Friday morning I woke up early so Javier could bring me to the Granada airport for my flight to Barcelona! This flight was a milestone in my life, because it was the first time I had ever flown alone before!! Needless to say, I was extremely proud of myself. Everything went well, and I made it to Barcelona around 10:30 ready to explore! In the airport, there was a man and women doing a dance in the middle of everything trying to advertise for a chocolate company, and they were very good! It was a really nice welcome. There was a free shuttle bus from the airport to my hotel, but I couldn't find it anywhere and I got nervous and ended up taking a taxi instead. I wasn't going to wander around the airport alone all afternoon. My hotel was outside of the city center, but was very very nice; I got two twin beds to myself and the shower was awesome! It was this walk in type of thing, it was pretty sweet.
I had done some research beforehand about stuff to do in Barcelona, and with the help of hotel reception, I was able to take a bus into the city and start exploring on my own. I ended up getting off the bus two stops earlier than I had intended, so I hopped on the metro to get to where I actually wanted to be. I bought an all day pass so I could get around the city easily. Unfortunately, I ended up getting on the metro going in the opposite direction as I wanted, so I had to get off and go back...whoops. I finally ended up in Plaza Espanya, and passed a giant art museum on my way to Poble Espanyol, a Spanish open air museum that consists of stores are restaurants typical of each region of Spain. It was really pretty, all the shops represented the different types of things that are sold in those areas, which I found really interesting, especially after visiting some of them for real. The landscape was also very pretty, and I enjoyed sitting in the plaza taking in the hot sun.
I eventually left and wandered further up the road to where the 1992 Barcelona Olympics were held. The area was really pretty and open, and there were a lot of people hanging out on the grass. I also saw the Barcelona cell tower, which is really cool looking. I remember when Paul and I went to the Science Museum in Granada, I saw a model of this particular tower and thought it was so cool; when I noticed it was in Barcelona, I made it a goal of mine to find it. And then, there it was, right in front of me.
I wandered back past the national art museum and to what appeared to be the plaza de toros. Instead, it was a shopping mall, which was shocking! Anyway, I then headed to the other part of the city to see La Pedrera, a famous building/museum by Gaudi. I wasn't going to go in, but I decided to and I am glad I did. On the roof were these awesome statues like nothing I had seen before. Then on the top floor, the "attic" there was a museum of all sorts of different things which was really interesting. On the floor below that was a replica of the apartment that used to be there. I found all of it to be really cool, and it sparked my interest in Gaudi's work.
I then walked to the Sagrada Familia, one of the biggest tourist attractions in Barcelona. It is this awesome church that is still being worked on today. I decided to go inside; the ceiling was unbelievable and the stained glass was so vibrant. Underneath the church was a museum that discussed the history of the church and the continuation of its construction.
Finally, I walked to Parque Guell, the one thing I had been dying to see in Barcelona ever since I saw pictures of it in Spanish class in high school. This park was done by Gaudi, and is famous for its mosaic curved bench. It was gorgeous. I didn't really explore the park, I was too intrigued by the bench and sat there as the sun set. When it got dark I decided it was probably a good idea to find some food and head back to my hotel, considering I had no idea where I was or how to get back to my hotel.
I stopped at a grocery store and bought some frosted flakes and milk for breakfast the next day, got a spanish tortilla sandwich at a little restaurant, and then took a taxi back to my hotel. I slept wonderfully but was so excited to wake up the next day and go to the airport to meet Chris!
I took the free shuttle bus to the airport at 8:30 because I wanted to be early; Chris' flight was suppose to arrive around 9:30. I had a lot of free time so I sat and had a muffin and a cup of tea in a little cafe in the airport. The flight arrived a little earlier than expected, so I stood by the arrivals exit waiting for Chris and the rest of the Masco kids to come out. I had been waiting a while and saw no signs of them, which made me worry a little. But then, I saw the bus driver holding up the sign for "Masconomet Music Program" and knew I was in the right place, it was a relief. I introduced myself to the bus driver who had heard of me and how I was visiting the group for a few days. I spoke to him in Spanish for a while, and then one of the tour guides found us and we continued having conversations in Spanish. I was really proud that I understood everything going on in the conversations. Finally, I saw Masco kids exiting the gate, and I spotted Chris looking every which was trying to find me (he wasn't sure how I was going to find them). I ran right up to him and gave him a big hug, he was so relieved to see me. I remember all the Masco kids looking at us like "who is this girl and why is she hugging Chris?...did they just meet? what is going on?" It was really funny, because Chris hardly knew half the students on the trip since it was a combo of all 4 grades in the high school.
We sat together on the bus and couldn't stop talking. We got a mini tour of Barcelona from the bus, and got dropped off past the Olympic Stadium in this park with pretty fountains and a great view of the port and city. We had free time to walk around, and Chris and I spotten a train yard, so we obviously took pictures for Dad. Next we got dropped off at the Sagrada Familia church where we were given some free time to explore. Chris and I, along with two of his friends Kaitlin and Stephanie, went and got some lunch and then explored. I knew my way around the area pretty well since I had been there the day before, so that was helpful. It was fun to see Chris and his friends try speaking in Spanish, they were all so excited to practice their skills. They did really well too, especially since people in Barcelona don't speak the same Spanish as we are used to. Instead, they speak Catalan, which is similar to Spanish yet different. For example in the airport, the signs are written in Catalan, then English, then Spanish. And you can see the differences between Catalan and Spanish, yet they are similar as well. There was a park and pond next to the church so we sat there talking until it was time to meet up with the group again. We then took an hour bus ride to the hotel in Costa Brava, a city outside of Barcelona.
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| Trains for Dad! |
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| Yummy...BREAD!! |
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| Map of the Resort |
The hotel, or rather, resort, was awesome!! It was huge, with over 5 swimming pools and different reception desks. My room was amazing! I had a bedroom with two twin beds to myself again, along with a second room with sofa and kitchen. Like whhhaaatt!!! A lot of the students had rooms like that, how sweet! Chris and I spent the afternoon exploring the hotel; there was so much going on. Next weekend is the Feria de Abril (April Fair) which is most famous in Sevilla, but apparently also big in Barcelona. During this fair, everyone dresses up in their flamenco dresses and dance and eat food; it's like giant tent parties with friends and family all throughout the city. So, in honor of this, the resort was holding its own Feria de Abril, so women of all ages (mostly older though) were dressed up dancing, and there was food and drinks for sale. Chris and I walked through but felt a little awkward dancing. It was still really fun and a neat experience!
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| Aww what a cutie!! Look how happy he is :) |
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| My hotel room! |
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| The second room!! |
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| Feria de Abril at the Hotel |
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| I missed him!! |
We had dinner at the hotel. It was in a private function room and a band played for us the entire dinner. So, it started off with some appetizers, like bread and ham and cheeses and whatnot. But then, the waiter kept bringing more and more and more plates of food. So much so that they didn't all fit on the table! He would bring two plates of each appetizer, so clearly our table couldnt eat everything. Every 5-10 minutes he would bring out a new dish...we concluded that there were over 25 different dishes in total! We were so so soooo full! At dish 20 I asked him how many more plates there were, and he said "Oh, only 5 or 6 more...we want you to experience all the foods." It was unbelievable. Finally after our ice cream we figured we were all done, but nope...what comes out? A giant cake! Everyone was half asleep, if not actually asleep on the tables because they were so full and tired, so most left without even trying the cake. I ate and then said goodnight to Chris and fell asleep.
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| Sexy! |
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The band...all the students got up and danced, the singer was absolutely
loving it, he had the biggest smile on his face! |
Sunday we got a buffet breakfast which was even better than dinner! They had EVERYTHING!! There were fresh eggs and crapes, and churros with chocolate, and fruits and breads and pastries and cereals. I could've stayed there forever! Chris and I passed out on the bus ride to Barcelona, we were so exhausted. We finally got there much more refreshed and went to the Gothic Quarter to explore. The chorus was performing in the afternoon, so while they got ready, the rest of us got to walk around. Chris and I saw some pretty sweet things; he was really fascinated by the inside of the old churches...he was really enjoying himself and it made me happy.
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| Chris got a little sleepy :) |
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| On Sundays, people gather and do dances in circles with their friends and listen to live music in front of the church. There were a lot of older people dancing which was really cute. |
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| The live band |
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| Chris getting some water...he was so fascinated by the drinking fountains |
We went to Spanish mass at 1. It was definitely a cultural experience, I had never been to a mass in Spain before. The chorus performed a couple of times throughout the mass which was pretty cool as well. Chris and I actually understood a lot of what was going on as well, which was kind of exciting! We were super hungry after mass so we got some food at a little restaurant with outside seating. Chris' friends Kaitlin, Stephanie, and Grace came with us, they were super sweet. I am so glad they were so welcoming and happy to have me around.
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| The choir teacher singing the opening song to mass |
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| Me, Guer, and Chris...Perfection |
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| Me, Chris, and one of the tour guides (the one I hung out with in the airport) |
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| Sibling Love |
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| Me, Chris, and his friends at lunch :) |
We were suppose to go to the Picasso Museum after lunch because it's free after 3 on Sundays, but the line was so long that we decided to skip it and explore one of Barcelona's most famous shopping streets, Las Ramblas. We were right by the water, so we went to relax by all the boats in the port for a while before walking down the street to check out the street venders and shops.
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| Chris and his camera... |
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| Chris and his friends |
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| My new friends |
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| Probably my favorite picture from the trip, theyre all so cute :) |
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| Love |
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| Bye Bye Buggy! |
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| I love you!! |
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| Waving goodbye as I walked down to the metro |
Finally it was time for me to say goodbye to Chris and my new friends. I was so sad to go, but I was so thankful for the time I did get to spend with my brother. It was one of the best weekends I've had the whole time being here. I could tell that Chris was finally stress-free without any connections to home, and being away was definitely good for him, especially since he got to see me as well! I couldn't have asked for anything better.
I took a bus to the airport and flew back to Granada without a problem. I made it back to the apartment around 11 where the family was very excited to have me back. At least it's nice to come home to people who have missed you, it makes going back to Granada a little less miserable after such fun weekends. I'm so thankful this weekend worked out as well as it did, I have Mom and Dad to thank for that! They are truly the best!!
Nicole and I rushed home from the bus station and showered quickly. One of the teachers at the high school we volunteer at invited us to a concert at the Palacio de Congreso in Granada, which is right near our house. Apparently it was a fundraiser for "Viva la Vega" which is a field/vegetation area outside of the city. They are trying to raise money so that the city doesn't plow over it and build more buildings. The concert was really fun, the music was all in Spanish and there were 4 bands that performed. The first, called Ninos Mutantes, was an alternative band that I enjoyed. The second singer was Miguel Rios, a man who apparently introduced rock in Spain. The crowd went crazy when he came on stage, and it was really funny to see my teacher and her husband singing along to the songs and dancing in their seats. A third band came on, but it was really late and Nicole and I were falling asleep in our seats, so we went home and passed out in bed.
As I had said before, I am swamped with projects. One of which is a reflection presentation on my experience in Spain. All the students in my UNH group are required to do one, and this picture was in one of the student's presentations. It really captures everyones' good sides...
