Europe Vacation 2022 - Day 13 - Walking Tour

Jul 18,

After the stadium tour we took the subway to Picadilly Circus (square), walked by Soho Square, went to Regency Street, and took the subway to Notting Hill. Along the way we went into a few sports and jewelry shops, and bought 3 19th century prints of leaves because we thought they were cute. That store also had some antique music sheets that were pretty cool, but they were also too big to transport back home without risking bending and ruining them. So we didn’t get them.

After our 7 hour outing, and all that walking, we took the subway back to the apartment and everyone went to their own little spot to get some alone time. It was quite peaceful.

Europe Vacation 2022 - Day 13 - Arsenal Stadium Tour

Jul 18,

This morning we left the house at around 9:30 am and went straight to the Arsenal Stadium. This is Lionel’s favorite team, so today’s tour had more meaning than Tottenham’s. The stadium is not nearly as new, but it is still a nice facility. It was scorching hot, so it was a good thing that most of the tour was inside. 

From the tour I liked that throughout they also recognize their female teams, and the important reminders on the walls and on the floor of what it takes to win.  We also took our family picture with the green screen, touching a trophy, but it didn’t turn out well so we didn’t buy it. Lionel did get his “personalized certificate” of attendance at the end. They also had a museum but it was separate from the tour and the store, which seems like a planning and customer experience fail. Lionel wanted to go but it was too hot and Sofia seemed quite bored by then, so he decided it was ok to skip it.

We were supposed to also go to the Chelsea Stadium, and Lionel was told it was ok to just show up, but then turned out all the spots were reserved - so we didn’t go. Neither Lionel or Bella support that team anyway, so it is ok. 

From the 4 stadiums we have toured, the Barca one remains my favorite (followed by the Real Madrid one) for multiple reasons including the fact that the stadium and museum tour are intermingled, and the store at the end of the tour is pure marketing genius. It is by far the biggest one I have seen to date, with all kinds of trinkets.

Europe Vacation 2022 - Day 12 - Nostalgia

 Jul 17,

This trip is making me feel nostalgic because time with your “babies” does fly crazy fast. I can’t believe that in another year Sofia will be in college and starting her life away from us. I am not ready for that. It feels like it was just yesterday that we took these old pictures. They do say rather correctly that when you have kids the days are long but the years are short. There is so much truth in that.

Europe Vacation 2022 - Day 12 - Tottenham Stadium Tour

 Jul 17,

After lunch we took a taxi to the Tottenham stadium. While I don’t follow soccer, and therefore these things have less meaning for me, I do enjoy the stadium tours. Sofia not so much, but today it was her turn to hang in there for that portion of the day.

The stadium is only 3 years old, so everything is new and state of the art. Apparently it is the only stadium dedicated to both Soccer and American Futbol, so they have this complicated hydraulic system to switch from the real grass (for soccer) to the turf (for American Futbol). They also have an NFL room and several fancy sections for those who don’t mind dropping big bucks to sit and eat there.

Apparently this team doesn’t have as many championships (and money) as others do, so their tour is not as big and impressive as the one for Barca and Real Madrid, but the people working there seemed very proud of their team. I personally liked that everything was so nice and new, that they had an area for female coaches, and that they made themselves useful to the community during the pandemic housing some outpatient services for one of the local hospitals.