Mini-Kolo and #MiniBreeze at the Emirates Stadium

We had a very exciting adventure yesterday.  Our wonderful friend @TourGuideTed arranged a trip to the Emirates Stadium, where our team Arsenal play.  We met @MarthBBear, @ReddyTeddy and @RosieBear there as well.  This adventure started with one of #MiniBreeze's favourite things, going on the car ferry.

Mini-Kolo and #MiniBreeze needed to check that the loading was going well.  After that #MiniBreeze turned his attention to his surroundings.  He thought the ferry was very smart.

The ferry St Clare has been refurbished and #MiniBreeze was impressed.  After that he had a look at the harbour.

This is Fishbourne where the Ryde car ferry arrives and leaves.

After a long drive and a trip on the London Underground which was very crowded (wanted to take pictures for #MiniBreeze but couldn't move), we arrived at the stadium.  Arsenal's emblem is a cannon so Mini-Kolo was keen to check out the safety of the cannon before allowing the bears to go near them.

Once he had declared them safe he joined the others for a group photo.

You have to be careful taking pictures here to make sure you get more than the first three letters of our team's name in.

The tour began with a trophy cabinet with some (of the many) trophies Arsenal had won through the years.

We went up to the top of the stadium and looked down at the pitch.  See the cannon represented by some white seats among the red ones.  The red thing sticking out is the players' tunnel where the teams run out at the beginning of the games.

We soon found the directors' seats and had a rest!!  These are not the type of seats we sit in when we go to games, although ours are still quite comfortable.

Mini-Kolo soon found the directors' bar!!  Not open unfortunately!!

While Mini-Kolo was trying to get a drink (non-alcoholic of course), #MiniBreeze found the special trophy that Arsenal were awarded for being the ONLY team ever to go unbeaten in the Premier League, in 2004.  Other teams are trying to copy this but so far no takers, that Arsenal team were known as the Invincibles.  #Mini-Breeze was impressed!!

Now Mini-Kolo was wearing his kit as he was hoping to be signed up by the club.  He thought if he stood on the reception desk of the directors' box (note the club needs to add an apostrophe here), he might get noticed.

On consideration, a better way of getting signed up would be meeting he manager, Arsene Wenger, he found his head but not the rest of him.  The same for Arsenal legend Denis Bergkamp.

Mini-Kolo and @ReddyTeddy were thrilled to find this time capsule that was planted when the stadium was built.  We don't know what it contains but people finding it in a few centuries time will know how great Arsenal are.

Mini-Kolo couldn't resist being photographed with the team.

He found the entrance to the player's tunnel, he was planning how he will run out of the tunnel when he makes his debut with the team.

The showers fascinated Mini-Kolo, he is not usually that keen on showers but he was amazed by the size of these ones.

Of course he needed to sit in the changing room and see how it will feel when he is changing with the rest of the team.

He needed to investigate where Mr Wenger sits during the game, so he checked out the home dugout.

When he and the others got onto the pitch he was so overcome with emotion that he fell over!!

#MiniBreeze had other interests, he noticed that the red seats were bleached a bit by the sun.  This suggested that he might find a sunpuddle to enjoy.

These are the seats were get to sit in, comfortable but not quite like those seats we showed earlier that the directors get to sit in.

#MiniBreeze was not desperately impressed by being told to keep off the grass, but he had found a sunpuddle so he wasn't too concerned.  He is really keen on the football though!!

Finally we reached the press room where Mr Wenger gives his pre-match press conference.  Mini-Kolo took this opportunity to show that he could give a very convincing press conference.

We moved on to the Arsenal museum, where Mini-Kolo and #MiniBreeze found an old advertisement for a game.

They really knew how to do things in those days!!

Mini-Kolo went to meet our favourite ever Arsenal player, Thierry Henry, one of the Arsenal Invincibles of 2004.

#MiniBreeze met the great Arsenal manager of the 1930s, Herbert Chapman, who said he would make Arsenal the greatest team in the world.  #MiniBreeze was impressed!!

Well it was a wonderful day but we had to leave before the others went to eat, because we had to catch a ferry and these get very booked at this time of year, as our island is a tourist island.  When he arrived home Mini-Kolo presented me with the certificate to show that we had taken the tour of the stadium!

How impressive is that!!!

Thank you for reading this rather long blog.  #MiniBreeze has got more adventures to come before he moves on to his next family.  We know he had a lot of fun yesterday.  He did get fish and chips when we got back to Fishbourne, but as he tends to he had eaten them before we got a photo!!  Next time!!