After all my posts on my blog about going to the beach, going out, sightseeing you may start to wonder if I am really here for volleyball or vacation?! But yes I am still here playing volleyball! We started our practices the last week of August, just doing light practices and only one a days. It was a chance for us to meet all the girls and the coach and get a feel for playing with each other. The first week of September we started doing double days. Ironically I love that we are practicing twice a day. Otherwise I would be bored. And it is helping keep me in shape for all those beach trips we are making! :)
But we are working hard. My schedule usually goes like this: wake up for practice or weights in the morning, head straight to Vas Kutak, which is this great restaraunt that we eat lunch at everyday.Some of our favorite meals are the gnocci,grilled chicked,spaghetti and calamari. So after lunch I usually head back to our apartment and catch up on emails,facebook and tv shows and then try and take a nap. I am really bad at the napping part,I fal asleep for about 30 minutes, but Ill tke what I can get. Then it is back to practice at 7:45 till about 10:00.The only thing I dont like is practicing so late at night, it makes the days seem so much longer. But I really like the girls on the team as well as our coach.
We play in one of the nicer gyms in the league. It is a big arena which holds about 15,000 people, although I dont think we will be filling it up for home games. But it is a great place to play. We are all excited to start playing some games!
Sunday, September 18, 2011
the Island of Hvar
First off let me say that we have been treated really great here the first few weeks. After practices we would go grab a drink and bite to eat with Z and another sponsor named Ante and also with the president of the club Mirko. One night they had all of us foreigners out to nice seafood dinner. It was amazing! All sorts of seafood, we had shrimp, oysters, mussels, octopus, tuna and bunch of other stuff I didnt even know. But I sure loved it. One night Ante said we needed to go to the island of Hvar, one of the best islands here and a big tourist island as well. Ante is head of all the ports in Croatia so he knows what he is talking about. So we all said absolutely! So he set up a whole weekend for us to go to the island of Hvar.
We took a 2 hour ferry ride to the island of Hvar where Ante was there to pick us up. He then drove us about 15 minutes thru windy and hilly green forest all while along the coast to the city of Hvar. Once we parked the car and got out and saw our first view of the city we were blown away. It was really really pretty! Just the structure of the buildings, the church, all the palm trees, the water and all the yachts lined up in the water was awesome!
After we walked around for awhile Ante told us we would be heading to a small exclusive island where people go to get away and they also have hammocks there for people to sleep on. To get to this small island we had to take a small boat to get there. So we fit 8 of us into this little boat and headed to the island.
The plan was for us to stay the night on the island and sleep on those hammocks but once we got there we decided that it was too cold to stay the night. We went exploring the island which took about 15 minutes because it was so small! But they did have some peacocks, rabbits, bunnies and even a donkey on the island. But we had a great time on the small island just hanging out with each other, swimming, enjoying the view, the sunset and having a nice dinner. The dinner was amazing! The steak there was delicious!
After dinner we headed back to the island of Hvar so we could go to our condo that we had for the night and get ready to go explore Hvar at night. All of us headed out to a cafe and had a good time soaking up the atmosphere and talking with each other. We ended up going to a few popular places and had a good time out! We ended the night with some greasy Croatian cheese pastry, that was good but not good at the same time ha! We found out that we had just missed Prince Harry by a few days and Beyonce and Jay-Z by a week. I guess this island really is one of the best!
The next morning Becci and I wanted to go to the church service at the big Cathedral but we werent allowed in because we were wearing shorts. So we met up with the others for some breakfeast and people watching. Then we headed out to another port on the island. We had another delicious seafood lunch there. We had bread with sardines on it,lobster patte,fish,octoupus,squid and shrimp. Now with the shrimp you had to peel it yourself as well as break the head from the body. AND then you had to suck out what was inside the head. As disgusting as that sounds I had to try it,Im in Croatia! One of the port workers that was with us ate the head of the fish. For dessert we had some fruit including yellow watermelon.The lunch was great!
After lunch we headed to a different beach, as we are driving Ante tells us it is a nudist beach! But thankfully everyone there was clothed and we enjoyed our time swimming in the water, laying out and eating some icecream!
We took a 2 hour ferry ride to the island of Hvar where Ante was there to pick us up. He then drove us about 15 minutes thru windy and hilly green forest all while along the coast to the city of Hvar. Once we parked the car and got out and saw our first view of the city we were blown away. It was really really pretty! Just the structure of the buildings, the church, all the palm trees, the water and all the yachts lined up in the water was awesome!
After we walked around for awhile Ante told us we would be heading to a small exclusive island where people go to get away and they also have hammocks there for people to sleep on. To get to this small island we had to take a small boat to get there. So we fit 8 of us into this little boat and headed to the island.
The plan was for us to stay the night on the island and sleep on those hammocks but once we got there we decided that it was too cold to stay the night. We went exploring the island which took about 15 minutes because it was so small! But they did have some peacocks, rabbits, bunnies and even a donkey on the island. But we had a great time on the small island just hanging out with each other, swimming, enjoying the view, the sunset and having a nice dinner. The dinner was amazing! The steak there was delicious!
After dinner we headed back to the island of Hvar so we could go to our condo that we had for the night and get ready to go explore Hvar at night. All of us headed out to a cafe and had a good time soaking up the atmosphere and talking with each other. We ended up going to a few popular places and had a good time out! We ended the night with some greasy Croatian cheese pastry, that was good but not good at the same time ha! We found out that we had just missed Prince Harry by a few days and Beyonce and Jay-Z by a week. I guess this island really is one of the best!
The next morning Becci and I wanted to go to the church service at the big Cathedral but we werent allowed in because we were wearing shorts. So we met up with the others for some breakfeast and people watching. Then we headed out to another port on the island. We had another delicious seafood lunch there. We had bread with sardines on it,lobster patte,fish,octoupus,squid and shrimp. Now with the shrimp you had to peel it yourself as well as break the head from the body. AND then you had to suck out what was inside the head. As disgusting as that sounds I had to try it,Im in Croatia! One of the port workers that was with us ate the head of the fish. For dessert we had some fruit including yellow watermelon.The lunch was great!
After lunch we headed to a different beach, as we are driving Ante tells us it is a nudist beach! But thankfully everyone there was clothed and we enjoyed our time swimming in the water, laying out and eating some icecream!
Pub Crawl
We were getting a little anxious to get out of the apartment and go see the city of Split at night. We also wanted to go meet people from Split and any other tourists that were here enjoying the city. All four of us "foreigners" decided what better way to meet people and see the downtown city of Split than a pub crawl?! So we ventured out on Saturday night to the center of the city. The first person we meet is the energetic leader of the pub crawl. His name is Hula and we found out that he plays handball at the gym where we practice! We have run into him a few times at the gym since. So it is nice to have our first friend here! We then ended up meeting people from England, Portugal and the Netherlands thar we talked to and danced with all night. We went to 4 different places around the center of the city and then ended up at one of the bars near our apartment. It was a great night to get to know each other, meet new people, make new friends and also see the city of Split!
Brac Beach
The first weekend Becci and I wanted to go explore but mainly go explore one of the thousands of islands that Croatia has. So we hopped on a ferry and took an 45 minute boat ride to the island of Brac.
We were told that it has great beaches and one of the highest rated beaches in all of Europe. Unfortunately we wouldnt be able to go the best beach there because you need a car to get there but we still found an amazing beach there. The water there was soooo gorgeous and clear blue and it was not too cold. The only thing here is that their beaches have rocks, not sand. So if you want to go in the water you need to wear water shoes or flip flops. We didnt know that so we had to walk on the rocks to get in the water and also in the water. But it was worth it to go floating in the Adriatic Sea!
They also had jet skis to rent, banana boats, you could go tubing and lot of other things to do. Becci and I layed out and enjoyed the water for a few hours and then went and had lunch (cheeseburgers!) at one of the small cafes.
We then went back to the port and walked around the little shops they had and ended our beach trip with some gelato. It was a nice and relazing weekend at the beach!
We were told that it has great beaches and one of the highest rated beaches in all of Europe. Unfortunately we wouldnt be able to go the best beach there because you need a car to get there but we still found an amazing beach there. The water there was soooo gorgeous and clear blue and it was not too cold. The only thing here is that their beaches have rocks, not sand. So if you want to go in the water you need to wear water shoes or flip flops. We didnt know that so we had to walk on the rocks to get in the water and also in the water. But it was worth it to go floating in the Adriatic Sea!
They also had jet skis to rent, banana boats, you could go tubing and lot of other things to do. Becci and I layed out and enjoyed the water for a few hours and then went and had lunch (cheeseburgers!) at one of the small cafes.
We then went back to the port and walked around the little shops they had and ended our beach trip with some gelato. It was a nice and relazing weekend at the beach!
Welcome to Split, Croatia
So on Tuesday August 23rd I left Hemet, California and headed to Split, Croatia. It would be a long day of traveling. I would stop in Phoenix, Philidelphia, Frankfurt and then Split. Thats a lot of stops and changes and opportunities for my bags to get lost. It was also nice because I didnt have long layovers in any of the stops, just enough time to grab a bite to eat and get in line. I was only worried at the Phoenix airport because as I was baoarding the news came on about the earthquake in the east coast and they were shutting down a few airports, including Philidelphia. But everything worked out and I landed in Philidelphia with no problems. I got excited as I boarded my plane to Frnakfurt, it was not full at all and I had the whole row to myself! Plus a nice and friendly flight attendant. The flight was smooth, I watched 2 movies (Lincoln Lawyer and Water for Elephants, just in case you were wondering) and then slept the rest of the way. Even in Frankfurt I didnt have a long layover which is nice when traveling so far. In Frankfurt I met up with my roommate and future teammate, Becci, for the first time. We hopped on the short flight to Split and arrived safely and to both our enjoyment so did our bags! As we were walking out of baggage claim we saw a guy holding up papers with our names on it. After a few minutes of trying to understand and pronounce his name (Zeljan), we gave him the nickname "Z". So "Z" and his friend loaded up our luggage in two cars and we headed to our home for the next 9 months.
It is always nerve racking to find out where you will be living for the next 9 months. We dont pick out the apartment or get to see it before we leave so its always an anxious part of the arrival. As we were driving to the apartment I was getting very hopeful because we were heading toward the water. Yay! Our apartment is really close to the water so it is easy to walk to the beach. The apartment is small but my roomie and I each have our own room and it is a great location. (I will have a post for the apartment with pictures soon!)
So Becci and I got settled into our apartment and later that night Z took us out to dinner. Right down the road there is this cute cafe and restaurant that overlooks the water. So we went there and it was delicious. Becci and I knew we would be back here alot. The next day Z and the president of our club Mirko took us sightseeing throughout the city. We went to the highest point of the city to a beautiful lookout spot to see the whole city.
Then they took us to the Diocletian Palace which has been there for 1700 years. We got to walk around inside the Palace. We kind of likened it to Venice but without the water because it had narrow streets and walkways. It was pretty cool! Of course there are lots and lots of small souveigner shops for all the tourists. Here is a close up of the Palace from the lookout point.
In the Palace's backyard there was a statue of a great philospher of Split. The belief is that if you rub his toe and make a wish it will bring you good luck and your wish will come true.
It was nice of them to take us around and it was great to see parts of the city. Later that night Z took us to where we would be playing and also to meet some of the girls from the team since they were practicin that night. We werent practicing yet because we had to get cleared with a medical exam first. But both Becci and I were anxious to see the gym and meet the girls. The girls were super nice and friendly and even spoke English! The gym is pretty big and hold about 15,000 people. After the practice Z took us to get us some late night fast food. He claims there fast food is the best, it is pretty good but Ill take Del Taco over it anyday. :) But that night we had chevapi. The best way to describe it is basically sausage in a pita bread with their special sauce. It was pretty good. Ill have to take a picture of it next time i get it.
The next day the other 2 "foriegn" players arrived. Reese who is also from California and then Kiki who is from Slovenia but she speaks fluent English and also can speak Croatian. We met up with them for lunch at this restaraunt, Vas Kutak, where we will eat everyday for lunch for free.
All in all it was a great and interesting first few days there!
Monday, September 5, 2011
Split Decision
Well after a year off of not playing professional volleyball I have decided to up and leave one more time. I am so blessed to be able to go play another year. I was not ready to be done with playing volleyball, I missed playing the game so much! I am so thankful for the year I spent at home in California, I loved my time there. It was awesome to be able to see my family whenever I wanted, go to and be in some weddings, travel to see friends and also to rest my body. I also got to stay close to the game of volleyball by coaching 2 club teams out in Temecula. It was a great experience and I am so happy I got to coach there. I also had a blast playing beach volleyball this summer with my partner Dana who I met coaching club. Being around volleyball and coaching it made me realize that I still want to play. So I emailed my agent telling him I wanted to go play again. He found a few teams that were interested and he got things going right away. It all kinda happened really fast. One day I emailed my agent about 2 weeks later I was signing a contract to go play.I was super excited that it had all worked out and so happy that I would be traveling to a place that I had not been too. I signed a contract to go play in the city of Split, Croatia. I had heard great things about Croatia so I was sold! I tried to soak up as much time with family, friends and home (home being things like In&Out and Del Taco) while I could before I had to go. As much as I loved my time home, I love volleyball and cant wait to play!!
Here are a few pics from this past year at home that I was so happy to be a part of and will miss so much!!!
Reanne and I on a boat tour in Chicago!
Family at Christmas time!
Kellie and I at the Zac Brown Band concert!
Leslie and I at the Angels game!
Viper Volleyball!
Superbowl!!
Mini UCR volleyball reunion!
Alicias wedding!
Spending quality aunt/niece time!!
Here are a few pics from this past year at home that I was so happy to be a part of and will miss so much!!!
Reanne and I on a boat tour in Chicago!
Family at Christmas time!
Kellie and I at the Zac Brown Band concert!
Leslie and I at the Angels game!
Viper Volleyball!
Superbowl!!
Mini UCR volleyball reunion!
Alicias wedding!
Spending quality aunt/niece time!!
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