End of the Road

Well folks.... we are officially home. From Marseille, France to Dublin, Ireland to New York, then to LA. Came home to a nice home cooked meal from my mom, and now sitting on this bed ready to write my last blog on this " Road to Beijing".
It's been an unbelievable two years and I'm so glad that we took this journey. Made many new friends, made fabulous memories, went through good times and bad, went through excitements and disappointments, learned about many different cultures and people, saw many things that I thought I would never see, grew as a person, and learned a lot about myself.
Playing for the Philippines and wearing that flag on my uniform was such an honor for me.....just knowing what I am representing, not only a country, but my family, my blood, my heritage, my culture. I am and will always be proud to be a filipino, and knowing that I represented my heritage in doing something I love, I've never been any more proud!
Mabuhay and maraming salamat ulit sa inyong lahat!!!!!!!!!!

Pau Hanas

Well, we made it into the main draw for this tourney. And then lost our 2 matches, the next day. Better way to end the FIVB career in the main draw. We have 2 more days here in Marseille, France, and then HOME!!!!! haven't been home for about 3 months now........can't wait! Enjoying France, and spending all the time we can with all the fabulous people we have met throughout thus journey.

last tourney

Well, last tourney of my FIVB career, and we made the main draw! Not a pretty game, but in the end it was enough to win. So today we play an Italy team, the same Itay team we lost to in Russia......what do you think?...revenge?.....i think.

Marseille

So from Munich...we decided to drive to Lyon to split up the drive to Marseille.....and then on our way to Lyon, we decided to meet some of our friends in Montpelier, and stay the night there, and then drive to Marseille....then decided to just drop the smarty car in Montpelier and drive with our friends to Marseille. So yeah, we dropped the car off in Montpelier, hung out with our friends and their family, and neighbors, which was so fantastic!...included lots of food, lots of French and, lots of music and dancing :) Next day, our friends end up having to do some volleyball media stuff so we take a train to Marseille...got here at about 5 ish, practiced, went to the meeting...we are seeded #1 this tourney, we have a bye the first round, and our match is at 2 pm. Last FIVB event ever!...........i think we need to go out with a bang!

by the way.......really, really, really, really windy!

Another stop

So we are in Hamburg again, for the second time this week. We are here to watch the European Championships for Beach volleyball and cheer on our Dutchie friends, and also to get our luggage from them. Hee hee......Smartcar is VERY full with our luggage in it, not quite sure how fast we are going to go now on the highway, but it'll work. I think we will stay here for a day or 2, and maybe make our way to Munich, to meet some friends, and then make our way to Marseille. 11 hour drive baby!! whew!

Adventure continues

Okay, let me tell you about our experience in getting out of Russia....so our traveling day started at 12 pm on Saturday. We check out of our hotel and we decide to take the metro to the airport, because it costs way less than to take a taxi or shuttle. So we took 2 trains, and 2 buses...about 2 hours later we arrive at the airport, still too early to check in. So we kill about an hour by eating and chilling at a cafe. We finally check in, and we board and we are waiting to take off for about 45 minutes, there is lots of traffic on the runway and we are 6th to take off....so about 45 minutes later we take off....mind you, we have a connecting flight from Rome to Amsterdam, and our connection time is only an hour. When we land it is about 8:45 pm and our plane is suppose to leave at 9pm. We are booking it to the gate, and see a security gate that we still need to pass, of course line takes forever, and fianlly we are out, again, booking it to our gate and we come acroos the passport control, and only 2 windows are open, and of course, there are about 4-5 people in front of us in both lines, and in one of the lines, they take forever because they won't let the girl through...in the meantime, people are trying to cut in front of us trying to get in our line! So we finally we make it through, running to our gate, by this time it is already about 9:15-9-20. We get to the gate and there is nobody there, and I ask the lady at the desk, "has the flight to amsterdam already left?" and she says........"no it has been delayed" YES! we get a free meal coupon from her to eat at the restaurant, and we wait to board. We get on our flight, and when we land, there is nobody there to connect the gate from the plane to let us out. So we wait another 20 minutes to get out. By the time we get out of the plane it is 1 am! what a long travel day!!!
So to continue this adventure, the next morning we decided to rent a car, but not just any car....a smartcar....and drive to Hamburg to visit a friend who was playing there...drive is about a 4 hour drive. Got there yesterday, spent the night there, and then in the morning we drove here to where we are now, to a place called Wolfenbruttel, near Braunschweig Germany. That was just another hour and a half
drive. So now we are here getting pampered and spoiled by Diane's lovely friends!

On another note, I just want to say thank you to all who commented on my last post, it means a lot to know that we still made you all proud! Mabuhay!

Results

So, because of the results of this tournament, unfortunately we are not in the top 24 to qualify for Beijing. We are about 31-30 right now. We have one more tourney, but even if we were to win this tourney, we still would not be in the 24. So it looks like our chances are gone.....it's been quite the journey and experience.
Just want to say "maraming salamat" to everyone who was behind us from the beginning to the end, without your support and faith, this journey might not even have started. Thank you again for all your support!

Pics

Qualy Day

Okay..so we are back from the meeting, and we have a Spain team first.....then WHEN we win that game we play an Italy team. This is for all the Kababayans!!!!
" Filipino! Filipino! "

Moscow, Russia

Made it here late last night at about 11 pm. Finally got to our hotel, because it seems pretty hard to find a legit taxi around here. So we got to our hotel at about midnight-ish, and get to the reception desk and ask about our room, and the lady just kinda looks at me at points to a sign and then the clock. So i look at the sign at it says that the reception desk is closed from 11:30pm till 1:30am. But I just wanted to make sure that we were in the right hotel and we have confirmation on the room, but she just kept pointing at the sign and then to the clock......awesome. So we wait....have a little late night snack, and finally check in. Get to bed, really late and have an 11 am practice scheduled. So we finally get up, eat breakfast, and go out to the front to where the taxi's are. There are about 3 taxis and they all say no to us.....awesome. So we go to the reception desk, and ask them if they can call us a taxi, and the lady says that they only work with the taxis outside. So we tell them, that they all said no, and ask again if they can call us a taxi and they say no.......awesome. So they tell us to go out to the street and look for one...so we do. And some random car pulls up- apparently a taxi- and we get a ride from him. Practice was good, weather is a little cold and rainy. Back in our hotel, going to take a nap.

Pics

Bummin

So we played today at noon, and the sun was actually shining! Still cold, but at least no rain. Our first match was against Czech and we won in two. Our match to get in was against Georgia, and we lost in two. They played a well match and we just didn't. You can never get used to this feeling......it sucks. I hate feeling like this.
So now we are back in out house that we rented out, which is a pretty sweet pad. We are here till Saturday, then we are off to Moscow in Saturday. So plans for the week you ask?..........not quite sure, maybe go on a boat tour/cruise, explore Norway a little, and of course...practice, practice, practice.

Stavenger, Norway

So we finally left Paris today, and now we are in Norway and it is freezing! The weather is suppose to be like this the entire time. Right now it is about 40 degrees, with rain earlier. This is going to be a fun tournament!

HAPPY 30th!

So today is my fiance's birthday. I know, i know, i'm here in Paris and not with him, it's terrible and it sucks. So if anyone who reads this today, and sees him, give him a big fat kiss and hug for me, and say it's from me :)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUB!!!!!

Still in Paris

So since Tuesday, we've been running around trying to get our Russian visas, because in 2 weeks we will be in Russia. Been practicing alot, watching a lot of volleyball, eating lots of pasta, pizza, crepes, baguettes, and more baguettes. We leave on Monday for Norway.

Tomorrow

So we just got back from the meeting, and our first round is Ukraine. If we win that, we play the winner of South Africa and Austria. Another grand slam.....another important tourney. Mojo please :)

HAPPY FATHER"S DAY!!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY DAD!! and to all the other fathers out there. Hope you have a great day!

Paris

The other day we went sightseeing in Berlin. Took a double decker bus and saw many historical sights, including the old wall, which was pretty crazy to see. The next day, took a train into another city and visited some of Diane's friends. Had an awesome dinner! and the best part was that we were able to DO LAUNDRY! yay! smelly good clothes! That night we took an over night train to Paris, and got here at about 9:15am. Now in our hotels, chillin, watching an episode of 24, and then head to practice. Meeting is Monday night, play on Tuesday.

recovery

Okay, so we lost our last match and didn't advance. Iced and drank liquids all day in our hotel room, a couple of episodes of 24. Getting ready for the grand slam in Paris next week.

New Day tomorrow

Well, we had a rough day today. Lost both of our matches today. We have one more game tomorrow against Austria, if we win that game, then we make it out of our pool. Cross your fingers!

In!!!

We are in! Looking at my swatch watch right now :)

Tough pool we are in though. Tomorrow we play Renata/ Talita ( Brazil ) and then we play Barnett/ Cook ( Aussies ) and then the next day we play Schwaiger Sister ( Austria ). A lot of work cut out for us.

Berlin qualification

We just got back from the meeting, and our first round is against a Japan team, not the same Japan team that we lost to in Poland ( thank god! ). Then WHEN we win that one, we play the winner of Georgia and Germany. This is the big tourney...Grand Slam tourney, if we get into the main draw it is double the points ( oh!! and we get a Swatch watch! ), it will be HUGE for us to qualify. Time to rest, focus, visualize, and get ready for tomorrow.....Good night.

Berlin, Germany

We are now here in Berlin. Got here this morning, left Warsaw at 6:45 am and got here at about 8:30 am. Checked in our hotel, ate some Subway, practiced, grabbed some dinner and now we are back in our great ( not really ) hotel. Both on the internet, our only connection to our lives back home. I don't know what we would do without internet, or better yet, our laptops.

On another note, check this site out. This is the flight magazine for Cebu Pacific, a Philippines airlines. Diane and I did this interview while we were in Hong Kong in November 2007.
SITE

Still here

Since qualifier day, which was Tuesday, we haven't done a whole lot. On Wednesday, we took the day, and pretty much stayed in our hotel room ALL day....we went down for breakfast, came back up, watched a couple of episodes of 24, fell back asleep, at lunch ( in our rooms ), more episodes of 24, dinner, and then it was time to go to bed. Thursday, we lifted, and did some swimming, and sauna room, and watched a bunch of volleyball games. For dinner, the promoter of this event organized a dinner for the players at a traditional looking Polish restaurant, that serves traditional like food- which was very delicious- and also entertained us with traditional Polish dancing! Pretty fun night.....Today we trained in the afternoon, and watched more volleyball, and the promoter had a bbq like dinner for the players with a concert and fireworks, down by the lake. Tomorrow we are headed for Warsaw, stay in Warsaw for one night and depart early in the morning ( 6:45 am ) on Sunday to Berlin.

Pics

S$%*@

Thanks for fingers being crossed but i think that we were half a finger short to get in......:) Lost to Japan in three....damn Japanese! Now we are contemplating whether to stay in Poland till Sunday or get an early flight out to somewhere, and clear our minds.

Qualifier

Okay so we just got back from the meeting....and our first draw is the winner of Australia vs. Poland....then WHEN we win that game, we have the winner of Japan vs, South Africa. Cross your finger guys!!!

Stare Jablonki, Poland

Woke up at 4 am, for a 6:45 am flight, 2 hour plane ride to Zurich, then another 2 hour plane ride to Warsaw, then a 4 hour shuttle bus ride to Stare Jablonki, and here we are! Made it safe!....and we are in the middle of nowhere! Lots of pastures and fields...peaceful.....but you would never think to hold an FIVB event here.
...............can't believe I'm in Poland

Sagrada Familia

Today we went to go check out The Sagrada Familia.. This is a BIG MASSIVE church that has been in construction for the past 80 years, and it's the work of the artist Antoni Gaudi. This cathedral is spectacular! It's so huge that you really could not fit it in one picture, I tried to take some shots, but i just couldn't take any good ones. It was too huge! with lots of detail. Apparently, this is one of the biggest tourist attractions here, and i can see why. But this artist Antoni Gaudi has many famous structures here in Barcelona, and they are all wierd, goddy, yet gothic looking...if you can imagine that.
Anyway, that was the highlight of our day, by the time we got done with that we were tired, and just headed back to the room.....where I am right now.
Headed to Stare Joblonki, Poland tomorrow morning for the next tourney........yes, I am going to Poland.

Second Day

Well........tough match today....tough draw. Lost in two, can't say that it was pretty. Bodies need to do some recovering, and minds need some clearing. We both got massages....did a little site seeing, and now we are pretty much spent. I guess 12 games in 3 days will do that to ya'.

Main Draw day

Well we won our first match against a German team, they were #5 seed, and we won in three....HUGE win for us! Then we played a Brazilian team, and lost in two....we got a new day tomorrow!

Barcelona

We made it in the main draw!! Our first round we played an Australian team, won in three. Second round we played a Canadian team and won in two. We play tomorrow at 11:00am against a German team. Keep your fingers crossed!
On another note, the venue and Barcelona is a pretty beautiful city. The venue is front of a humongous museum that looks like a big Cathedral. Couldn't take enough pictures!

Barcelona, Spain

Made it to Barcelona! Don't exactly know what time zone we are in right now, but it definitely feels good to be lying in a bed! Our original flight from LA was suppose to leave at 4:15pm on Saturday, we get to the airport and it says that we are delayed till 8 pm.....waiting in line to check in and then on the screen it says that the flight has been canceled...About 2 hours of waiting in line to check in, we finally get to the counter and they book us on a different airline going through London, and then to Barcelona. Which was fine because it got us into Barcelona a little earlier. But 10 hour flight to London, and 2 hour flight here to Barcelona, not much sleep on the first leg of the flight, and feeling pretty funny right now. Hopefully I will be able to get to sleep and start a day tomorrow, cuz we got some business to take care of!

Osaka airport

Took a 13th! We won our first match today against Austria and lost our second match against Germany. Good tourney for us though. Thanks for bringing in all the good luck. You guys rock!.....So right now, we are in the Osaka airport, waiting to get on a flight to Honolulu, then to LA!!! We get into LA at about 9:30pm and leave the next day at 4:15pm. Hey, I will take that! Won't be till about 2 months till we get to come back home, so that little bit definitely helps. Can't wait to sleep in my own bed and cuddle, even if it is for just one night:)

keep bringing it

Alright guys...mojo, taylorsville air, whatever it is, it's working. We won our second match and we continue to play tomorrow! Keep it comin'.

good job guys

Thanks for the good mojo guys! We are in, got China first round.....so feel free to bring in more :)

qualifier

okay so just got back from our meeting, and we play a Japan team the first round. WHEN we win that game we play a Spain team. We've played this Spain team before in Finland, and lost to them to get in the main draw. Bring in the good mojo people......

Osaka

Made it safely here to Osaka. Got here yesterday afternoon. Today we we practiced, and then attempted to watch a professional baseball game- The Hanshin Tigers. Got to the stadium and the tickets were all sold out! Big Bummer! It would have been so awesome to see one of those. We even tried to finagle our way in by talking to a PR, saying that we are here for the FIVB Beach Tournament, and if maybe we could watch the game- denied. eh, it was fun to try and walk around. Now back in our hotel, watching "the office", getting ready to go to sleep.

To Japan

Our last night in Korea, we ventured off in the subway, and found the Hard Rock Cafe. Ate some good burgers and fries, lots of military around.....almost felt like I was back in Waikiki :) We are headed off to Osaka, Japan tomorrow...last Asian stop of the tour.

results

well what can i say, we lost our two matches. First match went two games, and our second game was against Germany, went 3 and lost. We definitely know that we can beat these teams, and know that we can compete in the main draw. Learning from every experience and game and making ourselves better!

main draw

Finally got in! Our first match was a forfeit, ( hey we'll take it ), then we played Japan the next round. Just to let you know, this was our third time playing them, and the last two we lost. So "third times a charm" right? we play tomorrow at noon here, against Ana Paula/Shelda, who are a brazilian team, which means, yeah, they are pretty good. BRING IT!!!!

Today

We play Norway first round, and WHEN we win that game we play Japan. Our game starts at 1pm which is 9pm for all you Californians.
On another note almost lost my passport yesterday. Left it in the taxi on our way to the hotel. Taxi driver took off and realized i was missing a bag. About 2 hours later, he came back and returned it. Somebody up there is really looking out for me :)

Korea

Meeting tonight on who we play tomorrow.

Seoul, Korea

Made it into Korea yesterday morning at 6am, couldn't check into the till 2pm. Found a Mcdonald's to eat a little breaky, and went back to the hotel and found a nice little lounge area to sleep and watch 2 episodes of 24. Finally checked in the room, and got a good nap in. Ate some good Korean food for dinner, and watched two more episodes of 24, and crashed till about 10:30am this morning! Crazy!!!
On another note, it is Mother's Day in the states, so HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all the mom's i know!!!

Mi Familia

Day 4

So since we've been here, we've gone to Green hills everyday, for either shopping or simply to eat. We've had practice Monday morning, Tuesday and today, taking tomorrow off and going Friday and Saturday, leave 1 am on Saturday....so technically EARLY Sunday morning. We are practicing at La Salle University in Green Hills, great facility, and nice a nice looking school. Staying with Tony's family, and they have been absolutely wonderful! Great to stay in a house than a hotel. We've started 24, watched about 4 episodes last night, and continuing today. 3 more days here, and off to Korea.

Manila

We are in Manila now....got here yesterday morning and we are here till the 11th. Last night, we went to Greenhills Mall, walked around and checked out all the cheap shopping.....fake bags, watches, clothes, SO CHEAP! Then we went to eat at CPK. Yummy........ Bought a bunch of cheap DVD's back in Shanghai, and watched about 4 movies yesterday. 27 Dresses, Year of the Dog, Rendition, and Step Up 2! We got about 20 more DVD's to go. ( Hee hee) oh by the way.....Step Up 2 is AWESOME!!!!........"apple bottom jeans, boots with the fur....."

taxi ride to Macdonna

Spirits are still up

Well, we lost a tough match against the Netherlands. Three games and third game lost 13-15. I know... frustrating, but our faith and hopes are still there. Our shot to the Olympics are not lost and we just have to keep our confidence high and keep drilling at it.

Today

Play Netherlands first round and if we win it could be Canada. Bring all the good mojo..........Full Eyes, Clear Hearts,....Can't Lose!

grocery experience