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20 Dec 2012 | Comunicacion BDS
20 Dec 2012 | 2 comentarios

Cardiff Castle, Bath and a victory in Hockey!

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Mónica Bruck reports on the last few days. Thanks, Mónica, for such eloquent pieces and vivid photos!

Monday, December 17th

It was the gilrs' turn to visit Cardiff Castle, one of the most fascinating buildings in Britain! With a long history stretching back to the Roman invasion, the site is a reconstructed Roman fort, an impressive Norman castle and a Victorian palace, all in one. The girls were excited and looked forward to visiting the beautiful buildings. Some of them climbed to the top to enjoy the view, toured  the tunnels used as shelters during the Second World War, explored the keep and visited all the beautiful rooms of the Victorian palace.

Congrats, BDS girls!!

Later, it was time for the first hockey match to be played in the United Kingdom. The second team played first and was able to defeat the Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf team 1-0. Our girls played with enthusiasm, energy and will. We all celebrated our first success! . The Welsh school´s coach congratulated Martina Díaz Fernández for her excellent performance.

The first team also played the best game of the tour. It was an exciting match because after superb collective action Agostina Dasso scored the first goal. The other team scored twice but in spite of their initial disappointment, they never gave up and Florencia Bortman scored a second goal.

After the match, we all shared hot chocolate and Christmas sweets and exchanged presents with the other team. The girls from the other school spoke Welsh and it was interesting to listen to young girls speaking such an ancient language. We were told that some of their parents spoke only English.

After the match, we toured Cardiff streets to admire the beautiful Christmas decorations.

December 18th

After breakfast, we boarded our bus and headed to Bath. It was an hour and a half ride and our first stop were the Roman Baths. The gush of hot mineral water which bursts from the ground in the centre of Bath has always been a subject of wonder and the girls were just as fascinated.  In the first century AD, the Romans chose this site to build one of the most astounding public buildings of Roman Britain.

We saw fragments of the magnificent Temple of Sulis Minerva, Goddess of the thermal spring, and the remarkably well preserved bath-house frequented by residents and pilgrims nearly 2000 years ago. Also on display are coins and curses thrown into the Sacred Spring, and numerous other treasures unearthed through archeological excavations over the past 300 years. The girls loved to make a wish and then toss a coin into the thermal waters. Hopefully their wishes will come true.

We then walked around Bath, which has justly earned its status as a UNESCO World Heritage City due to its splendid architecture, its Georgian crescents, squares and streets lined by elegant townhouses built in the particular Bath stone.

A few hours later we left the city and made our way to Bristol. This is a busy city with streets lined with shops, quiet different from Bath. It is a port, though not on the sea but on the Avon Gorge.  The highlight of Bristol is its beautiful Cathedral, founded in the year 1140. The Cathedral has much of interest including unique architectural features, unusual memorials and an historic organ. After visiting the Cathedral we went back to the hotel for an early dinner. The girls had to pack to get ready for their trip to London.

To read about the boys' experience in Spain, please go to the Spanish version of this post.

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17 Dec 2012 | Comunicacion BDS
17 Dec 2012 | 1 comentario

… Boys and Girls Switch Destinations: the Girls in Cardiff

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Mónica Bruck reports:

Saturday,  December 15th

The boys left to Barcelona and the girls arrived and we went from Heathrow to Cardiff.

Sunday, December 16

By Sunday morning the rain had stopped and we looked forward to a sunny day.  After breakfast the girls went to a neighbouring field to train because they have an important hockey match tomorrow. We had an early lunch at 12 and left at one o´clock to the visit Big Pit National Coal Museum.
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17 Dec 2012 | Comunicacion BDS
17 Dec 2012 | 1 comentario

Cardiff: Castle, Stadium, Volley… and about to leave the UK

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December 14th

After breakfast we visited Cardiff Caste. Unfortunately, it was a short tour because it was raining heavily. We were shown the beautiful rooms and we were led to the tunnels which were used during  World War II as anti-bomb shelters.

We did not have much time because we had booked a tour of the new Millenium Stadium, right across the street. We were shown the changing rooms, the press conference room, the field with its artificial light and recreated the moment when players enter the field.

When we returned back to the Centre we were advised that the rugby match had been  cancelled due to the bad weather conditions. The boys were very disappointed because they had trained very hard and were looking forward to the game with optimism.

On the other hand, the volley team faced the U-21 Welsh National Team and unfortunately lost 25-17, 25-18 and 25-20 after an unbelievable performance. The level of the Welsh was considerably superior, but our team nevertheless rose to the occasion. Once again Ezequiel Ibarra was the man of the match along with Hee Jung Lee and Tomás Rocchi. In spite of the strength of the Welsh, we consider that our boys improved their game significantly. Their coach, Roberto Fiondella, highlighted the fact the rugby team attended the match, cheering and supporting the volley ball boys.

Mónica Bruck

In the meantime, the girls visited Terrassa (near Barcelona) and got ready to say good-bye to Spain...

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14 Dec 2012 | Comunicacion BDS
14 Dec 2012 | 2 comentarios

Visit to Bath and Bristol… and a Coal Mine!

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A special report by Nicolás Lozano and Nicolás Rainuzzo:

On Wednesday, 12 Dec. we left the Centre at 9.30 to go to Bath. After an hour on bus surrounded by a beautiful white landscape, we reached the old Roman city. Most of us visited the world famous Roman Baths. They date back to the first century AD and were built by skilled Roman engineers when they realized that the local people bathed in the waters for their therapeutic purposes. We were aided in our tour by audioguides provided by the museum, which made it easier for us to understand the history of the place. The average temperature of the waters is 46º C! When the Romans left the city, the sick continued to use the baths believing in the healing power of the waters. In the eighteenth century, Bath became a very fashionable town, popular for wedding celebrations.

When we got to Bristol we toured the city, but the weather was so cold that many of us were “forced” to seek refuge in cafes and had steamy hot chocolate.

After a long day of sightseeing we returned to the Sports Centre. The Centre offers such an array of sporting activities that a special mention is to be made. We were very excited to return, change into our gym clothes and organize table tennis and squash tournaments in spite of the long day!  Some of us, however, chose to visit the gym instead and continue with the workout routine preparing for our next match...

Thursday December 13th

Mónica Bruck writes:

After breakfast the volley boys met at the gym for a training session. The rugby team went to  a rugby field close to the Centre to continue their practice. The teams are getting ready for the next match. They enjoyed their lunch and then got on the bus that would take them to their next adventure: an underground visit to the Big Pit: National Coal Museum. "Big Pit" is a real coal mine and one of Britain's leading mining museums.

Lucas Gold, Nicolás Lozano and Nicolás Rainuzzo report:

The mine is an hour away from Cardiff and is located in a very desolate area.  As soon as we got off the bus we were geared up for the occasion. We were given helmets, caps lamps, belts, batteries and ‘self rescuer' each. Once underground, we were guided around the coal faces, engine houses and stables in the company of a former coal miner, whose experience and stories enriched the visit . We were taken down a 90 meter shaft by an elevator, just as the miners would do, back in the old days...  As we moved deeper into the mine, our guide tried to make us sympathize with the miners of centuries gones. He made us turn off the lights to make us experience waht they must have felt when the candles went out! He told us about the six year olds who were forced to work in atrocious conditions and frequently died due to the unsafe working environment, or run over by the mine carts. After a 50 minute walk, we were taken back to the surface and invited to visit the gift shop. We returned to Cardiff, where the bus dropped us off to tour the city centre and admire the beautiful Christmas arrangements that decorated its buildings...

To read about the girls' tour in Spain, please see the Spanish version of this entry. The photos are arriving with some delay, the first 2 in the gallery above corresponding to the girls' visit to Zaragoza, prior to their arrival in Barcelona... More to come shortly!!!