Saturday, August 9th

Our first full day in Spain! The team woke up to our day in Barcelona to an awesome buffet breakfast at the hotel. After fueling up, we headed to our first training session of the trip. At first look out the window this morning, it looked like it might rain. There were some clouds blocking the August heat for us...temporarily, As we started moving, however, the clouds wore off, and the sun came out to remain for the rest of the day.

When we got to the field, we were immediately introduced to three trainers from P.B. Barcino, a local soccer school and club. They were very welcoming and friendly, and once we were suited up, they quickly got everyone moving. We shook the rust off and had some fun, working to set a positive tone for the trip and for our upcoming season. By the end of the session, our intrasquad mini scrim had attracted the attention of several locals in the neighborhood, who stopped by to cheer us on, practicing their English...while they may have been only somewhat successful with the language, they were definitely successful in eliciting smiles and entertainment.



After training, we headed back to the hotel to clean up and find lunch. We had time to explore the area around the hotel, roaming Barcelona's pedestrian friendly streets to find some particularly delicious tapas. The coaches elected to eat outside and peruse the shopping a street over from las Ramblas. Many of the players did the same, exploring various cafés and trying new foods.


In the early afternoon, we gathered as a group again for some touring. A new tour guide, Mariana, joined us on the bus and led us around some of the major sites of the city. We first visited the Sagrada Familia, a basilica here that has been under construction here since the late 1800s. While not initially conceived or designed by Antoni Gaudí, the project and construction here continues to be built according to his models...And Barcelona continues to be known to house his work.

After seeing the many facades of his innovative architectural work at Sagrada Familia, each with it's own style and representation, we briefly walked the surrounding area and then hopped back on the bus to head up the mountain. Next Destination: Park Güell. Here we explored more work by Gaudí, as well as that of his like-minded contemporary, Eusebi Güell.

After more exploration and touring there, we hopped back on the bus once again to head to a local professional soccer match. We watched C.E. Sabadell play Villa Real at Sabadell's field in a suburb of Barcelona. It was really interesting to see the locals get into the preseason game, cheering for one of the smaller town teams. The home team took the match, 3-0.

After the game, we returned to the hotel to rest up for another day. The first match of the trip is slated for a 5:00 pm kickoff. Tune in for ongoing details...