Enjoy blogs from the UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men's basketball team as it travels to Senegal and Paris during the last week of July and into August. The Spartans were scheduled to play two games in Senegal and one in France. UNCG will also do some sight-seeing while in both countries, including what all expect to be an impactful stop at Gorée Island, Senegal which is home to the “House of Slaves.” While in Paris, the Spartans plan to see all that it has to offer including: the Eiffel Tower, the Lourve, Arc de Triomphe, and more. 

Redshirt sophomore Jalen Breath writes about the experience during the final days of the trip

Paris, France

Hello, Jalen Breath here continuing our blog for our foreign trip. A place full of historical, beautiful, and eye-catching things such as the Eiffel Tower, which is one of, if not, the most important historical and most visited moments in Paris and in the world. I learned that this tall structure was built in 1889 by Gustave Eiffel and it was open to the public on the same day as the world fair. Even through World War I and World War II, the Tower has still stood strong. In my perspective, it was on my bucket list to come to Paris overall. In the midst of that I definitely wanted to see the Eiffel Tower, and was worth the wait. Although we couldn’t go all the way to the top, we still went pretty high to where we could see the whole city in a clear view. It was amazing! It was a surreal moment to be learning about a structure all my life and now my hands literally touched it and my feet walked around on it. After embracing the Tower, we went back and had free time to walk around Paris and have lunch and dinner around the city. During this, we saw so many beautiful restaurants with very interesting food that I’ve never seen before. The day was very fulfilling. Visiting the Eiffel Tower is something we will never forget.

The day after that was game day, but in the morning, we walked to The Louvre that holds many, many and many historical artifacts and paintings. In the museum, we went from seeing artifacts and paintings based on French history, Greek history to Egyptian history. In this process, I learned that the Louvre was a palace for French monarchy before it was made into a museum on August 10, 1793. For the record, this museum is so huge from top to bottom, and you could really get lost easily. We tried to see every display that we could, but it was overwhelming. But I think I got a lot of knowledge and a lot of great pictures out of it. 

Later that day, we traveled out of the city to play our second game of the trip against a team called the “Paris All Stars.” Although it's always difficult to judge a team by just one or two games, comparing this game to the first one shows that we are still developing our team chemistry on the court. Nevertheless, much like the first game, our team had a good time there. We always have things to improve on, but I believe that over time, we will make progress rather quickly.

On the final day of the foreign journey, we went on a tour of the renowned Palace of Versailles, which was home to several French aristocrats including the three monarchs Louis XIV, XV, and XVI. It was enormous, much like the Louvre Museum. The museum had numerous portraits of royalty, including those of the three generations of monarchs and Marie Antoinette, the popularly despised wife of King Louis XVI who was beheaded near the conclusion of the French Revolution. There is a door in Antoinette's flat where she used to flee from the crowd. Knowing all the events that have taken place in the palace and on the grounds, it is a wonder Versailles still stands.

In conclusion, we had a farewell team dinner at a fancy restaurant called “Au Pied de Cochon.” This trip, in my opinion, was a success since it strengthened our bonds as a team and allowed us to interact off the court. Additionally, this trip was successful since it allowed team members to travel to locations they had never been to or perhaps had only heard of, and I hope that there will be similar travels in the future. 

Stay tuned for the Bahamas Trip!
UNCG Men’s Basketball signing out.