Easing Back After Vacation

Atop Castell de Montjuic in Barcelona.

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  With the end of the 2011-2012 season behind me, there was only one thing I hadn't yet crossed off the list before I hopped on that plane, and made the long trip back to the US: my annual European vacation!

  With the exception of my rookie season in Como (when I was so homesick, I wanted to be home as soon as I possibly could), I have made it a tradition to get out and see a few sights of old Europe before I head home for the summer. I think it'd be a tragedy to live in Europe for a prolonged time, and never really get out and see its most beautiful sights.

  So I put off seeing my family and friends for a few more weeks, and see a little history first! Not a bad trade off, and definitely time well-spent.

  Some times I target places where I have friends, or have previously been: Venice, Milan, Como, Prague, various parts of France before I played there. And other years, I pick a spot I've never seen, but always wanted to visit: Majorca, Malta, Rome.

  Slowly but surely, I'm filling up my passport, and marking each and every city (and island) around Europe off my travel-bucket-list!

View from the balcony in Alghero!

  More often than not, I look to go someplace where the sun is sure to shine. After eight months in a gym, I am usually chomping at the bit to hangout in the sunshine! That's another reason I'm rarely in a hurry to get back to Portland -- the sun habitually doesn't come out until May or June (or July 4th).

  I think I've done a fairly good job over the years finding a balance between spending time on the beach, and exploring city sights. Each provides you with a vastly different experience
and a significantly different vacation!

Alghero Bay

  I had been wanting to visit Barcelona for years, so that was the one place I had to venture to this year. And I'm always looking for an excuse to get back to Italy, so 4 days on the beaches of Sardegna (Sardinia) sounded too good to pass up.

View of Beautiful Barcelona.

  Nothing beats unwinding from a long season on a beach, seeing the historic sights of Europe, and refreshing the body and mind before the summer starts! This year, I was lucky enough to have a travel buddy. One of my college teammates, Linda, joined me for some much-needed R-and-R!

  I kept a journal along the way (a real life journal, with pen and paper!!), so I'll be giving you all a semi day-to-day look at how we spent our eight days in Sardegna and Barcelona!

  As the case can be quite often, sometimes words don't do things justice. So good thing for you I have more than my fair share of pictures and videos to share with you all! I'm looking forward to sharing the beautiful sights -- teasers below!

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Oh! The Places You'll Go..

Post Season R&R

Sardegna

Sardegna

Sardegna sunset from Alghero boardwalk.

Inside Neptune's Grotto.

Sunset from Capo Caccia -- Sardegna.

Barcelona.

 

Pretty palm trees -- Barcelona.

The Palau Nacional -- Barcelona.

Linda in front of the Font Magica fountain show.

 

Font Magica -- Barcelona.

No Time For Travel, Yet

A tiny village called Mijas (Spain) where my aunt and uncle lived.

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  When someone first finds out that I play basketball in Europe, more often than not, their first assumption is all I do is travel and sight-see. That, I must spend every free moment traveling to each corner of whichever country I happen to be in at the time.

  My answer? 'I've seen nearly every gym and airport in Europe, if you consider that sight-seeing.'

  What else is there to do in Europe besides sight-see, after all? 

  They forget that I'm here for work. It's my job to be prepared, both physically and mentally, for each and every game and practice my team has. In a normal season, my team has one game each and every weekend (Saturdays this season). Sundays are off. And every day during the week, we have one or two practices a day.

  That's how it's been every season I've played in Europe. One day off to recover from the game, and then you're back at it. One day doesn't allow much time for travel, does it?  

  That is not a complaint. It's just reality. 

Venice!

  On those rare occasions where your team has a bye over the weekend, you MIGHT get the entire weekend off. But there are no guarantees. Or once in a blue moon, your coach MIGHT give you a surprise extra day off.

  Even in that situation, you can't really plan anything. I did that on one occasion in Germany, and ended up having to cancel plans because our game just prior didn't exactly go how it was supposed to go (and our extra day off was taken back).

  Since I've been in Europe for almost nine full seasons, I have friends scattered all over the place. I do always look for an opportunity to visit friends if they happen to live close. On that day off, if you can take the train or drive a couple hours to go see a familiar face, it does wonders for recharging the batteries. Those opportunities just don't arise very often!
 

Cross-country skiing in Sweden. My pants weren't covered in snow yet!

  For example, this season, I live about three hours north of Paris (by car. Faster, by train). In the five-and-a-half months I have been in Dunkerque thus far, I have been to the City of Lights exactly zero times. The same can be said about London (which is close as well, just on the other side of the North Sea).

  HOWEVER, in a couple weeks, my team has a free weekend. So, I'm planning quick trip to London with a friend. I've never been to London, and I'm thrilled! We're still in the planning phase, which is exciting, but I can't wait to get there and see Big Ben and the rest of the sights. Even though we'll only be there two days, it'll be a great time! You can bet I'll have a blog about it the week after we get back.

The Spanish Steps in Rome.

  Don't get me wrong, I have done my fair share of traveling and sight-seeing while in Europe. But I would say 97% (how's that for a number?) of it happens after my season has expired.

  In fact, that has turned into one of the things I look forward to the most as my season winds down. Rough drafts for this year's post-season R&R have already been made, and I can't wait!

  Hope you all have a great weekend!





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Oh! The Places You'll Go...

Spanish Steps - Rome.

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  I know, I know; my season hasn't even started yet, and I'm already thinking about my annual post-season vacation.

  After every season (except my rookie season, where I was so homesick I couldn't wait to get back to the US; and last season, where my visa was expiring), I've gone on a 7-10 day vacation to various spots around Europe. I've visited friends. I've done the big city sightseeing. And I've done the relax-on-a-beach vacation. I love it when I can roll all three into one, and get the best of all vacationing worlds.

  It's hard for me to pick a favorite place I've visited. But here a are a few that top the list:
Prague

Prague boat tour. Charles Bridge behind.

  Prague during Easter weekend was quite an experience. The holiday weekend was jam-packed with tourists, which was almost too much for me.

  It took a day-or-so to adjust to having hoards of people everywhere I went. After I got over my claustrophobic feelings, Prague quickly jumped to the top of my favorites list.

  I loved how the city meshes the old with the new. The architecture and the layout of the city were gorgeous. Add in the Easter Markets, and I was in tourist heaven.

St. Nicholas & the Easter Market.

These were the most amazing pastries.

  I walked all over that city for three straight days, and loved every second of it.

  For me, the most memorable spot in Prague was the Charles Bridge. You can walk up and down the bridge looking at local artists' work, jewelry, paintings, etc with the Prague Castle and the Vlatva River in the background.

How cute is this lady?

Rome
  Rome was also a favorite big city adventure. I love Italy. And I go back at every opportunity. So it was special to be able to go back and finally see Rome; walk the streets, speak the language, and experience the food again. I love the Italian tradition of stopping into a local cafe and having an espresso in the afternoon.

A little Roman cafe. My fave!

The Colosseum.

   There's nothing like the smell of an Italian coffee (okay, maybe I'm weird, but I think the smell is incredible).

  Another favorite food tradition they have in Italy is Happy Hour. You can go to a bar/cafe for aperitivo, order a drink and get some included snacks/tapas/hors d'oeuvres that are amazingly good (and it's super cheap!).

  Obviously Rome is most famous for the Colosseum and Vatican City, but one afternoon I sat in the sun at the Spanish Steps for hours, just taking in the sights and watching the people around me. For me, that was the most enjoyable.

Sunset in Rome.

  So those are my top two favorite big-city adventures! I'm hoping to get to Paris again, and see it more thoroughly this season. And another city I've been dying to get to is Barcelona. Those two are on the top of my must-see list for this year's Euro-trip.

  This has turned into a longer entry than I initially planned!! Goes to show, when you have fun things to write about, it's hard to stop. And it's hard to pick out pictures too, cause there are so many great ones to choose from. Hope you enjoyed them!

  Tomorrow I'll tackle my favorite Euro-beach adventures.

  Til then, be good!