The past few days have been very
busy, and have included new sights, places, and our second game. On Monday we
spent our last full day in Italy visiting the Italian Riviera and the villages
on the coast. This was a favorite day for many of the players because of the
scenery and the opportunity to swim in the Mediterranean Sea again. The water
was a little cooler here, but it had a deep blue color and beautiful colored
stones instead of sand. We all got to jump in to the water off a local dock and
swim with some locals. Lindsey, Sarah, Mel, and I went paddle boarding which
was pretty entertaining for us and those watching from the shore. Let’s just
say that the Mediterranean Sea has some very, very large jellyfish and we were
a little afraid of them since they were as big as a soccer ball. But even
though we got a little scared no one got stung and we later found out that they
don’t sting you, so we freaked out for nothing. As we were paddle boarding, our
teammates enjoyed swimming in the water and jumping off a rock wall as well as
exploring the small coast village. At the Riviera we also got to walk on
the street of love, which is a path along the coast that looks out over the
Mediterranean Sea. Many initials, money, and locks are found here, left by
those who are looking for or found love and want it to last. With the locks,
couples will lock them to a fence there and then throw the key in the Sea and
this symbolizes their love lasting forever. Later that day, we made our way to
Milan for a stay overnight until we left for the airport to go to England.
Once we landed in England early
Tuesday morning we were instantly reminded of the Olympics due to all the signs
and banners hanging everywhere, as well as the advertisements for the
upcoming Paralympics. As we looked for our new tour guide, Joe, we spoke with one of the
Olympic volunteers who told us he had the opportunity to watch team USA win
gold and set the world record in the women’s 4x100 swim relay. He of course was
very impressed with Missy Franklin and said how fantastic it was to watch such
a great talent. Once we got off the bus we had some free time to walk around London and have lunch before heading to Emirates Stadium, home of the Arsenal Gunners. Even though their season hasn’t started yet we got a full tour of the stadium and were able to run out of the tunnel and sit at the benches, but we could not go on the beautiful, green, and perfectly groomed pitch. It was really interesting to see this famous stadium and team facilities, as well as how passionate the people here are for soccer, or as they always say, football.
Later that night we attended the Millwalll FC Lions and Crawley Town FC soccer match, which was very nice since we had seats behind the goal in the first couple rows. The Lions fell to Crawley during the penalty kick shootout, but the game was still good to watch and also had some intense moments, especially from the fans. If you think about the big rivals in sports in America such as the Yankees and Red Sox or the Cowboys and Redskins, you can determine how the Millwall fans acted towards the Crawley fans and so forth. I will say some of the comments and gestures were very original, and many of us laughed at them. At dinner that night, many of us tried the traditional fish and chips, which were very good.
Wednesday morning started with a tour of the major sites in London such as Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, and the Tower of London. These sites were all very impressive, especially when we got to see the changing of the guard. This event was very serious and precise and also included live music to go along with the change. Once a day every day the guards are changed from Buckingham Palace to the Army barracks beside it. Of course the uniforms were impressive with their large black hats, and the horses used were very pretty and friendly. We actually got to meet the head horse used in the ceremony, whose name is Benjamin.
After the changing of the guards we ate lunch and then went to the Tower of London. The most impressive part of this was the crown jewels that are kept there. We got to walk through and learn about the history of the jewels and who they belong to. All of us were speechless due to the beauty and size of the jewels, especially the queen’s crown. We asked what the crown was worth and were told that just the diamond on the front of it, which was the size of plum at least, was valued at $10 million off the crown and on the crown $1 billion. So really all of these jewels were priceless and completely just a dream for all of us who loved them.
Once we finished drooling over the sparkling gems we went to play our second and final game against St. Albans football club. Again we were able to generate a lot of offense and stay very strong defensively, in order to win and earn a shutout. So now, we are 2-0 and are very excited about the upcoming season.
Tomorrow, we are able to travel and
choose what we want to go see. Many people are going to visit the London Eye,
Abbey Road, and ride the tube, which is what we refer to as the subway. Also,
Liz is going to see some of the sights where Harry Potter was filmed, such as
the train station. Hopefully she will find platform 9 and ¾ and travel to
Hogwarts. Well, it’s now one o’clock in the morning and time for bed, so I will
be writing you soon!
Morgan
P.S. from
Coach Van Horn: For all you
BC women’s soccer fans, after watching the girls play two games, the way they
are connecting offensively and having chemistry on the field is showing much
promise for the upcoming season and is definitely the strongest we have looked
this early in the season.
