Lady Raiders Foreign Tour: Aug. 19

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MADRID, Spain -- The Texas Tech Lady Raiders, fresh off a 98-57 win in Lisbon, traveled to Madrid, Spain, yesterday and spent their first day in Spain on Friday. With today's blog recap, here is assistant coach Ray Caldwell.

Rich history! Proud Tradition! Kings and Queens! Leaders and conquerors. The beginning leg of the Lady Raider's trip abroad has truly captivated my mind with the depth of life.

First destination was Lisbon, a place that I'm ashamed to say that I never took note of. The seaside destination in Portugal has become my favorite place on earth! Being that this is my first trip outside of North America, I know that I'm a baby to the cultural diversity of our magnificent world. Lisbon was a real life history lesson. Reading a street sign from the 1600's directing carriages on the right of way traffic put this trip in perspective. Hearing that the descendants of the great Moorish general Hannibal conquered this land and built some streets very narrowly and at angles to the negotiate the sun in the tradition of lands surrounded by the Sahara desert is amazing. Being raised in my beloved California, the beach is something that I know intimately. However, the beaches in Lisbon are surrounded by so many stories of old, so many eclectic people enjoying life. The food is fresh; fast food is ridiculed by the locals. The area in which we stayed was frequented by many tourists and welcoming Portuguese citizens. I added Google Translation to my phone before arriving and the first words I looked up were "thank you". It came in handy. "Obrigado for males, "Obrigada" for females. Everywhere we visited, these words were so prevalent. A land of thanks and I was thankful to be there.

The Lady Raiders played well in our first game of the foreign tour. The ability to score the ball was on display. All the time spent together in the off-season and the culture that Coach Whitaker has developed took the forefront. The attention to off-season skill set development and increasing basketball IQ in our new system was very impressive at times. Our GENERAL finally has the elite army to showcase her acute leadership. Now on to Madrid....

After arriving in Madrid in the morning, we took to the streets for a bike tour. Again, the historic presence of a country that has been home or travel routes to the Romans, Moors, Vandals and others, truly speaks volumes. The architecture of buildings, parks and cathedrals are what we see in history books. Seeing the statues on Cervantes next his Don Quixote mounted on a donkey gave life to a classic.

Visiting an imported Egyptian temple, dated to more than 2000 BC, made our Declaration of Independence seem very young. Spain is also a very diverse city. The heat is reminiscent of the Inland Empire of California or Texas, yet surrounded by mountains and green Forrest. Our guide spoke of a history of hunting bears and Matadors running with the Bulls. Looking forward to our Lady Raiders hunting in Madrid tomorrow!

Speaking of the Lady Raiders, the early part of this trip reminds me of this program. Rich history, Proud Tradition, Queens... Leaders and conquerors. This program has been to the top of the college basketball world and like both Portugal and Spain, we are ready to embrace the past while moving forward in strength. Obregado to our fans and supporters, we are ready to conquer bears and run with the Bulls!!!

#WreckEm from Madrid!!!!

Excited for our dinner at the world's oldest restaurant in the world with the best staff!!! ?? pic.twitter.com/owpaKih2Xu
— Lady Raider WBB (@LadyRaiderWBB) August 19, 2016

Bike tour of Madrid was amazing! So much history, so many great views! #ladyraidersabroad pic.twitter.com/WLOwQJvHoL
— Lady Raider WBB (@LadyRaiderWBB) August 19, 2016

Day 5 is in the books! Couldn't ask for a better day or to be w/better people! Excited to see the adventure tomorrow pic.twitter.com/I6drHG1L9K
— Lady Raider WBB (@LadyRaiderWBB) August 19, 2016

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