If serious basketball withdrawals are starting to get to you, check out My45 this Tuesday night for a Suns doubleheader, starting at 9 p.m.

First up is the “Suns’ Sizzling Summer Special.” Host Tom Leander sits down with team President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Steve Kerr to discuss the “State of the Suns,” including the re-signing of Steve Nash and Grant Hill, the acquisition of free agent Channing Frye, the return of Head Coach Alvin Gentry and the drafting of Earl Clark and Taylor Griffin. Also featured, Eddie Johnson talks to All-Star Amar’e Stoudemire about coming back from a devastating eye injury and returning as the focal point in the Suns offense. Second-year man Goran Dragic walks us through the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. And then, EJ and Tom preview this year’s Suns squad and discuss all of the big changes around the NBA. 

Next up is the “Making of the Suns Dancers” at 9:30 p.m., chronicling the hectic week endured by the dancer hopefuls. It includes a behind-the-scenes look at the two-day dancer auditions, the lengthy selection process and four off-the-court finalist profiles.

If you miss Tuesday’s telecasts (or just love watching repeats), the specials will re-air on Fox Sports Arizona in HD starting this Friday at 5 p.m.

Our experience making the Suns Dancer Verve calendar was so fun, especially since all 16 of us were featured in the calendar.  When plans were first made to have the calendar we immediately thought, “Wait! There are 12 months in a year but there are 16 dancers on the team!?” So we were so excited to know our calendar was a 16-month calendar. (Plus it saves the fans a few months before buying a new one next year! Ha!)  

The first thing we did was set up times for us to individually meet at Everything But Water (our bathing suit sponsors for the calendar). We tried on just about every suit in the store!! With the help of our coach, each of us chose our top three swimsuits and on our shoot date we would be surprised with the one they picked for us to wear. 

We had two shoot days where half of the team shot one day and the other half shot the next day.  I went on the first day and when I got to Barry’s studio downtown, I was so impressed by how cool and spacious his studio was. We had a separate place for makeup and hair where our own dancer Kayla did all of our makeup (she is an awesome makeup artist!!) and Dolce had two of their stylists ready for hair (they didn’t have to do much to my big crazy hair haha!).  

When it was my turn I had my fingers crossed that the zebra print bathing suit was the one I got to wear and sure enough they picked it as my suit!! I was so excited! Kayla did everyone’s makeup opposite of what they usually do – which turned out amazing and gave us a different look!  Those who wore dark eye shadows she gave light eyes, and those who normally wore light eye shadow she gave dark shadow! I was so excited, after I finished, that I stuck around after my shoot so I could see how awesome the other girls’ shots turned out! 

After that we didn’t know if we would get to see the final shots that they picked of us.  But we were in for a little surprise at our holiday party!  We watched a slideshow and finally found out who was the cover girl, Kayla! And we also saw our three calendar shots along with which month each of us got. I loved every single picture and month! At the end of the slide show we found out what our center page was going to be since everything was a surprise. But I was speechless when my picture came up on the screen as the centerfold!! I definitely didn’t expect it at all!  

We are all so proud to be the first set of Suns Dancers to have ever been a part of a calendar.  I still get so excited each time a fan approaches me at a door with a calendar and marker in hand because this is one of the coolest things I have been a part of.  One day when I have kids I will be able to say to them, “Hey look at what your mom did!” Haha!

Known for her moves on the court, Suns Dancer Kayla is also making moves off the court.

The world-famous Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition chose Kayla to be one of the 10 women featured in its section of NBA dancers this year. Although it was a huge honor for the Gilbert, AZ, native, she found the entire ordeal to be a bit overwhelming.

“It’s kind of nerve-racking,” she said. “Because in my interview they asked me how it would feel to have your picture seen by 50 to 150 million people.”

At first Kayla thought that she had misunderstood the million to mean a thousand. But the staff quickly corrected her on the statistic, causing the magnitude of the situation to sink in.

“My heart dropped,” she said. “What did I get myself into?”

>> Click here to the full photo of Kayla in SI

Kayla first became aware of Sports Illustrated’s interest after she earned her fourth consecutive stint as a Suns Dancer. Maggie Cloud, Suns Dancers Coordinator, was aware of the magazine’s interest in Kayla at the end of last season… as a blond.

Once Kayla won a place on the squad this season, Cloud mailed her dancer’s photos to SI with her new look as a brunette. When SI sent word that they still wanted Kayla for the shoot, Cloud presented her with a choice.

 Did she want to travel to Spain with some of the other Suns Dancers? Or did she prefer to fly to New York for a swimsuit shoot with Sports Illustrated?

“I couldn’t turn it down,” the vivacious dancer said.

So in September, Kayla hopped aboard a flight and took an all-expense-paid trip to the Big Apple to attend a photo shoot with nine other dancers from around the NBA.

After spending a night in the individual room SI provided for her, she arrived at the photo shoot at 8 a.m. the next morning ready to work. But unlike past shoots, this one would be a little uncharacteristic from what she had previously experienced.

She was expected to show up with no make-up, no body lotion and day-old hair for styling purposes.  Instead of taking posed stills of the girls, the photographer preferred to shoot action photos of the girls in the midst of them dancing around. For Kayla, it was vastly different from her usual routine with Suns team photographer Barry Gossage.

“Barry just shoots,” she said. “He takes and he takes and he takes them so after a 100 of those pictures he took, probably about 20 great ones turn out.” 

It was an all-day affair for the dancers. Once they arrived on set they were given flip-flops, a white bathrobe and three to five swimsuits. One of the swimsuits that were under consideration was one that bared a little more skin than she was prepared to show. She described the bottom as “almost a thong.”

“I came out as red as can be and I was like, ‘I don’t really consider this a swimsuit,’” she said. “I thought my husband is going to die when he sees my full-on butt.”

But ultimately, she chose a suit that she was comfortable in and received nothing but support from all of the other girls at the shoot. In fact, they keep in touch regularly by sending out group e-mails to each other.  

“All of the girls were super-sweet,” Kayla said. “That’s always a good feeling when you’re at a photo shoot in your swimsuit. It’s nice to feel comfortable about who you’re with.”

During the preparation of the shoot, hair and make-up lasted two hours and the actual shoot in front of the camera took a little over an hour. After her session was completed, Kayla remained on set until the other girls finished so that they could all partake in group shots together.  In total, the shoot’s duration was 13 hours.

Kayla’s individual photo will be featured in the magazine, whereas the group photos will be displayed on a website that SI created.  For her efforts, Kayla was given a custom-designed swimsuit, her room and meals covered and a small stipend.

She will also look back on it all as a learning experience.

“I guess with every photo shoot that comes you just have to have an open mind because it will never be like the last one that you did,” she said. “If you have an open mind, your pictures will turn out well.”

However, as the person that usually handles all of the make-up for her team’s photo shoots, she had a hard time allowing someone else to fill that role for her. But after seeing the way it turned out overall, she became a proponent of how it was applied, but with some minor reservations.

“I can complement the make-up because everyone was very natural,” she said. “That was nice to see because that was the look that they were going for. But I kind of went into the bathroom and added a little bit more.”

Sports Illustrated is keeping everything hush-hush, even for those who shot for the issue. Kayla has only seen the one photo that the magazine is going to use of her and no one knows who’s going to be on the cover. Anticipation is high, as the issue hits the newsstands on Wednesday, February 11.

“I was watching Extra on TV a couple of nights ago and they asked the viewers who they thought was going to be on the cover and I was like, ‘Me!’” she said laughing. But then she followed that up by adding, “Nah, I guess not.”

Although she considers her spot in the swimsuit issue a great honor, Kayla is still prouder of her place on KTAR’s billboard, the Mt. Rushmore-like mural of her face on the Verve Energy Lounge wall and her position on the cover of the Suns Dancers Swimsuit Calendar.

“I got the billboard this year, which was really cool, but I loved the Verve wall,” she said. “My body is the size of my nose on that wall. All my family got to stand by it and reach their hands out and I was still bigger than all of them.”

Of those honors mentioned, the cover of the Suns Dancers Swimsuit Calendar held a special place for Kayla.

“I really didn’t think I was going to get the cover of the calendar,” she said. “So when I got that, it might sound stupid, but I got a tear in my eye.”

Although Kayla is appreciative and flattered by the modeling gigs that keep coming her way, she says that it’s a career that she’s not actively pursuing.  In fact, she seemed surprised that she ever received an offer from Sports Illustrated.

“I’m short, so I don’t know how I got this,” she said. “I’m 5-2 and every other model is 6-foot.”  

But not to be misunderstood, Kayla is still remaining open to future opportunities that come her way.

“I think that any girl that does any kind of modeling, that is pretty much one of the ultimates,” she said. “If it comes my way I’ll totally take it and go with it, but I’m not going to try for it. I feel like modeling is so hard and it just seems like if you sit back and relax, it kind of just comes to you.”  

For now, Kayla is more than content with achieving her dream of becoming a Suns Dancer. Ever since she was a child in former Suns Dancer Amy Mickelson’s (wife of Phil Mickelson) dance class, Kayla set her sights on that goal. And now that she’s achieved her objective, everything from here on out is just a bonus.

“Now the cover (of Sports Illustrated) should be next, right?” she said laughing.

At the pace that she’s on, maybe that idea isn’t as ridiculous as she thinks.

——————————-

Visit the entire SI gallery at http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009_swimsuit/.

Ever since I was a little girl I loved being a dancer and had always dreamed of dancing for my profession. However, it wasn’t until this year that my lifelong dream was realized. I was named one of the 16 women to become a Phoenix Suns Dancer! All those years of training had finally paid off and my journey with the Suns had just begun!

Trying out for the Phoenix Suns dance team was an experience in itself! Walking into the area surrounded by 450 beautiful and talented young women vying for one of the 16 spots was very intimidating. After the long tryout process was over and the 32 finalists were done dancing for the day they brought us into a room and told us they had something they had to announce. We all sat in anticipation. As Cedric Ceballos walked in the room all of our nerves skyrocketed! They were taping us the whole time and we all thought maybe he would announce the team right then! He slowly pulled out the first card and said the first member of the Phoenix Sun’s Dancers is… and as he turned the card around it read, “visit Suns.com”. I could feel my nerves relax a little, but I knew they would return soon after.  We then had to wait two whole weeks to find out who made the final team. My parents flew me to Florida for a short family vacation and then back to Iowa (where I am from originally) to try and relieve stress while spending some quality family time. I wasn’t even able to watch the Sun’s Dancer reveal show because it was only televised locally and I was in Iowa. I unsuccessfully tried to watch the Olympics to take my mind off everything.. Then finally 11:00 PM came around and I sat with my family around my computer. They started announcing the team and when they had passed through to the 16th member I was pretty much freaking out. 32 amazing girls and only one spot left! Finally, Ced turned over the last card and it was my picture, I sat there in complete disbelief just staring at the screen. I couldn’t believe it, I was now a Phoenix Suns Dancer! 

The year started off in a whirlwind of as we were given the opportunity to travel to Palm Springs to perform at the first ever, on United States soil, outdoor basketball game! Being out there dancing I stood there looking up at the thousands of fans and took a moment to think to myself what an amazing once in a lifetime opportunity I was experiencing; I truly felt blessed. The trip was fantastic and I was able to meet many of the staff of the Phoenix Suns, who were all so amazing! The Phoenix Suns really do have the best staff in the NBA. Every single person I have met this year through the Suns has been absolutely incredible and completely welcoming! 

The next big adventure for me was doing our swimsuit calendar shoot. What an opportunity! I was able to meet Maggie at Everything but Water and try on different swimsuits. We chose three and when we got to the shoot we narrowed it to the one we would wear. I loved my swimsuit and after Kayla did my makeup I felt like a super model! Barry did a fantastic job and all the girls were so excited when the calendar came out. We all loved our pictures and were so proud to be a part of the first ever Suns Dancer swimsuit calendar! 

Even though there are only a few months left in the season there are still amazing opportunities coming up. Next week, I am so excited to be able to be a part of the NBA All-Star Events! Also, in a little over a week, I will be skydiving with the Golden Knights! Ever since I was little I have wanted to go skydiving and being able to go with the best is incredibly exciting, a little scary, but definitely exciting! 

So far my experience as a Suns Dancer has been absolutely unbelievable. I have made some amazing friends and have met some great people all as part of my job. I really could not ask for a better job and I have been cherishing each moment here with the Suns that I have been given.

It would be so hard to answer the question, “Which part of being in Spain was the best?” I think all of the girls would agree that the experience was incredibly unforgettable!

One part of the trip that was amazing was the food! Not only was the food delicious, it was an incredible cultural experience at every meal. One of the few differences was the times they usually eat. Breakfast is usually between 9 and 11am, Lunch is between 2 and 5pm, and Dinner usually starts at 9pm. Us girls usually eat at those times when we’re in America anyway, it was just interesting to see that our irregular eating schedule was a norm in Madrid.  

We stayed at the Intercontinental Madrid where breakfast was served fresh everyday. After this meal we all were in pure bliss! Being at a hotel, the set-up was a buffet style and all you can eat. There were about five tables filled with food. One had different types of jamon, which was Anna’s favorite. Another with every type of carb you could want like doughnuts, white bread, wheat bread, churros, rye bread, croissants, muffins, pastries, and bagels; also Anna’s favorite. Next to the bread was a table with butter and strawberry jam, raspberry jam, blueberry jam, grape jam, and pineapple jam, all fresh. Another cart had scrambled eggs, bacon, what looked and tasted like baked beans, poached eggs, and delicious hash browns; Jenni’s absolute favorite. There was also a beverage table that had your typical milk, juice and yogurt, but this juice was freshly squeezed orange, mango, grapefruit, pineapple and peach juice. They also had cava-champagne, for morning mimosa, which we veered away from considering we had to dance all day at the Adidas 5 event. Last but not least was the fruit table. This had freshly cut mangos, strawberry, kiwi, watermelon, pineapple, and papaya, just to name a few. Needless to say, this meal started our day right.

The most interesting meal we had was tapas at the Plaza Mayor. A “tapa” is a small plate of food with a drink. We ate croquetas, which we thought was fried mashed potatoes. After looking it up and finding out that it’s a deep fried ball of leftovers, it reminded me how interesting the taste was. We also had ensalada – salad, very thick calamari – squid, the extremely popular jamon – spanish cured ham, pan – bread, and patatas con queso – potatoes with cheese. The majority of the food had a different flavor and texture than we were used to. Another interesting meal we had was at the Adidas 5 event. The first day we had wraps. One wrap tasted like a turkey salad and the other was chicken, walnuts, peanut butter and lettuce. Throughout the trip, lunch was always surprising. 

The best meals were dinner. The first night we were there, the NBA staff, Nuria, Alex, Srea, Matt, Gizela, Clement, Fatih, Laura, and Rocio treated us out to eat at the Casa Juan Restaurante. We started off with tapas which were jamon, pan, verduras – vegetables, ensalada, and chorizo – spicy sausage. The most popular entrée we ordered was the sirloin which came out in slices with a griddle to cook it on your own. The beverages were red aged wine and sodas. For desert, we had Natillas – similar to cold custard, Aroz con leche – rice and milk pudding, and chocolate cake. Dinner was an amazing cultural experience because they were all teaching us the proper pronunciation of food, how to ask for it politely, and when it’s necessary to excuse yourself form the table. For example to get someone’s attention you would say, “desculpe” instead of perdon. For the restroom you would say servicio instead of bano because it’s like saying restroom instead of toilet. We learned if you need to excuse yourself to the “servicio” you would need to do so before dessert is served. 

It seemed like they kept bringing food and drinks out. Our favorite was the sorbete de cava – special blended mixture of Sorbet and Cava. You would call it Champagne in France and “Cava” in Spain or anywhere in the Catalonia region. They also brought out Paharan, which is an alcoholic digestive drink given to diners “on the house.” Our last dinner, and we had to do it, was McDonald’s. It was actually amazing! Some things they had on the menu that we don’t were seasoned potato wedges, chicken wings, and different types of sandwiches like the CBO, which was cheddar, bacon, and onion rings. 

Every single meal was surprising in one way or another. I feel like it was one of the best parts of the trip because as a group we bonded, laughed more than ever, and most of all we really go to experience a part of the beautiful culture of Spain!

When six of the Phoenix Suns Dancers and I (we called ourselves the “Lucky 7″)  found out we were going to Madrid, Spain, we knew it was going to be the trip of a lifetime.  The architecture was breath taking, the food was absolutely delicious, the nightlife was full of surprises, but it was the people that the we met during our stay in Spain that truly made the trip unforgettable.  Every person that we met had an impact on us in their own unique way.  It all started on our flight from Phoenix to Atlanta where we met “Captain Dan”.  If you are afraid of flying, do what I did, and sit next to a real life pirate rapper from the Florida Keys in a group called “Captain Dan and the Scurvy Crew.”  He let me listen to a couple of his tracks, including a pirate version of Snoop Dogg’s “Gin and Juice.”  Needless to say I was entertained, my mind was blown, and I knew this trip was only going to get better.  Captain Dan if you are reading this – I’ll see you on MTV one day!  

When we finally arrived in Madrid we met three people that the seven of us will NEVER forget:  our “party bus” driver, Miguel, and our 18 year old tour guides/translators and now our good friends, Laura (pronounced Low-rah) and Rocio (pronounced Ro-thi-oh).  It took us all about 2 days to pronounce their names correctly.  Except for Jenni who just kept saying Laura like we do in America – she rarely got a response.  Rocio and Laura took us shopping, told us where we were and what the beautiful building was that we were video taping and taking pictures of, and took us for “tapas” at the Plaza Mayor which was one of the most beautiful places we saw.  Rocio and Laura really showed me that we are all alike, no matter what culture, race or background – even if the only thing you have in common is that you both watch “Flavor of Love.”  

I could go on for days about all of the people we met while in Spain.  Alex, Clement, Fatih, Gisella (and so many more!) with Adidas 5, were the greatest people to work with.  They took care of us and put up with us asking them to take a picture and video tape every 5 seconds.  They taught us a lot of the language (Spanish and German!) and proper ways to say things.  They even convinced me to try lamb, a very popular dish in Spain, at dinner and I am so glad they did – YUM!  Then there was the singing brothers – man, were they good.  We gave them a hard time because they were wearing Lakers jerseys but they made up for it when they serenaded us with songs. The fans at the events were AMAZING!!  These people never sat down.  They made the whole game so exciting and we loved dancing for them.  We could have gone out there and fallen on our faces and they still would have screamed and clapped.  I will never forget that feeling.  Spain was seriously non-stop entertainment.  At a stop light, a man would juggle for you in the crosswalk or do magic tricks for euros.  On the metro, a violinist would appear out of no where and start playing the chicken dance.  At nighttime in front of a store a guy would dance for a crowd of spectators as a Robocop.  At 2 am in the ballroom of our hotel, a party was going on with nonstop, choreographed Spanish style dancing (we danced with them and they made us look like amateurs).  We even saw people in moccasins do back flips while dancing to a Phil Collins song.  I am not kidding you, every second of every minute of every day we were entertained, amazed, and so happy.  

Lastly I would like to talk about the people that I spent a solid 90 hours with during this trip…Amanda, Jenni, Taryn, Octavia, Karlyn, and Brittany (Floor 8, penthouse!).  I am so glad that I went to the most wonderful country with six of the most wonderful girls I know.  We laughed more than we ever have and saw things that I KNOW we never dreamed of seeing.  To this day we talk about our trip and how amazing it was.  I know that none of us will ever forget it.  ”Lucky 7″ for life!

On Saturday, we got the opportunity to take a tour of the Real Madrid Bernabeu Stadium.  Even though we love our basketball, we were pumped to see the soccer stadium.  The basketball event was right next to it so it worked out perfectly.  The stadium was so huge and amazing!  

We started the tour at the top of the stadium and the view was awesome.  Of course, we were acting like tourists and all of us were videotaping everything and taking pictures every two feet.  We got to see pictures from 1906 and all of the trophies different teams have won there.  Then we got to sit in the stands and we pretend like we were watching a game and something really exciting happened.  We went down to the field level and got to sit on the actual players’ bench.  The seats were really comfortable and not what I expected.  The term players’ bench was not appropriate for them; it was more like a player’s lounge.  

After that, we saw the locker room and it was covered in gorgeous blue tile from floor to ceiling with nice Jacuzzis and showers.  Unfortunately, we did not get to see a game, but the stadium was awesome empty and I can only imagine how much fun it would be when it was jam packed for a game!

Hey Suns fans, this is Taryn from the Phoenix Suns Dancers. I wanted to write to you and tell you a little bit about our amazing trip to Madrid, Spain. 

For the past four years, our dance team has had the wonderful opportunity to travel overseas on behalf of the NBA and the Phoenix Suns. This year, September 2008, I was one of seven dancers who were asked to travel to Spain to represent the Suns and NBA at an event called Adidas 5.

Adidas 5 was a five-on-five basketball tournament for basketball players in Spain. The event was Saturday and Sunday from 8am to 6pm. Each day we performed two or three dance routines for the fans.  This was a little trickier than here on the court at US Airways Center because the court was made of sport court and had some degree of a tilt.

Performing for the fans in Spain was so much fun. They were always enthusiastic, welcoming and supportive which made it that much more enjoyable for us to perform. The entire weekend was hosted by an MC who, sad to say, was a Lakers fan and wore a Lakers jersey both days. Don’t worry we had a little chat with him and he is a very nice guy who won’t make that mistake around us again and is a big Suns fan now too.  

The venue was set up with one main court in front of bleachers and three other practice courts just outside the main court. Across the street was the famous Real Madrid Stadium where the MLS soccer teams host their games in Madrid. During one of our breaks, we got to tour the stadium and learn about the history of the teams and the building. When we were not performing or touring the beautiful sites of Madrid, we got to be spectators of the tournament and support the players. 

Adidas 5 was one of the most exciting, fun-filled events I have participated in. I am very appreciative of the opportunity to travel to Spain and represent the Suns at this event and be able to share the experience with you.  

Madrid, Spain was one of the most memorable experiences that I have had so far.  It was my first time out of the country and I didn’t want to miss out on anything.  The other girls had the same mindset and we knew that with four days in Spain we would have to do our best to see all that we could!  

So it all started when we got there, we met our translators (Rocio and Laura) and after we dropped off our luggage we met back on the main floor of the hotel and had an amazing breakfast! We told our translators that we wanted to see the main attractions that the city had to offer so we set off to the Plaza Mayor.  

We walked down the streets of the city and all of the buildings were so beautiful and intricate in design.  It felt like a super clean New York with a lot of historical buildings.  Since there were shops along the way to the Plaza Mayor, well you know we stopped to shop!  

Once we arrived at the Plaza Mayor, we were just in awe to be in a place that we had only learned about from school or on the travel channel.  But our outing was cut short when we were called to do a quick performance at the Adidas store, so we ran back to the hotel and got ready as quickly as we could.  After our performance, we decided to get ourselves ready for dinner with some of the event staff and try to get the best experience of dinner in Madrid!  

Dinner was definitely different but delicious – we still crave the steaks and tapas to this day! We expected our return to the hotel to be pretty standard like the U.S (you know everyone sleeping in their rooms and not too many guests walking around) But the nightlife out there runs late and while we were walking to the elevator we heard loud music coming from a ball room on the main floor.  We decided to see what was going on and to our surprise the room was filled with older couples dressed up and dancing as though they were on “Dancing with the stars.”  It was mouth-dropping how great these couples were dancing!  

The next morning Anna (my Madrid rommie) and I woke up at the crack of dawn to meet a couple of the other early-rising girls for breakfast and then we wanted to venture into the city.  We started to walk through the nearby streets with the shops and pick up a couple souvenirs but we didn’t get to the places that had the good shops we had been looking for since we had to be ready to go to the event by a certain time.  So Anna and I made plans to get up earlier the next morning and try to go on a search for good souvenir shops! 

The rest of our day was great because we had the chance to interact with the fans who were so humble and sweet.  Once we returned from the event, we decided to walk a few blocks to the Corte Ingles (the mall).  As we were walking, we saw people performing little tricks and skits in the cross walk as people driving were waiting at the red lights.  I thought this was so neat because usually in the U.S. people will hold signs or wash windows for a little help with getting some extra change.  But these people took their different skills and would create a little show to get their tips.  We stopped to see one man’s magic trick and gave him some euros.  

When we got to the mall, Amanda and I tried out our Spanish skills and asked for help finding a good place to eat.  We found a little place inside of a synthetic flower shop that was like a Denny’s (very odd we know, haha) and to our surprise we ended up eating some of the most delicious cheesecake there.  But the mall was so different.  It was not like a gallery of shops – instead it was like a huge Macy’s but with big name brands or designer stores inside.  There were six or seven floors to the mall and we browsed for a while then decided to leave because when the mall closed – it CLOSED. The employees were turning off the lights and rushing out the doors the second it hit 9pm!  

When we got back to the hotel we got ready for a night out in Madrid’s club scene – we knew it was different from the U.S. so we wanted to see what it was about.  It was definitely different!  The people in Madrid don’t go out until about 1am and the clubs don’t close until about 7am so we were already in shock at how everyone was out so late.  Needless to say, we ended up leaving about an hour or two after arriving because we knew we couldn’t keep up if we tried to stay the whole time.  

The next morning, Anna and I kept to our plan and woke up super early. Jenni, Amanda, and Octavia met us for breakfast and we decided to go on an adventure into the city.  We knew it was our last day so we wanted to utilize our time as best as we could. I got a map from the front desk and found out where the bus stops were and we took the bus downtown nearby the Plaza Mayor to the area with the most souvenir shops.  

After we shopped we decided to be bold and take a stab at riding the Metro (aka subway).  Keep in mind that almost everyone we spoke to only spoke Spanish (yikes!).  So I spoke to the woman at the ticket counter, got us tickets, and we rode our way from subway to subway back to the hotel.  Later that day, Alex and Clement took us to tour Real Madrid during our break from performing and that was unreal!  I know one of the other girls has all of the details for you guys.  We finished the event around 5pm and went right back to the little cluster of shops near the Plaza Mayor because we wanted to make sure Taryn and Karlyn could get their souvenirs too.  Plus I wanted to get some ice cream before we left!  Walking through the streets of that area in the night was so beautiful because the lights gave the city a glow and we were just happy to be there.  

At this point we felt like professional tourists of the Metro and we took the Metro back to the hotel.  Taryn and Karlyn were pretty surprised that the other five of us had managed to find our way earlier that morning.  We went back to the hotel, got a good night’s rest and reluctantly packed our bags.  I still can’t believe how much we accomplished in so little time.  I am so happy that we took our little outings and adventures because it allowed us to really get the most that we could out of our time in Madrid.  It is something I will never forget!

Traveling to Spain was awesome, and exhausting all at the same time. For some of the girls, Brittany B, Octavia, Anna, and Karlyn it was their first international flights so they were really excited. The first leg of our trip was a 3.5 hour flight into Atlanta. We had a really short layover and basically just walked off one plane and right onto another, minus losing Karlyn on the tram between terminals (the first of many times Karlyn got separated from the group). Brittany B. was my “plane buddy” on both flights and we played games and watched a lot of movies together on the video screens we had on each seatback. We all tried to sleep as much as possible on the 8 hour flight into Madrid because we wanted to hit the ground running when we landed at 9am Spain time. We wanted to make sure we did as much sightseeing as possible on our one “free” day.

Once we arrived in Madrid, which was the middle of the night for us, literally, we got our bags and met our tour guides and bus outside. We became all too familiar with the bus that picked us up and took us to and from every event in Spain. It was a big white bus that was easy to spot when we were shopping on the streets of Madrid, and trying to quickly get back to the hotel after the Adidas 5 events. One of our bus drivers, Satur, even waited for us until long after his shift ended one night so that we could finish eating dinner at a famous restaurant called Casa Juan. Delicious!

Our journey back to AZ was definitely bittersweet. We barely slept the night before because once we went to sleep, that meant when we woke up, it was time to leave. I think we finally fell asleep at about 4 and went to the last, amazing continental breakfast at 7. The bus picked us up at 8 and off the the airport we went. When we got there we slowly unloaded our bags and noticed that basically everyone but us, had or was having their bags shrink wrapped before checking them. Apparently theft from your bags is very common. Now Taryn’s missing toothbrush, lipgloss, and other personal items that mysteriously went missing on the first leg of the trip all made sense. But, we all took our chances and saved what little Euros we had left for keepsakes. Well fortunately, or unfortunately, I’m not quite sure which, a few of the girls… Jenni, Taryn and Karlyn were all magically bumped up to first class for the trip from Spain to Atlanta. And chop liver… aka Brittany B, Octavia, Anna and myself were all left behind in coach. To say we were jealous is an understatement and we definitely didn’t let them live it down, at least until we got back to AZ. The flight was long, and with all of us being so upset about having to leave, we didn’t enjoy that flight too much. 

Once landing in Atlanta though, we were able to accept that our “Madrid Bubble” had burst, and it was in fact time to get back to reality. We made sure to take lots of pictures of us jumping and giving our last hoorah of the trip. Anna and Octavia had gotten really sick right before coming home so we also took that time to grab some medicine, and in Anna’s case, ice for her headache which she tied to her head with my scarf. She looked like the Chiquita banana lady, and if people weren’t gawking at us jumping in the terminal before, this definitley caught their attention. I’m sure people in the airport thought we were crazy girls, but we just wanted to have a few last fun and memories of such a fantastic trip. 

We have all talked about the trip since then and unanimously agree that it was one of the best trips we all have taken, EVER! When we miss Spain we refer to it as “Spain withdrawl” and we usually come down with it about once or twice a week…. I mean between an amazing city, awesome people, great food and hotel, laughs non-stop (we seriously all had major six-packs after the trip), shopping, beautiful weather, and to get to experience all this with 6 of your closest friends… who wouldn’t become addicted?

Adios!