Well breakfast was at 9, but our room didn't wake up till 9:47 because Meg’s phone was set to Texas time. The rest of the team was awake and ready for the day, with surprisingly little jet lag. We headed to Sitges via train for an afternoon of shopping and relaxing at the beach.
The beach was beautiful with clear, blue water and people were everywhere. Some laid out, others kayaked, while a group of us rented a paddle boat with a slide on it.(best invention ever! haha) While the water was fun, those on the beach took advantage of all the vendors walking around selling clothing and accessories. For lunch, we all met up at a restaurant for a 3 course meal of culturally different yet appetizing food. Most everyone ordered steaks, but they are prepared differently than what you would imagine, with a type of Spanish sauce and fries. Beware when you order "fish of the day," just ask Mr. Neese how the Sardines were. Once we finished eating we continued to walk around the city.
It was really neat to see the architecture of the older buildings and all of the little stores and cafes. A few of the places were closed from 2-5 because many of the people here stay up late so it is normal for them to take naps, aka siestas. We then headed back to the hotel for a couple of hours and were off to training.
The training was fantastic. The team was called C.E. Sant Gabriel, a professional team who gets paid to play (which is rare for womens’ teams here). One of the girls on the team was actually on the Spanish National Team; it was an honor to be practicing with someone of that level. A few of the girls talked with Mel, Bert, and John Neese about the different opportunities of playing in the states. They play a different style of soccer partly because most of them grew up playing on boys' teams. They are very technical and almost always play the ball on the ground.
The language barrier made it difficult but fun at the same time. We were able to communicate what needed to be said and were able to joke about the similarities and differences of our languages and cultures. They were very friendly and we would enjoy practicing with them again if we ever got the chance.
Dinner was on our own in Castelldefels, the town in which we are staying. Brittany found an amazing Chinese food place where most of us chose to eat. We asked the waitress about the size of portions and had to explain to her that we are futbol players, and we eat alot!
Well, it's midnight here and we just finished our meal, it's off to find dessert then get a good night's sleep! Tomorrow we are going to the top of a mountain and then playing our first game!!
P.S. Shout out to Erin Low!!! We all miss you!!
Buenos Noches de Espana!
Megan Ryan, Rebecca Roth, Carlyn Powers
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