We made it to Brugge yesterday. We’re spending two days at the Relais Bourgondisch Cruyce in Brugge before we go to Brussels for our last two nights in Europe. We chose Belgium for three main reasons. First, it was a quick Eurostar train ride from London. Second, American Airlines flies non-stop back to Chicago from Brussels that was available on miles. Third, Nicole and I had not been to Belgium together.
I actually almost decided not to go to this game tonight. Let’s go back to last night – our first …

From a European perspective, the biggest event I was attending this week was the Champions League match between Inter Milan and Tottenham at White Hart Lane. Inter Milan were coming into the tournament as defending champions and the hype had translated into high ticket prices.
Beg, Borrow and Deal
As usual I showed up to the stadium with no ticket in hand expecting to buy a ticket from a ticket tout (most tickets online were well over £350 for the cheapest seats). Most touts on the street wanted more than £200 for …

We landed in London on Friday morning and were planning to stay with our friends for five days. We chose London because our friends have a son eight months older than Dylan. Thus, it would be a good “first” trip to Europe to see how well we could travel. Arsenal was home against West Ham United on Saturday afternoon meaning I would be spending the day with the Arsenal boys.
Pre Game Dining
Nicole’s favorite part of hanging out with the Arsenal boys is the great lunch we go to before the …

Two weeks ago I attended the Chicago Fire game in a luxury box. For $5, I received parking, a luxury box ticket and unlimited food and drinks. A deal that is nearly impossible to beat. However, with no official “deal,” I came close as close as I could to equaling that deal last night in my second visit to Toyota Park this season.
Beg, Borrow and Deal
I was already at a severe disadvantage since I had to pay $15 for parking. But, I knew I would find a cheap ticket. I …

A few weeks ago, I wrote about attending the Chicago Bulls game with students from my Masters program at Northwestern University. That night, I wrote that I had to pay more than I normally would since we were attending the game as a group.
Last night, the “group” experience benefited me greatly. This time around we were attending the Chicago Fire’s home opener at Toyota Park versus the San Jose Earthquakes. However, we had a luxury box with unlimited food, drinks and parking included for only $5 – essentially free when …

It was my last night in the Bay Area and there were three games to choose between. My top priority was the San Jose Earthquakes game since I have never attended a game at Buck Shaw Stadium. The other two options were the San Jose Sharks game at 7:00 pm or the Golden State Warriors game at 7:30 pm. Since I had already attended a Warriors and Sharks game earlier in the week, the Earthquakes was the obvious choice.
This time I went with my family – Mom, …