A Trip to Remember - A Dreem Destination Challenge

Xavi Hernandez recently took over the leadership of the Barcelona football club as the Head coach, with the mission to rebuild, revitalise and restore the team. I am a fan of the football club but since Messi left the club, it has been tough for the club generally.

Xavi is like a saviour who has come to save the football club from crashing and so, he has high expectation to live up to. Although he is still inexperienced when it comes to his level of coaching, I strongly believe he will do just well. He has already imposed a number of rules in a bid to stamp his authority and heighten discipline which I feel the team had lost.

You might be wondering why I'm talking about football inside a supposed traveling article. This answer is simple. Barcelona new head coach (Xavi) will be in charge of the team for the very first time this Saturday when they host Espanyol in Camp NOU and thanks to @dreemport who surprised me yet again with a whooping $50,000, I will be able to watch the game live in Barcelona. Yes, you heard me right... I am going to Barcelona, the sunny capital of the Catalan region. 🕺

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@dreemport informed me that I have 7days to explore any place in the world and I'm to go with 5 friends this time around. I thought of going with @starstrings01, but I remembered he would be busy at school so I ended up inviting @sunnyag, @tattoodjay, @wrestlingdesires, @samsmith1971, and my baby girl @iskafan. They all accepted the invitation, and were so happy about the trip even though it was difficult for @tattoodjay and @sunnyag to convince their wives.

Since we ain't coming from the same country, we agreed to meet on Friday at the Catalonia Rigoletto Hotel, a hotel which is 0.4miles from Camp NOU. Remember the main reason for this trip is to watch the game so when I did my research, I focused my attention in hotels closer to the stadium and then made the bookings online. I booked 6 rooms for the 6 of us, so we could all be comfortable since we had more than enough cash.

Barcelona will also be hosting Benfica in their Champions League game on Tuesday, so I bought an online ticket for both the game against Espanyol and that of Benfica. I can't come this far to miss the games, so I had to make all necessary arrangements before it's too late. I don't want a situation where they would run out of tickets, that would be a disaster.

We all arrived on Friday and met at the hotel. It was good seeing everyone for the very first time except my babygirl (@iskafan) who came with me from Nigeria. We headed to our various rooms to freshen up and rest after eating at the restaurant. We met at the café later in the evening to discuss life, hive and other things and when it became late, we left for our rooms for a sweet night rest.

The next day was the game day. I was so excited because I will be watching the game live. We decided to hire a car for the period of our stay in Barcelona instead of looking for a cab every time we want to go anywhere. We left for the stadium early enough to avoid the rush and to be able to locate our seat in time.

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After waiting for about 2 hours, the game started. At half-time, Espanyol was already leading. It was looking so difficult for the Barcelona team to penetrate their opponent defence and score, but I didn't lose hope. At the start of the second half, Barcelona scored to make it 1:1. They continued pressuring Espanyol until the 90mins, they finally got the much deserved victory. They scored to win the game by 2 goals to 1. Xavi won his first game as the head coach in Barcelona, and it was going to be a day to remember for a very long time.

We were so happy that our coming down to Barcelona wasn't in vain after all. We then left for our hotel room and partied all through the night to celebrate Xavi's big win.

The next day being Sunday, we all went for worship. It was awesome in the presence of God. This was the first time I will be worshiping in another country and I loved every bit of the worship.

We decided to donate half of our money to the church as our offering to God. The pastor blessed us and prayed for God to always grant our heart desires. That prayer is all I needed, and I was happy we did what we did.

After the worship, we decided to visit the cinema to see a movie titled Red Notice. This movie is all about an Interpol agent attempt to hunt down and capture the world most wanted art thief.

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I bet you won't regret watching this movie. It was an interesting movie and I enjoyed watching it. I never knew @samsmith1971 loved ice cream so much. 😂... She finished hers and collected mine. Please note that you are owing me ice cream. I will collect it when I see you again.

On Monday, we decided to take a tour of the city parks and museums because we were told that Barcelona has some of the most inspiring and unique architecture in the world. So we started the tours with a visit to Antoni Gaudi's whimsical architecture which included Casa Batllo, Lasagrada Familia and Park Guello.

It was tempting to stay outside and admire the building for free, but we heard some other visitors saying it's more than worth the extra coin to explore the inside of the building and so, we paid to experience what they were talking about.

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We were not only wowed by the architecture, but we were impressed with the audiovisual guide as well, which showed pictures of the building from more than 100years ago for us to compare. It was indeed worth every penny as @sunnyag and @tattoodjay didn't miss taking shots of every one of these artifacts.

The next day was another match day. We decided to visit the Camp NOU for a tour first before the game time. Believe me when I tell you that even though you ain't a football fan, Camp Nou is worth a visit. Camp NOU is the largest stadium in Europe, and it has an on - site museum that showcases trophies and awards the team received over the years.

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We had mixed emotions during and after the tour. We were however not happy because they didn't give us access to the player's locker rooms and the field but apart from that, it was worth every bit of our time.

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After waiting for an hour plus, the game stated with and unlike the last game against Espanyol, Barcelona dominated the game both in the first and second half. The team were at their best as the won the game with 3 goals. I guess Xavi is the right man for the team after all. Let's hope so as we keenly anticipate the results of subsequent games. The city of Barcelona was filled with celebrations all through that night.

On Wednesday, we visited the Ciutadella Park which was created in the 19th century and considered the greatest oasis in Barcelona. It includes the city zoo, the catalan Parliament, a small lake, a large fountain and a museum. The zoo was the height of our visit to the park as I enjoyed seeing the animals display their talents. 😂... It was fun seeing them do their thing especially the monkey that threw banana back to @iskafan when she offered the banana to him.

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We left the park to the magic fountain which is situated below the Palan Nacional on the montjuic mountain and near the placa d'espanya. We went there in the evening because we were told that they only activate the fountain in the evening. Believe me, it was a beauty to behold because we got to watch a show of light, water and music. Please don't forget to visit this magic fountain anytime you find yourself in Barcelona. Please help share the pictures with us @tattoodjay. 😂.

It was the last day already, and I was thinking we still had 2 more days. Guess I was enjoying my stay in Barcelona. We visited Las rambles which is the busiest tourist areas in Barcelona lined with bars and restaurants. The street performances are the weirdest and most electrifying in the world. We enjoyed watching these artists perform, and we showered them with lots of money.

We also stopped at the bustling Boqueria market for a plate of paella and sangria which is not a traditional Catalonia cuisines, but @samsmith1971 had to go for salad and pa amb tomaquet (bread with tomatoes and olive oil) which is a traditional Catalonia cuisine. After eating, we left for the shores of La Barceloneta which is famous for its sandy beach, numerous restaurants and nightclubs to relax with a cool drink even as we enjoyed a picturesque view of the Mediterranean.

Since it was our last night there, we decided to end our night at the karaoke bar where we took turns doing a karaoke. You need to hear these guys singing... 😂 😂... I laughed all through when I heard @wrestlingdesires, @sunnyag and @tattoodjay singing. Guess singing isn't their thing. It was indeed a beautiful and memorable experience.

We all left for our various countries the next day hoping for a better and bigger re-union. Before we left, I divided $6000 amongst us since we still have enough money left. We all got $1000 each and I pleaded with everyone to make sure they buy something for their families. Hope we all did that?

Here is the breakdown of how we spent the $50,000.

• Hotel Booking (1week)= $6000
• Game tickets = $1200
• All restaurant fees =$2100
• Car hire = $500
• Church Donation = $25,000
• Movie tickets plus ice cream = $1600
• Tour fees = $2900
• Visit to the crutadella park = $800
• Visit to Las ramblas = $3400
• Visit to La Barcelonata & karaoke bar =$500
• Amount shared amongst us =$6000

Total Expenses = $50,000.

This is my imaginary entry for the #dreemdestination challenge.

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