Day 9 - Fun in the Sun :: Fun in the sun

June 5, 2007

Cascais and Lisbon, Portugal -

Dear pops, I mean, dear Marquette fans and family!

Today is our final day in Europe as tomorrow we have an early flight to catch. Since we got back so late from the game last night, we were able to sleep in this morning. Today was a pretty laid back day as we just went back to Cascais to spend a couple hours at the beach. To say the least, it was refreshing. The ocean water was probably only 50 degrees. I think I was one of the only ones who thought it was refreshing and stayed in the water along with Jasmine, Nelly and Joss. J kept diving in the big waves. It was crazy.

We buried Nelly in the sand first, and then J wanted in so we buried her as well. We all got a bit hungry so we saw this Mexican restaurant right near us and decided to grab some lunch. Out of the whole menu, the only authentic Mexican choices were chips and guacamole and chips and salsa. Once we were done with our lunch we headed back to the hotel where a few of us still wanted to soak up the Portugal sun at the hotel pool. Don't worry, the hotel pool water is like bath water.

A short side story from the beach... Two of our managers, Drew Thomas and Jim Packee came back with fire-red armpits due to a reaction between the deodorant they used and the salt water. Sometimes it pays not to wear deodorant!

Since I will be the first to admit that I have never done a load of laundry in my life, I had my first experience hand washing our mesh jerseys in the hotel bathtub this past weekend. Don't worry, KE showed me how. Also, since there are no driers, I didn't realize how long it would take to hang dry. My jersey was soaked for the game last night and I couldn't wear it. I wore 00 instead. On the other hand, Riss wore her wet jersey because of her superstition with her number.

Let me tell about one of my favorite nights on the trip. It was the night we were in Salamanca where we had dinner at a place that served paella. Paella is rice with grilled shrimp and mussels. Little did I know the shrimp was going to have its legs, head and eyeballs attached. Coach Cara peeled the shrimp after I refused to touch it. It kept making eye contact with me and it was uncomfortable.

After paella the second dish is served about 20 minutes later, which is how a typical Spanish meal is served. My main dish was fried calamari, which looked like onion rings. Kelly Lam wanted to try it, but she is someone who absolutely can't stand the smell and appearance and smell of seafood, but she tried it anyway. As she was eating it, she started gagging. Cara tired to help her out by yelling, "Just swallow it, Kelly. It's slippery, it will go right down!"

In the midst of Cara really trying to help, it actually made the situation worse. Kelly ended up in el bano (the bathroom) to get away from it all. A short time later, we were served dessert. I ordered flan - which I like to call phlegm because that is about how good it was.

Tonight is our last meal as a group at the Hard Rock Café where we will share our favorite moments from the trip.

These past nine days have been truly a lot fun with my teammates, coaches and support staff. I didn't expect to learn so much and have the opportunity to get closer as a team, to bond, be together and enjoy one another. I am so thankful to be able to go on this trip with all of these people. The memories will last a lifetime.

On behalf of the team, I would like to say thank you to everyone who made this trip possible and to those who continue to support us.

Erin