Closing our time in Sicily

The beautiful Capannine... or "little huts" of Catania!!!

Our time in Sicily finished on a high with lots of friends, sun, and food!!! We love this island and are sure to return soon!

Panoramic view of the beach.

Downtown Fiera Market is quite unique...

Walking through the always packed and always interesting Fiera Market in downtown Catania.

What is Alex Hoad doing again in the background? We call these people "leaners" because they cant get any privacy at home!

More cliff-diving!

Learning the sicilian signals...

The Sicilian Sisters at the lido "taking sun!"

Hanging with Salvo and co!

The one word we hate to say to Sicily... GOODBYE! (For now!)

We are now off to Spain to walk the famous "Camino de Santiago" of 500 km in Northern Spain! More updates soon!

J. Twice

Beyond the Field: Show 8

Here is the 8th installment of "BEYOND THE FIELD" featuring Austrian wide receiver Jakob Dieplinger, and a 'beyond the scenes' look at a SWARCO Raiders photoshoot.  

GREAT JOB TO CHRISTIE AGAIN FOR ANOTHER SOLID SHOW!!!  I don't think anyone realizes all the hours it takes to put together such a professional product on essentially no budget, and she really deserves a lot of thanks and credit for all her hard work this season!

~ J. Twice

Summer in Sicily: Day 2

JONICA JUMP PICTURE!!!

Claud enjoying a Corona at Capannine.  I get paid on this blog based on the number of times I use the letter "C."  This spot was also his favorite place to send me taunting text messages when it was raining in Innsbruck!

Our second day in Sicily was filled with two of my favorite things: Capannine (a private beach club along Catania's sandy Playa Beach) and Jonica (the best pizza in Aci Castello.)  There hasn't been such a good combination since Montana to Rice! 

At Capaninne, you can sit under a number of "little huts" (literally capaninne),  enjoy some fresh fruit and beverages at their snack bar, swim in the warm sea, or play in the most competitive beach volleyball courts in Sicily.  We did a little bit of all, as well as some of the best people watching available! 

Ottavio going up for a spike!

What is Alex Hoad doing in Sicily?  The pink speedo is a classic!

So many of our Austrian friends popping up in Sicily... I can't believe Yusuf made it down here!  Good thing he didn't see us get his "lean" on...

You know how I know you're... nevermind.

I can't believe how much we missed the beach!

PIZZA PARTY!!!

At night, we gathered with a large number of Elephants & family for a huge pizza party at our favorite pizza joint in Aci Castello, Jonica.  It is a running joke with the team that the Americanos pronounce it JON-ica, with a hard "J" sound, while the actual pronunciation begins with a "Y" sound and the accent on the second syllable... yon-I-ca.  I'm sure it's only one of about 100 words I butcher every day in the Italian language, but I must say my skills are improving.  Today during volleyball I was even able to comprehend Claudio complaining to the others during the game about my bad shots!

Anyways, these types of gatherings were a staple - almost daily - during our time in Sicily, and really made us feel welcome.  It was great catching up with everyone!!! 

Salvo and his ever-growing, basketball-playing, always smiling son Guglielmo!

Christie with Sicilian Sister #1, Roberta

Christie with Sicilian Sister #2, Roberta

Salvo's other son - the rambunctious Riccardo - enjoys a pizza of what else? FRENCH FRIES!

GUSTAVO!!!

Gus was our right hand man last year, with responsibilities ranging from translator to plumber to broken glass negotiator (I do not know).  Gus, can you translate your shirt for us please?

Elephants team president / coach / former right-tackle Davide with future Elephants team president / coach / right tackle Alessandro.

WHAT AN AMAZING SECOND DAY IN SICILY!!!

~ J. Twice

Summer in Sicily: Day 1

It feels good to be home in Sicily!  All smiles from Giuseppe's patio!

I would like to officially open the debate of Sicily (Catania) being the best place on earth during the summer.  I just don't know where else you get such a vibrant mix of sun, beach, food, and from our experience, people.  There is just something magical about this place, and the moment we stepped off the plane in Sicily it felt reassuringly comfortable.  We are so excited to spend the next week here for a little R&R&S (rest, relaxation, and SUN!)

Not that it's easy to get to from Innsbruck -- or as our good friend George Contreras loves to say, "You just can't... get there from here."  So with the season completed and all final details wrapped up in Innsbruck, we began to make plans to spend some time in Catania where we played last season for the Elephants in the Italian League.  After hours on the internet, we determined the best (and only) route (under 600 euro) was an 11:00 PM train from Innsbruck that arrived to Verona, Italy at 2:45AM.  We then slept on a bench (marble) in the train station from 3 until 5, narrowly avoiding roving derelicts, before catching a shuttle bus to the airport at 5:30 in order to make a 9 am flight.  It was not the most "comfortable" of connections, but we were willing to do anything to make it back to the sunshine!    

Boyz on the Boat... clockwise from right Giuseppe Strano, Ottavio D'Angelo, and Claudio Mangano.

Upon arrival we were greeted by our close friend & Elephant tight end Giuseppe Strano. We will be staying in the attico (small apartment) above Peppe's house, and it offers a panoramic view that rivals Malibu from last year.  The moment we saw the sparkling blue Ionian Sea, we knew we were home.  We wasted little time.  After unpacking, we headed straight for the marina and Peppe's boat!  

Sicilian Taxi!!!  These authentically painted boats will take you from the shore out to the "Ciclopi" rocks for a few euro.  And yes, our house from last year -- Malibu -- is visible in the background of this photo!

Where else but Sicily would you run into a bunch of Elephants on a boat?  It was great seeing some of my former teammates!

The water is the perfect temperature... and great to enjoy with my fellow "skill players" from last season: Peppe (TE), Greg (WR), and Claud (WR).

The afternoon was spent in a very typical Sicilian way - napping on the boat, talking loudly with hand gestures, and frequent dips in the warm water.  We even managed to sneak in some cliff diving!

CLIFFDIVING!!!  (Claudio pictured here)

Seeing as my blog really began and gained its momentum last season, there were a number of Elephants who kept tabs on us this year via this site.  And it seems the first topic of conversation (other than food and the sauna) is inevitably the JUMP PICTURE.  First developed in Liechtenstein, the Johnson Jump Picture - or JJP as it is known in some circles - has become the staple photo for any travel destination.  My friends here were eager to try their hand at them!

Peppe as "Superman"

Tandom Jump Picture!

In the late afternoon, we returned to Peppe's patio for my favorite Sicilian sport: Patio sitting.  There is nothing like watching the sun go down while munching on a little fresh Parmigiano Reggiano, ciabatta, tomatoes in Aceto Balsamico di Modena, and vino locale bianco.  I honestly think I could do this every afternoon for the rest of my life!  

A nice place to relax...

... until the sun goes down.

When the sun finally ducked over the horizon, giving way to a balmy summer evening, we headed north to Capo Mulini for an "apperitivo." For those of you not familiar with the concept, it is similar to an upscale bar back in the U.S., although equipped with a lavish spread of complimentary food that accompanies your drink.  It was a great time to catch up with our friends, and soak in some more great ambiance.  The temperature at night still hovered somewhere between 75-80 F (27 C).

Christie reunited with some "Pink Elephants"

Disco time for Peppe and Valeria!

After less than 24 hours back on the island (or land mass as it should be referred to, for its large size), I can't say grazie mille enough to our kind friends for all their hospitality.  We love Sicily!!!!

~ J. Twice

BEYOND THE FIELD: EuroBowl

Here is a "sneak peak" at the EuroBowl Edition of BEYOND THE FIELD, which will be going live on the Oakland Raiders site in the next few days.  This episode goes inside the SWARCO Raiders convincing 30-19 victory over the Paris Flash in EuroBowl XXIII, using interviews and highlights to tell the story of the game.

A HUGE THANKS to ALBAN EGGER and his crew for letting us use some of his outstanding footage -- you can get a feel for how great his documentary will be by just seeing a few of his cinematic shots.  DANKE ALBAN!!!  

And of course, great job to Christie for putting this all together!  Enjoy!

~ J. Twice

Dave Matthews in Lucca

Dave Matthews Band pleases a capacity crowd in Lucca, Italy.

I'm Back.

After a four day hiatus from blogging to just "enjoy" the championship (also known as continuous celebration), I've decide to retroactively post some of what happened before the EuroBowl... such as a great four days in Italy visiting the Cinque Terre, Pisa, and a Dave Matthews Band concert in Lucca, Italy.

What's better than being back in Italy?  Lucca is AMAZING!

Anyone who knows Matt Epperson knows that DAVE MATTHEWS BAND is far and away his favorite.  Every CD Matt makes has at least 8 DMB songs on it, producing an acoustic yet at times dangerously melancholy feeling.  There is actually a running joke that listening to one of Matt's playlists is similar to staring out a Seattle window in January for three days straight.  However, it must be noted that Dave gives just about as good of live show as anyone on the planet... so when Matt informed us that he would be playing an obscure city in Tuscany during one of our off-weekends, we knew we had to make the trip! 

An amazing facade of a Lucca church named after my sister-in-law, San Michele.

The town of Lucca itself dates back to 180 BC and is famous for its Renaissance-era city walls that form a barrier around the old town.  As you can tell from these few photos, it has retained its old feel and reminded me a lot of Sienna.  It seems you can't turn a corner without seeing a tower, and on this hot summer night it hosted a lively stream of interesting people to watch. 

Italy in a nutshell

After grabbing a pizza on the street and washing it down with some local Chianti, we headed towards the concert venue, which was actually just a large tree-lined piazza, the Piazza Napoleone.  The adjacent streets were blocked off, allowing just the ticket holders inside the square.  Local cafes acted as the concession stands, and historical buildings served as the backdrop to the stage.  It was perhaps the most unique concert venue I had ever seen!  

CONCERT TIME!

"OH" Face!  It's showtime!

Video time

Our neighbors.

DAVE MATTHEWS CONCERT

Not a bad view from our standing room only seats...

The last time I saw Dave it was Vegas, 1999.  I was a college sophomore, and the experience stuck with me.  Never before had I seen such improvisation between instruments, as their concerts quickly turn into jam sessions with 20 minute renditions of their most popular hits.  Dave would be a "players coach" in football, allowing his fellow musicians the freedom to experiment and have fun in front of the crowd.  It mixes for a great show - especially when the "Dolce Vita" has the band inspired!  They rocked for 3 hours, 2 encores, and an eternity of solos.  It was awesome!!!

Panoramic of the Venue

Dave is the man

One happy sucka...

Time to get a little artsy

JJ & CC

MASH!

~ J. Twice