VA ODP Girls, Day 7: FC Rousette and Olympic Marseille

French Riviera

Our final day in France provided us with a fantastic day full of shopping, sight seeing, and enjoyable games.

The first stop of the day for the girls was a shopping trip in to downtown Marseille to pick up final gifts for families along with the last visit to the picturesque pier. 

We then travelled to the small and beautiful town of Casse. This provided us all with some down time to really get into the south of France culture on the sea front. The local cuisine was superb and for many this will be a highlight of their trip. Next up was our matches!

The 01 girls finished up with a game against local side FC Rousette who were fantastic hosts and provided our girls with an insight into the community and culture surrounding a small semi professional soccer club in France. 

VA ODP Girls, Day 6: Another day and another game!

VA ODP Girls 2001 in Marseille

Today may have been our most rewarding and toughest day of all. As you can imagine the girls are starting to tire with the games and the traveling. We have been getting through but this has created some great team bonding experiences and both teams have really come together.

We arrived in Marseille late on Tuesday evening but were up early for breakfast and then walked down to the pier along with seeing multiple tourist attractions in the city. The girls loved the pier and spent a good 20 minutes taking pictures and enjoying the sea breeze and fresh air along with the scenery. After, we visited the local shops followed by a team meal at a local restaurant. We then travelled to a local stadium for the 2001s game against a Regional French Federation select team.

VA ODP Boys, Days 4 to 6: Bienvenue à Marseille

VA ODP Boys in Marseille

Day 4-After a hearty breakfast and one hour training session, the boys got the opportunity to walk through the old, walled city of Perpagnin to explore and buy gifts for back home. After lunch it was on to the Spanish town of Peralada for their 2nd match. 

The 01's took the field first and were rewarded for their efforts with a 2-0 victory. Emerson Kuzemka, in the 21st minute and AJ Cousins, in the 68th minute, found the back of the net for the visitors with two quality goals from a nice build up.

In the 2nd match the 2000's played a much better game than the first one as they hung on for a 2-1 victory. Scott Signorelli on a solo effort, in the 33rd minute, beat three inside the box to score the goal of the trip so far. And Ethan Stewart on a penalty kick, in the 70th, were the Virginia marksmen.

The teams were buoyant on their return to the hotel and their late team dinner prepared by, of course, the chef boy Ardee of the region, Jean Pierre.

Day 5 was a travel day and a new adventure as the group heads north to the French Rivera and the port city of Marseille.