Trip to Rome Part III - Spanish Steps, and Zoo

On Tuesday rain was forecast, but it was supposed to be a light rain.  We decided that we would go and see the Spanish steps and spend some time in the Villa Borghese Park.  We knew that there was a zoo there and that there was an art gallery.  We figured that if it was raining we'd look at art, and if it wasn't we could go to the zoo.

Spanish Steps

Piazza di Spagna

At the plaza by the Spanish Steps

We took the Metro downtown to the stop near the steps.  They were closed for repair, so we didn't get to sit on them, but we got to see them.  We also climbed up the steps just to the side of them, so we got the effect of climbing them.  At the base of the steps is a fountain shaped like a boat.  It was commissioned to commemorate a flood that took place in which a ship was washed up from a canal into the city.  The kids loved the fountain especially.

The boat fountain. It was built by Bernini, the father of the famous Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

The view of the city and of Vatican from the top of the Spanish Steps. 

Since we told them that there were 135 steps in the famous Spanish Steps, they started counted the steps of all of the stairs they climbed on since!

The day was a bit gray and there was a bit of sprinkling, but it wasn't cold or too wet.  We walked from the fountain to the Villa Borghese Park.  The park itself was very large and had a lot of pathways, areas with statues, and wide roads.  Every block or so was a little cart selling gelato and treats.  We found a little pond with some benches around it.  We sat for awhile and the kids were kids.  They found sticks, they ran, they shouted, they wanted to climb the trees and to throw things.  We let them get that out.  Then we walked to the gallery.  Tickets to the gallery were sold out for the next three days.  It was the only place in Rome where waiting wasn't an option, apparently!

It is not every day that they roll out the red carpet for you! Just inside the entrance to the Villa Borghese.

At the small pond/fountain.

Kids being kids at the park!

A statue of Victor Hugo in the park

At the park. We loved those trees!

Excited to go to the gallery not knowing yet that we couldn't get in!

We decided to head to the zoo.  We weren't sure if it was a little zoo or a big one.  It turned out to be the zoo of the city of Rome, so a big one.  It cost us a bit to get in - but we were committed and we all love the zoo.  It was a good medium-sized zoo.  Our favorite animals were the ones that were found in the reptile house - which was quite impressive.  We also liked the wide selection of monkeys - chimpanzees, small monkeys, orangutans and more.  They had African Wild Dogs in two places - and they were very interesting looking and incredibly stinky!

Mandrill - the world's largest monkey!

Some more monkeys doing monkey business!

Lemurs

Inside of the reptile house

Sometimes your face looks just like the other end!

We spent about three hours in the zoo and saw everything there was to see.  We bought lunch at the little zoo cafe on our way out of the zoo.  We walked to the Metro stop from the zoo - but took the long way, so we got in some extra walking.

At the little zoo cafe. The girls are studying those zoo maps trying to figure out where things are at the zoo.

In the evening we decided to go to someplace a little more fancy.  We went to a little corner restaurant and bar that was about a block from our hotel.  It was run by a mother and her two daughters.  We arrived and were about the only ones, but by the time we were getting our food, the place was full.  We ordered pasta - and the portions were huge.  I also had a pork chop, which was really delicious - and since I got to eat pasta from all the girls - I had plenty to eat.  None of us left hungry and we really liked the food.

At the restaurant waiting for food and having a good time.

That is a lot of fettuccine on Lexa's plate!

Day three was in the book.  We survived and thrived during a rainy day in the park in Rome! 

Basketball Part III: I'm the Head Coach Going Forward

I have written a few times about my involvement with the NU Women's basketball team.  The opportunity to work with the girls has been one of the most rewarding aspects of my involvement at the university.  In this post I will detail some of the exciting developments from the spring, including our results from the two tournaments we played in, as well as the future going forward.

3 on 3 Tournament

In early March there was an announcement that there would be a student/staff 3 on 3 tournament on a Saturday morning and afternoon.  Brett and I, along with one staff member from Brett's school and one of our players, Dinara, decided to enter.  Our goal was to win the whole tournament.   Each team could have 4 players, but play 3 at a time.  Dinara had to leave after we played our first two teams, so we were playing every game with just the three of us.  We won all of our games - five - and then played in the championship.  The team we played used five players and played all five at some point during the game against us.  It was a bit of cheating that we were upset about, but it happened.  One of their players got really hot from the three point line and all of their points came from long 3s.  We lost by 1 point when he hit his last long 3.  It was a bitter pill.  You can see from the photo of Brett and I playing how much fun we had together.  Getting to know and work with Brett has been awesome!

Commiserating with Brett during or after a game.  What a great friend.

League Season and Tournament

Brett, who has been the coach for the past three years organized a league with four other teams.  The league included 3 other universities and the "B" team from NU.  The "B" team is new this year.  We had so many girls who wanted to play, that when we selected the team in September, they decided they wanted to practice.  They spent their own money to pay for sports passes and practiced twice a week, often with the help of one of the girls from the main team.  When one of the teams dropped out of the tournament, we gave them an opportunity to play.  They didn't win any games, but they had a good experience, which will help for next year.

Action shot of our girls playing against the Agrarian University team - this team ended up in 4th place in the tournament.

The season was arranged so that each team played each other.  Each week for four weeks we had two games a night on Thursday evenings.  Our girls won all four of our games, and so we received the top seed in the tournament.  In the first round of the tournament the 1 seed played the 4, and the 2 and 3 seeds played each other.  We also won the first game of the semi-final.  In the final game we played our main rival in the city: for the second time in the tournament.  We won the championship game in a hard-fought victory - which meant that we went undefeated in the season and the tournament.

League and tournament champions!

Top 3 teams.  The team on the left is our main rival!

That was the culmination of the years efforts.  A few weeks later we were told at the last minute that the Ministry of Education and or Sport would be holding a tournament at the university.  This is the tournament that our girls took third place in last year - a vast improvement over their previous results.  This tournament was very poorly organized, but our girls took part.  Our first game was against the team we had beat for the championship in our tournament.  The game was hard-fought again, but we won.

Our second game was against the 3rd place team from the tournament we played in.  That game was one of the ugliest games we played in all year.  Nothing that we shot went in, but in the end, we held on and won.  We played in the championship against a team that didn't participate in the league and tournament that we put on.  By the end of the tournament we were the bad guys - all of the girls and fans from the other teams were cheering against us.  It was a very different feeling from that of being underdogs in the previous years.  The team we played was strong, but we held on and won.  They scored 13 of their 17 points on free throws - we scored four of ours on free throws.  We were up by two points with a few seconds left to go and one of our girls hit a long two point shot at the buzzer to seal the victory.

Qualifying game during Ministry Tournament.

Champions again! With medals and certificates to prove it.

It was a fine way to end the season.  7 of the 13 players on the team are seniors and will graduate in June.  They started the team with nothing and worked hard for three years and were able to attain a degree of excellence.  One of the biggest compliments that we received is from the father (and coach) of the star of our main rivals.  He said that we are now the example of what a team should be and that we are helping to bring respectability and professionalism to women's sports.  That is what we are trying to do for sure.

Social and other Activities

Yulia and I hosted the team at our house for an end of year banquet and awards ceremony in between the two tournaments. Our most valuable player was going to Milan for a work internship before the school year ended.  It was a very emotional ceremony as Brett said goodbye to the girls as well.  He accepted a job in the States beginning in August.  I became the head coach officially after our tournament.

Handing out awards at the end of the season.

Notice how dressed up the girls get - much different from boys basketball in this respect!

A fine group.  It is bittersweet to be a part of the changes in the next year.

Besides the end of the year banquet, we had a dinner at a restaurant after our second tournament win. The next week we had a dinner and get together at the house of one of our players who had a birthday during the tournament.  Being a part of the team means a lot of extra fun social interaction as well.

Going Forward

This year has been one of the most rewarding of my life.  The opportunity to be a part of the team has been one that has been very good for me in a number of ways.  I am a bit apprehensive about the prospect of being in charge of the team next year, but am also looking forward to the challenge of rebuilding the team after 4 of our starters and our two main bench players graduate, and of carrying on the legacy of success that the team has built in a few short years.  I am also excited for my girls to have as role models these excellent scholar athletes who dedicate themselves to a game that they love while continuing to have great success in the classroom and in life.

Spring Break Vacation to Thailand Part IV

On Wednesday morning (March 25) we woke up at 5:45 and got dressed.  Our driver picked us up at 6:15 and we drove to the East side of the island to go on our "Captain Mark Phuket Sail Tour."  We arrived at the office and had a light breakfast and chose our swim fins and life jackets for the kids and paid the balance of what we owed for the tour.  Then we walked out the dock (a long way since it was low tide) to our speed boat.  We were on the tour with four teenagers from Singapore, a young American couple from the Bay Area, and two families from Indonesia who had children.  Our crew consisted of the boat captain/driver, our guide "Captain Jack", the anchor man, and a girl who helped with everything.

Choosing our fins.

Loading onto the boat.

Heading out to sea.  The man in the back was the anchor man.  He crawled along the outside of the boat to adjust things as we were going.  Impressive!

Traveling is tiring.

Once we were on board we headed out to the Phi Phi (pronounced Pee-Pee) islands which were about an hour away.  The sea was quite rough, so it was an exciting ride.  Our first stop was the bay where the movie "The Beach" was filmed in 1999. Prior to the filming the beach was covered in garbage.  The film company brought in a tractor and a barge and cleaned it up.  Now it is a national park and is a popular tourist destination.  We anchored at the shore and waded in and spent about half an hour.  The kids loved picking up the pieces of coral that were washed up on the beach.

The Phi Phi islands are beautiful.

At the beach.  THE BEACH! The beach?

Plenty of beach and plenty of tourists out for the day.

Searching for coral.

Yulia wasn't sure I was having fun.  I enjoyed sitting in the shade!

Sophie digging in the sand.

Next we went to a nice little inlet and jumped off the boat to swim in the ocean. The girls and I all jumped in.  The girls all wore their life jackets and were quite brave.  Lina jumped multiple times.  Yulia was the only one who didn't dare jump in.  Not having a shore to swim to made her nervous. After about twenty minutes or so, we went to our next location - the Viking cave. This is cave where the birds that make the nests for birds' nest soup live.  We could only see the entrance of the cave and not go in, since it is privately owned. We made a quick stop at "monkey beach" but it was very crowded and our tour doesn't let us get out on the beach because of monkey troubles in the past.  Yulia got a glimpse of the monkeys, but the girls didn't.  I didn't even look.

Lina preparing to jump!

Papa with the girls swimming in the cove.

The twins got out and were given some fruit to snack on.  

Papa loves swimming in the ocean.  The water was the perfect temperature and beautiful.

Lina leaping from the boat - she went about five times.

Viking cave.  You can see the scaffolding to recover nests in the background.

More view of the islands.

Some monkeys on the shore.

Our next stop was snorkeling.  We moored off of a reef and the guides through bits of fruit into the water to attract the fish.  They were mostly zebra fish although I saw some sea urchins and other larger fish.  Everyone snorkeled.  Lexa only lasted for about a minute before she panicked about her mask and snorkel.  We snorkeled for about thirty minutes and then went to a cafe for lunch.  Lunch was nice Thai food - mostly different kinds of curry and rice.

Getting ready to snorkel.

Getting geared up!

Snorkeling.  You can see all the zebra fish that came for fruit!

Lunch!

Finding more shells after lunch.

Our last stop was at Bamboo island to spend about an hour swimming in the ocean and playing on the beach.  It was nice and quiet and relaxing.  After loading up, we headed back to Phuket.  The sea was still choppy, but we were more used to it.  The kids all fell asleep on the way.  When we arrived we unloaded, washed up, and got on the van to bring us back to the hotel.  The kids wanted to swim for awhile, so they did that while Yulia showered, and then she washed them.  We ate dinner at "The Coffee Club." They are more of a cafe and had American and Thai dishes.  We had a mix of things.  It was the quickest service that we've had, and the price was comparable to the Thai Cafe we've been going to.

Swimming on bamboo island! 

A view from the beach at Bamboo Island.

We let the girls stay up late to watch a movie after we got back from dinner. I did a bit of work and Yulia crashed.  We all had a great time, and I fell in love with snorkeling and swimming in the ocean.  It was a great day.