Set the alarm for 8:30 as we had a 9:30 breakfast. I woke up just before the alarm went off. Great sleep. Got cleaned up and ready for the day. Opened up my balcony door and the heat almost knocked me over. Another hot and humid day. We headed down for breakfast which was our first interesting culinary experience. So here was a sample of breakfast:
Scrambled Eggs (very wet and almost orange in colour), rice porridge, boiled rice, ham, sausage (like a hot dog), "hashed potatoes" (like a hash brown cake), fish paste, fruit and pollock eggs. Other things there that I never tried but all pretty good. One nice thing here is that our doctor checked the water at this hotel and it is on a super duper filtration system so it is good to drink.
It is amazing how we take water for granted in North America. Whenever we travel, the first thing when we land is try to find water. Like last night when I landed in China and bought two 750 ml bottles of Evian water. Cost almost $14 because it was imported. I had no idea.
After breakfast we went for a quick walk. 15 minutes around the area just to get the legs going and get out in the sun. A very nice area around the hotel and very clean. Did I mention the stifling heat though. Humid and hot. Will go through clothes like crazy here. After we returned from the walk we watched the film of Japan again to get ready.
Finished that and went to room to rest. We went down to dinner at around noon. Another interesting culinary experience. Here were some of the choices:
Potato wedges, pasta and sauce (girls said it was very oily), spicy chicken, rice, noodle soup, dumplings (one of my favorites), "sandwiches with various fillings", rice with beef and mushrooms, pork and cabbage, salmon, other fish and salads and dessert. So a sampling of a few things and lunch was over.
After lunch we got things ready for practice. Hopped on the bus and took a drive for about 20 minutes through downtown Nagasaki to get to the gym. IT is a nice city with about 450,000 people. We passed a big baseball stadium along the way. Baseball and soccer are huge here. The next thing we passed by was another one of those surreal, never ever forget kind of moments. We stopped next to a park which was ground zero for the atomic bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki in WWII. Unbelievable feeling. We are going to try and go to the park and memorial centre in a few days. It was just amazing to think that so much death and destruction happened right here. Seeing a site of a Nazi Concentration camp 2 years ago in Serbia was moving...almost disturbing. It was the same here but a slightly different feeling. I am sure it will be a moving experience if we go and visit the area.
So on to practice. A lot of warmup and balance drills to get the girls feeling better and then we practiced for about an hour and a half. The practice was good but the girls legs were a little sluggish so our intensity was up and down. The gym was a nice gym but it was warm. They said it was air conditioned but not really. So we got after it a bit and it was good but then we shut it down a little early. Allison and one of the players had to go to a press conference so we sat on the bus for about 20 minutes but it was air conditioned so no worries.
We got back to the hotel about 4:45 and were scheduled for dinner at 6pm. We were going to go with the girls but Mr. Taka, an executive with Japan Basketball, had other plans. He told the staff to meet him in the lobby at 6pm. I came back to my room and got cleaned up to go. I also washed a few things in the sink. Ahhh the joys of international travel. So we meet Mr Taka and he puts us into a few cabs and away we go. We are winding through the streets of Nagasaki (on the other side of the road which freaked me out) with no idea where we are going. We go down this really narrow alley and stop at a weird looking door. If this was a movie, we could be enjoying the last moments of our life.
We opened this door and walked into an incredible little restaurant. The dining party was Mr. Taka, 2 members who were organizing the tour, Allison, Mike, Myself, our manager and doctor.
What follows next can only be described as one of the most incredible and memorable dining experiences of my lifetime and that is saying something. I couldn't believe it. So let me explain.
First, the meal took 3 hours. It is supposed to apparently.
Second, the meal consisted of 13 courses. yes 13 courses. unbelievable. I can't remember the courses and the order but let me give you a sampling of what we had to eat. And remember, everything is eaten with chopsticks to picture that.
A soup to start with mushrooms, a rice flour ball (like a dumpling), some greens and a fish ball.
Black cod with plum mayonnaise
seaweed
raw tuna and raw "something something fish"
sweetened beans - big white beans like kidney beans with a sweet sauce
crispy balls with melted cheese and shrimp mixed together inside - fantastic
A jelly like cube with cooked fish eggs inside - not bad
A plate with little "minnow" like fish on it. You have to eat them whole
Pickled cucumber and plums
Sweet potato mixed with plum and coated with something
White "something something" radish
A bowl that came with eggplant, some kind of melon, a ball that was a bean paste but made to look like an egg, chicken stuffed with veggies and bean curd with eel on top. The eel was actually quite good.
A rice bowl with a soup that had mushrooms, greens and "slimy" chicken but tasty.
A small "pancake" with pork belly and veggies inside - FANTASTIC
Dessert was a gelly like square with watermelon inside, oolong tea and then a "drink" at the end. It was an incredibly sweet drink with rice balls and a flower inside. The drink was brownish and had cinnamon in it. It had the consistency of thick hot chocolate. Rice balls, flower and all went down the hatch. Fantastic but sweet.
I have forgotten a pile of food things I am sure because it just kept coming for 3 hours but the environment, food and chat was fantastic. I am sure I will remember this meal for a long time.
The way home was the smallest cab and I was jammed into the front seat. most uncomfortable ride ever but the night lights looked cool.
so now it is bed time soon. another early day and then a shoot around before we play tomorrow at 7pm. the games are finally here. should be good
until tomorrow
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