San Diego Surf Central Girls – SCl Rome

Overall: Fabulous!!! A tremendous combination of competitive matches and cultural exposure. We had guided tour of Coliseum, walking tour of part of Rome, take cooking class as a team/group, and watch Serie A match while still playing high level teams. Michele, our GSA Rome host/liaison: BY FAR THE BEST PART OF OUR TRIP! MICHELE ROCKS!!!!!! He was OUTSTANDING in EVERY aspect. Professional, courteous, friendly, knowledgeable, and caring, he was the perfect host. He truly cared about our team and did his very best to ensure that we had the ideal group experience. Bilingual (from Italy and currently living in the US coaching competitive youth teams), Michele was uniquely placed to advocate for us, both on and off the pitch. He accompanied us on all of our group activities and was available at all hours, no matter the issue or question. And he did it with a smile. GSA couldn’t have recruited a better ambassador. Transportation: adequate. We came to Rome before the rest of the team so did not get picked up at airport by GSA, but GSA comfortably transported us back to airport when we left with plenty of time to get through check-in and customs. Bus transport to and from matches and activities were all overall adequate. Hotel accommodations: mixed. Hotel positives: 1. Fantastic buffet style meals, best I’ve ever experienced on a soccer tour, 2. Excellent rooms, 3. Included gym with both cardio and weights, 4. Swimming pool (opened April 1), 5. Spa (services available for fees interested), 4. Nearby park. Hotel negatives: 1. Location – west, 20 min distant from city center so cost $$, 2. Hotel shuttle to town too few times and not useful, 3. No onsite washer and dryers to do laundry (same day laundry service available but expensive). The location of the matches and hotel was unbelievable. From our stand, we could see the back side of St. Peter’s Basilica almost directly beyond the field. Impressive. In summary, we would give the GSA event 4 out 5 without Michele as our host. With him, the trip was easily 5 out 5. Michele is a star.