Joan Gamper Trophy

The Joan Gamper Trophy is an annual pre-season football competition hosted by FC Barcelona. It is named in honour of Joan Gamper a founding member, player and later president of the club and was inaugurated by Enric Llaudet, one of Gamper’s successors as club president. It is one of several summer trophies played for in Spain and considered much more than a pre-season "friendly". This year's game takes place tonight, 29th August, and FC Barcelona will play Inter Milan and looks to being a great game. The home team with their fantastic record at the Nou Camp against last year's runaway Italian champions of Serie A. Although both teams have just started their respective league campaigns, each will produce a strong team as both teams will definitely want to win the Joan Gamper trophy. All the Barça stars will be there like Henry, Ronaldinho, Messi, Xavi and also Inter's stars like Ibrahimovic, Crespo, Viera and Materazzi
The game kicks off at 22.00 at the Nou Camp.

Getting There
If you are staying in a Barcelona hotel at the moment are thinking of going to the game then getting there is easy. Either you can take the metro (blue line) to Collblanc, or (green line) to Maria Christina. From there the stadium is well signposted and you will probably here the roar from a good distance.
Ticket prices range from €25 to €120

For a more comprehensive Barcelona guide.

Swimming in The Clouds

Barcelona is well known for its beaches but some people would prefer going to a swimming pool. One of the nicest places to visit in Barcelona is Montjuic and it is there where you can find three different swimming pools to enjoy. With plenty of Barcelona accommodation near Montjuic, you're never too far from the swimming pools in Barcelona.

The first is the Bernat Picornell swimming pool which is the flagship of Barcelona’s pools. This gym and swimming pool was opened in 1970 for the European swimming championships and was remodelled and modernised for the Olympic Games in Barcelona in 1992.

Piscina Municipal de Montjuïc - Olympic swimming pool
When it comes to the view this is probably one of the best swimming pools in the world. It is the fabulous outdoor Olympic swimming pool that designed by Antoni de Moragas and built in 1992 for the diving events of the Barcelona Olympics. The swimming pool has a seating capacity of 4.100 spectators and the panoramic views of the city provide a unique backdrop for diving events, which is why this pool was chosen by Kylie Minogue for her video "Slow" in 2003.

Finally the third swimming pool is the Club Natació Montjuïc which is a members only sports club with fitness gym and outdoor swimming pool, which is covered in the winter. It has a fantastic location on Montjuic mountain. The membership fee for 2007 costs €160 membership fee and 48 euros a month.
More comprehensive Barcelona guide.

Barcelona's Got The Va Va Voom!

Unless you have been living under a rock for the past few weeks, you will have been hearing all of the rumours about the possible move of Thierry Henry of Arsenal to Barcelona. Well, over the weekend amidst all of the speculation, Henry final came out and officially made a statement to the Arsenal website confirming his departure with an emotional message. He thanked all the fans for their support over the 8 years and explained his reasons for leaving, telling them he will always have them in his heart.
His departure now has created a great frenzy for all the cules of Barcelona, as they now have one of the biggest stars in world football to join the devastating attack amongst Samuel Eto'o, Leo Messi and of course Ronaldinho. There is a lot of speculation within the club as to who might leave to allow space for Henry due to the many problems the big stars had last season. However one thing is for sure, the arrival of Henry will guarantee higher attendances at the Nou Camp. Due to their big names and wonderful style of attacking football, more and more tourists from all over the world flock every year to watch in awe of this wonderful team. Due to cheap flights and affordable accommodation available in Barcelona, the Nou Camp has become one of the biggest tourist attractions in the whole of Europe.
Ticket prices are quite reasonable and it is guaranteed that next season near Les Corts, you will be able to hear people from all over the world chanting "Thierry! Thierry! Thierry!"
Mes que un club indeed!