Sunday, April 5, 2015

Day 5 - Breakfast in Spain

It was up early again today with breakfast at 7:15. 
The European Continent is the origin of the "Continental Breakfast."  We have all had a so-called "Contintal Breakfast" on a long soccer weekend. In the US, it seems to basically mean "cold breakfast," and bread, yogurt,  and cheap cereal are typical offerings.  However, once you have experienced one of these breakfasts in Europe, you come to realize what this really means. A European breakfast has a diversity of offerings of delicious, quality, fresh foods,  in Spain is very much in line with the true  Continental breakfast tradition. 

UNDEFEATED IN PORTUGAL!!!

Hello again after a loooong break. There have been some technology frustrations this trip. The type of internet available in Spain and Portugal has been a problem with the security settings on my work laptop. I have been trying to find a work-around for the problem, but have not had much success just yet. In the meanwhile -- it is exciting to be able to report that Fort Wayne United is UNDEFEATED in Portugal. We are up in the mountains in Portugal, near the Spanish border, not far from Vigo, Spain. Both teams played yesterday in a BEAUTIFUL stadium which is used by nearby professional teams for their training sessions.  They were tired, but powered-through and both teams walked away with the W, as well as a great story to tell about playing soccer in the mountains of Portugal against a Portuguese team who graciously offered them the jerseys off of their backs in a jersey exchange after the game.

All kids are doing well, having a great time and learning a lot! Working to resolve tech issues so that I can do a full update on all of the events!

Going to the Barcelona v. Celta Vigo game tonight in Vigo.  Leaving soon!

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Day 4 - Wednesday April 1st

Day 4, the second full day in Spain was another busy day! 

Up early again and down to breakfast by 8am, the kids had to be dressed and ready for the bus at 8:45.  Players and coaches headed off to a training session with a La Liga clinician.  Some parents joined the group at that session, while other parents and guests profited from a little down time to explore a little in Barcelona.



After a good work out, it was back to the hotel for a quick shower and lunch.  After sandwiches, chips, and fruit on the hotel patio, it was a rush into the bus for a tour of downtown Barcelona.  After a short bus tour of down-town, we stopped at the central plaza downtown and picked up a local tour guide before heading out to the edge of town to visit the world famous Guell Park.  On the trip, our guide gave us the background and history of Guell Park, but nothing can prepare you for the first view.  All were amazed by the work of the world famous architect, Antoni Gaudi.  What a vision he had!  Inspired by the English and Parisian garden-city movements, the park was originally part of a commercially unsuccessful housing site, the idea of the wealthy Count Eseubi Guell, after whom the park was named.  He hired the avant-garde architecte, Gaudi, to collaborate in his vision.  They imagined an organized grouping of high-quality homes, decked out with all the latest technological advancements to ensure maximum comfort, finished off with an artistic touch and set in a garden-park setting to maximize exposure to the health benefits of fresh air, lacking in Barcelona with the Industrial Revolution in Full Swing.  Unfortunately, Barcelona lacked the vision of Gaudi and Guell, and the housing development was entirely unsuccessful.  It has since been converted to a public garden/park owned by the city of Barcelona and open to the public.  However, the infrastructure imagined and installed by Gaudi for his "city" is still a primary feature of the park.  When visiting, it is hard to imagine why it would have not been a successful venture; the place is phenomenally beautiful, and fantastic (in the truest sense of the word fantasy!)    The kids were simply amazed by the intricate ceramic mozaics, and found the scope of the infrastructure staggering!
















[more about Guell Park here:  http://www.parkguell.es/en/portada  ] 


After Guell Park, we headed back to downtown Barcelona, where we parked the bus and headed on foot straight for La Sagrada Familia, which is probably the most iconic site in Barcelona.  Named in the local Catalan language,  "The Holy Family" is one of Europe's rare Modernist Basicila's.  It can only be built using donations from the Faithful, and - as such - has been in construction for over 100 years.  When complete, it will hold over 13,000 people.  It is a massive structure, and we had to get some distance from it to even contemplate its scope.  As we posed for group pictures, we encountered a group of French high school students.  While posing for photos, the groups briefly interacted, which was kind of fun.   Of course, focus on La Sagrada Familia was briefly lost, especially on the part of the older boys.  After all, who is Gaudi to compete with pretty teenaged French girls?  With chants of "Vive la France" and "USA, USA" echoing throughout the park, we continued on our way around the pond and completed our tour of the façade of La Sagrada Familia.  We had almost completed the round, when...once again, focus shattered.  There it was, in scarlet and blue and as big as life - the Mecca to soccer players of all ages: a giant CFB store.  The Sagrada Familia was again forgotten, as the players saw the store.  As one of the 12s said: "It sucked me in!!"   haha.   It was time to get back to the bus and head out for tonight's game, though, so we hustled them out of the store and back to the bus, throwing a few parting glances over our shoulders at La Sagrada Familia... that will just have to be for another time!




 



[ For more about La Sagrada Familia, please see here:  http://www.sagradafamilia.cat/sf-eng/docs_serveis/informacio.php  ]

Tonight's games were against CF Lloreda, a very well respected local club.  Their senior teams are in the 2nd division in Spain.  The games were very fast and tough games with a lot of very physical play.  It was a great experience for the kids to compete at that speed.  The fields were beautiful and there were lots of rowdy fans in attendance.  After the games, players and guests ate hamburgers in the clubhouse. We learned that fries in Europe are not considered a finger food, and a number of players gamely tried to eat them out of a large paper cone with a pointy stick for stabbing. 





 
 
 
 


After loading the bus, we headed back to the hotel, where we had arranged for a cake to celebrate Bobby's birthday today! We gathered in the lobby and sang "Happy Birthday" as the maître d' carried the cake in.   It was a very special cake, for Bobby's FIFTIETH!! birthday, and it was beautiful!  We all sang arousing chorus of  "Happy Birthday,"  and everyone gobbled down the cake to rave reviews; Spanish cake, they all agreed, is DELICIOSO!!!!   



 All are in bed now as we have another big day planned for tomorrow.  After another early training session, we will be headed up Montserrat to one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Spain and the revered Moreneta.  In the afternoon, another revered pilgrimage site...CAMP NOU!!!!


 

Stay tuned here to keep up with the fun we are having in Spain! 

Day 3 -Girona, Figueres, and P.B. Barcino

Hello from Barcelona!!  Sorry for the delay in posting this - had a slight technical difficulty.

Yesterday was day three of our trip and was our first full day in Spain.... and it was indeed, by all accounts, truly a FULL day!   We woke up bright and early and ate breakfast in our hotel at 7:30am.  The hotel went above and beyond with breakfast, serving a diverse offering of local traditional foods and specialties.  Some of the offerings were EXCEPTIONAL!    Then, because we are "the Americans" they made an effort to offer their version of "what Americans like for breakfast."   They managed that with perhaps less success, but their effort was noted.  Many of the kids were very adventurous with selecting the Spanish offerings, and most were pleased with the things that they tried.
After making short work of breakfast, it was onto the bus.  Everyone was on time (yay!) and the bus was on the road by 8:30am.   We went first to Girona.  Girona, Spain is a beautiful little town in the hills, with a noteworthy Old Town.  The center of town dates back to around the year 1,000, as does the largely intact medieval city wall.  There is an ancient Jewish Quarter, as well.  The "newer" old town has buildings that range from the 13th-16th centuries.   
The group started at the Cathedral of Girona.  It is a newer building, having been destroyed and rebuilt in the 1700s. From there, we broke into smaller groups to pursue what we were the most interested in.  The medieval wall and watchtowers are largely intact and a large group went around the town on the wall.  That was an amazing experience.  Others chose to prowl the Old Town and the Jewish Quarter.   Everyone was amazed by the streets which have remained largely unchanged since the middle ages.  Narrow and winding, lined with shops, many are the width of a single small-ish car.  Built into the hills, Girona also has ancient streets that are stairs and cut from the lower to the upper town.  Many people commented on the sense of history they felt as they wandered through the close, meandering, "carrer."  After several hours exploring Girona (we could have stayed forever), it was back to the bus and time to move on to Figueres. 













[For more info on Girona, Spain, see here: http://www.girona.cat/turisme/eng/monuments.php ]



The bus arrived in Figueres and from the bus, it was straight to the famous Salvador Dali Art Museum.  If there was initially any questions about how 12-16 year old athletes (mostly boys) would do with an afternoon of surrealist art, those questions were quickly resolved; the kids, especially the 15/16s, were very interactive with the museum.  There were some interesting conversations to be overheard as the kids reviewed some of the pieces.  Their reactions seemed to range from confusion, to amusement, to outright amazement ... so, that was kind of fun.  While the most common response seemed to be "Hmmm....I don't think I get it..."  it was impressive that they were thinking about it at all.  The Lincoln painting and Dali's bedroom seemed to be clear favorites among the older boys. 

[For more info about the Dali museum, see here:  http://www.salvador-dali.org/en_index/  ]

After the time allotted for the museum, we went outside and ate a lunch on a terrace outside,  overlooking the museum.  We had sandwiches made on Spanish bread with Iberian ham, cheese, or other local specialties, Spanish "chips" and a soda.  After making short work of the sandwiches, we hopped back on the bus and headed back into Barcelona for OUR FIRST GAMES!! 






Our opponent was Penya Barcelonista Barcino, a youth club affiliated with Barcelona FC.  It was intimidating to pull up at the club house and see them coming out on the fields in the Barcelona stripes.  Nerves and the busy day may have gotten the better of the younger group.  They played hard and hung tough, but did not come away with the win, but they had a great time.  The Spanish team presented each player with a photo of  the Barcelona team and with a pennant.  After the game, our kids presented their opponents with one of our old jerseys that they brought just for that purpose.  The Spanish kids really appreciated that gesture, with many of them donning their new prizes immediately.




   
The older group played second; with a little more time to call down and get some fluids in, they fad a little better.  The game was well officiated, but there was some showmanship (aka rolling around on the ground) on the part of the Barcelona team. (Maybe a little too much time spent watching La Liga??)   In any case, the trainer would trot out with a bottle of water and his "magic spray,"  which seemed to work wonders on the poor player who had been agonizing on the ground -- he would pop right back up and get back to work in the game.  After about six of these episodes, we were all laughing about it.   In the end, the Magic Spray did not help them win the game, and Fort Wayne United prevailed in that match.   We wrapped up the evening with pizza and drinks at their clubhouse before boarding the bus and heading home. 

(No photos from this one as my phone went dead and it was getting very dark. I will get a link to a photo-sharing site going for you all soon!)

A few people stayed up to catch the last of the Spain v Netherlands game on tv, but the majority of the players, worn out from the full day, hit the showers and went to bed to rest up.  Mornings come early on a trip like this, so that was a pretty good choice!

All are doing GREAT here!   This is really a chance of a lifetime, and every player is truly making the most of the opportunities here!




Monday, March 30, 2015

In Barcelona

We are on the ground in Barcelona and all checked in to hotel. Dinner is scheduled for 8:30. Kids are showering, resting, unwinding, and a few intrepid souls have walked a couple blocks to the beach with one of the managers. It has not been a very "eventful" day, but I guess that is best when you are talking about traveling. 
Recharging now for adventures to come. Stay tuned...

Nous sommes arrivés à Paris!

Layover in Paris. Everyone is safe and sound.  We saw a Côte d'Ivoire National Team in the terminal. The kids were pretty excited about that. 
We will keep you updated!

Saturday, March 28, 2015

On Your Mark, Get Set....

WE ARE READY TO GO TO BARCELONA !!! 


You can check this blog to keep up with us!   
It will be regularly updated with photos and a short update of our activities.