This past weekend, my team (Griffith College Templeogue Basketball Club!!) spent our last weekend of preseason playing games in Madrid, Spain. We left on Friday, September 20th (I’m from America, this is how I write dates, sorry not sorry) at 4AM (RIP my sleep cycle) and boarded a flight to Madrid. We were all very tired when we arrived, but how could you not go off and explore a little when you arrive in a new country for the first time? The best moment of the first day was when I accidentally found a Dunkin’ coffee, which is my favorite coffee place to go in America. Although it wasn’t the same, it felt like home. I nearly cried when I saw it because it’s probably the thing I miss most about America (besides my dog of course)
We played 3 games this weekend; one Friday night at 9:30, one Saturday morning at 9AM, and one Sunday at 1PM (we won all three just to brag a little bit). This was good and bad, it was good because we got almost the whole day Saturday to explore the city. It was bad because we had to play 2 games in less than 24 hours. We played AWFUL Saturday morning, but still got the dub, so we were all in a good mood when we explored the city.
I went with some of my teammates to the Buen Retiro Park in Madrid. It was ABSOLUTELY stunning. There was this little lake in the garden where we rented boats and went out on to the water for about an hour. The garden was so big, we decided to rent scooters so we could see the whole thing. There were so many magnificent fountains and beautiful flowers, it was incredible that this wonderful landscaping was in the middle of a city.
This weekend was such a great way to end preseason. We finally start up games this Saturday, playing Swords Thunder at the Nord Anglia International School at 7 PM. If you’re in Dublin and feeling bored, we would love your support! Hope to see you there!
Peace, Morgan
