We set off on the Wednesday morning about 10 after The Boy had been for a run and I had finished my teleconference with work. We flew from East Midlands which is a great little airport. Easy parking, plenty of security check points and plenty of staff (are you reading this Leeds Bradford - this is a real area where you Fail). A few shops to get the essentials (though no MAC in Duty Free which is a bit of a shame but not the end of). Good coffee and bright and clean. We boarded the flight (Easy Jet - interesting scramble for seats but we got on quite near the end and had two good seats in the emergency exit isle so plenty of room) and no fuss about the size of my carry on it was on of these Herve Chapelier but in their largest size (and not that colour).
Flight was on time and no fuss; The Boy was asleep before we even took off (no surprises there). I had been listening to the Learn Spanish CDs that came free with The Guardian & The Observer in the week leading up to our trip so had polished up my limited Spanish a little and managed to get a Taxi easily and inform him where we wanted to be.
The hotel was actually quite nice, very modern with a lot of chrome and glass but in the ridiculous heat the cool and air conditioning was very welcome. So we dumped our belongings and made our way to a Tapas bar the concierge recommended and booked for us. Barcelona in August is empty - it's just to darn hot. So the restaurant was not busy but the food was lovely - the only downside was they has no Pimientos de Padron (I had been dreaming about them) but otherwise very good.
We then went for a wander, had a few drinks and headed back to the hotel to get ready to go to the football. The Hotel was walking distance to the Camp Nou (about 20 mins on a straight road - I do plan sometimes) so we just followed the crowds. This was at about 7pm - kick off was not until 10.15pm but the atmosphere was buzzing with fans all around.
We stopped for a quick drink along the way and then we went in - WOW. I had been to the Camp Nou on a tour when we went there a few years ago but hadn't really appreciated the size. The stadium fits 98,000 in it we were on the top tier. It's one hell of a walk but the view at the top was amazing. The ground quickly filled with 94,000 people and the show commenced. They started by introducing the whole of the Barcelona squad - which was great. Then Puyol and Pep Guardiola said a few words to the crowd and they all erupted.
We eventually kicked off at 10.30pm ish - here are some photo's:
It was a little bit like watching subbuteo at times:
We headed back to the hotel after the game (I was still full of cold and quite fluey) but the next day went for a wander into the centre and had lunch at my favourite Tapas bar (where Lady P & KBW and I spent a lot of time last time we were in Barca) where we found my pimientos and I went home happy:
Gutted that Easy Jet are pulling out of East Midlands - hopefully Doncaster Sheffield airport will get more routes.
I have sat in that top tier, my God those bloody steps are a killer! we took Little Man to see a champions league Barca v Chelsea match a couple of years ago.
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