Senior guard Melissa Lechlitner (center) and the Notre Dame women's basketball team stopped in exotic Monte Carlo on Wednesday afternoon before continuing on to Lake Como, Italy, where they are preparing for their second exhibition game on Thursday night.

Melissa Lechlitner Diary Entry From Europe - Day 5

May 13, 2009

Editor’s note: During the Notre Dame women’s basketball team’s 10-day foreign tour of Europe, senior guard Melissa Lechlitner will file a daily diary after talking by phone with the South Bend Tribune’s Curt Rallo. Following are Lechlitner’s thoughts on the trip.

Ciao, Bella! We’re at Lake Como in Italy. Today was … crazy. Everything just keeps getting better and better. It’s like, how can you top Paris, and then we go to Nice. And then, how can you top Nice, and we got to Monaco, and then Lake Como. Lake Como is the pinnacle for me. It just doesn’t seem possible that the sights can keep getting better.

We started the morning with a two-mile run by the beach in Nice. It was kind of fun, for a run, because the sights were so beautiful, but it was still a run. But even though it was a run, you’re running past the Mediterranean Sea, there are palm trees, and mountains in the background.

After the run, we got on the bus and went to Monaco. It took us 45 minutes. The ride was up the mountains. It was a hilly and winding trip. Once we got there, we did a walking tour and had lunch on the harbor. There were all these million-dollar yachts surrounding us. While we were eating, a helicopter flew in and landed on a yacht. We were like, `Wow, could you have any more money?’ I’m getting a kayak this summer, and that’s big for me, and these people have million-dollar yachts with heliports for their helicopters.

We saw the palace in Monaco and saw the Changing of the Guards. We walked past the Monte Carlo Casino. Nobody went inside, but we took pictures of ourselves in front of it. It was cool, because everybody knows the Monte Carlo casino from James Bond and stuff. Then we went window shopping. Nobody could afford to buy anything because it’s so ridiculously priced.

After that, we took a bus to Lake Como. That was about four and a half hours. Everybody pretty much slept the whole time, because we were exhausted. We got to Lake Como at sundown, and the scenery is amazing. The lake is surrounded by mountains, and the incredibly gorgeous homes. This is definitely my favorite spot. It’s insane how gorgeous it is, and how much luxury these people live in. It really is stunning scenery.

OK, arrivederci.

Melissa Lechlitner
#23