UT Volleyball Europe Blog
The University of Tampa volleyball team is currently in Europe as part of a team trip. Following is a recap of the trip from a number of student-athletes on the trip.
Day 1
May 14, 2014
On the morning of Wednesday, May 14th, I woke up thinking,
"Is my bag too heavy for this trip?" But then I figured Meagan
Burke would probably have a bigger one, so I stopped worrying and
the excitement began to creep in. We were going to Europe!
We got ready to leave school at 11:30am sharp, time when we hopped in a bus that would take us to the airport. After Brian lead a passport, playing shoes, uniform, and pullover check ("We were suppose to bring our pullovers?" -Kendall... Sorry Coach!), we were all set and ready to go.
Once at the airport, Coach suggested an alphabetical order line to check-in into our flight. Thank God my last name is Cardenas! (How was the back of the line Zachery?). We went through security at our own pace, snacked on the aiport, and even made our first scene as Kim fed us with gum like birds, tossing the gum high to see who could catch it with his/her mouth (and the winner is, Kendall! We will behave greatly at restaurants!).
Smiling to Travis's camera and taking Snapchat selfies, we boarded our first plane to Detroit. About two hours and a half later, we were one step closer to Amsterdam.
During the almost three hour layover at Detroit, we went our separate ways and ate what we each desired (Burke got Mcdonald's, Kim got sushi...normal stuff). All the charging stations around gate A28 were taken as we charged our phones, etc., and the last calls to our family members and loved ones were made while Delta flight 234 to Amsterdam began to board.
This plane was bigger than the previous, and most of us got to sit in pairs right in the two middle seats of a four-seat row. After we figured out how to turn our data off so our parents won't kill us when the phone bill arrives, we heard the words "Flight attendant, prepare for take off," and off we were on this great adventure.
During this short seven hour flight, we browsed and browsed through the infinite options of movies to watch, we enjoyed either a beef or a pasta dinner plate, and we tossed and turned all night trying to sleep. I excitedly tracked our route to Amsterdam on the personal screen we each had at our seats and counted down the hours until landing.
Because no matter how bad we slept on the plane, how weirdly cold those cucumbers in the dinner salad were, or that breakfast banana was, nor how rough we looked after a day of flying, we were going to Europe together, and that was all that mattered.
Day 2
May 15, 2014
After getting our luggage, we met Kiki and Nick, our two
tour guides (Kiki from Slovenia, Nick from Colorado). Kiki
encouraged us to stay away from the typical american experiences:
Starbucks, Mcdonald's, Burger King, etc. And I guess I'll also say
that she is the best European I have ever met in my life! (She
treatend me to say this, and she's tall so I'm kinda scared of her!
Just kidding Kiki! You are awesome! Thank you for the free wifi and
the maps!). Nick helped us with the currency exchange and for that
we are really greateful. Thanks Nick! Overall, from just one day
with them we know they are going to be great and we are really
excited to share these days with them.
Our first stop was a really cute Dutch village with real life windmills and homemade cheese. We learned how these people make fresh cheese: milking the goat, heating the milk, separating the water from the curt, then molding the curt to the shape of the cheese, pouring it in some salt water (good for flavor and preservation), and finally they add a plastic, and let it dry until sold. After tasting several different types of cheese, choosing the Pesto Cheese and the Smoked Cheese as our favorites, learning about the common clogs (unique shoes they wear here), and loving their syrup waffles, we headed to our hotel.
Of course, it is not an UTVB trip if we do not dance in the bus, therefore today, we danced to the song "Timber" (video coming soon thanks to Mr. Travis).
The weather has been awesome today (a little chilly sometimes for my taste, but who am I to judge! I'm from the Caribbean). We checked in to "The Poet Hotel," took quick showers, and started our walking tour of Amsterdam.
Our afternoon consisted of many pictures around the Amsterdam plazas's, pictures with the "I AMsterdam" sign, and it also consisted of souvenir shopping and people watching while we sat at different cafés. The city is beautiful, filled with bikes everywhere, and with a café or a coffee shop on every corner (thank you Kiki for teaching us the difference between both).
A few minutes before meeting time, we found most of the group laying on the grass napping. The complete Amsterdam experience. I mean, who else can say he/she took a nap on the grass of one of the Amsterdam plazas's? Thank God that piano guy didn't actually grab any American meat to go! Right Marissa?
Dinner was delicious. Some people ordered steak, others chicken, others ribs, and most of them the classic burger.
To conclude our Amsterdam experience, we walked around the famous Red Light District. Only one comment to be said about it: Wow! What an experience!
Although we did get lost on our way home, and the group got divided into two smaller groups, both competiting to see who would get home first. Coach's group won, and finally, after 24+ hours, after finding "lost" Burke, and after me losing my credit card (hopefully I find it tomorrow), we crashed in our tiny hotel beds and slept like never before.
Written by Frances Cárdenas
Day 3
May 16, 2014
Today is day two Tampa volleyball's adventurous journey throughout
Amsterdam. After finally getting some well-needed rest we were
ready to take on the day. We woke up and went down for breakfast
which unfortunately was not what we are use to. There was toast,
jam, hard boiled eggs, and yogurt instead of our delicious array of
pancakes, bacon, sausage, and eggs, but it's all about the
experience.
We then made our journey (while trying to dodge cars and bikers) to the Anne Frank museum. While waiting in line to enter, we came across a group of art students from UT! Thanks to our camera man Travis we got a group picture to send back home. We finally entered the Anne Frank museum and took a journey through her diary and experiences while she was in hiding with her family. It was amazing to be able to actually see where they hid for so long which really allowed us to realize how insane things were back in the time of World War Two. It truly is baffling that the holocaust only happened seventy years ago.
After our informing experience, we were set free to go wander and get lunch. After walking around town and finding a girl who went to Caroline's high school (what a small world we live in), we found a cute sandwich shop that served delicious sandwiches with fresh ingredients to go with some freshly squeezed orange juice. We sat by the canal and enjoyed the amazing weather and delectable sandwiches, and then it was time to shop. We went to numerous adorable shops and even better, an awesome bakery. Then the whole group reunited and headed back to the hotel to collect our bags and head to the gym.
We arrived at the Olympic training center in Papendal, and we were in awe at how amazing it was. We went to our rooms, got ready, and went downstairs to head over to the gym which luckily was only a two minute walk. We laced up our active ankles and shoes and were ready to play. Unfortunately, we lost three sets to two to the Dutch junior national team, but we played hard and getting to play them was a great experience. We then went over to the cafeteria where everyone was dying to go because naturally we all wanted food.
Everyone filled up their trays (obviously) and we all sat down with the Dutch volleyball players, luckily they knew English. We asked them all sorts of questions about volleyball, The Netherlands, movies, music, you name it, we probably asked it. The one thing we did learn is that they think Americans are very loud, shocker. After dinner, we hung out and they showed us they're rooms which were bigger than I thought. We then headed back to our hotel, had a meeting with coach about the next day, and then went back to our rooms to finally lay in our wonderfully comfy beds.
Written by Gina Clarke
Day 4
May 17, 2014
At last we were all given the opportunity to sleep in or
grab breakfast at 8:30. Very few chose the breakfast option and
opted for the opportunity to sleep in. I assure you it was sleep
much appreciated and needed.
GAME DAY 2. Lunch was served at 12:30 and after that we headed to the gym to prepare for our second match against the Youth National Nederland team. We were all determined to take the win today. That being said we were able to accomplish our goal and we beat them in four. Although, it wasn't our best performance we all were satisfied with the win. After our game we hit the showers to prepare for dinner in the Olympic training center cafeteria and then a quick bus ride into the city. It was a cute little town and a perfect place to explore. Again, the weather was absolutely beautiful. We stayed for a couple hours and even though we left around 9:30 the sun was still shining. I don't think I will ever get use to daytime at 9:30 PM!
On our way back to the hotel poor Travis (our paparazzi) fell victim to the Bush Garden joke. For those of you who may no the joke...it's when you ask someone "have you ever been to Bush Gardens?", and then you push them into a bush. Demery was determined to clear her name from when she fell for the joke her freshman year when Jeff pushed her in the bushes in Colorado. Unfortunately, Travis totally fell for it and fell completely into the bush. He took it like a champ though and climbed out of the bush laughing. We love you Travis!
Tomorrow we head for Belgium and we can not wait to explore the city of Antwerp!
Written by Caroline Clark
Day 5
May 18, 2014
When our 8 o'clock alarm went off, Kahley Patrick and I knew it was
time to explore Gent. We scurried around our not so large hotel
room and prepared for today's adventures. After breakfast, we
walked to the train station to board the train for Gent. After we
all slept for a little while, we were woken up to the wrong train
stop, Kiki led us a tad too far.
So we got off at the next stop and waited on the platform for the next train back to Gent. While waiting on the platform we all seemed to disregard the yellow line that was safe to stand behind. We were all gazing at an oncoming train and didn't realize how fast it was coming until it was zipping past us forcing us to hold on to one another. As I looked at the nail marks on the backs of my arms from Kahley holding on to me for her life, we realized that maybe standing behind the line was a good idea.
We got on a train back to Gent, and once we got there, we got on a bus to the middle of the city. We were surrounded by monstrous buildings with beautiful detail and a big castle, things us Americans aren't quite used to seeing. We dispersed for lunch and tried to find something appetizing. Leigh Buttner and I had trouble stomaching some of the food that was available so we headed to a trusty subway. At the subway we purchased their blue Gatorade, it was completely different than the Gatorade in the U.S. It was very sweet, almost like a blue jolly rancher but it had no artificial flavors. It was delicious!
After wandering around the city of Gent, a bunch of us found a small gelato shop where apparently you can't sample their products. I guess every teaspoon has to be accounted for. Aside from the snooty woman serving gelato it was delicious and just what we wanted on a warm day! We headed back to the hotel to change and get mentally ready for our match.
Jerseys on, we were ready to take the city bus to The Amigos playing center. We had dinner with the team and enjoyed a nice bowl of spaghetti. After dinner Kendall Putnam, Meagan Burke, Cody Liner and Ryan Love participated in an intense game of seated volleyball. Kendall and Burke were successful until Burke tried killing the ball and Ryan blocked the ball right back at her and it ricocheted off her face. It was very entertaining.
Then warm-ups began. Our knees were a little tight after being on our feet for a while but nothing a couple hitting lines didn't fix. We ended up beating the Amigos all four games that we played. They had a couple good girls that were very young but very talented. After the match a couple of our girls exchanged shirts with the Amigo girls as a souvenir. They were very nice girls and we enjoyed playing against them! We wish the Amigos luck in their future competitions as we take on Brussels in the morning.
Written by Berkley Whaley
Day 6
May 19, 2014
Our final day in Belgium was spent in the beautiful city
of Brussels. We started off the day by grabbing breakfast in the
hotel then walking to the train station to catch our train, which
was only an hour long.
Once we arrived in Brussels we got some free time to explore on our own and try some new things. My group ended up walking around trying to find some lunch and came across a small sub shop which was delicious and were each made with a french baguette. After lunch we shopped around and stopped in many chocolate stores, taking advantage of every free sample of Belgian chocolate we could find. Before leaving Brussels some of us indulged in some Belgium waffles, some topped with fruit, chocolate, Nutella, and even ice cream! All together it was a fun day of adventuring around Brussels besides for Ryan when he got pooped on a bird.
Once we left the city it was time to head to our fourth game against the Belgian junior national team. Realizing Berkley, Carol, and I forgot our spandex we were in a panic but thankfully we borrowed shorts from others(thanks guys!). The Belgian team was younger than previous teams, yet very talented; we played five games against them and unfortunately only won one. After the game we had dinner in the restaurant upstairs at the facility we played in. Dinner was buffet style, which included chicken, lamb, rice, potatoes, applesauce and salad. Once we were done with dinner, we took a bus back to the hotel and rested up for a long day of traveling the following morning to Paris!
Written by Leigh Buttner
Day 7
May 20, 2014
After eating a quick breakfast at our hotel in Belgium, we
packed our bags and headed to our last stop: PARIS! During our four
hour bus ride, the hated process of trying every single position
possible in order to fall asleep took place as well as our tour
guide Nick attempting to teach us a few words in French. After
stopping for a not-so-quick snack and another couple hours on the
bus, we (finally) made it to Paris! Our hotel, right around the
corner from Moulin Rouge, also includes a nice view of the cemetery
from the hotel room windows. But the beautiful sights and scenery
of Paris make up for that anyways.
Leigh Buttner, Berkley Whaley, and I were assigned a triple room in which we found to be a tight squeeze, leaving little room to even store our suitcases on the floor. Bonding time, they call it. Kiki (our previous tour guide) had to leave us for another group, wherein our new guide, Cedric, took over. We quickly tossed our bags into our rooms and made our way to the city. First stop in Paris: Barisilique Cathedral. Inside, we were told no pictures allowed, but a few were still secretly snapped. The cathedral had beautifully designed mosaic windows and candles throughout. Little did we know, dressing for cold weather would be a bad idea once we realized how many stairs there were to climb in order to reach the top. No worries though! We were cooled down by the downpour that ensued when we began heading back down stairs for dinner. We ate at Marmite, a cute little restaurant where a few of us were brave enough to order snail for an appetizer (surprisingly, it was delicious). After dinner, we headed into the rain as we made our way to a Gelato shop (thanks to Nick for treating us). You can never have too much gelato.
Stomachs satisfied, we traveled to the Notre Dame by taking the metro, which included some entertainment provided by a couple guys with a saxophone looking for some extra cash. We hurried off the metro, walked a few blocks with the rain still coming down, and stumbled upon The Notre Dame. Dozens of pictures and selfies were still taken despite the rain. Since we were all pretty much drenched from the rain anyways, Nick led us to the Love-Lock Bridge (Pont de l'Archevêché) where we quickly took a peek but the rain began coming down even harder so we began making our way back to the hotel. The UTVB lock will have to be added another day. Apparently, without any of us noticing (luckily for him), Coach took a little tumble after slipping on the wet pavement. We took the Metro back to the hotel, finally dried off from the rainy day, and hit the sheets.
Written by Allee Stelogeannis
Day 9
May 22, 2014
Bonjour from UTVB in Paris!
After last nights torrential down pour, I think we all realized how lucky we have been with weather thus far on our adventures abroad. We woke up determined to fully enjoy Paris rain or shine!
Frances and I left our room around 9:30am for our first breakfast in Paris. When the elevator was taking too long we decided to take the stairs at the end of the hall down to the second floor. The day was already off to a great start when we found bacon, sausage, eggs, crepes, and chocolate croissants instead of another ham and cheese sandwich. However, we were confused as to why we were the only ones at breakfast. We didn't see Kiesha's hair or hear Burke. Once we had thoroughly licked our plates, we headed downstairs to meet the team in the lobby only to discover we somehow ended up in the hotel next door. Oops!
The entire group left for a day of sight seeing at 10am. First stop, The Louvre Museum which is home to The Mona Lisa. It was lightly raining as we mad our way through the huge structure and all the girls took photos.
After The Louvre, we had two hours of free time to split up, shop, and get lunch before all meeting at The Arc de Triumphe. I went with Caroline, Gina, and Marissa to eat and window shop. It actually turned out to be a gorgeous afternoon.
From The Arc de Triumphe we walked as a group to The Eiffel Tower. I'm not exaggerating when I say that The Eiffel Tower is the coolest thing I have ever seen in my entire life. I can't even do it justice with words because if you haven't seen it you need to see it in person to understand. I'm already nostalgic about it and I was there an hour ago.
From the Eiffel Tower we took the metro back to the hotel. The girls got their volleyball gear (everyone double checked for spandex today) and we were off to Clamart for our final match of the trip against The Clamart club team. We won the match 3-2. Afterwards, we ate dinner with the opposing team in the gym and a few of the girls traded shirts. Then we were on our way back to the hotel to rest up for another day of exploring Paris.
AU REVOIR,
(It's not goodbye, it's see you later)
Written by Kaylee Koetter
Day 10
May 23, 2014
We started out our third day in Paris as a team on a boat
tour down the Seine river. We embraced the rainy weather and sat
outside in the front of the boat to take in all the beautiful Paris
scenery. We got to see the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, lock bridge,
oldest hospital, and the flame that symbolizes the friendship
between the US and France.
After we got off the boat we were able to go off on our separate ways to navigate Paris on our own. We had to learn how to figure out the Metro, which is a version of our subway system; some picked it up quicker than others and only a few got a little lost. As we split up some people went to view the inside of the Notre Dame Cathedral. It is hard to describe how massive and beautiful it is in person, pictures don't do it justice. The stain glass is breath taking as well as the intricate detail of the architecture itself. Others ventured to the Eiffel Tower where it only took 710 steps to get to the second level and a short elevator ride to get to the top and see an incomparable view of Paris. You would think that as collegiate athletes 710 steps would be a piece of cake but we struggled a little bit and anticipate to be sore tomorrow..don't tell Coach. Next on the agenda for the day was lunch then most of us went shopping whether it was souvenirs, clothes, or both; our suitcases might be a little over the weight limit on the trip back. Everyone then headed back to the hotel to relax for a little bit before getting ready for dinner.
Our tour guide, Cedric, took us to a nice restaurant where we ate a delicious 3 course French meal. For the appetizers the choices were seasonal soup or eggs with bacon and asparagus. The entree choices were beef stew or macaroni with mushroom. For our favorite part, the desert, the choices were creme brûlée or berries and cream. Everyone got an assortment of things and it was all very good. After dinner our tour guide took us to a popular bar where the atmosphere was fun and we all got to enjoy the Paris nightlife together. It is safe to say that we are all not ready for tomorrow to be our last day in Paris.
Written by Kahley Patrick