Ole!

The team had time to explore the area near our hotel in Madrid after lunch. Shannon McKenna and Sarah Andrews went to the park with Coach Sappington and I, and the rest of the team met us there at 6 to head to the bullfights.

We stayed for four of the six bullfights, with a few leaving earlier to walk around before dinner. The showmanship and skill were impressive, but the team had the most fun tonight sharing stories at dinner of times Coach Pivirotto has gotten mad at practice. There were a lot of stories and A LOT of laughs.

This is our last night in Madrid, as we leave for Barcelona tomorrow with a few stops during the six-hour ride. Everyone is back in their rooms, packing and looking forward to exploring a new city.

 

The lake at the park. the monument on the far side is where we took the group photo durinf the run this morning.

  

The bullring

  

Group photo at the bullfights

 

The Royal Palace

After our run and breakfast, we toured the Royal Palace. We got handheld audio recordings that explained everything in each room, but unfortunately once we were on the second floor (the main floor), photography was not allowed. 

The sculptures, artwork and frescos (painting on the ceilings) were unlike anything I could have even imagined. And the armory displayed armor and weapons from centuries ago.

 

Group photo before going in

  

The entrance to the palace from the courtyard

  

The opposite end of the courtyard

  

The forest that was the king’s hunting grounds before Madrid became much larger

 

Early Morning Run

After a fun day yesterday that included Coach Piv’s big news, we had the girls up early at 8 a.m. — that’s early for Spain — for a run through downtown Madrid. Coach Sappington and I led the girls on a 1.5-mile run to the park, where we stopped to stretch for about 15 minutes before running back. 

It was a beautiful morning with the streets and sidewalks mostly empty. One ambitious local ran alongside us for a block or two before giving up when he quickly realized he couldn’t keep up with American women’s soccer players.

 

Sam Wargo took this pic during our run

 

  

Big News At Dinner

We’re currently having dinner and we’re split up among two tables. Suddenly the one table burst out in cheers and clapping while the other table was a bit confused. It turns out that Coach Pivorotto told her table that she and her husband Matt, our men’s soccer coach, are expecting their first child. Congrats, Colleen & Matt!!

Coach was all smiles after telling the team her big news

Holy Toledo!!!

That phrase was appropriate today, as we visited Toledo (pronounced toe-lay-toe), the sister city of Toledo, Ohio. Toledo is 70 km south of Madrid and has two main areas, the old city, home to about 11,000, and the new city, which is about twice the size. The old city, as you can probably tell, is the historic area and is surrounded by a river and a wall. That’s where we spent the day.

We took a guided tour, stopping on the bus to view the city from the outside, then going on foot to see the cathedral, a mosque and a small tunnel under a house from the 18th century.

After the tour, everyone had 2 1/2 hours to have lunch and shop. 

Toledo is probably the most beautiful and interesting place I’ve ever been. Assistant coach Mark Sappington wisely described it as like being in a Jason Bourne movie. But only the photos can do it justice, so take a look below.

The view from outside the city

  

  

Flags hang for the celebration of the feast of Corpus Christi on June 4

A look down the street

Mural in the monks’ cloister in the cathedral

Inside the cathedral

Outside the cathedral

   

Game One In the Books

After an extremely even match for about 70 minutes, the Royals gave up a pair of goals, including one in the final minute, to fall, 2-0, to Rayo Vallecano here in Madrid.

The first half was played mostly in our offensive end, but a few good chances didn’t result in a goal. The second half was more even with Rayo missing a good chance about midway into the half before breaking through a few minutes later. The Royals had a couple good chances, but the Rayo keeper shut one down and another didn’t lead to a goal.

After the game, the teams had a social, which quickly led to a lot of singing, dancing and laughing, as you’ll see in the photos below.

  
        

Postgame hanshake

Coaches talk to the team after the game

  

Postgame social

  

Postgame social

  

Postgame social

 

Game Time

We’re at the field for tonight’s game. Kickoff is in an hour, so the girl’s are just starting to warm up. I’ll post the final score with more photos after the game.

  

Bus Tour and Estadio Santiago Bernabeu

We took a bus tour of Madrid, learning some of the cultural and historical things about the city. One of the stops was a bullfighting ring — Plaza de Toros — that seats more than 20,000 people. We may go to the bullfights on Sunday.

Plaza de Toros

The final stop on the bus was Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, the home of Real Madrid, one of the top soccer clubs in the world. We took the full tour, from the top of the stadium all the way to the field. The technology on different parts of the tour was impressive, with interactive displays and hi-def video walls. 

Dinner and A Walk

Our first day has come to an end. We ate dinner — I forgot to get the name of the restaurant — and then walked the city with our guide, stopping at different sights and at the market. Here are a few photos, including the highlight of the night, Christina Akalski getting a violin lesson.

We have breakfast at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow, followed by a bus tour, lunch together as a team and the first game, which kicks off at 8:30 p.m. against Rayo Vallecano.

Sunset at the Royal Palace

  

Plaza Mayor

  

Plaza Mayor

    

Group photo at Plaza de Espana

Mercado de San Miguel

Christina gets a music lesson

    

Training Time

  
It’s 5 p.m. and the team is starting its first practice of the trip. There’s a game tomorrow night, so this will be a good chance for the girls to shake off any jet lag and start thinking about soccer.

We got to our hotel – La Gran Via – around noon and dropped our bags off. A few of the rooms weren’t ready yet, so some of us had to put our bags in other people’s rooms. The hotel is nice, but everything is a tight fit. The elevators are small, the hallways are small and there isn’t much floor space in the rooms. But don’t get me wrong, it’s very nice.
After we dropped the bags off, we took a walk with our tour guide, Raquel. Our hotel is only a couple blocks from Madrid’s version of Times Square, with lots of shops and restaurants. The pics below are of the areas we walked through.

Raquel took us to a restaurant called La Taurina that was good. I can’t speak for the entire menu, but the spinach soup and roast chicken was delicious.

After practice now, we’ll head back to the hotel to shower and head to dinner at 8:30 p.m. In Spain, the main meal of the day is lunch, which is usually around 1-2 p.m. and most people follow that with a siesta before going back to work or school around 3:30 p.m. Dinner is usually around 9 p.m. and lighter than lunch.