Barcelona

Hola Amigos, estamos en Barcelona. On Wednesday our group left Nice for Barcelona, it was our final bus excursion and it took approximately 8 hours to arrive. During the ride, we passed through the Pyrenees Mountains which seperate Southern France from Spain and were able to take in the beautiful scenery, we even got to see a gorgeous red sunset. While on the bus ride we got the chance to watch To Catch a Theif with Grace Kelly, the late princess of Monaco, then we watched Pretty Woman and finished with the epic The Lord of the Rings. After we arrived in our hotel, we had a very filling "Spanish" meal of alfredo pasta, pork and orange sorbet.

On Thursday we had our first full day out in the city of Barcelona with our tour guide Jordy. During the tour, we learned about Gaudi, the famous Spanish architect and how his work shaped the city of Barcelona between 1880-1925. Our first stop was at the Parque de Guell, which was created by Gaudi himself and housed three homes of the rich bourguoise and created a green oasis for the citizens. Next, we went to the Gaudi masterpiece, the Sagrada Familia, which is an unfinished church with ornate detail and unique scultures on each of the 8 spires. However, they are still in the process of finishing the 18 towers, which is planned to conclude in 17 years... I guess we came 17 years to early to see this completed church. Following the church visit, we stopped at Las Ramblas, the infamous city center of Barcelona near the gothic quarter. Some of us were craving some "American food," so we stopped at the Hard Rock Cafe for burgers and fries. Later, we stopped by the Olympic Stadium of the 1992 Barcelona games, on our way we got a great view of the city and were able to see how truly expansive the city of Barcelona is. The most exciting stop was at the soccer stadium of Barcelona which houses 98,700 people currently and will be expanded to 114,000 in the near future. Many people stopped in the gift shop and were able to purchase all their favorite soccer apparel.

The afternoon was free, so many people went into the city center to go shopping, while others went back to the hotel. Following dinner a few people decided to attend the Corella Ballet, while others decided to spend their last night out in Barcelona.

Unfortunately, it´s bittersweet to know that tomorrow we are heading home, but still excited to tell everyone about our European adventures.

Nina Serratore, Kerri Groff, Taylor Drenttel, and Jenny Broman



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