guide and interpreter Aurelia about the aristocrats who once built and occupied the mansions. Second homes, apparently. Or last hideouts, in the case of WWII-era leader Benito Mussolini.
 
We saw swimming pools right along the waterfront, but no sand courts.
 
We were grateful for this surprise, and I hope the experience will prompt some stories from our transfixed players and coaches.
 
By Glenn Scott (Associate Professor, Communications)