"I only wave the white flag when Real Madrid wins" - Rio , La Casa de Papel

Long time, no blogging, and when you write a travel story long time after the trip took place, it all comes out differently. Because you don't remember every single detail, but you know the feelings you had when you encountered certain places.

This is a very special post, and it took a lot for me to write it because there are a million ways I could do it. I could write it the day we took the photos, after Real Madrid beat PSG on Bernabeu, or when I got at home I thought about giving every single detail of the Bernabeu tour for the fans. As I am writing this, Real Madrid qualified for the third time in a row in the UCL final! Therefore, I decided to tell you a little story about my unconditional love for Real Madrid so you can understand why I'm smiling like a little kid at Disneyland in all these photos.

People tell me all the time " Don't you get bored of rooting for Real Madrid? What's the fun in being a fan for a team which is just expected to win everything?" Let's get one thing straight. When I became a Real Madrid fan, it was all about that Camerun effect they talk about in "La Casa de Papel" (meaning, when you see Brazil playing against Camerun at World Cup, you're always going to root for Camerun, it's human nature to root for the underdog). Real Madrid had a strong team, but weren't getting anywhere in the UCL. They were barely getting into 1/8 stage and losing there. And still, I fell in love with the team not just because of that, but I also saw they had something which represents me to the core: a strive for perfection.  I'm aware perfection isn't achievable, but the drive for it makes you the best in your field. And every single player to be presented at Bernabeu had that in his eyes and a fighting spirit! No matter how many years went by, the spirit and the need to win everything is there. And I think that's the core of Real Madrid's team spirit, I love how when we're a couple of goals down they motivate themselves and come back stronger.

And one more thing I need to point out for the ones that tell me "it's so easy when you have the most talented players in the world". I don't know how far talent gets you. There are way more talented people who never earned even 1/100 of what Real Madrid players make. And why? Because I think this team has the most hard-working players. That's the right word. And I don't mean just the amount of time they spend on the field and in the gym afterwards, but the fact they dedicate every single aspect of their life to their career at this club. See how Cristiano Ronaldo eats in order to still run like that on the field. See how Marco Asensio describes his usual days at just 22 years old (my age). I saw an interview in Spanish a while ago and I'll give you the summary: practice, lunch, a nap, dinner, some time spent with family (sometimes watching football games) & he doesn't really like to go out in clubs etc. That's someone who deserves to lift the UCL at 21, so let's not just let the newspapers praise their talent. Committing to your job with such determination gets you the trophies!

And speaking of trophies, let's get back to my Bernabeu tour. I've never been so emotional like the minute I walked into their UCL trophy room. Because I remembered every single final I saw them take the trophy home. In the last two years, it was during finals season (just like it will be this year as well) and it didn't matter. I couldn't study, I just had to live in the moment and cheer them on, even in front of my TV and with stacks of books around me. And I knew, looking at all those trophies, we deserve to get in the final this year as well, and I'm so happy to blog about this now. Just when I thought the tour couldn't get better, after the trophy room we entered a room with a short movie projected on a black wall (the players are like twice your size, to get the picture). This movie made me shed some tears of joy because it was basically the whole route we had to take in 2017 for the UCL - all the goals and big shots. Even my best friend who wasn't a Real Madrid fan per se got major goosebumps and we stayed there to watch it 3 times. Haters will say it's just common marketing, but I know I need some good fairytales in my life, and that movie was the best. Real Madrid, with all the magic goals, comebacks, secret handshakes, tough-love from the fans, fantasy records, is in my heart forever! When I hear the word "CHAMPION" the team pops into my mind first and I know it will always be like that.

PS: The outfit photos are all taken at the Bernabeu because I took so many photos on the tour my phone died and we had to rely on my bff's phone for the rest of the day. I'm wearing a H&M kimono dress because the blue details match the stadium and also because, being one of the most popular teams in the world, the Real Madrid jersey is too high-priced for me! I keep waiting for a season that will make me fall in LOVE with the jersey, because I know for a fact I'm only gonna buy one haha.

A POR LA 13!

H&M kimono dress, Primark leggings, Zara boots,  Zara bag, Pandora bracelets

12 is my favorite number because it's the day I was born, and I couldn't be happier Marcelo wears this jersey! Not only he is the best left-back, but you can see how he lives for the team, he really knows how to motivate everyone!

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With my bff, who had the toughest job- take so many photos of me because I basically wanted a photo of everything haha. On the whole tour, I've only seen one more fan who took the amount of photos I took- he was wearing a 22 T-shirt (Isco).