We finally made it to Camp Nou and toured the stadium/museum. (This was our 3rd visit there within 4 days.) I was more interested in it than I thought I would be because FCB's (Futbol Club Barcelona) political activism was highlighted greatly in the museum. The Club was very anti-Franco and spoke out about it, which lead to one of the coaches being assassinated by Franco's regime and many players were exiled. Franco did many things to punish this club i.e. change their name and colors to be more Spanish and less Catalan.
This museum is the most visited museum in BCN, which I find a little shocking and sad. I'm glad we went, but it was pricey. The audio tour wasn't that great and we had to give them a 50 euro deposit to use the audio that was included with our tickets. I guess lots of people must try to steal them. It was busy, loud, and there were lots of kids running around (this makes the teacher in me go crazy!)
What all did we get to see?
1. You start in the museum
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| Chris learning about all of FCB's victories. |
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| I learned that Cruyff played for FCB. There is a soccer move named after him. I tried to do it once in front of the Valley Family (HUGE soccer fans) and sprained my ankle. I have pretty smooth moves. |
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| Maybe the Champion's League Trophy? Chris watched this game on TV and remembers it so he was happy. |
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| Chris with Messi's Golden Ball Trophies. |
2. Then we went to the press room
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| While traveling with Chris, I became angry and jealous of his hair. He has a good hair day with no effort everyday. I wake up and look like a crazy lion hence the ponytail. |
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| See the guy telling me not to take the photo. |
4. Then we got to walk out the tunnel like the players.
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| The door on the right is the chapel. |
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| Almost on the field! |
5. The tunnel lead us to the sidelines of the field
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| Way better than benches |
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| Mes que un club is Catalan for more than a club |
7. The tour ended with in a multimedia room that keep showing FCB highlights.
Many of you may be shocked with me writing a post about soccer. I'm not a big soccer fan, but Chris has been trying really hard for 9 years to get me to like it more. I have come a long way and will watch soccer games with him. I do really get into the World Cup and Euro Cup because the Valley family completes brackets to predict the winner. Surprisingly, I'm really good at picking the winner! :) I'm very proud of myself because my picks have nothing to do with soccer. Whereas, the Valleys pick according to stats and records. Lucky for me, Spain has a good national team because I always pick them. The last World Cup almost all the Valleys picked Germany to win it, and I clearly knew better with my support of SPAIN! Cary got me a really cool España Futbol shirt as my prize ~ I can't wait to fit in that shirt again.
Up next...More Gaudi!
I don't know if I told you about my visit to Estadio Bernabeau, which is Real Madrid's home stadium. Things of note.
ReplyDelete1. It was a self-guided tour, which is what Nou seems to be. As I entered the stadium, there was a young (age 28) couple waiting. They were from Cordoba, and it was his birthday. His present from his wife was the trip to Madrid (off-season) to see the stadium. When he saw the pitch/field, he teared up. I was so touched. I toured the first part of the tour with them. I stayed 2 hours; I am sure they stayed the whole day.
2. The stadium has seats with heating under the seats when it's cold. Don't think that would matter in Camp Randall or Lambeau Field.
3. The visitors' locker room was something to see. The tiles were all in Real Madrid's colors. Talk about getting into the opposition's head.
4. Chapel wasn't mentioned. Maybe they don't have one or it's in the Real Madrid private area.
5. Press room. Big deal. Seriously.
6. Trophies, photos, and computerized stuff. In more recent promos of the stadium, I can see they have done more on the digital stuff. Very glitzy and well-done.
7. BTW, my tour was done probably 6 years ago and cost around 10 euros. Now it's more like 16 euros. No steep deposits though. Real fans aren't thieves. ☺
8. Final stop on the tour was the shop. Huge. Same prices as what you would find online. No deals.
9. The political part. I believe Franco supported Real, but Barcelona won more trophies when Franco was Generalísimo. Y 0\
P.S. These tours may be a bit expensive, but they are awesome...even for someone who is not a soccer fan.
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