España vs. England

One of the other activities that I had the pleasure to attend last month was the soccer game between the Spanish and English national teams that took place here in Alicante on November 13th.

Earlier that week I had gotten up earlier than normal to go to the University where they were selling tickets to students enrolled in Spanish classes through the Centro Superior de Idiomas. (They offer a lot of great activities so check out their Facebook page  https://www.facebook.com/AlicanteExperience/) Me and my friends were among the first 50 people there so we were able to get our tickets for 25 euros, which was a very good price compared to the prices online.

On that Friday I went over to my friends apartment around 5:30 and we started getting ready and then walked to the stadium from her house as it was only a 10 minute walk. We got there with plenty of time and got to look at all of the tents that were selling merchandise. I ended up buying a jersey and a commemorative scarf that is super cool!

After that we met up with the group where we checked in and got to paint our faces and got free t-shirts, that are very nice. We waited for the rest of the people coming with the University to show up and then we headed over to the official sponsors trailer where we received our tickets and got another bag of free things!

Walking into the stadium was so surreal, the grass was so green and beautifully cut, and when we found out our seats were in the first row of the second tier we were beyond excited because we had an incredible view of the entire field. We took pictures for a while and then the game eventually started. The atmosphere in the stadium was so much fun to be in, all of the cheering and general energy was contagious and helped make the experience even better. Spain ended up winning 2-0 adding to the general excitement in the stadium. I feel very blessed to have been able to attend this event as it was something that I had always wanted to do.

This last weekend I also had the opportunity to go to the Barcelona vs. Real Sociedad game at Camp Nou, where I sat in the fourth row and was able to see the players up close. I definitely recommend going to a soccer game while in Spain as the atmosphere is incredible and a great cultural experience! The soccer team in Alicante is the Hercules Futbol Club and they play at Estadio Jose Rico Perez if you want to attend a game!

Now for some pictures!