Football

Getting to a football game in Barcelona was high on A.'s list of things to do before going back to the U.S. What I didn't know before was that every game is sold out to season ticket holders, which are often passed from one generation to the next. Some discussion of that is found here and some facts about it are here. Because of that it is not easy to find tickets next to each other, but for games other than El Clásico and other biggies, it is not so hard to move a few seats over once you are there.

Getting to the game was part of the excitement with fans filling public transportation.

Just follow the crowds once you get close.

Posted around the stadium are historic badges from the club.

Also outside the stadium are places to pose for photos and to shoot a ball.
Look carefully and you can see that this kid scored 200 points on the first try.

No bags are allowed in so if you want food or drink you have to buy it there or put it in your pocket. If you buy water it is sold with the cap off, making it harder to throw onto the field!

A. and D. got there plenty early to watch the pre-game action, including the refs doing
a cool warm up (spinning and running around the pitch, interfering with the players a bit).

Their seats were in a quiet section unless the ref made a big call or there was a scoring chance and then it was super loud. Not far away was the Barça section, but even that seemed high-spirited without being rowdy.

A. was thrilled to see Messi, Neymar, and Suarez score. Staying in touch with a friend who was watching on television in Italy added to the fun.

Afterward the streets were fully swarmed with people, literally the streets and not just the sidewalks!

All photos by A. and written together.

New places

A day out and about.

A. had an away game and after dealing with the flooded garage he and D. caught a train to arrive in time to warmup. I headed off a bit later and passed many groups of kids with backpacks who seemed to be heading to the hills of Collserola.

The smallest ones were excited and definitely carrying a lot.

I arrived in Sarrià and saw the historic
Parròquia Sant Vicenç de Sarrià (St. Vincent Parish) in one direction 

and the modern sculpture in another.

A. (the yellow dot to the right) was not too busy, but parents enjoyed the action and the view.

On campus we had seen plants from our neighborhood, including an olive tree, jacaranda tree, magnolia tree, and bulbine. None of it compared to seeing the wisteria on this house!

We didn't buy any of these fancy donuts, but A.
enjoyed his first American-style donut in months.

We finally made it to Badalona, where a few people were in the water enjoying the waves.
Maybe it is often windy here since there are three windsurfing clubs
along this beach. It was cool and breezy and I was content to stay on land.

We saw the famous statue for the Anís del Mono, part of the industrial history of the city. 

From the train we could see the remains of the former thermal power plant.

 

At the end of the adventure we made our way home through Sant Cugat. Even here there are new things to see.

I will miss the inexpensive, easy-to-use, and comprehensive public transportation. I will miss the easy access to the beach.

Not free

I feel some pangs of guilt for not supporting the arts financially and turning around and paying a lot to tour the stadium of a professional sports team. Parenting has lots of moments like that.

It does look just like a video game!

We saw lots and lots and lots of trophies.

There was a whole room for the basketball team.
which was formed 29 years after the futbol team.

I liked seeing all the logos,

some of the old equipment,

and I especially like the collections of pins.

In this room you could listen to some famous play-by-plays and The Décima Song.

It is a little nicer, but this part of the locker room doesn't look so different from my high school.

Of course the tour ends at the gift shop,

but we were able to resist temptation.

Now A. really, really wants to go to a game.  For me the tour of the stadium was enough.

Futbol (or fútbol in Castilian)

The academic system here is made up of primary grades, then ESO 1-4, and then some people get a national baccalaureate degree (and a few people get an international baccalaureate degree). A. is playing with his school team (which is less competitive than the city clubs, but also significantly less expensive) which is broken into two groups, ESO 1 and 2 and ESO 3 and 4. The younger group had three goalkeepers (portero) and the ESO 3 and ESO 4 kids had none. Last year they simply rotated through putting field players in goal. The keepers for the younger team who have been here longer than A. were offered the chance to play up. Guess who is now the full-time keeper for ESO 3 and 4?!

A. is happy to be playing on artificial turn instead of on concrete, which is what we see at most schools. In the background you can see the semi-covered benches of each team, sitting side-by-side. That funny thing sticking up between the benches is a sprinkler, which is used to keep the turf cool so the players so get burned (I am guessing they don't use this feature year-round).

They applauded the parents and shook hands with opponents before the game.

We enjoy going to the games and talking to the parents in a mix of English and Spanish.  I am hoping the weather continues to cooperate on game days!