University of Richmond Athletics
Journey Abroad - Part III
02/13/2001 | Men's Basketball
August, 2000
(By the way, Jeff has reached page 150 in "The Killing Game", for some reason this amuses me to keep a tab on Myers because he is actually reading a book for fun). Back to the beaches, once you got past walking on the stones and made it into the water, things got nice. The Mediterranean water was very warm although somewhat dirty. Almost everyone got in, and Johnathan Collins even made an attempt to go swimming. I think the water worked wonders on my ankle because it feels pretty good right now. I'm hoping to play maybe the last three games if possible. We walked back for a drink, then picked up Scott and J.C. and went down the rock beach to a spot where they were doing some parasailing. Several of the guys decided to pair up and go, but the funniest of the bunch was Faulconer and Zwayer. I think that they combined to set a new world record for the tallest duo of parasailers in the history of parasailing. Tim's legs were dangling from the harness ... they were like long bean stalks, he just kept stretching and stretching! It was very amusing to say the least. J.C. and I walked around a bit to check out the surrounding scene. We saw a ton of shops and little bar restaurants.
At night, wow ... it was a heck of a night! Despite the dinner that we had (I don't think the French realize that meat tastes good when it is cooked), the night was a huge success. After dinner, we went down the street to a Casino. When we first got there, we realized how expensive it was going to be to play roulette or blackjack. Rick and Jeff combined loot and played roulette. Those two were the intense gamblers of the group ... very serious once they sat down to the table. They did really well, though, each of them made about 500 francs (around $70). Kauff and Zwayer kicked butt at roulette, too, pulling in about 500 francs each. Zwayer lost a lot of that on the blackjack table. Lay was on the same roulette table by himself and he won a boatload of money too. Tim and I didn't gamble though, besides some little slot machines. This was the first time I've ever gone to a casino and not gambled, so I was pretty proud of myself. Overall, the casino trip was a success for team Richmond but I think the casino was a pretty weak one. Never in my life until tonight have I seen a dealer throw the roulette ball out of the spinner and have it hit someone who was playing. I think we lucked out because our dealers weren't good.
After the casino, we went out to check on the nightlife of Nice. We settled down at a nice pub/restaurant right in the middle of the hot spot. We sat outside and the drinks really hit the spot.We found another spot to chill. At this point, for reasons I don't know, my French speaking ability became pretty tight. I started talking with anyone who wanted to talk and I had a great time doing it. All in all, it was a great day and I know everyone had a good time. I think everyone realized just how sweet it was to be in Nice ... a once-in-a-lifetime trip and we got to do it together. We all wanted to make the most of the night and I think we did in our own ways ... MAN I HAD A BLAST!
QUOTE OF THE DAY: Comes from "The Nino," Tim Faulconer: Jeff Myers walks into Tim's hotel room in Nice and sees that Tim has one of the largest rooms in he entire joint. So Jeff asks, "Tim, how did you get this room?" Tim's reply..."Well, I just went to the door and opened it!"... Wow Tim! You are a genius!!!
Friday, August 18, 2000
We left Nice today and headed to Fos-sur-Mer. None of us were that excited to leave Nice ... I really wish we had another couple of days just to chill and take in the scenery. Fos-sur-Mer is different so far ... this tournament that we are in I don't thing is going to be all that it was cracked up to be. Tonight, we are playing a professional team from Spain. My ankle feels much better and I ran and shot a little bit today but it still is probably going to be a couple more days before I play. I don't really want to risk hurting it even more. Today hasn't been the best of days. We left Nice and we got here and no one has eaten all day. The had a banquet for all the teams in the tournament and we thought they were providing lunch as well, but it turns out it was just snack food to munch on, "French" snack food at that and no one likes the food. I've stressed this enough so I won't comment any more on how bad the food has been ... we ordered pizzas from another city because the pizza place near us was closed. When we got them, they all had terrible toppings on them. Is it not possible to just make a plain cheese pizza? There I go again, talking about the food ...
Saturday, August 19, 2000
Yesterday, we beat the heck out of the Spanish team that we played. Tonight we are supposed to be playing a team that is very good. I think that they are a pro team from France. Last night, we had our first good meal at the only open restaurant where we were staying. The chicken was really good but the best part of it all was the desserts, eclairs and tierra mossouse and a whole lot of good desserts. Despite this decent meal, we are all convinced that the French only eat bread and ham. Nothing else. No meal in France is complete without ham and bread being included ... breakfast, lunch and dinner. We also have renamed France "Bizarro World" and are in the midst of writing a song about it ... "Bizarro World, Bizarro World ... the food is cold and the drinks are hot!" Rick and J.Lay are credited with that impressive jingle. After we ate dinner at 11:00, we walked out around the hotel but not much interesting happened last night. Kauff and I ended up staying awake for a while and talking. We had a pretty good conversation which is nothing new because we have lots of them back home. He and I have lots in common and he has been a great friend to me since I came to school. I hope that he makes the most of his senior year and has fun.
We got up pretty early today, too early if you ask me ... and again we had bread, ham and cereal flakes with no milk for breakfast ... SWEET! We took the bus and went to Avignon, which was about an hour away from Fos-sur-Mer. Avignon was awesome. It's a city that is completely surrounded by a huge stone wall ... just like a fortress. A guide was telling us that for 70 years, I think in the 1300s or so, seven popes lived there to avoid the constant threat of violence and war in Italy. For a while, it was called "The Second Rome", for obvious reasons. We all split up into groups of seven and walked around the streets for a bit. QUOTE OF THE DAY: Justin Lay, turns around to the rest of us on the bus and asks, "So... in Germany, do they call the German Shepherds just shepherds?"--- Sure Jlay sure!!! (that one might just make quote of the entire vacation!!!)
RUNNER-UP QUOTE OF THE DAY: Dave Jackonski, upon hearing from our French tour guide about how good the French are at soccer, comes with the following chant which quickly encompasses the American-dominated bus: "Tour de France, Tour de France!!!!"--- Dave comes in for the kill and gets major props!!!!
