WASHINGTON - The Georgetown University women's soccer team spent nine days over spring break traveling through Barcelona and Madrid. Throughout the trip, members of the team provided updates. The final installment comes from senior Ashley Shaffer (Cary, N.C./Green Hope).

Saturday, March 14
Alas, Day 9 - -the dreaded last full day in Spain (or last day for the team as I seriously contemplated getting "accidentally" left behind). It's crazy how fast the week has gone! Our final day began with a 9:30 a.m. departure down to the heart of Madrid for a brief walk about the city. Although Rosa gave us a "panoramic" bus tour of the beautiful city center upon our return from Toledo yesterday, we were all very excited to walk the quaint streets by foot and view the Spanish architecture and shops up close. While Emma (Newins) couldn't wait to sample the traditional "fried calamari sandwich," Sarah (Adams) was looking forward to lone selfies in front of all the lovely backdrops. We began our walking tour (again with our adorable guide Rosa) at the Royal Palace of Madrid, standing beautiful and majestic in white stone. Some of us were disappointed to learn that the royal family no longer resides in the palace, as we had hoped for the chance to meet Georgetown alum Felipe IV (MSFS 1995), the current King of Spain.

From there we proceeded to the infamous Plaza Mayor, a central plaza in the city surrounded by three story residential balconies facing the inner square costing around 800,000 euros per apartment (just inside my price range, luckily, so I took a mental note to check them out for future housing options). Next we marched on to another busy square and the center of the radial network of Spanish roads (Kilometer 0), the Puerta del Sol, where the most famous clock in all of Spain lies and is also home of the New Year's Eve celebration similar to Times Square in New York City. Since our remaining time in Madrid was numbered, we were then given some free time to explore our own interests, perhaps to take advantage of the great shopping, authentic food and/or picturesque scenery. I took off with a fashionista crew to hit the shops, speeding our way through five stores in less than an hour, only to end up with an identical cardigan purchase as my roomie, Audra Ayotte (I won't tell you who found it first but you might be able to guess).

After a quick but lovely morning downtown, we all regrouped and headed to a nice restaurant near our hotel for our farewell lunch. It is here where we easily consumed a week's worth of food in our two hour sitting (compared to half a week's worth our team normally settles for). We began with tapas that never seemed to end, which included bread with a tomato & olive oil paste, an assortment of meat and cheese, ham and potatoes, heirloom tomatoes with ham, more bread, and stuffed peppers (the unanimous winner). Right as we began to reach our full point, we were served our main course, of which we had the option of fish, chicken, steak or bull tail. While I settled with a safe choice of fish, Neela and Win braved the crowd and ordered the bull tail. And believe it or not--their bravery did not disappoint. Dave quivered at the sight of it, but those of us who tried it were delighted. The meat fell right off the bone and was similar in taste and texture to beef brisket with gravy. The meal continued on with dessert, coffee, dessert liqueurs and great company, as we laughed and reminisced about our favorite parts of the trip. Least be told, we left the restaurant completely satisfied with enough food in our stomachs to last us until we made it back to the states!

Later in the afternoon we ventured over to Santiago Bernabéu for a tour of the Real Madrid stadium. Since we had already toured Camp Nou (Barça) earlier in the week, which is about as big and bad as futbol stadiums get, we were unsure of how Real Madrid would measure up. To my surprise, however, I was instantly taken aback by the empowering physicality, culture and atmosphere in Bernabéu. While not as bright and shiny as FC Barcelona, I felt a much stronger connection and reminder of my love for the game walking through the bountiful trophy room, watching clips of Ronaldo, Bale, and Benzema with the electric crowd roaring in the background, and gazing out onto the field while relaxing in the massage-like chairs on the team's bench. Well done Real Madrid, you have captured my heart.

To complete the day, we went to a second La Liga game at Raya Vallecano to watch them take on Granada. The stadium was no Camp Nou or Bernabéu, but this made the game all the more thrilling as the smaller arena was packed with the local, boisterous Raya Vallecano fans that put the Barça fans to shame. While the stadium was about 1/6 the size of Barcelona's, it was at least three times louder with the crowd on their feet and chanting throughout the entire match. We ended up sitting in the same section as the Furman and William & Mary men's soccer teams, which was quite the coincidence. The game was really physical and fun to watch. The ref let both teams play on during the majority of the game which made it all the more entertaining. While Granada scored first, Raya Vallecano came back late in the second half to win 3-1. As tempted as we were to storm the streets and bars with the locals after the game, the cold weather and ensuing hunger steered us back to the hotel where we unfortunately had to pack and get organized for our early departure the next morning. While a full day of activities and a 6:30am wake up call didn't warrant a late night, many of us felt on our last night in Madrid that we had to go out with a bang. A group of us found a cozy café down the street where we settled down for a late dinner full of the most appetizing pizza, cheeseburgers, chicken, fried eggs & ham, and croquettes (the one thing I'd been wanting to try!) we'd had all trip. Keep in mind the monstrous lunch we also enjoyed. Motto of the trip: When in Spain, right? (My diet starts Monday)

Sunday, March 15
At 7:30 a.m. sharp, the bus pulled out and headed for the airport. We hopped on a quick flight back to Paris where we loaded up on one last round of croissants, cappuccinos, sandwiches, and European chocolate before boarding the plane back to the Washington. The long eight hour flight consisted of the usual - movies, reading, sleeping and Hannah (Howell) filtering pictures. I held it down in the back of the plane (literally the very last row) with my girl Ali and contemplated how to: 1) somehow not graduate, stay in college and return to Spain to study abroad, 2) abandon my future job on Wall Street to work as who knows what in Spain, 3) become fluent in Spanish in the next two months so I can find a job there (perhaps remain in the finance industry) or 4) abandon all previous hopes and dreams and return empty handed with no plan to my Spanish calling and go from there. While none of the above are truly realistic or likely to happen, if anyone has any connections, let a girl know.

In all seriousness, as I look back on the past 10 days, I couldn't have asked for a better way to conclude my Georgetown Women's Soccer experience. I was anxious about writing this last blog post as it marks the end of an era for me and putting the words on paper makes it all the more real. But I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to join my teammates on this unforgettable adventure to Spain and will cherish these memories forever. To experience all of the Spanish soccer, monuments, culture and activities that we did with the coaches, teammates and friends that have turned into family was a once in a lifetime opportunity and the perfect cap to an incredible four years at Georgetown. Thanks to all who have been following us on our journey and especially to all the parents, administration and supporters who helped make this amazing trip happen!! Adios for now!