May 28, 2009
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Coach Todd Lickliter’s University of Iowa men’s basketball team has reached the halfway point of its visit to Rome and Anthens. Fans have heard from a few of the student-athletes via blogs available exclusively at hawkeyesports.com. Today, we hear from a member of the staff, assistant coach Joel Cornette.
“The day started with a buffet breakfast in the hotel restaurant. They had a lot of the basic foods you would find on a breakfast buffet in the U.S., which all the guys seemed to enjoy as they spent about forty five minutes grazing!” Cornette writes in his blog entry.
“The tour bus arrived at 9:15 for our tour of the city of Athens. The first stop was Olympic Stadium, which held the first modern games in 1896. The actual stadium was made of marble, including the seats, and could hold about 69,000 fans. “We left the stadium and did a bus tour of Athens for the next half hour. We passed the Parliament building and the Temple of Zeus, as well as the shopping mall, and the soon to be opened Museum of the Acropolis. We then drove to the base of the Parthenon. The Parthenon lies within the Acropolis. Acro means high and polis means city, so it is the city on the hill. After we filed off the bus, we walked up many steps made of marble that were slippery and uneven, but lucky for us we made it up without any injury!
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“At the highest point of the Acropolis you are able to view the entire city center and the surrounding mountains. The marble pillars of the Parthenon were at least 70 feet tall and five feet in diameter. We took some team pictures when we could get all the players together, and just like everywhere we have ever traveled we ran into some Hawk fans!”
Joel Cornette
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“Once we got to the top, the view was incredible! Most of us have been able to catch a glimpse of the Acropolis from our hotel room windows, and to finally arrive at the summit and walk among ruins that have been there for thousands of years, was truly awesome. At the highest point of the Acropolis you are able to view the entire city center and the surrounding mountains. The marble pillars of the Parthenon were at least 70 feet tall and five feet in diameter. We took some team pictures when we could get all the players together, and just like everywhere we have ever traveled we ran into some Hawk fans!”
Click HERE for the rest of Joel’s blog and more.