After days of exploring Gaudi and parts of the Gothic old city, it came time to have a much rather non-religious, but equally cathedral-like experience, especially for millions of international fans alike.
Welcome to Camp Nou.
Too bad I had to settle for the next best thing. The epical moment would have been to nail tickets for la Classico, the referred name for the ultimate sports rivalry game, Real Madrid vs. FC Barcelona. Ironically, la Classico is actually to take place a few days after I leave. Had I planned this better, I would likely be there cheering, singing their anthem via lyrics on Google, and soaking it all in. But no, there are no home games during this stretch. So I had to settle for the so call "Camp Nou Experience", a 25 Euro ticket designed for hungry fans like us to experience the next best thing. I was lucky enough to take in this experience with my new Moroccan friend Amjad (who happened to be a dedicated Real Madrid fan, and happily did numerous frowny and thumbs-down faces in front of every Barca logo he saw). But we both felt that this was 25 Euros well spent. Perhaps better than many of the tourist attractions we paid for here. Laura, still in love with her Gaudi, of course rolled her eyes at us.
But to be honest it was well worth a visit. I'm not a dedicated soccer fan. I know very little of the legacy behind Camp Nou or even the legendary FC Barcelona. My earliest exposure to such a historic stadium actually came from my much loved Anime comic "Captain Tsubasa". You see, Captain Tsubasa was a comical childhood soccer prodigy in Japan. In the later stages of the comic, he grew up, and like many of his contemporaries, went to Europe in search of his soccer dreams. When he arrived and visited Camp Nou, he looked around the gigantic stadium, and felt he was always destined to play there. Of course, in comic book fashion, he made the team. I had wanted to visit the real stadium ever since. Of course, the hero of the modern day is a little man known as Messi. He is probably a little over-celebrated here, to be honest, for throughout Camp Nou we actually saw very little reference of other prominent players who had dedicated their crafts here as well, such as Ronaldo (the less pretty one), Ronaldinho, Neymar (who many would said did nothing here), the biter Suarez (I might have spelled his name wrong but I don't care about him enough to check), and other pillars of their team like Xavi, Iniesta, and of course Pique. It's pretty much all Messi all the time. I didn't mind it. I love the little man. I only wish he had the chance to win the World Cup once (I don't give Argentina a chance this year to be honest).
But about the visit, yes it was worth it. You have plenty of time to soak it all in at your own pace. Looking around the empty seats with the iconic colour from pretty much all angle of the stadium (although all from one side, of course, as not the entire stadium was open to the public). It actually felt smaller than we both thought. It felt rather intimate. There seems to be good sight lines everywhere. The best are probably the blue middle tier seats. Being above the field, you take in all the action and the formation, while feeling the ever presence of the crazy crowds. In the lower bowl, sure you are closer, but in certain areas you actually miss the audience, which is part of the experience in a live match. We utilized a lot of imagination that day. We sat at various seats. Looked around. Imagine the crazy, singing crowds. Imagined a goal. Imagined a victory (for Amjad, he imagined a defeat). We visited the press box, the visitors lockers where iconic players would change, shower, and pee at. We roamed around the numerous trophies on display in the museum, we posed in front of the 5 gigantic Champions Cups that they won (Amjad would repeatedly remind me that Real Madrid had 11...). We looked at old sneakers and jerseys, all in the state of mid-decay. We were real fan-boys for the morning.
No I never got to experience the thunderous crowd. But it's alright. When I see Barca games on TV now, I would remember being right there at the stadium, having touched some of the very chairs my idols sat at, and pretend I had witnessed a match just the same.
Yes, Laura, it was 25 Euro very well spent. :P
(A note on travelling around Barcelona. It is rather easy. Barcelona has a pretty fantastic metro network. Stations are relatively close together and well connected. Lines are easily labelled in colours and letters, such as L1, L2, etc. I would definitely consider getting a multi day pass. My 3-day one costed just a little over 20 Euros. But it freed me from having to ration my rides selectively. If you stay shorter, there's a 10-strip ticket that I think cost just a little over 10 Euros. Laura used that, and when she left after her 3 days she handed me her ticket with 5 rides left. The metro also serves the airport, but you'll need a dedicated airport ticket, at 4.60 Euro. The Metros are generally in good operational state. Trains are clean and stations bright and well marked. Barcelona is also a pretty easy city to walk in. Mostly flat with wide streets and many dedicated bike lanes and clear traffic and pedestrian signals. I took the bus once. It seemed pretty easily. Of course, nowadays with Google map and a data SIM card, you can pretty much go anywhere unresearched. So, I would definitely consider having data here).
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