Athens/Budapest Project #1

Geez, I've been away for so long that I have forgotten what snow looks like! First off, a huge respect pump to Paul Sisco who has been acting as my chauffeur for past couple of trips. I have been taking the same Tuesday afternoon Luftansa flight into Frankfurt and it works out that his schedule is best 'organized' to get me there on time. Thanks dude!!! So my first time to Athens. What to expect? Well, I guess we all know a little bit of Greek history. I can remember small doses of it being taught in school (the times I went to class) and funny images of the first Olympic Games in 1896...naked athletes running around marble columns with leaf head pieces, or something along those lines!! A city of 6 million people, our hotel was in the dead centre of it. It was quite nice, a melange of both ancient and modern arcitecture....but difficult to pick-out when walking down the street. Nearly every building in Athens is no more than 5 stories high and painted white (by law supposedly). But they have the good idea of active roof tops. Patio's, lunch-in bar's and decks were the norm all with amazing views over the entire city. For us, most days after lunch we took to the hot tub which over looked the Acropolis..I know, life can be difficult sometimes. Here I am there, limbering up waiting for a warm-up lesson....and just hangin' out....I mean sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do!

We were lucky with the weather there too. Sunny and 18 degrees most days, with only a little rain. The day before the competition we took to some of the sites that were within walking distance from the hotel. The Acropolis being the main one and a beautiful old amphitheatre where you know that at some point was the place of a death and tradegy. Under re-restoration, the Acropolis is not in very good shape. It's a shame to see such an impressive piece of history damaged and worn from pollution...I could just imagine how pristine it would have been years ago....now you can't get within 20 feet of it, but the 15 euro fee I think is worth it.

The competition was Friday and Saturday in individual and Sunday for team. It was held in the Olympic Stadium that unfortunately isn't used very much anymore. Only a few national teams are in training there, like basketball, volleyball and fencing and the rest of time it remains pretty empty? For the first Grande Prix of the season all 110 ranked fencers in the world were there, so no doubt a strong field. Its tough for me to arrive at a World Cup and be ready to compete at that level. Because I train a lot by myself, it usually takes me a day to adapt to the speed and sharpness needed to perform well at that internation level. I found myself falling short of my potential in the first round of pools and not making the second day of competition. But I wasn't called up to the team this year for nothing. For some reason, I seem to perform over and beyond my ablities in the team event. I feel more comfortable and love the pressure and excitment of the team atmosphere. Its like I need that intensity to fence well. We fenced four teams that day...first the Romanian's who beat us 45-39, then the Greeks who we cleaned up 45-34.....the bout against the Italian's was our closest losing out 45-42 and then finally missing a win against the US 45-37. What the results don't show is how well I fenced. Coming in half way during the Romanian match and replacing Michel, who has an injured back, was like karma to me. The entire day I never let any other fencer get more points than me. I stunned the Italians by taking their number one fencer Gianpierro Pastore 9-1 and then doing the same with Ivan Lee from the US Team 8-5. So with these personal results I feel I've secured a solid spot on the Canadian Team and become an important player.

We ended up staying four extra days in Athens to train with the Greeks before heading to Budapest. Probably the highlight of that week was watching Philip and Jean-Marie polish off
1 kilo of baklava in one sitting....yes, 2.2 pounds of pure sugar, made by a singing pastry chef.....wish I had a picture of that!!!

Now off to Hungary! Budapest...my first time there too, what a beautiful city. Everything about it impressed me. The food, the arcitecture, eastern European women, the fencing....my kind of city...especially when there's the Hungarian already in my blood. A walking tour the day we arrived was the obvious. A classic European city, separated into the old and new by a river called the Danube. Castles atop hills, cobble stone roads only wide enough for one car, cafes and restaurants full and markets for shopping....and I reading this from a book? I could have walked for days it was so humbling. Check out Nicolas here giving the thumbs up to the fidler and his counter part....yes we threw them a couple of coins!!! The market was great...actually similar to that of St. Lawrence Market here in TO but about three times as big. I went through yards of that spicey sausage with bread....you can't get any better than that, trust me!!

The competition is a historic event for the city of Budapest. Started during the fifties is has been running annually ever since, and I could swear that the men organizing it are still the same....it was so well run. Fencing in Hungary is like me getting parking tickets....its a national sport. Televized, sponsored to no end and crowds that could fill the SkyDome! But once again, I fell short of expectations. My individual World Cup IN-experience showed through for a second time, winning only two bouts in the first round of pools and losing the next three 5-4. Why does that happen...getting to 4-4 and not being able get the last point....in baffles me??!!
Actually, all four of us had a poor showing there and didn't make the second day. Even watching some poor judging and ecstatic angry Polish Coaches throwing chairs around yelling 'SCANDAL'....you never know what is going to happen....after a great first round you may not make it to the second day, or vice-versa. Still, how well I am fencing now adays is not being shown in the results. Our main objective as a Team is qualifying for Beijing with the Team. There may even be some more strategic ways around it to know that the US is closing in on being top 4 in the World. If we face them again in the next six months, giving them the win could be an advantage to us....keep that a secret though!!

Anyways, we ended up lighting up the town that night since none of us were fencing the next day. Dinner and dancing at one the coolest clubs in town...The Old Man's Pub. I think I lost another 6 pounds that night....after 6 hours of dancing in the dirty basement, my clothes drenched to the bone stinking of euro-cigarettes and my head in a daze from shots of Unicum (hungarian alcohol) it was one of the happier moments of the trip!!!

Oh ya, forgot to mention, there was a Short Track Speed Skating World Cup going on at the same time as us. Sunday, after the fencing finals we went to see the finals of that. WOW, talk about speed. Its one thing to see these skaters on TV, but when you're up close and at ice level it can't put it into words how fast they go. Everyone was staying at the same hotel too. What a great atmosphere...traveling athletes from all around the world, all there in the same place for the same reason....awesome! We stayed and cheered on the Canadian Team who won a total of three medals.

Ok, enough for now. I'm heading to Bulgaria at the end of the month so I'll talk to you after that...later kids!