TCVB Spain Trip: Days 9, 10, and 11

Hola amigos!

Our ninth day of the trip was dedicated to observing all of the architecture done by Gaudi, a famous Spanish architect.  The first thing we saw was a church that he designed that has been under construction since the beginning of the United States Civil War, and it is anticipated that it will continue being built for another 30 to  40 years.  The reason that it is taking so long to build the church is because they are not using any government money to build it.  The outside of the church is extremely detailed and it towers over most of the other buildings in Barcelona.

After seeing the church, we toured the city and did some shopping.  After that, we went to a park, which is where Gaudi lived, and he tried to make it into a community.  The park was very beautiful, and it was filled with flowers, trees, architectural designs, and not to mention, a great view of the city.  After seeing the park, we went to a buffet that is known for its huge variety of meats.  This was one of our favorite meals, and we all got to try new and delicious foods.  Once we were done eating, we got to experience the night life of Barcelona, which included music, entertainment, and lots of people. 

For the tenth day of our trip, we spent our final hours in Barcelona at the beach, playing in the water and collecting sea shells.  After the beach, we were headed back to Madrid on a high speed train.  To our surprise, the train was actually pretty comfortable.  Once we got to Madrid, we did a little bit more shopping and then had our final dinner in Spain.  For our last dinner, we got to sample all kinds of different Spanish foods and it was a delicious meal.

The final day of our trip consisted of all traveling.  First, we had an extremely long ten and a half hour flight from Madrid to Dallas, and then a three hour flight to Pittsburgh.  We all had a fantastic time in Spain and we really enjoyed experiencing a new country and their culture and history.  It was a wonderful trip!

Adios amigos!

TCVB J

Pictures from day 9

Church in Barcelona



Park in Barcelona



Pictures from day 10



Beach in Barcelona



Coach's note...

Hello all,

Well, here we are in Barcelona and we have a few days left of this amazing trip. I want to take the time to give everyone a coach’s perspective on the volleyball portion of the trip and the progress we have made.

The competition in Spain has been fairly competitive overall. It certainly got better as the week went along. The first two teams we played were amateur club teams that had players that ranged in age from eighteen to late twenties. The second two teams were much stronger and consisted of some semi-pro and pro players from the Barcelona area. Spanish volleyball is a bit different in the skills they focus on. Not so much emphasis on blocking or communication on the court…but they can certainly play defense. You can also tell that most, if not all of the players here spend a lot of time playing in the sand.

Even though this is somewhat of a vacation for everyone…we are still here to play some volleyball. So, we have been pushing the ladies a good bit. Considering our brutal schedule, they have performed extremely well.  

The experiences that they have been through have certainly brought them closer together as a team. That may sound a bit cliché, but there’s not much tougher than traveling half way around the world, no one speaks your language, the road signs are different, the food is different…then you are forced to play the game when your are dead tired. This experience has made them tougher individually and as a group.

I am proud of these ladies this week with all they have accomplished. You will certainly not be disappointed in their performance this season as I am confident that they are going to turn some heads.

See you all very soon

Steve and Amanda

TCVB Spain Trip: Days 8 and 9

Que pasa?

For the seventh day of our trip, we went to Sitges where there is an amazing beach overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.  We spent the majority of the day having lots of fun in the water and we embraced the culture of European beaches.  The streets of Sitges were lined with a lot of little authentic Spanish shops, and after we were done at the beach, we had some time to shop.  Many of the souvenirs and merchandise that we bought were actually made in Spain and places around the beach. 

For dinner, we had options once again for our two courses.  The choices for the main course were chicken, fish, or turkey.  Everything in the meal was delicious, especially the dessert, which was a sugary waffle with dark chocolate drizzled on top and whipped cream and strawberry sauce on the side.  After we enjoyed our dinner, we departed for our volleyball match against Espluges.  We played a very competitive match, but sadly, we lost in 5 sets.  Overall, it was a very fun and enjoyable day for TCVB.

Out eighth day started off with our fourth and final match against Viladecans.  The match was at 11:30 in the morning, and it was our toughest competition yet.  The team had two professional players that we got to play against.  We actually got to hang out with one of the professional players, Tori, the whole day.  We lost to the team in four, but all close, sets. 

After our match, we got on a bus and went to the Catalon town of Figueres, where we went to the Salvatore Dali Museum.  It was a huge museum, full of paintings, sculptures, and more abstract art.  Everything in the museum was extremely interesting and detailed.  Once again, we saw more paintings that we learned about in Western Humanities, such as the melting clocks. 

When we returned to Barcelona after the museum, we went to dinner at a Spanish/Asian cuisine buffet and they had an extremely huge variety of food to choose from.  Many of us tried lots of different foreign foods, such as shark, squid, octopus, cuddle fish, baby eel, sushi, ox tail, blue fish, mussels, and clams.  We topped off dinner with a selection of desserts, such as pancakes with dark chocolate drizzled on top and puff pastry filled with ice cream.  Everybody ate very well and we left the restaurant with full stomachs!

Adios amigos!

TCVB J

Pictures from day 7



TCVB at the beach



TCVB and Espluges



Pictures from day 8



TCVB and Viladecans



TCVB and Tori, the professional player, in front of the Salvatore Dali museum



TCVB Spain Trip: Days 5 and 6

Hola Tomcat Fans!

On our fifth day in Spain, we went to Toledo for a one day excursion.  When we arrived in Toledo, we got an overview of the city.  We made our way up a giant hill through the narrow streets to the center of the city, where there were lots of shops and cafes.  After our free time to explore the city, we joined our guide to see more of the historic sites and learn about the history of Toledo.

Our tour guide took us on a walking tour of the city, and the main part of the tour was an art museum.  The paintings and sculptures inside the museum were mainly religious, and covered many different types of paintings, such as Renaissance and French Gothic.  The museum also included a selection of ancient pottery.  It was very interesting to see different styles and portrayals of religion.  Our most favorite part of the museum was getting to see painting by El Greco, especially since we all learned about him in Western Humanities.

The next stop on our walking tour was an old cathedral that took 500 years to construct.  It was an extremely impressive building and we were all amazed by the details and design of the building.  There was so much religious history in the cathedral that it was almost overwhelming, but it was very incredible.  When we walked out of the cathedral, we had the opportunity to drink holy water out of a special ceramic pot.  We each took a turn, but it was pretty difficult for some of us, and some got more water on themselves than in their mouths.  At the end of the night, we went to dinner and had one of the best meals thus far.  We were first served cheese bread, followed by delicious ham and Spanish french fries.  For dessert we had strawberry ice cream.

On our sixth day, we headed to Barcelona.  We got up at 4:00 in the morning to take an airplane from Madrid to Barcelona.  Once we arrived in Barcelona, we took a bus tour around the city.  First, we saw an old bull fighting arena that is now a shopping mall, and we got to go to the very top to look out over the city.  After that, we went to a viewing area that overlooked the Mediterranean Sea.  During our tour, we also went to a huge market filled with lots of people and every food imaginable. 

After our tour around the city, we had dinner at an authentic Spanish restaurant from the 16^th century.  We had a fantastic dinner, which was also one of the best that we have had so far.  For the main course, we were able to choose chicken, fish, or sausage, which all turned out to be wonderful.  After dinner, we rode up to the top of a mountain and then walked the last part of it.  We saw an amazing view of Barcelona from the top of the mountain, and we were also able to go into a huge cathedral on the mountain.  The church was very ornate, and the most significant feature of the church was the Virgin Mary statue, which is believed to give blessings to whoever touches it. 

The final part of our day consisted of our volleyball match.  We are proud to say that we are still undefeated internationally! The other team was extremely welcoming and nice, and they even gave us all gifts and food after the match.  It was a great experience and we hope to continue our winning streak in Spain!

Buenos noches!

TCVB J

Pictures from Day 5



Art Museum in Toledo



Cathedral in Toledo

Pictures from day 6



Our view of the city of Barcelona from the top of the old bull fighting arena



Cathedral on the mountain



After the volleyball match





TCVB Spain Trip: Day 4

Hola from Madrid!

We started our day with a walking tour of Madrid.  Our first stop was the bull fighting museum where the culture, history, and significance of bull fighting in Spain.  Our tour guide Rosa was very passionate about the culture of Spain and was able to answer every possible question we had.  In the museum, we saw uniforms, bull heads, paintings of famous matadors (bull fighters), and weapons used in bull fighting.  After our tour of the museum, we reserved our tickets for the much anticipated bull fight later that night.

Next, we continued on our walking tour of Madrid.  We finally got to see older, historical buildings and parts of the old city rather than the more modernized parts.  Some of the older things we saw included churches, a palace, the foundation of the first Christian church, statues of previous rulers, and other interesting architecture.  Once the walking tour was over, we went to lunch.  For lunch, we went to a genuine Spanish restaurant called Ciudad De Tui.  We were served three appetizers, which included bread with a cow’s milk cheese, a lettuce, tomato, and roasted pepper salad, and finally croquetas de pollo.  For our main course we had a Spanish dish called paella.  For dessert we had a custard putting cake.

After lunch, we were able to have some free time and explore Madrid ourselves.  Some of us went shopping, buying things such as souvenirs, clothing, shoes, and even tattoos.  After our free time, we finally got to the main event of our day.  We arrived at the bull fighting arena for the 7:00pm bull fights.  The stadium was huge, as it would be for any professional sports team.  It was a very traditional, outdoor arena with stone bleachers, lots of cheering fans, and lots of stairs.  Though we were all slightly unsure about how we would handle an event like this, once we were wrapped up in the atmosphere, it was just like watching a professional sporting event. 

For those who don’t know about bull fights, it starts off with trumpets playing music, and then all of people who are participating in the event walk around the arena.  There are three main matadors and several “teammates” who help throughout the “fight”.  Each of the three matadors has two fights against a lottery drawn bull.  The match starts off with the “teammates” waving pink and yellow capes to get the bull fired up.  Once the trumpets sound, men on horses with large spears enter the arena.  It is their job to stab the top fat of the bull to begin the fighting process.  This occurs twice, and sometimes the bulls get pretty rough with the horses, but the horses are surprisingly very strong.  When the trumpets sound again, the men on horses leave the arena and three of the “teammates” stab arrow spears into the back of bull to further the fighting process. 

When the trumpets once again sound, it is time for the main event.  The matador comes out with a red cape and a large sword.  After tiring out the bull and showing off their skills, they grab a different sword to prepare for the final stab of the fighting process.  This appeared to be the trickiest part of the fighting and the most intense.  When the fight is over and the bull is down, people cheer according to how well the fight went.  If the fans think the matador did exceptionally well, they wave a white flag, encouraging the president to wave his white flag as well, meaning the matador gets the ear of the bull he just killed.  This is almost like an extra trophy for the matadors.  We watched all six fights, which were all unique in their own way.  We had an amazing, once in a life time experience with something new and we will always remember it.

We finished off the night at a chocolateria, where we had churros that you dip in chocolate.  It was a tasty desert, similar to an elephant ear that you dip in dark chocolate.  After that, we saw the night life of Madrid, which included performers, street venders, and lots of lights.  Though it was a long day, it was a great experience for all of us!

Adios amigos!

TCVB J



The Palace of the former Kings on our walking tour



Matador and Bull



TCVB Spain Trip: Day 3

Buenos dias!

This morning, we started off with an amazing breakfast.  There was a surplus of Spanish food provided to us at our hotel.  After breakfast, we traveled by the Metro to the center of Spain.  We ventured to the Plaza Mayor, which is the equivalent to Times Square in New York City.  We came across a lot of interesting people, such as a man putting people in bubbles and some of the people pretending to be statues like we saw yesterday.  When we branched out from the square, there were markets, boutiques, and souvenir stores.  Some of us also had the opportunity to go to the biggest department store in the world. 

After a few hours of shopping, we met up for lunch at what the Spanish consider an American restaurant.  This meal included three courses, starting with spaghetti, followed by a huge piece of chicken and some fries made with lots of butter.  To end our meal, we were served the Spanish version of Neapolitan ice cream with hot fudge on top.  We were very overwhelmed with the large amount of food that we were served and did not expect the second plate to come.  Needless to say, we were definitely fueled and ready to go for our game.

The final part of our day consisted of our volleyball match against VC Madrid.  This team consisted of chicas from the ages of 18 to 28.  This team would be considered a minor league team.  We played best out of five, and we won our first international match in five games.  As we were playing, we discovered that the volleyball court is not the same size as ours because they measure it in meters instead of feet, so it was a little difficult to get used to.  After the match, the other team taught us how to say “good game” in Spanish.  We are excited to say that so far we are undefeated internationally and we hope to keep it that way!

Adios!

TCVB J



Pictures from yesterday's blog:



Man in Spain pretending to be a statue



Royal Palace

TCVB

Pictures from today's blog:



Plaza Mayor



TCVB and VC Madrid





TCVB Spain Trip: Days 1 and 2

Hola mis amigos!

Well, out first day consisted completely of flying, but after two super long and bumpy flights, we finally made it to the beautiful (and bugless) city of Madrid, Spain.  Although jet lagged from flying all night long, we started touring as soon as we got here with our friendly tour guide Jan.  While on our tour, we got to see some amazing sights, such as the statue of Don Quixote, the Royal Palace, botanical gardens, and the park of Madrid.  As we were walking, we passed a statue, but after seeing the statue move, we realized it was not actually a statue, but a person covered in clay from head to toe.  It was a very interesting sight.

Later that day, we arrived at the gymnasium that we will be playing at tomorrow night to get some practice in before the game.  We had our first experience playing with international volleyballs, which are quite different from the ones we use at Thiel.  After our practice, we felt more confident going into tomorrow’s match against VC Madrid.  We are finally getting used to the time difference, even though some of us have been up over 24 hours, but hopefully tonight’s rest will re-energize us for a day full of sight-seeing, shopping, and friendly competition. 

Hope everyone has a good evening!
Goodnight from TCVB J