BARCELONA, Spain _ It was a quiet ride down the mountain, either because of sadness of leaving Cantonigros, the weariness of a week of training -- or both.
Some of the locals of the hilltop training base came out to say goodbye, including Jordi, Laura, Anna and especially Aunts Lores and Montserrat -- who were on hand the night before to watch the scrimmage, wishing the New Jerseyans well and hoping to see them again.
(A Thank you gift to Jordi)
It was off to Barcelona for the second of the two-week Spanish adventure, starting with 90-minute trek back to the Mediterranean Coast, a two-hour tour of Camp Nou _ Barcelona's 92,000-seat stadium, and, of course, the obligatory shopping stop at the European champion's "mega store" -- two floors of everything FCB, from game jerseys to bed sheets.
(Ronaldinho, i.e. Drew Magee, takes the team out of the tunnel onto the field at Camp Nou)
The guided tour of Camp Nou included a few bonuses, like getting beyond the ropes to stand next to the carpet-like grass, maintained by a full-time staff of 15 and protected on this day from the scorching August sun by mesh-like netting strung from touchline to touchline.
(En la cancha de Camp Nou -- on the field at Camp Nou)
From the touchline to the pressbox atop the half-century old facility, the Princeton gang were given a view of one of soccer's cathedrals, an iconic stadium known throughout the world as the home to some of the game's greats, past and present, and the site of legendary matches from the Spanish league to the European Champions Cup to the Olympics and even the World Cup.
(The view from the directors' box)
A walk through FC Barcelona's museum inside the stadium included some familiar sites, the highlight video of the club's run to last year's European title, the championship trophy and even Hristo Stoitchkov's Chicago Fire jersey.
Purchases of scarves, shirts and other paraphernalia followed the tour of Barca's stadium, reportedly visited by more people every year than any of the city's museums. The parents of campers Dave and Matt Mangone, Frank and Deanne Mangone, joined the entourage at the store, shaking their heads like everybody else at the multitude of items for sale.
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