ILONA MAHER Went To Greece When It Was Snowing

Summary

Family Trips with the Meyers Brothers
Episode: Ilona Maher Went To Greece When It Was Snowing
Release Date: March 3, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Seth and Josh Meyers are joined by Team USA rugby star Ilona Maher. The conversation dives into childhood and family trips, Ilona’s Dutch heritage, the quirks and dynamics of growing up with two sisters, the ups and downs of traveling as both a family and an athlete, and how travel has shaped their lives. Along the way, Ilona shares heartwarming and hilarious stories—from unexpected snow in Greece to post-Olympic celebrations that never came to be.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Ilona’s Dutch Roots & Early Family Travel

• Dutch Heritage

  • Ilona’s mother, Wilhelmina (“Mina”), is from the Netherlands. The family often visited Dutch relatives, especially in Haarlem, which Ilona calls her “favorite city.”
    • “It’s kind of Amsterdam, but a little bit less touristy… We have uncles there. And it’s just, I think, a better place.” — Ilona (04:40)
  • Each sister got a solo trip to the Netherlands with their mom, prioritizing individual experiences.
    • “My mom took each of us on our own separate trips to the Netherlands.” — Ilona (05:13)

• Siblings & Family Dynamics

  • Ilona is the middle of three sisters. Her oldest sister, Olivia, also serves as her manager and was present off-camera during the interview.
  • Younger sister Adriana “marches to her own beat” and often resisted the sports-focused family routine.

2. Signature Childhood & Family Trips

• Domestic Adventures

  • Their mom prioritized experiences in overcoming tight budgets. Frequent trips with just the girls—Washington, D.C., New York, San Diego—while their dad joined for some adventures.

    • “Instead of saving up, she was like, ‘I want to take my kids on trips and get them to explore.’” — Ilona (09:12)

  • Fond memories of tackling D.C. museums and the unique “rainbow popsicles” by the National Mall in the summer.

    • “You go outside of the Nationalist Museum and you get a popsicle… and it’s so hot in D.C., but at least you’re eating that.” — Ilona (10:08)
    • “A summer trip to D.C., which I feel like is essential for any American, can be so hot.” — Sufi (10:19)

• Travel Mishaps

  • Ireland hostel story: What mom thought was a private room turned out to be shared; a stranger entered at night, prompting them to leave and instead stay in a converted old jail, which became a cherished memory.

    • “All five of us in twin beds… and in the middle of the night, some guy comes walking in. My dad in his boxers is like, ‘Hey, hey, get out of here.’” — Ilona (45:53)

  • Greece in Winter: Family vacationed in Greece over Christmas, only to find snow and closed attractions; nonetheless, the experience was unique and memorable.

    • “We went to Greece in winter… we rented a car and drove around… it was snowing in Greece.” — Ilona (49:07)

• Unexpected Tourist Attractions

  • Their mom once brought them to see the “biggest escalator in North America” in D.C., a quirky highlight that is now a running family joke.
    • “She brought all of us to this escalator. There’s pictures of us looking down at her like… you know, that’s just something.” — Ilona (48:35)

3. Sports, Travel, and International Adventures

• From Vermont to the World

  • Grew up in Burlington, Vermont, then attended Quinnipiac University.
  • Summers dominated by AAU basketball and softball tournaments; vacation time often structured around sports.
  • Mom was averse to camping, so trips always leaned urban or cultural.

• Rugby as a Passport

  • Since joining the U.S. National Team, Ilona has traveled extensively for tournaments: Dubai (6x), South Africa (4x), Australia (4x), Hong Kong, and more.

    • “Once I joined the Sevens team, I’ve been able to travel the world five times over and see so many things… it’s a really interesting life.” — Ilona (16:20)
    • On team culture: Coffee is a bonding activity; finding the best flat white in every city is a quest.

  • Recommendations for Non-Rugby Travelers:

    • Australia (“Beautiful beaches, cool coffee culture, really nice people.”)
    • South Africa (“A beautiful country… a lot of strife and racism and other problems there, but it is a beautiful country. The people are very nice…rugby has in some ways united the country.”) — Ilona (18:05, 19:01)

  • Balancing Training & Exploring:

    • Most sightseeing happens before tournaments begin, during the acclimatization period.
    • Off-days are for adventure: four-wheelers in Dubai, penguin beach in South Africa, coffee runs everywhere.

• Family Cheering Section

  • Her rugby stardom enabled her homebody dad (also a rugby coach) to travel overseas for her games—experiencing France, Spain, South Africa’s wonders together.

  • The family’s different spectator habits:

    • “Mother has to pace. She’s off somewhere, she’s walking.” — Ilona (29:17)
    • “Dad…loves rugby for rugby. So he’s watching the game.” — Ilona (30:23)

4. Olympic Bronze Medal Stories

• Paris Olympics, Bronze Medal Game

  • The family was filmed during the epic final moments; mom missed parts due to nerves, pacing outside.

    • “They put a camera on my family at the last moments…my mom’s nowhere in sight… she’s been pacing this whole time.” — Ilona (30:30)

  • Winning bronze felt like bringing home gold:

    • “Our medal was bronze, but most people treat it as almost gold… It was so unexpected and what we did was so amazing.” — Ilona (39:22)

  • Post-medal reality: No chance for proper celebration—the short window was consumed by endless media obligations.

    • “We never really fully got to celebrate our win all together…The next day was literally from 11 a.m. to midnight of just doing interviews.” — Ilona (38:41)

  • Reflection on medals:

    • “When you get bronze, you’re like, ‘Fuck yeah, these guys didn’t get anything.’” — Ilona (41:26)
    • “We call it rose gold, too. If you squint at it, it’s like rose gold.” — Ilona (41:56)

5. Rugby Culture and Injuries

• Party Culture

  • Rugby culture is deeply social—post-match celebrations with teammates and competitors from all countries.
    • “It’s a very special sport…we drink and we hang out all together. Even though we just tried to absolutely murder each other on the field… afterwards you have a drink, you party.” — Ilona (43:00)

• Physical Risks

  • Ilona candidly discusses her worst injury: breaking her ankle, followed by a bout of C Diff post-surgery.
    • “Don’t get C Diff…oh, you shit yourself after surgery.” — Ilona (43:56)

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Memorable Quotes & Standouts

• On Family Travel Fails:

  • “Never is a family trip perfect…It’s always a little bit—you get the great memories, and you also get the ones you learn from and you talk about more.” — Ilona (46:55)

• On Sibling Dynamics:

  • “She just—the amount she ran from your family…” — Sufi, about Adriana (24:44)

• On Travel Leadership:

  • “Olivia’s kind of become our captain…she’s herding cats.” — Ilona (50:41)

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Notable Segments & Timestamps

• [05:13] – Solo trips with mom to the Netherlands, discovering Dutch food and family customs
• [09:12] – The value of “travel education” and prioritizing city navigation skills for kids
• [16:20] – Traveling globally for rugby, visiting Dubai, South Africa, Australia, and more
• [29:17] – The anxiety of watching a child play rugby; mom as a pacer, dad as a focused fan
• [31:00] – Recounting the epic bronze medal game and its impact on U.S. rugby
• [38:41] – The downside of Olympic media circuits: celebrations missed for interviews
• [45:53] – Ireland hostel story debacle, and finding joy in post-mishap memories
• [49:07] – Greek winter adventure: “It was snowing in Greece!”
• [50:41] – Olivia takes over family travel planning
• [43:56] – “Don’t get C Diff”—the unglamorous side of athletic injuries

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Speed Round Highlights (52:43 - 54:51)

• Ideal vacation: “Relaxing.”
• Favorite transportation: “Private car.”
• Dream travel family: “The family from Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.”
• Stranded-on-an-island pick: Olivia (her manager/sister)
• Dream destination: A big villa in Italy or a coastal European town with relaxing vibes
• Sales pitch for Burlington, VT: Go in summer for lake life, farm-to-table food, walking trails, Ben & Jerry’s, and natural beauty.

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Closing Moments

• Olivia pops in on camera, highlighting their close bond and how well she knows Ilona:
  • “She [Olivia] can literally do interviews for me and she knows exactly what I would say at this point.” (55:26)

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Tone & Style

The episode is lighthearted, warm, and full of sibling banter—Ilona leans into vulnerability and humor, while the Meyers brothers keep the atmosphere fun and relatable. The stories are a mix of charming, chaotic, and deeply honest family reflections.

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A must-listen for anyone who loves family stories, the messiness of travel, and the unique journey of an elite athlete whose path has been shaped by her roots, her sisters, and some remarkably unpredictable adventures.

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Transcript

[Pasha]

Hey, tripsters, it's just Pasha here just for the intro. Sufi is back. He's had a lot of great travel and we're gonna get into that in our next intro. But for this one, he's back, but he's also still very busy. I do wanna give a big shout out to our mother who was my co host in last week's listener episode. She was very nervous and I really thought she couldn't have been more charming, which, what else would you expect from Sweet Hurry Myers. I am supposed to be flying to New York City tomorrow as we record this to record a live episode of the podcast at the On Air fest in Brooklyn. I'm really hoping that the snow isn't going to gum up the works, but it's possible. So, yeah, crossing my fingers. And today's episode is really exciting here. Huge fan of this woman. Alona Mar is a rugby player. She's on the US national team. She is a star. I highly recommend you check out some of her highlight clip packages that you can find on YouTube. Also, we will talk about the bronze medal game from Paris and if you don't know how that game ends, we talk about it here. But that video is really worth watching. It's. It's insane. And Alona's great. She's so funny. She's so charming. She and her two sisters have a podcast called House of Mar. So do check that out.

[Sufi]

They chat.

[Pasha]

They chat about some pop culture stuff. They chat about some not great books according to her. And yeah, chatting with her today was lovely for us and we hope you enjoy it.

[Alona Mar]

Family trips with my brothers. Family trips with the. My best brothers. Here we go.

[Sufi]

Hello. Hello.

[Pasha]

Howdy. Hanging. Whoa. The royal wave.

[Sufi]

Nice. Thank you for that.

[Alona Mar]

I treat people with respect very well.

[Sufi]

You're obviously very well traveled to do a royal wave that well.

[Alona Mar]

Yeah. It's hard to learn that you have to travel to know that.

[Sufi]

And you're an athlete though, so it comes naturally.

[Alona Mar]

Exactly.

[Pasha]

Other people would have a hard time. You're just like, come on, guys.

[Sufi]

It's nice to see you again, Alona. How are you?

[Alona Mar]

I'm good, I'm good. I'm in la. Are you guys in New York?

[Pasha]

I'm in la.

[Sufi]

I am. And Josh is in la.

[Alona Mar]

Are you getting snowed in? Are you okay?

[Sufi]

We're okay. Thank you for checking. But we have. It was. It wasn't full blizzard. They promised blizzard.

[Alona Mar]

Oh, really?

[Sufi]

Yeah. I was like fully walking on the streets on Sunday.

[Alona Mar]

Oh, yeah?

[Pasha]

Yeah.

[Sufi]

Very disappointing. I wanted to be. I wanted to be completely snow banked in. Okay, real quick, because I noticed your mother is a native Nederlander.

[Alona Mar]

Yeah.

[Sufi]

So, Josh. We both lived in Amsterdam for a couple years, and Josh's Dutch is better than mine. So he's gonna read your mother's name, and you tell him if you pronounced it correctly.

[Pasha]

Mina.

[Alona Mar]

Yes. So her f. Her real name is Wilhelmina.

[Pasha]

And then.

[Alona Mar]

Well, everybody's name is, of course, but, like. So her nickname is Mina. Yeah.

[Pasha]

Okay.

[Alona Mar]

And then. But I think the problem is actually people. She stopped correcting people because they said it wrong. So what is. What do they call her at the hospital? Mina. Everybody calls her Mina. And we're all like, mom, that's not your name. She's like, it's too late now.

[Sufi]

Yeah.

[Pasha]

It also, like, initially I said Minike, when Seth. And then he was like, no, she's Dutch. And I was like, oh, Minika then.

[Alona Mar]

And her last name is Bokenkamp. Yeah.

[Pasha]

Yeah.

[Sufi]

So spell it Josh. Based on that pronunciation, spell Bokenkamp.

[Pasha]

B U I K, E, N. Now.

[Sufi]

Now.

[Alona Mar]

B, B, B, E, U, K, B. Yeah.

[Pasha]

Okay.

[Alona Mar]

B, U, E B, E, U.

[Pasha]

That makes me feel better. If you're not 100% sure, nobody.

[Sufi]

It's. If it's pronounced Meineke, that means you're a muffler heir.

[Alona Mar]

Exactly. Heir to a muffler fortune, which wish. But no.

[Pasha]

Yeah.

[Sufi]

No, it did not happen. So where in. Where in the Netherlands is your mom from?

[Alona Mar]

So my Oma is from Sitart, which is the southern part of Holland, and then Opa is from more of a northern part of Holland, but Mom goes over there a lot. We still have a lot of family in Sigar. And then. Have you ever been to Harlem?

[Sufi]

Yeah.

[Alona Mar]

Like, that's, to me, our favorite city. I think whenever we go, we stay more in Harlem because we have uncles there. And it's just, I think, a better place.

[Sufi]

Yeah, super cool.

[Alona Mar]

Super cool. It's kind of Amsterdam, but a little bit less touristy because you go to Amsterdam and you're like, all right, this is another big city.

[Sufi]

The first apartment I lived in was in Amsterdam, but it was on Haarlemmerweg, which basically was just. Basically a road that went. Would eventually get you to Harlem.

[Alona Mar]

Yeah, all roads lead to Harlem.

[Sufi]

Did you go. Did you ever head over there when you were young? Or do you go more when you got older?

[Alona Mar]

When we were younger, my mom took each of us on our own separate trips to the Netherlands. So I went. I don't know what age I'm at. I might Ask my sister a lot of questions. And I remember we went and I got to eat pannukuka, which is like. And they put bacon in it. I was like, this is the real deal.

[Sufi]

A savory pancake is completely underrated.

[Alona Mar]

And, like, puffertas from a stand and stroopwafels. And it's so funny now that there's Stroopwafels are so popular around here, but when you hang out with Dutch ladies and they go to Trader Joe's, and, like, that's actually a stroop waffle. It's not a stroopwafel animal.

[Sufi]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Alona Mar]

But my mom really prioritized taking us on trips.

[Sufi]

But did she always just take one of you at a time? Were you too much? Were 3.3mar. Girls at a time just too much to travel with?

[Alona Mar]

I think international for a while. When we were those ages was. Was on our own because then she could get her family tr. But then we would go, like, to Washington, D.C. as all of us. Or to New York as all of us.

[Pasha]

Gotcha.

[Alona Mar]

And then as we got older, we would do more international trips as all of us, as we maybe got a little bit more independent.

[Pasha]

And you're the middle of three. Correct.

[Alona Mar]

Middle three girls.

[Pasha]

Gotcha.

[Sufi]

Gotcha. And what. Which sister of yours is right off camera that you've referenced, like, nine times already?

[Alona Mar]

I don't think for myself. It's my oldest sister, Olivia. She's also my manager, so.

[Sufi]

Gotcha.

[Alona Mar]

Like, she knows exactly what I'm gonna answer before I answ. Sometimes she'll be, like, mouthing the words, like. And then I started buggy when I was in high. She can do all this stuff. She's. She's really good.

[Pasha]

How.

[Sufi]

What is the age gap between you and Olivia and Adriana?

[Alona Mar]

Yes. Olivia and I are two years apart in age, but only we're one year apart in grade. So we are very close in that sense. And we did everything together. We did sports together. When she got to watch the PG13 movies, I got to watch PG13 movies. But Adriana is about two and a half years younger than me, but was when I was a senior, she was a freshman, so it was a much bigger gap and kind of got it. So she was left out. Yeah. And we have apologized for that now

[Sufi]

and still is today.

[Alona Mar]

Still is today. Yeah. She's not here.

[Pasha]

Right. She's out living her life, but she's in New York.

[Sufi]

Well, she is. Okay. There you go. But you guys are all doing a show together.

[Alona Mar]

Yes, we all do a podcast, House of Mar, and we just shitty chat and we love books. So we've come kind of become a big book talking, sort of podcast. We are. We're readers of not the finest literature, of course, but of the fun fairies, vampires and everything like that. And so we love it. People love to hear. We've gotten to interview some really great authors and whatnot. So, yeah, when we just get to

[Sufi]

chitty chat, it's very nice. I mean, Josh and I have remarked many times that I don't know if brothers and sisters, if it's fair to stereotype like this, but I feel like adult male brothers chit chat less than maybe is healthy. And the podcast has really brought us together.

[Alona Mar]

How often would you FaceTime each other? Cause like, my sisters and I, we FaceTime, even though we have a podcast all the time.

[Sufi]

Right. We FaceTime, I would say once every 10 years.

[Alona Mar]

Right.

[Sufi]

And it's by accident.

[Alona Mar]

Oh, sorry.

[Pasha]

We'll FaceTime when, like when the kids are. When Seth's kids are doing something that maybe I need to see or be looped in on, or when the baby, who's not a baby anymore, but she'll be like, I wanna call him.

[Sufi]

She mostly ye. The little girl wants to call and talk to Josh's wife and have her show my daughter Addie what's in the refrigerator. That's kind of their favorite FaceTime. Yeah.

[Alona Mar]

Cool.

[Sufi]

Different strokes, right?

[Alona Mar]

Yeah.

[Sufi]

So when you would go on a. And so you were you. Connecticut. I'm remembering this, right?

[Alona Mar]

Vermont.

[Sufi]

Vermont.

[Alona Mar]

But I went to school in Connecticut.

[Sufi]

That's right. That's right. Quinnipiac, right?

[Alona Mar]

Yes. Thank you.

[Sufi]

So you, you're a New England family and you go to Washington, D.C. is that all five of you?

[Alona Mar]

That would be usually mom and the three girls.

[Pasha]

Wow.

[Sufi]

So your mom really my.

[Alona Mar]

Again, My mom just really, like, instead of saving up, she was like, I want to take my kids on trips and get them to explore. And I think it was so great because the stuff that we learned, even just how to navigate a city, like, by the time I was, I don't know, 14, I'd be like, let's check the metro. We'll take the metro here. And then, you know, and then I had friends who. Whose parents never did that. It wasn't just a priority for them. They had different priorities. They. You could plop them down in the city and they wouldn't know what to do. So my mom took us to D.C. because it's just a great place for kids. You can walk into any Museum.

[Sufi]

Right.

[Alona Mar]

Let them run free a little bit, and then they have. I just love those popsicles that you could get in the carts around the mall.

[Sufi]

This is not a thing I. This was only. This is a Washington, DC Thing that I don't.

[Alona Mar]

To me, it's a Washington, DC Thing. It's like the rainbow things, and then as you lick it, another color happens. I mean, whenever I.

[Sufi]

They didn't have popsicles in Vermont. Like, this is shocking to me.

[Alona Mar]

They did it just the experience of you go outside of the Nationalist Museum and you get a popsicle mama to get a popsicle, and it's so hot in D.C. but at least you're eating that. Yeah.

[Sufi]

By the way, a summer trip to D.C. which I feel like is essential for any American, can be so hot.

[Alona Mar]

Oh, I mean, devastating. It's. It. The humidity, and then you. You just would prefer to walk to. Oh, well, let's walk to the other one. Walk across the mall. I mean, it's a. It's a doozy.

[Sufi]

I feel like our mom on a hot day will only complain about how hot it is. There's no amount of American history you can show her where that will become the headline.

[Pasha]

No, no, no.

[Sufi]

Yeah.

[Alona Mar]

Well, there you go.

[Pasha]

Certainly not. But there was a few years back, mom and dad started buying these, like, banana popsicles at some, like, oh, yeah, Weird grocery store that I've never been to in our hometown. And they're like, we go there and we get these bags of 60 banana pops, and then it's just like, yeah, banana flavor. It was a phase.

[Sufi]

It was a phase that they went through. It's very fun to have, like, sort of parents who in their later years keep falling for fads.

[Alona Mar]

Is it? Yeah. Yeah.

[Sufi]

Like, we should just be happy it was banana popsicles that they didn't blow their retirement money on. The Boo Boos could be a lot worse.

[Pasha]

Yeah, yeah.

[Alona Mar]

Truly.

[Sufi]

Hey, we're going to take a quick break and hear from some of our sponsors.

[Pasha]

Support comes from Shipt. So I was doing my usual weekend grocery haul on Shipt. I'm adding to the cart all my usuals. And then I add tomatoes. This isn't just any tomato tomahto situation. No, no, no. This tomato is the most important ingredient in my grandmother's sundae sauce. The same recipe that's been passed down generation to generation. And when I tell you it's good, it's good. So I'm picky about that tomato, and I need a personal shopper that's as picky as me to pick the right one, the ripest one. A shopper who's going to care about my cart like it's theirs. See, shoppers with Shipt are no ordinary shoppers because they know that no order is ordinary. It's never just delivery. Try Shipt for free for 14 days. Download the app or visit shipt.com that's shipt.com terms apply. Support comes from Mint Mobile. I don't know about you, but I like keeping my money where I can see it. Unfortunately, traditional big wireless carriers also seem to like keeping my money too. After years of overpaying for wireless, I finally got fed up with crazy high wireless bills, bogus fees and free perks that actually cost more in the long run and switched to Mint Mobile. Stop overpaying for wireless just because that's how it's always been. Mint exists purely to fix that. Mint Mobile is here to rescue you with premium wireless plans starting at 15 bucks a month. All plans come with high speed data and unlimited talk and text delivered on the nation's largest 5G network. Bring your own phone and number, activate with ESIM in minutes and start saving immediately. No long term contracts, no hassle. Ditch overpriced wireless and get three months of premium wireless service from Mint Mobile for 15 bucks a month. What are you currently paying? You know it's more than $15 a month. And it's not like that carrier who's overcharging you is your friend. So ditch em if you like your money. Mint Mobile is for you. Shop [e-mail] trips that's Mint Mobile. Upfront payment of $45 for 3 month 5 gigabyte plan required equivalent to $15 a month. New customer offer for the first 3 months only. Then full price plan options available, taxes and fees extra. See Mint Mobile for details. In partnership with Airbnb, I'd like to share a travel story. Is that okay with you Sue?

[Sufi]

Yeah, I would love that buddy.

[Pasha]

Last minute. This year before my birthday, I really wanted to go skiing. There was a lot of snow up at Mammoth Mountain and I looked at some of the places that I usually stay, some hotels in the area and they were all so expensive. They were so I don't know why the prices were so expensive. So I look up Airbnb and I found a perfect little two bedroom spot condo, private hot tub. Drove up. My host Charlotte couldn't have been nicer. I told her that I was skiing. She was like if you need to get in early, you know that's fine as well. You don't have to ski until 4. I was like, I'm probably gonna ski till 4. But she made that available to me. She was so friendly, so responsive. I got back to the spot, I had a great kitchen, so I didn't have to be going out to dinner every night. I asked her, I was like, hey, I've walked around the property. I don't see this hot tub. And she said, it's right out the door from the main bedroom. So I pulled the curtain back and ta da. Hot tub. That was just for me.

[Sufi]

You love a hot tub.

[Pasha]

I love a hot tub. And it was great. It was my little home away from home. A perfect spot for me to spend a couple days while I was getting up on the mountain. Perfect location to any of the three sort of base lodges. It was great. And I would stay there again in a heartbeat.

[Sufi]

That's wonderful. I'm so glad you booked on Airbnb, my friend.

[Pasha]

Yeah, well, booking a trip on Airbnb makes for a better trip. You could be traveling with family or looking to discover authentic and local experiences. Airbnb 2 Good Co Coffee creamers are

[Alona Mar]

made with farm fresh cream, real milk,

[Pasha]

and contain 3 grams of sugar per serving.

[Alona Mar]

That's 40% less than the 5 grams per serving in leading traditional coffee creamers

[Pasha]

for a rich, delicious experience. Whether you enjoy your coffee hot, cold, bold, or frothy, two good coffee creamers

[Alona Mar]

make every sip a good one.

[Pasha]

Two good coffee creamers, real goodness in every sip.

[Sufi]

Find them at your local Kroger in the creamer aisle.

[Alona Mar]

Here we go.

[Sufi]

Was traveling for sport a big part of your upbringing?

[Alona Mar]

Traveling for sport and like, travel ball, like aau. My dad and I would get in the car and go down to Providence, Rhode island, and walk around Providence a little bit and then play the next day. So that was big for me. But with rugby, once I joined the Sevens team, I've been able to travel the world five times over and see so many things. I've been to Dubai six times, I've been to South Africa four times, Australia four times. Like, it's really been amazing. All the places I've been able to check off. Like when you tell somebody you've been to Dubai six times, it's like, what? I've only left the country once, so it's a really interesting life. I get to lead of going to these amazing places to do a job, of course, but also to experience it and get to play the sport you love in the sun with your friends. And then afterwards you're going out in

[Sufi]

Hong Kong, I would imagine. Probably not unique to the rest of the team either. Right. It has to be. All of you are going to these places for the first time.

[Alona Mar]

A lot of it. And I think it's funny though, once you, you know, my first time in Dubai was so exciting. And we did four wheelers in the desert and we did the dunes and then you know, once that the fourth time comes around, the new kids are like, yeah, get out to the desert. No, we're going to a beach club. The same one I always go sporing. I've been there so many times. So it is interesting. I try to at least when I go back into rugby, when I do this traveling, I just try to experience it through the new kids eyes.

[Sufi]

Yeah.

[Alona Mar]

How it feels to go to Hong Kong and the enjoyment of it because yes, I've been there, you know, twice, whatever. But to see it through their eyes is a whole new thing. I'm like, where are you going? Yeah, let's go do that. Let's go check a new coffee shop or something.

[Sufi]

Of every place you've gone for rugby, what is the place you would most recommend for non rugby travel?

[Alona Mar]

For non rugby travel, I think that Australia is a really beautiful place. The beaches and everything.

[Sufi]

Have you played all over Australia?

[Alona Mar]

I've played in Perth, Canberra and Sydney. Canberra, you don't have to go there. Okay, okay, that's okay. But Sydney is beautiful. Great beaches, a cool co. Like coffee culture there. Really nice people. I think that it's not for rugby, if for rugby purposes like South Africa is a really amazing place. A lot of strife and racism and other problems there. But it is a, a beautiful country. The people are very nice and have a really.

[Sufi]

The first I'm hearing about the racism problem in South Africa.

[Alona Mar]

It's new. Yeah. She never heard of.

[Sufi]

Oh, we do love to break news here on the pod.

[Alona Mar]

We break news. It's. It is an interesting kind of place where you go that you pass by these townships on the way to living in these kind of like glamorous, high profile city. So it's an interesting juxtaposition at times when you're in South Africa, yet amazing food, amazing culture there. The people love rugby and rugby has in some ways united the country like that. You ever saw Invictus the way that it did that. So it's an interesting place. I've learned a lot when I've gone there. I've loved to like go to the townships and meet people.

[Pasha]

So it's, it's interesting when you travel to Compete. Do you have time after sort of a tournament to go explore? Or is it really like you need to fit it in in between training and games and whatnot?

[Alona Mar]

It's really before, because we get to a place about a week before we play to acclimate to time to acclimate to temperature. So I'm, you know, we're in Dubai for like five, six days before we play. Yeah, you only practice for about two hours a day before you get heat stroke, you know, and then you do maybe a gym. So there's a lot of time in the day. So I try to use whatever time of the day. I'm looking at my calendar. Okay, let's go check out this coffee shop. Coffee is big in our team. A way to like an adventure come together, a little activity outside of it. So we do. Whenever I'm in a new place during the week, we'll have an off day. And so on our off days we will schedule the. The four wheelers in Dubai or we'll schedule going to Penguin beach in South Africa. It's. It's really. We try to make the most of it wherever we are that time period, because who knows if you're going to be selected to go again. So it's really. We. And I think we're all pretty aware that it's an experience not many people get to have.

[Sufi]

Right?

[Pasha]

Yeah. When you. You grew up in Burlington, Vermont, Is that correct? So what were your. Were you sort of playing sports during the summer or what were your summer vacations? Were you camp kids? Were you.

[Alona Mar]

No, my mom would never camp. My mom. The thought of camping for my mom, not it.

[Sufi]

Okay.

[Alona Mar]

We. I did play sports this summer though. So in high school, did travel ball like aau. So that was kind of the vacation we took during the summer. We would do like random camps here and there. I think our mom would make a point to do some sort of trip at some time, whether it was to New York. I think one summer we went to San Diego. I think we did D.C. like three times or something. Olivia's nodding, so we did that. But there was also the. My dad was the believer in like a sport every season. So we were. We were working at the field or the court during our summers.

[Sufi]

Yeah. Did you all. Did all three of you girls enjoy sport the same?

[Alona Mar]

No, Olivia and I. Olivia and I enjoyed sports. I think that we played a lot of the same sports. Well, I played. Feel like you. She would play soccer, but we played basketball together. But we. And we would do softball together. So what worked out was that in basketball, we were kind of different players. She was more of a shooting forward, whereas I was a center in the paint, just running through, throwing elbows, throwing elbows. And then in softball, she was a very finesse player. She could throw a change up all this. Me, fastball all day long. Also hated softball. But our younger sister, I think when she got to high school, there was this expectation on her to, oh, so you're gonna be like your sisters. You're gonna be the. The basketball star, the softball star, like your sisters. And so all this pressure put on her, and one thing about Adriana is just, she's gonna do what she wants to do.

[Sufi]

Yeah.

[Alona Mar]

And she, I think, was, like, this pressure that she put on. She's like, I'm not my sisters. I'm my own self. So she did other sports. She did shot put.

[Sufi]

Okay.

[Alona Mar]

She did volleyball. So all sports were like, shot put. I was like, I don't understand what that is. Why would you do that? Are you going to hit somebody after you throw it?

[Sufi]

Was she okay at shot put? Was she a good shot?

[Alona Mar]

She was pretty good at shot put. But she wanted to do, like, I think what she wanted to do. Swimming. She wanted to do swimming, which I don't think my dad was ready to wake up in the morning and drive her to swimming practice.

[Sufi]

I feel very. I mean, first of all, nothing but love and respect for the parents of swimmers.

[Alona Mar]

Yeah.

[Sufi]

Truly. Because it's such a early morning thing. Also, you have to smell pool water. And on top of that, not that fun to watch. You know what I mean? Like, you're just watching the top half of your kid as a splash, really.

[Alona Mar]

Exactly.

[Sufi]

Yeah.

[Alona Mar]

Yeah. And my dad, I think, you know, he also loved watching sports, so I don't know if he wanted to be watching that. But Jana found her own tune. She goes by the beat of her own drum.

[Sufi]

Yeah.

[Alona Mar]

And she decided to do, like, study abroad and all sorts of stuff, and she wanted to do, like, theater.

[Sufi]

Correction. We appreciate it as those of us in the arts. We do.

[Pasha]

Yeah. I was a theater major in college, so. Yeah.

[Alona Mar]

But she's amazing now. Like, I think she's taught Livy and I so much about kind of being independent, being your own self and doing what you want. Whereas Olivia and I were more like, sure, dad, what do you want us to play this season? Okay, got it.

[Sufi]

Third kids. That's great. Third kid, where they're like, nah, yeah. These other two, they didn't realize you could be independent.

[Pasha]

When she studied abroad, where'd she start? Where did she study?

[Alona Mar]

So in high school, she studied in Sweden.

[Sufi]

Wow.

[Pasha]

Okay.

[Alona Mar]

She wanted to do Holland, but I think that something got mixed up or. Or they knew that she had family there. And we're like, nope, we're going over here. We have no family. And then in college, she started 20. College. She went to Morocco.

[Pasha]

Wow.

[Alona Mar]

And almost got caught there during the COVID The COVID Oh, right. And had to be, I think, like, lifted out by the British military or something like that.

[Sufi]

Morocco is wonderful and beautiful. You know, I would not want to be there for 18 months.

[Alona Mar]

No, no, no.

[Pasha]

Yeah.

[Sufi]

Like away from my family if I didn't live there. Yeah.

[Pasha]

Did you all go visit her when she was in Sweden?

[Alona Mar]

Did anybody visit her when she was in Sweden?

[Sufi]

Well, you guys were in college. It would be hard to leave college to visit.

[Alona Mar]

Yeah, yeah, that's right. That's right. Right. Yeah. No, no. We were all. We were all in college. And also I think that was her space for a minute there.

[Pasha]

Right.

[Alona Mar]

I think maybe my mom did want to, but she was probably like, no mom.

[Sufi]

Oh, interesting. So she didn't even want it.

[Alona Mar]

She, I think, was building her own thing there and she was really.

[Sufi]

If there's a takeaway from this podcast, she just. The amount she ran from your family.

[Alona Mar]

Yeah, exactly.

[Pasha]

Hun.

[Alona Mar]

She. The amount of like, no, I don't want to do that. That's her. I want to do with this. This. And Olivia and I are like, oh, my. Okay, you're going to do your own thing. Oh, that's. Aw. But not like, we were pressured really to do whatever our dad wanted. We just, we were like, yeah, I. I love. I'd love to do basketball, travel. Basketball, yeah. I'd love to practice on a Thursday night. Yeah, it sounds really fun. Instead of going to hang out with my friends. Yeah.

[Sufi]

Did you. Has your sort of international athletic career provided travel for your family if they come to watch stuff together?

[Alona Mar]

That's what's been really cool, actually, is my dad's kind of a homebody. His. His. All of his buddies could be out at a bar, but if he's not feeling it, he. He won't go. I'm like, you're not FOMO like that, man. You don't want to go chat to the guys, see if you're missing anything. But with rugby, because he's a rugby guy, he's been playing for years and years and coaches and whatnot. Now it just so happened his daughter. Daughter. Became an international rugby star with this thing that he loves so much. He's been able to travel the world. My mom's gotten him to travel the world, which he probably wouldn't have. They might have done a trip here and there to maybe. I don't even know where they would have traveled without rugby, but my mom's gotten him to France, got him to Spain two times. They've been to South Africa, up to Canada a couple times. You know, it's been really cool. And he loved Spain. I mean, obsessed with it when he went. He loved South Africa when he went. So that's been really exciting that I have kind of given this. This, hey, I'm gonna be here playing. There's a reason for you to go, because you would. To go to South Africa or to go to these places a lot of time you'd want to have a solid reason because, yeah, it's a 16 hour flight. He's a big guy. And now, you know, I didn't have as much money back then. Maybe later on he'll get moved up in classes. We'll see if he acts right. So it's been a real cool joy of mine that because of what I do, they get to travel as well. So. But what's interesting is a lot of times when they all travel, they travels, the four of them, to see me play. So I'm actually not as much traveling with them. I see them when I can, but I am there in many ways to do a job as well. So they're certain, like, I can't do the wine tour.

[Sufi]

Right, right.

[Alona Mar]

The VIP wine tour. It looks awesome.

[Pasha]

Yeah. And so how often do you see them on a trip like that? Do you see them once a day? Or do you. Do you try to do meals together?

[Alona Mar]

We'll try to do meals together. We'll try to do like, hey, I have two hours for coffee here. I'll meet you here. Because I'm also never been.

[Sufi]

What are you putting down? Like, would you say 10, 20 cups of coffee a day?

[Alona Mar]

I know, I talk about coffee a lot, huh? I say, yeah, 12 shots. I love coffee. I've had a good amount. Yeah, a good amount. Especially when you're on tour, you're like, should we just go get another flat white? That's what. Flat white. That's what people get. By the way, you got to start ordering flat whites when you go.

[Pasha]

Interesting.

[Sufi]

Yeah. Why do you think. Why do you think fly white is the drink of choice for the international superstars?

[Alona Mar]

Is it cool maybe to say flat white?

[Pasha]

Like, the first time I heard a flat white, it was ordered by an Australian person. And I wonder if the sort of Australian rugby sort of connection there. Culture, I think flat white across the sport.

[Alona Mar]

Let's be real. It's just a cappuccino in other form.

[Pasha]

Yeah.

[Sufi]

Don't ruin it for everybody. So excited about it. To order their first flat white. Do you. Do your parents watch? What? I mean, I know you are not sitting with them when it's happening, but what kind of fans are they when they watch you compete? Are they nervous?

[Alona Mar]

Are they? Great question. Mother has to pace. She's. She's off somewhere. She's walking.

[Sufi]

Oh, she's a pacer. Got it.

[Alona Mar]

She's not pacing herself.

[Sufi]

She's literally walking. Right, okay.

[Alona Mar]

Yeah. She's literally walking around. She's. I think maybe checking. I'd have to ask Olivia, does mom actually watch me play? She has me have moments of it, but it's always like. Like, there's always noise coming out of her mouth. Okay. Olivia goes, yes, there's moments of it, but there's always noise coming out of her mouth.

[Sufi]

Does she have an accent? Does your mom still have an accent?

[Alona Mar]

No. Sometimes she says some words. Like, some. What word does she say that she has an accent on? When she, like, says people's names? When she says people names, she'll put an accent. I'm like, mom, that wasn't even how she said that. Why are you doing that? So mom gets nervous. She is also an ER nurse, so, yeah, it is a rough sport to play and to watch at times, knowing your baby could be hurt.

[Sufi]

That's what I was wondering if watching rugby. Because, you know, when I watch sports, it's always about, like, right. Results. Like, I'm. I pace because it's who's gonna win, who's gonna lose. But as a parent of a physical sport, I would imagine there's that whole other tranche of fear.

[Alona Mar]

Absolutely. Yeah. She is really stressed. And then dad, though, loves rugby for rugby. So he's watching the game.

[Pasha]

Yeah, yeah.

[Alona Mar]

He's just watching the great gameplay. There's a great film. During the Olympics, they put a camera on my family at the last moments of our bronze medal match. And it's just a really cool. My sisters are so excited. My dad's there. My mom's nowhere in sight. Olivia has to call, like, mom, mom, get over here. Because she's been pacing this whole time because she's so nervous.

[Sufi]

Where does she pace? Does she, like, go? Does she's. Is she pacing with an eyeline on the game?

[Alona Mar]

Yes, she's around. She's Haunting, you know, she just doesn't

[Sufi]

want to be around the rest of the family.

[Pasha]

Yeah, it was the end of that bronze medal game was one of the greatest finishes to any sporting event I've ever seen in my life.

[Alona Mar]

One of the greatest Olympic moments. I think it was insane.

[Pasha]

Yeah.

[Alona Mar]

Dramatic, but yeah, I, I just watched it yesterday. I just showed a man that clip yesterday. I was like, you got to sit down and see this, buddy. Take a look.

[Pasha]

I showed my wife last night.

[Alona Mar]

She was like, for him.

[Sufi]

I like, I like. There's no context on why this man was had to watch this clip. I just like you just got watched by Sawman.

[Alona Mar]

I make most men watch it. Honestly, I'm like, you've got to check this out. And then I pause it periodically like, you see this. So we didn't have a kicker on the field. Keep watching. But just an amazing moment and like, I think changed rugby in America in some ways. And I can watch that clip every day.

[Pasha]

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[Alona Mar]

Here we go.

[Sufi]

When your dad was playing, that seems like a generation where there was probably not a lot of rugby going on. Why was, was that rare back in the day in America?

[Alona Mar]

You know what's shocking actually that was when rugby was at its kind of heyday, honestly.

[Sufi]

Interesting. In the States.

[Alona Mar]

In the States, yeah. Not like the culture of rugby was at its best. Got it of I would say like early 2000s. We were getting pretty good numbers out. It was a club. People were going for the, the social aspect of it, the, the joy of it and playing. I think we're kind of losing numbers in terms of club rugby.

[Sufi]

Yeah.

[Alona Mar]

Maybe people not wanting that craving that socialness that it could bring. Not drinking as much. People aren't drinking as much. What's happening.

[Sufi]

I know.

[Pasha]

Yeah.

[Alona Mar]

Boring.

[Pasha]

Because that's such like. I feel like when I think about guys like are, you know, getting together to play rugby, there's like I always imagine a keg there. Exactly.

[Alona Mar]

Yeah.

[Pasha]

That's like part of the culture as well.

[Alona Mar]

Yes.

[Sufi]

Yeah.

[Alona Mar]

People always ask me too now, like, oh, should you be drinking? I'm like, this is my culture. Don't, don't take.

[Sufi]

What are you talking about? Is that what is the hardest was the bronze medal game. The, the aftermath of that. The hardest. You partied post a match.

[Alona Mar]

I wish I could say it was but we went on a, it was like a media tour like that right afterwards. I mean Team usa, NBC was putting us on.

[Sufi]

Yeah.

[Alona Mar]

We had to go on a late night show for a little five minute stint. Then the next day for 12 hours we're doing interviews and because I'm the, was the, you know, breakout star, I'm doing every single interview.

[Sufi]

Yeah.

[Alona Mar]

Nike gave us these outfits to wear that were so hot in this Paris heat. And we just throughout the day have to go through, hold these, these heavy metals around like I'm sorry I'm complaining about winning a medal. Oh. But actually it's really kind of something that is sad for us is we never really fully got to celebrate our win all together. We. The next day was literally from 11:00am to 11:12pm is that p.m. 12:00am of just doing interviews and kind of.

[Sufi]

I'm so disappointed because, you know, I, I was just in Milan and was lucky enough to go to the women's gold medal hockey game.

[Alona Mar]

Yeah.

[Sufi]

And. And then I saw the team the next day they were doing the Today show. Which is in Milan like two in the afternoon. It struck me that they had maybe gone fairly hard that night.

[Alona Mar]

I wish I had said no to that late night show. Sorry. To late night shows.

[Sufi]

Yeah, no worries. I mean, when you came on mine, we didn't steal you from a party until enough. We waited till enough time had passed.

[Alona Mar]

I just wish that after that, when I'd won that medal, I'd been like, no, I'm not going to do a five minute interview. I want us all to meet at this bar.

[Pasha]

Yeah.

[Alona Mar]

Bring your medal, tell your family to come here and let's have fun. But instead, I think it was so new because it was so big for the US to finally want it. Like our medal was bronze, but most people treat it as almost gold.

[Sufi]

Yeah.

[Pasha]

Yeah.

[Alona Mar]

So I just think we were so unexpected and what we did was so amazing that we were kind of trying to build on it as much instead of actually appreciating what we did for ourselves.

[Sufi]

Right.

[Alona Mar]

And so it makes me sad a lot that that group of girls isn't together often. We just had a friend's wedding last summer where we kind of celebrated it a little bit there.

[Sufi]

Right.

[Alona Mar]

But it is a sad that we will never be in Paris again, having just won a medal, still being sweaty with our hair and braids, still dirt everywhere. Yeah. So thanks for bringing up.

[Sufi]

Yeah. I really do apologize. The. So did you get. Was the medal ceremony the next day?

[Alona Mar]

No, right after you go change into. You have to change into a. A certain.

[Sufi]

But when was the gold medal match?

[Alona Mar]

When was right after. Ours is like 14 minute games. So we had our bronze medal match, probably like 10 minutes in between. And then they had the gold medal match. So we're just absolutely jazzed. They're like, you guys have to go in and change to get ready for the medal ceremony. We're trying to see our parents, they're, you know, shuttling us everywhere. And then we go up on the podium and get our. Get our medals. It was I amazing.

[Sufi]

Having watched the medal ceremony, I feel like bronze medal energy is a super fun energy because you've had, first of all, you guys overachieved. And it was historic. So it felt like, you know, like you said, it felt like a gold medal. But also you've had time to process your. It's not gold or silver.

[Alona Mar]

Yes.

[Sufi]

So you, you literally woke up that morning. Your ceiling was bronze. You got bronze. Super psyched. And it's really.

[Alona Mar]

We woke up that morning going into semifinals.

[Sufi]

Right.

[Alona Mar]

Because we played two games that day and semis yes. Semis was against New Zealand, who won the gold. They're a great team. Like, we're just, like, hoping to. Because if you get into that gold medal game, you're at least guaranteed a medal.

[Sufi]

Right.

[Alona Mar]

So we lost in semis. So then we're going to play bronze for Australia. But what's so funny is, kind of like you said, people almost think, oh, you lost silver. You're like, oh, I didn't get gold. But then when you get bronze, you're like, fuck, yeah, these guys didn't get anything.

[Sufi]

And I feel like the silver. The silver energy is. You can't look psyched because you're coming off a loss. Like your Olympics ended on a win.

[Alona Mar]

Yeah.

[Pasha]

On an amazing win. On a ridiculous, like, thank you. Insane.

[Alona Mar]

We call it rose gold, too. If you, like, squint at it, it's like rose gold.

[Pasha]

Yeah.

[Sufi]

So was there. So obviously Olympics know, you didn't get to rock out. Was there any. I mean, you've been in so many tournaments now. Was there any?

[Alona Mar]

Have I rocked out?

[Pasha]

Well, I know. Yes. Tell us about you rocking out a little?

[Alona Mar]

Yeah, I've had some. Oh, I've had a little bit of fun.

[Pasha]

After rugby tournament, does your family come to a big celebration? Like, if you win a match or like, is your dad tearing it up over in the corner?

[Alona Mar]

He's more of like a quiet drinker.

[Pasha]

Okay.

[Alona Mar]

He'll get a little happier. My. I'll bring my sisters out. I'm like, you guys gotta come out. And so then it's just them with, like, rugby players, and I'm getting really drunk and dancing everywhere. I'm like, you guys having fun? You guys having fun? But it is, again, like a culture of rugby, which is really cool. Is that weird? We drink and we hang out all together. So even though we just tried to absolutely murder each other on the field, we come together as friends in many.

[Sufi]

Oh, really?

[Pasha]

With the other teams?

[Alona Mar]

Yeah, with the other countries. I have many friends on all. All the teams who, after the game, I just, you know, dump tackled her. But I'm like, hey, that was, you know, great hit or whatever. So it's. It's a very special sport compared, I think, others. And also our tournaments are like, say 12 to eight women's teams, 12 to eight men's teams that come together. So there's a lot of people from all over the world, so many cultures and people colliding that afterwards you have a drink, you party. It's. It's really a cool time. I love it.

[Sufi]

You had A. What was your worst injury? Broke a leg.

[Alona Mar]

I broke my ankle.

[Sufi]

Ankle. Was your mom at that one?

[Alona Mar]

She came afterwards. She was ready to get on a flight, and I was like, mom, chill. Olivia came down. She was. I used to train in San Diego. Olivia was in la. She drove down from la, came and saw me in the hospital, and then I got surgery on it. My mom was there with me for those two weeks, and then I got C Diff. Don't get C Diff.

[Sufi]

What is C Diff?

[Alona Mar]

Oh, you yourself, after surgery. I don't know why I had to share that, but just.

[Sufi]

I mean, I think I'm glad as a, you know, just as a public service announcement.

[Pasha]

Don't get it. Do your best to not get seated, guys.

[Alona Mar]

It's crazy.

[Sufi]

So. So the perfect sort of order. Yeah. For you, Alona, would be a flat wife. Flat white. No C Diff.

[Alona Mar]

Flat white. Hold the seat if. Please hold it.

[Pasha]

When you went to San Diego on a trip when you were younger, like, what is that trip? Are you guys just doing touristy things? Are you just.

[Alona Mar]

That one is so cool because I ended up living there and I ended up. Oh, my gosh. I remember this. We went to here when I was younger. So my mom had gone there, I think, for a nursing conference years ago, and it was a great place. So she was like, well, let me just go again. I think she had, like, points with a. With a hotel. So we stayed there. We went to the safari park. Extremely hot. We had a camel pack. And just. All of us would just take that.

[Sufi]

Yeah.

[Alona Mar]

You know, we had to fill it up, like, 50 times throughout the day. We did the San Diego Zoo. We did the beach. So I sometimes now that I. When I go on trips now with my friends and I kind of take on the role of the, like, leader, and I find us where to go, the restaurants. We do. We're. Today we're gonna do this. How much stress it is and how much stress my mom was put under at all these times, and yet she continued to do it. She took all five of us to Ireland, and we had a weird, hostile experience. She took all of us to Greece, and, you know, we were rented a car through the snow. It was snowing in Greece. It's. She's an amazing woman and that. I just know she's stressed out so much, but she knew that we were getting these experiences, and she continued to just do it for us.

[Pasha]

What can you tell us more about this hostel experience?

[Alona Mar]

Yes. So we're in Dublin, right? No. Where do we do that Hostel Kilkenny. We're somewhere in Ireland.

[Sufi]

Sure.

[Alona Mar]

And my mom rents, I think what she thinks is a room. Or maybe she rented, like, five beds at a hospital. She. She's rented a room in a hostel. And so we go there. It's just a kind of a gross room, all five of us in twin beds in random places. And in the middle of the night, some guys comes walking in. My dad and his box is like, hey, hey, get out of here. So it was really like a Not. Not good. And my mom, you know, again, takes it on, like, oh, that's her fault. But we end up. Because of that, we end up going to this old. What used to be an old jail that this lady had converted into an inn. And she was so lovely. And, like, my parents were like, oh, we're gonna go take him to get some fish and chips. She's like, you know, you shouldn't take them to get fish and chips. That was my best Irish accent. And it was like, what? That experience led to this cool experience of staying in an old jail in Ireland. We've had a lot of really great memories that we talk about even now. And the. A lot of times, you know, never is a family trip perfect. Never is it like, this really went swimmingly. Everything happened as we'd hoped it had. It's always a little bit. You know, you get the great memories. You also get the ones you learn from and you talk about more.

[Pasha]

I think it's.

[Sufi]

Then it reflects on the kind of family you are, which is. What do you choose to remember? You know what I mean? And if you can, I think with time plus tragedy is comedy. So sometimes the worst moments. The worst moments.

[Alona Mar]

Choose to remember the worst moments, I guess.

[Pasha]

Do you have any other standout. Bad moments stand out.

[Alona Mar]

Bad moments. We've. So we've done Greece before. We've done, like, a weird restaurant tasting in Mexico City where it was like, who. Like, it was trying to take us on a culinary tour of Mexico. But it was, like, really not good. They first start off with giving you, like, carrot juice and, like, just a two big pictures of what was carrot juice. But then when you asked me, I was like, is that carrot juice? He's like, no, no. I was like, you're blending carrots into that. That one was tough. But it was funny because they were giving us just the notch. I'm like, they're not eating this one. Oaxaca.

[Pasha]

Yeah.

[Alona Mar]

What else we've been to? What else we have Any other moments that we remember? Oh, the big thing was in Washington, D.C. our mom was like, took us to see the biggest escalator in the world. What is it? Oh, North America. It's like the largest escalator in North America. So she brought all of us to this escalator. There's pictures of us, like, looking down at her like, you know, that's just

[Pasha]

something, you know, just like, she had that intention. She's like, this is something that girls are going to want to see.

[Sufi]

I, by the way, I'm guessing that the photo you want, which shows how big the escalator is but also has your children in it, is a bad picture.

[Alona Mar]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Sufi]

It's like in your mind's eye. It's a great picture. But then when you actually see it, you're like, this is mostly just a picture of an escalator.

[Alona Mar]

Yeah, this looks like a normal size escalator.

[Sufi]

When you.

[Pasha]

When you talk about Greece being a bad trip, you just say, we went to Greece.

[Alona Mar]

Greece wasn't a bad trip. Greece was interesting. We went to Greece in winter.

[Sufi]

I was gonna say, I've never heard of, like. I mean, I. Shame on me for not knowing it snows in Greece, but I'm sure.

[Alona Mar]

I don't know if we knew either. We went to Greece. I think we left like Christmas Day or Christmas Eve. And we rented a car and we drove. We had, like, no plans. That was my mom towards the end, just kind of got it to a rare. We just was kind of going where the wind took us. So we got a car, we drove around. A lot of things were closed. And we would go places and be like. They'd be like, why are you here if you're like, we're on a trip. It was really cool. We got. Yeah, we went to, like a mountain town and it was snowing in Greece. We went to the island of Hydra and it was kind of like, deserted. It was actually really cool. Usually a bustling island, no cars are allowed, but we went there for. On New Year's Eve. We, my sisters and I, were in a bar just drinking and it was like we walked all around this island, walked up into the mountains. The most quiet I've ever heard. I don't know how to say that, but my mom and I walked up and since there was no cars allowed, it was so silent in a weird way, but also, like, really cool. And what else?

[Sufi]

We.

[Alona Mar]

I remember the day we were leaving. I went to a bakery to try to get some stuff for us to eat. But because it was winter, they weren't really cooking a lot of stuff fresh. And we got all this stuff. And I was like, this was made probably four days ago.

[Sufi]

You dropped a piece of bread and it went clang.

[Alona Mar]

Yeah. I'm like, yeah, that's a texture.

[Sufi]

Which of you. Be honest. Which of you or your two sisters is the worst traveler?

[Alona Mar]

I'm the worst traveler.

[Sufi]

Really?

[Alona Mar]

Yeah. Yeah. I'm the worst traveler. My Olivia is the best traveler and that she knows how to make a plan. Usually now when we travel, Olivia's kind of become our captain. Even our mom takes a little bit of a backseat. I think she's like, oh, well, my daughter now can do it. Also. Olivia is like. Like, she's. What do they call with cats when they're hurting. Hurting cats. She's hurting cats. So she's become really the leader and has, you know, created some really great adventures for everybody. My mom still does great stuff, but I think my mom spent a lot of years doing it, so she's like, chill. I'm chilling. Adriana is more of a. Yeah, okay. Is that what we're doing? Okay, perfect. Yeah. Can't wait. I haven't been able to travel as much with my family because, again, I travel so much for my other job that I don't really travel with them. So my form of traveling is, like, I go to. I get a trip to Dubai, and I hang out, and I get my hotel, and everything is. Is parceled out for me. What do I need to do? I get meals here. I get on the bus here if I want to. I'll go to a beach club, you know, So I don't. I'm getting better at traveling. I don't think I've. I fully know how to travel yet with my family and how to do that in the best way as an older person, because then you have to take into account a lot of people.

[Sufi]

Yeah.

[Alona Mar]

And what everybody wants to do instead of just what you want to do for your 12th flat white of the day.

[Sufi]

And I would imagine at this point, it's an addiction. So if you're not getting that 12 flat white, you probably turn against the ones you love the most.

[Alona Mar]

Exactly. And that's dangerous.

[Sufi]

This has been wonderful talking to you. House of Mar. How many episodes have you guys done?

[Alona Mar]

39.

[Sufi]

Look at you with the number.

[Alona Mar]

Yeah, yeah. Almost. Cuz I think it's almost, like, done with the first season or something like that. I just show up and talk. You know what I'm saying?

[Sufi]

Yeah. No, hey, we know. We know. You guys know. Hey, but before you go, Josh is going to ask you our speed round questions.

[Alona Mar]

Go.

[Pasha]

All right, here we go. You can only pick one of these. Is your ideal vacation relaxing, adventurous or educational?

[Alona Mar]

Relaxing.

[Pasha]

What is your favorite means of transportation?

[Alona Mar]

Private car.

[Pasha]

If you could take a vacation with any family, alive or dead, real or fictional, what family would you like to take a vacation with?

[Alona Mar]

Okay, maybe like the family from the Fresh Prince, Bel Air. I don't know why I thought that, but

[Pasha]

if you had to be stranded on a desert island with one member of your family, who would it be?

[Alona Mar]

I guess maybe my manager, Olivia over there.

[Sufi]

Yeah.

[Alona Mar]

She would take on the duties. She would help me on a deserted island.

[Pasha]

What is your dream destination for a family vacation?

[Alona Mar]

I would love to get us like, a really nice house somewhere in Italy or on the coast of some gorgeous foreign place and just have us relax there. But have like a nice town close by that we can walk to. Because my dad's a big walker. My dad. My parents aren't really relaxed. Just chill out. Relax people. They're more like, let's go do something.

[Pasha]

Yep. And you are from Burlington, Vermont. If you had to get more families to come visit Burlington, Vermont, how would you sell that town?

[Alona Mar]

Well, I would tell them first to go in the summer. It's a place unlike any other. Right. On Lake Champlain. A beautiful lake, like to swim in, to do all sorts of water sports in. We have amazing farm to table restaurants. We have Ben and Jerry's. Great walking, hiking trails, a bike path that just takes you all the way to through multiple cities over the lake. It's. It's a spectacular place in the summer.

[Pasha]

Excellent. I agree. I was there are final questions.

[Sufi]

I was there in two years ago February and can't tell you how much I recommend going in the summer.

[Pasha]

I went fourth of July. It was great.

[Alona Mar]

Oh, beautiful.

[Sufi]

All right, final question. Have you been to the Grand Canyon?

[Alona Mar]

Lona, I have not been to the Grand Canyon, no.

[Pasha]

Do you want to go?

[Alona Mar]

I should travel more. I should travel more in the U.S.

[Sufi]

yes, you do want to go.

[Alona Mar]

Yeah.

[Sufi]

Okay, great. Thank you for your answer. And then finally, my final question.

[Alona Mar]

Do I get a trip?

[Sufi]

Nope, you don't. Can. Would Olivia be willing to pop her head in to just say hello?

[Alona Mar]

Yeah. Olivia, can you pop your head in to say hello? She runs to put makeup on. No, she's here. Hold on. I can't hear anything. Some would say she's my twin.

[Sufi]

We just wanted to say hello. It seemed wrong to have a sibling. It seemed wrong to have a sibling here and to not get them on camera for a second.

[Alona Mar]

Yeah. One talking one. As much as she has been as

[Sufi]

well, it feels like you've mostly been talking through her.

[Alona Mar]

This was my interview. Interview. She's. She can literally do interviews for me and she knows exactly what I would say at this point. To the point where I'm like, yeah, it's pretty good. Olivia. Good job, man. That's exactly what I would say.

[Sufi]

Nice to see you both. Give our love to Adrian as well. And thank you so much. It was great to see you.

[Alona Mar]

Thank you guys. Bye.

[Sufi]

Bye. Thank you.

[Pasha]

Bye. Flat white she says that it the way to go. It's just cappuccino. But don't let them know. Ilona cannot come back whether she is in Dubai or in Sydney after a five point try. Well, she's globetrotted ever since joining Team USA and brother it's a. Okay.

[Alona Mar]

She's.

[Pasha]

She's traveled the world.

[Sufi]

Middle of three girls.

[Pasha]

Her mom would take them to Holland. Was hectic so took em one by one. Had bacon in Panagooka. Skipped Amsterdam in favor of Haarlem. One night in Ireland in a sketchy hostel. Strange man walked in. So dad said let's go. So they. They checked out. Cause they just had to bail. The place was a fail. Checked into a jail.

[Alona Mar]

Yeah.

[Pasha]

Saw a big escalator in D.C. bad Food Tour in Mexico City snowing while they were in green. This mom's name is not pronounced Mina. Key late night talk show bummer after the bronze medal once broke her ankle. Seen if you shit yourself but she. She breaking rules no other rugby player can compare. She's good anywhere long as Olivia's there.

[Alona Mar]

Sa.