We awoke to a beautiful day in London kicking the morning off with a bus tour of the city. We traveled through Picadilly Circus, Westminister Abbey, and Liecester Square. We ended up at St. Paul's Cathedral where we took a tour through Christopher Wren's (the Architecht) breathtaking masterpiece. We were also lucky enough to score front row seats for the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace...unfortunately the Queen was not in residence. We then split off for lunch in seperate groups as everyone was eager to see what London had to offer. Several girls opted to visit the famous Tate Modern Museum. This museum showcased some of the finest modern art from artists such as Salvador Dali, Mark Rothcoe, and Picasso. A number of the other girls decided to go to the Tower of London. Here we were able to take a look at England's ugly past and their current prized possessions. As we passed through the Traitors' Gate, we were surprised to see some eagle-sized ravens that looked very capable of eating small children. Our first stop was the resting place of England's crown jewels...England's got a lotttt of BLINGG. We then went over to the Bloody Tower and the torture chambers to witness some unbelievable replicas of torture devices that were used on prisoners in England's past. Finally, from the Tower of London, we had some remarkable views of the Tower Bridge. Our evening exhibitions were followed by dinner at a nearby restaurant. Dinner was followed by a high speed race to the theatre. We arrived to the theatre in Liecester Square right as the play started. Most of the team attended Spamalot where we looked to "always look on the bright side of life".

Till tomorrow....cheerio


P.S. Mom and Dad, I scored a goal!!!! (Love Bridget)

"To be or not to be, That is the question..."

Our day started with a tour of Stratford and the birthplace of William Shakespeare. The historical house was a major hit for some and the garden outside was a beautiful location for photos. Outside the house a living statue of Shakespeare posed for photos with the Belles after scaring the life out of Lauren. While boarding the bus, the coaches had the opportunity to experience a British grocery store as they gathered picnic supplies that we enjoyed on the lawn near Windsor Castle. Next we all headed to Windsor Castle for a tour of Queen Mary's Doll House and the Royal State Apartments. The rooms were incredible and Boston claims that her chandeliers look very similar to the ones in the royal dining area... some of us are a bit skeptical. Finally, after everyone shopped around the castle the team boarded the bus for London which was our last ride with Allen, the bus driver. We arrived at the B-E-A-U-tiful Regency Hotel on the outskirts of London to enjoy dinner. That evening the team boarded the Tube and took a walking tour of the London Eye, Big Ben, Parliament, and the surrounding areas before collapsing into bed for a long day ahead of them!

Futbol fun with the Vixens

"We're young, we're thin, we really want to win... Saint Mary's, Saint Mary's!!!!" Our futbol match against the Vixens led us to our first win over seas. The experience was extremely unique and our opponents played out of a true love for futbol and in the spirit of the game. During the post game social, they left us with the cheer above that was very similar to the ones they had for themselves. Oh!!! and cookies are a must for a half time boost. After the match we headed to Stratford-upon-Avon and visited the Warick castle for a photo-op. After a long day on the bus we concluded the day with a visit to The Lion, a local pub. Without a doubt, everyone had a great time that evening and we were quite the billards players.

Good Girl!!! Jolly Good.

Brilliant! The day started off with a fabulous training session about an hour away from the Jury Hotel with MELVIN!! Holding the highest UEFA coaching certification, Melvin, was everything we had hoped he would be. He was impressed with our desire to learn and willingness to improve. He also made it a point that we never call our soccer shoes "cleats" again because they are "boots."
Following the training session we journeyed on to the Manchester United futbol pitch for a tour led by an enthusiastic guide who was clearly a tremendous United fan. The grass was pristine and one end of the pitch is called the Stretford End because the pitch is not actually in Manchester, but Stretford. After the tour everyone's wallets became significantly lighter due to the Manchester United MEGAstore. The Manchester Museum captured years of amazing players, championships, and history and the pictures of Cristiano Ronaldo were exceptionally special.
Back at the hotel we had a dinner of roasted chicken, salmon, potatoes, mushroom pasta, and veggies ended in the team venturing off to some sophisticated local clubs. A select few of us showed the English a thing or two about dancing! The night came to an end around 11 PM and it's off to a good night of sleep before our match tomorrow morning! Cheerio!

If it's not Scottish, it's crap...

Much has happened since our last entry....

The Belles met a tough match on the pitch on Wednesday in the Edinburgh Ladies. The Ladies sported a few Scottish National Team players that sliced their way through the jet-lagged legs of the Belles. The final score of the contest was a lot to a little with the Belles on the short side. The football game on Wednesday marked our last night in Edinburgh and we would start our trek through the south of Scotland into England on Thursday morning.

One of the predominating messages we received from the Scots is that they don't think too fondly of their neighbors in the South---The English. For some of us it was hard to exit the beautiful Scotland countryside, but for others it was quite easy to leave the cuisine behind. We left Edinburgh in a misty, light rain on our luxury coach. The road was constantly winding and up and down hill that left many with a queasy stomach, but the view was worth it. We stopped at Gretna to take photographs of our group crossing into England. We lunched in the lovely town of Penrith where we each went our separate ways and rejoined in the coach with the stories of our adventures.

After what seemed like an eternity on the bus, we finally arrived at our destination of Manchester where we dropped our things off at the Jurys Inn and were off for our game against the Club team from Crewe. The Crewe is just starting off their season and they did it in delightful fashion as they found the back of the net more times than we did. The Belles played with renewed energy and continue to improve each time on the field. They are getting hungry for their next game and everyone is excited to get their first win under their belt.

Special hellos to SarahBudd, Peanut, Chic Katie & Monkey, Minneapolis-St Paul and the ND Ticket Office.

With Love from the Keepers...

7/25/07

Today, we woke up for a tasty breakfast at the hotel. Stacy at Haggis and will not be eating it ever again! After breakfast we boarded our chariot to explore Edinburgh. We saw EVERY famous Scottish writers' home and/or birthplace in Edinburgh, including the birthplace of the 7th Harry Potter Book at the Elephant Cafe. We also took a splendidly wonderful team picture in front of Fettes College. The tour ended at the Edinburgh Castle where many explored the ancient stronghold while others experienced Picasso. After our tour the ladies went out on their own to sightsee, shop, and experience the Scottish cuisine... Some mixed reactions. If you thought our luggage was heavy before, wait until you pick us up! One of the favorite stops while wandering was the Heart of Midlothian. We were told that if you spit on the Heart you will have good luck. Looks like Lo and Boston should be our leading scorers for tonight. In a short while we board our chariot again to conquer the "Ladies."
p.s. Stacy says "Hi mom!"
p.p.s. HEY HEY HEY SARAHBUDD. Miss you!

We have arrived!

We arrived at Heathrow International Airport safely at 8am on Tuesday morning and proceeded onto Edinburgh, Scotland (pronounced Edinboro), arriving at 1:00pm. Fortunately, all student-athletes, coaches, parents and luggage were accounted for.

We met up with our tour guide, Aidan, at the airport. He's a science teacher from Scotland - team consensus is...he is NOT hard on the eyes. We look forward to spending the next 7 days with him. He is very knowledgeable about the area, history, etc. Considering the fact that we're all working on 36+ hours of no sleep, the team was quite attentive to this young lad.

After checking into our hotel, we headed to The Royal Mile and Princes Street for a quick bite to eat and some shopping. We got our first glimpse of Edinburgh Castle from the second floor of a local Starbuck's. :-) Tomorrow, we will have the opportunity to tour the castle, take a ghost tour of Old Town and perhaps take in some additional shopping and museums.

Our first European competition versus the Edinburgh Ladies is Wednesday evening at 7pm. The Ladies vs. the Belles --- which team sounds more intimidating? Coach Mac says "Da Belles."

Signing off for now as we all need a good night of sleep. We're all living the surreal life --- we cannot believe that we are ACTUALLY here in Europe. It's awesome!!!

Sitting in the Airport

We arrived at the airport in record time. The Belle Mobile was moving - thanks Bob! We arrived early enough that we couldn't check into our flight for nearly two hours. Some chose to eat at fine U.S. cuisine - McDonalds and Pizzeria Uno. (No box lunches from the dining hall) And then...another line and more waiting...we don't board the flight for another 90 minutes. Now, we patiently wait...

One of our soccer mom's has already broken rule #1 - Don't strike up an in-depth conversation with strangers at the food court. We're ready for the eight-hour flight!!!!!!

DEPARTURE

The first leg of the journey is complete as the team left the Saint Mary's campus after a weekend of training. The group will depart from Chicago at 6:00 p.m. and arrive in London at 8:00 a.m.

THE BLOG

This blogspot has been created to detail the events surrounding the Saint Mary's College (IN) soccer team's trip to England and Scotland from July 23-August 1.

The Belles soccer team and staff will play four games and practice with European soccer professionals during their trip. In addition, they will be taking in all the sights that England and Scotland have to offer.

Please check back on a regular basis for updates and pictures.