Hawkeye Fan Shop — A Black & Gold Store | 2017-18 Men’s Basketball Ticket Wait List | European Tour Central | Lake Como Photo Gallery
COMO, Italy — University of Iowa men’s basketball redshirt junior Brady Ellingson took the time this evening to write to Hawkeyenation about the experiences he and his teammates had today touring one of the most beautiful places in the world.
This morning we went on a two-hour boat cruise on Lake Como in Italy. We were able to take in some magnificent views along the boat cruise. All of us got some amazing pictures and videos on the boat. The water here is so clear and blue that we could see fish while on the boat. The weather has been in the 80’s all day with nothing but sunshine. While we were on the boat cruise, we all sang happy birthday to C-Will for his 21st birthday today. Our two-hour boat cruise ended when we arrived at Bellagio.
Bellagio is a small town on the shore of Lake Como. We all stopped there and were able to walk around for a couple of hours to shop and get some food. I had the best lasagna I have ever had at a little restaurant in Bellagio called “La Grotta”. I recommend it to anyone who goes there in the future! On the way back from Bellagio we took a ferry boat to drop us off at our bus, and then we took a 45 minute bus ride back to our hotel. Around Lake Como the streets are really narrow and there are buildings and houses right alongside the roads so it was a pretty crazy drive. At one point our bus and another bus approached each other nearly head on. We had to squeeze past them with only a few inches in between our bus and their bus! (Shoutout Antony)
Once we got back to the hotel, we were all wanting to cool off and take a swim. Here in Lake Como around the hotel there aren’t any sandy beaches. It’s just concrete walls that separates the water from the land. We walked around a bit to find some steps that lead down to the water because that was our only chance of swimming. We ended up jumping off a ledge into the lake that had steps that lead down to the water that was roughly 30 feet high. Everyone around us stopped and watched us jump off. It was one of the best moments of the trip for sure!
This has been a trip of a lifetime so far. We are having a blast traveling around Europe and playing games! Stay tuned for more updates on our trip, and Go Hawks!
Brady Ellingson
