Jul. 18, 2013
Hola from Barcelona!
I'm here with the team in Barcelona, Spain. We have our World Championships here this year and it's an amazing venue for an exciting tournament! The city and atmosphere here is more than we could ask for and it's going to be an invaluable experience for the whole team.
To give a brief idea to everyone, World Championships is the biggest tournament that we play in, outside of the Olympic Games. Different than the Olympics, World Championships is a 16-team tournament. We play each team in our 4-team bracket and then based upon our results, cross over to play an opposing bracket's team. If we win the qualifying game, we advance to the quarterfinals. The losing 8 teams are out of the tournament. From that point, it's quarters, semis and finals, depending on how the rest of your games go....if that makes any sense. Simply put, it's a HUGE tournament for us, we want to win, and it's going to be a great experience.
We have been training in the Netherlands previous to starting the tournament and we were able to get some good training and games while in the Netherlands. But, we're all anxiously waiting for the tournament to start. While we wait, we have had an afternoon to explore a bit of the city. It's beautiful! We spent most of our afternoon, wandering down Las Ramblas. It's a main street in the city with some architecture by the famous Spanish architect, Gaudi. We were able to see the sights, shop and of course enjoy some delicious Spanish cuisine.
That's where my Jamba comes into play... While I don't have the convenience to drop by the easiest Jamba Juice while I walk, I've found a fun juice that will have to do till I get home to my citrus squeeze. It's a tucked away little market called, La Boqueria. (Fun fact: dates back to 1217, or the first mention of it) Courtney Mathewson, a teammate of mine played here a few years ago. She had been raving about it before we came, and knowing I loved my juices, had said it was a must see!
It met my expectation! There are stands of fresh fruits displayed, fresh fruit juices out for the picking and delectable fruit bowls. It was a fruit lover's paradise! It was vibrant and colorful, the hustle and bustle of the people walking and enjoying their treats and the options upon options of fresh fruit. I had a strawberry coconut juice and it was delicious! I made a note, to bring my mom here when she arrived because I knew she'd appreciate this as well. I must say it did not have the texture or substance that I love about my Jamba Juice, but it was a nice and different quench to my juice cravings.
Wish us luck as we play here in Barcelona and make sure to enjoy a Jamba Juice while you're at it, or a juice from La Boqueria if you're ever in Barcelona! Go USA
Until next time,
Tumua
