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!
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