National Team 2013 - Phase 1 - Day 19

Day 19 is tout finis and what a full day it was. 

Up this morning early for breakfast. Cereal with yogurt, fruit, meat, cheese (lots of different ones) and all kinds of breads. I had some toast that was made with a different bread and may be the best toast ever. Oh and did I mention chocolate croissants - rich, delicious chocolate croissants. Yummy. A really nice cup of coffee as well

After lunch we gave the girls a video assignment during a quick meeting and sent them off to do it. The coaches met in this neat little nook with wicker furniture and a view to the gardens and courtyard. Very nice. We talked about what our plan would be for the week and then about today's practice. At 11:30 the girls had a pre-hab session which we did outside on the grass because it was so nice outside. 

After the session we had a little but of time off before lunch and we decided to meet with Miranda who has joined is for this part of the tour after just completing her pro season in turkey. This took us up to 12:45 which gave us 15 minutes before lunch. Not a lot of free time some days on these trips. I went back to my room to check on Dipesh. He got some kind of stomach bug and slept through the night and all day today til supper time. He was still asleep so I went to lunch. 

Lunch was pasta with a tomato sauce, broccoli and chicken. Lots of salad and breads and a knockout dessert section. Three types of flan ( I chose fresh raspberry), fresh strawberries, fruit salad and angel good cake with a chocolate mousse for topping. I skipped the cake and used the mousse to dip some strawberries in. Giddy up. 

After lunch we had a film session and meeting at 130. The girls were presenting the findings from their assignment and we reviewed some team stuff. By the time we knew it, it was 3:30. We were leaving for the gym at 4 pm. I checked on Dip and he was still sleeping so I headed to the bus. Practice was about 15 minutes away in a very neat facility. We worked on cleaning up some details and the practice was very good and competitive. We still have lots of work to do as we play 3 of the top teams in the world without 2 of our best players. The goal is to show progress each time out so hopefully we can get better every day. 

We got back after practice and headed straight for supper. Pasta with meat sauce, mushroom soup, salads and salmon. All very good. 

At supper we found out that Canada basketball had arranged a bus tour of Paris for the team. Awesome news. We took a quick minute to get dressed and then headed in to the city. 

My impressions on Paris? How many times can I say WOW in one night. We saw it all. The seine river. Cathedral of notre dame (hunchback wasn't home). Champs d'elysses. Arc de Triomphe. The Louvre (which is absolutely giFRIGGINgantic and of course the Eiffel Tower. We didn't get out of the bus at many places but we did at the Eiffel Tower. I was in awe. Absolute awe. And the bus driver made sure we were there as the light show was starting. Awesome. He warned us when we left the bus to leave money on the bus or be very careful due to pick pockets. We all made it safe and sound though and continued on. We saw so many wonderful buildings and statues I can't begin to list them all. 

The architecture is absolutely impressive. Everything is so clean and well manicured. We didn't take the highway straight to the sights either. The bus weaved its' way through all the little streets and we saw so many unbelievable buildings and statues. About a million little cafes on cobblestone streets. It would take over a month and a small fortune and I still don't think you could see all of Paris. It was so beautiful.

Needless to say I was impressed with what I saw. Absolutely loved it.



PICTURE TAKEN MINUTES BEFORE 10 PM







So tomorrow we have an early wakeup. 7:30 breakfast and 8am departure for practice. 8:30-10Am practice. It is now about 12:15 so I must head off to bed. 





An awesome day in France.



Until tomorrow........