El viaje a España!

So, when I graduated from high school I had a really wonderful opportunity to travel to Spain. I had been taking Spanish since eighth grade and really wanted to use it in a different country. It just so happened that our school was offering a 10 day trip to Spain that summer, and my best friend Caitlin and I decided it was exactly what we had been hoping for for five years. So we set about convincing our parents that we should be allowed to go. To make my parents feel better about me going across the world I suggested that Jessica go as my chaperone... which is funny because she wasn't that much older than me anyway. But, I think that did the ticket and they started going to the meetings. :) Anyways, I have been thinking a lot about this trip lately and how fun it was so I dug through everything and found my journal that I wrote in while I was there. Sorry it is long, I just typed up everything that I had written in my journal. It really was a magical place, and a trip that I won't ever forget!

June 8, 2009; Planes

Right now I’m on a plane heading to Chicago. After that, we fly to Frankfurt, Germany… and then, Madrid, Spain! I am so excited to go there. It still hasn’t really set it, and I don’t know when it will. Caitlin and I have been planning on this trip since we met and took our Spanish class together in 8th grade, and it is actually going to happen! It IS happening! So Jessica came too, because that was one of the things that made my parents agree to let me go. She is serving as a chaperone… which is the most hilarious thing I’ve ever heard haha. So it’s us three and then two other girls, Hailey and Courtney. Hailey’s mom came as another chaperone and then there is my teacher and her husband.

June 9, 2009; Flight to Germany and Madrid

Today we finally arrived in Spain! We flew in to Germany and that was cool! It was so gorgeous to fly over that country; everything was GREEN. We spent some time in the airport for our layover (not long enough to leave) but it was really cool to hear everyone speaking in German! Kind of unnerving though too because we couldn’t understand anything that was going on. It was also our first time using Euros so we had to go to the place in the airport and then switch all of our dollars to Euros. Jessica and I made our first purchase with Euros, and our only purchase in Germany, which was a delish pastry called a “croissant au chocolat”. It was just as tasty as it sounds. Then we hopped on another plane and landed in Madrid!

Germany!!

Germany!

Finally in Madrid!

The overall, general outline of the trip is:

• Madrid
• Córdoba
• Sevilla
• Costa del Sol
• Morocco
• Granada
• Valencia
• Barcelona

                                     

Flying into Spain wasn’t as pretty as when we flew into Germany. It was pretty brown and dry. When we landed in Madrid our tour guide, Fernando, was late, so we hung out for a while waiting for him. He picked us up and we drove through Madrid, saw the Palacio Real (which we couldn’t visit because it was closed for a ceremony). Then we drove out of the city to a town called Leganés. It’s nice here, I like it a lot. It’s not very rich but not very poor either. Our hotel is called Tryp Leganés. There is a bedé in our own room! The thing that washes your butt off after you go to the bathroom. J I’m going to try it tomorrow! I wasn’t brave enough today. Our beds are nice and FIRM. Also, they’re double beds pushed together and you have to put the room key in a slot by the door in order for the lights and air to turn on. It’s pretty funny. There is only half of a wall for the shower in the bathroom. For dinner we went to a restaurant with a huge bull skin on the wall right by me haha. It was good though; cut up onions, peppers and tomatoes to start, then pasta, and then a strawberry custard for dessert. The spoons they gave us were like tiny shovels haha.

This is how I felt about the bedé the next day. After I used it. Jessica and I just couldn't stop laughing haha.

In our first hotel you had to keep your room key in a slot in order to have the lights on. Kinda strange.

Writing in my journal after our first day in Madrid! Notice the two twin beds pushed together.

June 10, 2009; Madrid

Well, today was AWESOME! We woke up and had breakfast downstairs in the hotel (like a continental breakfast with a TON of pastries) and I had a delicious pastry. Then we got on the bus and drove around looking at stuff for a little while. There are some AMAZING things here! We saw a new train station in downtown Madrid.  It was built after the old station was blown up in a terrorist attack on March 11, 2004. There was a memorial that was a glass cylinder in the middle of a roundabout with all of the names of the people who were killed inside.

Madrid has six gates (puertas) in the city. These gates used to connect to walls that bordered the city a LONG time ago. So, we’ve seen all of those which is pretty cool. They are all beautiful.

We also saw a tribute to Christopher Columbus! It’s cool to see the history of this side of his voyage; he came from Spain over to where I live. J

We made two short stops today; one was at a park with lots of trees and statues and fountains. The other was basically the same thing… only with a large Egyptian monument that was a gift to the Spaniards. The second one had a great view overlooking the city.

This was a temple that was built by Egyptians and was later given to Spain. They did sacrifices and other rites here.

Coolest tree I've ever seen!

After playing and walking around the parks, we went to La Reina Sofía Museo; a museum of modern art; impressionist museum. Usually I don’t like modern, impressionist art, but this place had a pretty nice mixture. About half of it had classical art and the other half was more modern. Picasso’s most famous painting was in there, Gernica, which was really cool to see. I had learned about it in one of my classes so it was more interesting after I knew a little bit what it was about. Guernica is a city in northern Spain, and this painting was made by Picasso after there was a bombing there during the Spanish Civil War. We also saw some paintings by Dalí, which I had also learned about. Outside the museum we a guy paint a really cool painting with his fingers in about 5 minutes. It was intense.

                                   

                          

After visiting the museum we had free time to wander around the city a little bit. Courtney, Caitlin, Jessica and I all stayed together and walked through the Puerta del Sol a little bit before going to a restaurant for some lunch. We didn’t get as much time there as I wanted; I did a project on Madrid this year and this plaza was a big part of it. At the restaurant, I talked to the waiter in Spanish the whole time! It was so fun. I told him where we were from, what we were doing, and then I ordered all of our food. I got paella, which is a really popular dish in Spain. It is mainly a rice, vegetable and meat dish with lots of spices. I ordered a seafood paella even though I’m not a huge fan of seafood, just because la paella del mar is the most popular dish in Spain; and seafood is a really big part of their commerce. When he brought it out it had two crawdads and a shrimp on it… with eyes and legs! They kept falling off haha. I didn’t eat those but I tried everything else around it and it was all really good!

In Spain anytime that you order water they bring it in these fancy bottles.

Paella! Complete with eyes and legs. 

 Gazpacho! 

I loved the cobble stone in all of the Plazas!

Walking around Madrid!

Some performers in the Plaza!

This statue is a symbol of Madrid. It is a bear and a strawberry tree and I don't think anyone really knows why this is their symbol. I didn't even know there was such a thing as a strawberry tree, but apparently it is native to the Mediterranean region. Go figure.

After lunch we went to La Plaza Mayor, where Vantage Point was filmed. It really is a beautiful place, and the buildings are amazing. We walked around there for a while and then we went shopping for a little bit. I bought a cool green wallet with orange flowers on it.

After shopping we went to a huge garden/park called Parque de Retiro and walked around. We sat on a bench with all of these trees around us, and it was just so nice! A dirt path lined with trees went through the parking, and it all just looked like what I pictured European parks would look like. There was a lake and all of these people were out on it in boats, which looked so fun! There were a lot of people painting outside and playing music, which only added to the whole “European Park” stereotype that I had.

After visiting the park we went inside a huge Catholic Church called La Iglesia para Geranimo. It was about a block away from El Prado and it was absolutely beautiful. It was up on a hill and we went inside and looked around for a little bit before heading inside El Prado.

Us outside the church. It was so pretty inside!

Museo del Prado!!

 Even the outside of El Prado was beautiful with their landscaping.

The group outside El Prado!

In El Prado we saw Goya works, El Greco, and Velasquez (including Las Meninas, which I LOVE), and much more too. El Prado is a much more classical museum than La Reina Sofia. We rode the metro after visiting the museum which was cool. It was also kind of scary because Fernando said that we had to be really careful, or at least one of us would get pickpocketed. So we held onto our stuff really tight. Dinner was fun that night it was upstairs above a restaurant. It was pork and French fries, with honey dew for dessert and a tuna salad to start with. When we were done eating dinner we went back to our hotel and then Caitlin, Courtney, Jessica and I went to call our parents and get some ice cream. We got Magnum bars which are only sold in Europe which is the saddest thing ever because it is soooo delicious! Then we went up on the roof for a little while and looked at the stars. Ok, here are some random facts about Madrid:

•  Europe in general uses Military Time and Celsius. It always takes me a minute to figure out what time it is when I look up at the clock on the bus.
• Gas is around 5 euros a gallon! So everyone here drives little cars because gas is so expensive.
• There are two days a week when you can’t drive in the city, and starting soon no cars over three years old can drive in the city at all!
• It is insanely expensive and difficult to get a driver’s license. Everyone fails the test at least twice.
• The southern half of Madrid is old and popular for tourists; the northern half is full of rich and wealthy people
• Madrid has one of the “purest” forms of Spanish in the whole country
• There are six million people in Madrid
• They are hoping that the Olympics will be held here in 2016, so they have posters all over the city that say “Tengo una corazón” which means something like “We feel it in our bones”
• Everyone smokes here
•  A lot of people exercise too. There are these parks that look like little kids parks, but adults go there to work out
• The siesta is between 1-5 p.m. because in the summer it can get up to 115 degrees here
• The time difference in Madrid is 8 hours ahead of home
•  A euro is about $1.50
• The toilets flush weird

June 11, 2009; Córdoba and Sevilla

Today we ended in Sevilla, which is a really, really cool city! Jessica and I slept in because I turned the alarm off because I was wide awake from 3-6 this morning. So today I was pretty tired. Anyways, we left Madrid and drove for a while, stopping at a small town called Puerta Lapice. It was a farming town and all about Don Quixote. There was a square toilet there and the way to flush a toilet is on top! P.S., I used the bedé. I hated it; I don’t understand why that is a thing. But Puerta Lapice was a really fun town, I liked it a lot. They were also remodeling an old church in the town square. We went inside and it was really pretty! Small but nice. I took a very small piece of broken brick and Jessica and Caitlin told me that I was going to hell for stealing from a church L  

So, in Don Quijote there is a scene that has become insanely famous. He sees a windmill and believes that it is a giant and attacks it. Of course, he doesn't "kill" it because it is not alive, but her really does make a valiant effort. Everything in this town had to do with Quijote and windmills.

The church

Don Quijote y Sancho. Two of the most famous characters in literature. Ever. That book is hilarious.

The little pieces of brick from the church that I stole.

Famous excerpt from Don Quijote.

Really large pottery as well as

 

 smaller pottery. 

Being beautiful Spaniard women...

For some reason there was an alligator hanging from the ceiling. ?

Special Don Quijote Windmill cheese. Looking back, we really should have bought it just to try it.

After walking around the town for a little while we got back on the bus and drove another hour before we stopped for lunch. I got a little bit sick on the bus today but I started feeling a lot better after lunch. I had a jamón y queso bocadillo and later bought a white chocolate éclair and an apple. The ham here is cured and is very salty. We drove again after lunch and then stopped in Córdoba. That place was really, really cool! It really felt like a totally different country. I felt like I was in Aladdin! As we were driving in, we saw a huge aqueduct, or what was left of one. Then we went and saw a huge cathedral that used to be a Mosque that was built by the Muslims in 750 AD. Then in the 1200’s the Europeans took it over and made it into a cathedral. It was really cool to see. There were these arches that were so colorful and just took your breath away. The Arab architecture truly is beautiful! Also, they had tombs underground, and we walked over the top… which was really creepy.

Our first view of Cordoba from the bus. It was so cool!

This place was so hot and dry and the structures were all the same color (the dirt) that I really did feel like I was in a different world.

  The river was even that same color!

The tombs!

The famous arches! They were so cool!

 

It was originally built as an Arab Mosque, but then the Christians took it over and made it into a Cathedral. It is pretty strange because the architecture is all Arab design and in parts of it the decor is as well, and then you walk into a different wing and all of the sudden it looks like you are in a Catholic Cathedral in Italy. 

So beautiful! 

The Guard Tower

After walking around there we left and walked outside and saw some cool things. It was really hot today! Also it was Corpus Cristi so a lot of the stores were closed. Spain has been having a really bad drought lately, so that is why everything looked dead and brown. There were a bunch of vineyards that we saw on the drive here, because they produce a lot of wine in Spain. Same thing with olives; there are olive trees all over the country side, along with oranges and sunflowers. Thousands of sunflowers! The farmers use them to feed their cows and pigs. Weird. Also, when we were in Córdoba, they warned us about gypsies. They had told us first of all about the gypsies and flamenco dancing. The gypsies brought it down with them from India hundreds of years ago, and they are still the best at it. But in Córdoba they would hand you an olive branch. When you took it they would grab your hand and start to read your palm, and then charge you for it. We never saw any though, which made me kind of sad. 

Ok, here are some more facts about Spain:

• The Spanish words that begin with “al” were all Arabic words originally.
• Spaniards get paid on a salary, but instead of 12 months they get 14! An extra month’s salary in the summer for vacations and an extra month in December for Christmas.
• For summer vacations a lot of people get villas on the Southern Coast.
• There is no property tax in Spain. About 80% of the taxes come from the gasoline tax.
• There are seven “communities” in Spain (like our states). Sevilla is the capital of one and there are 1.3 million people that live there.

Tonight dinner was in the basement of our hotel (Hotel Catalonia). This hotel is really nice; you still have to put the door key in a slot for the lights to turn on, and there are two twin beds pushed together haha. Dinner was a buffet tonight and I was SO excited when I saw that they had Spanish tortilla! It’s like an egg omelet with potatoes and other vegetables. I had always wanted to try it and it was one of my favorite things that we ate in Spain during our whole trip. I also tried some ravioli and lasagna. Dessert was a rice pudding which was really good.

June 12, 2009; Sevilla and Costa del Sol

It was a long day! We spent the day in Sevilla and saw a whole ton of really cool buildings. We drove around the city and saw all of the consulates for the different countries and they were all cool and unique to the countries. There was a huge garden built for a princess named María and it was really beautiful. Then we saw the Plaza de España, which was awesome. I wished we had time to actually get out and look at it, because we just drove past it. Then we went to the Plaza de Toros, a very famous bullring. We learned a little bit about the culture of bullfighting and the legends about the sport. Legend has it that bullfighting first started with the Christians training to fight the war against the Moors. They would hurt the horses that the Moors were riding on to disable them. Then it kind of evolved from there… but nobody knows for sure. Boys started doing it to earn money for their families at a young age, but now you have to study at the art school for at least 10 years before you can begin to fight.

Sevilla was the only inland port in Spain and so there is a huge gold tower (El Torre de Oro) that was used as a watch tower. It was right on the river and was there to keep the city safe. We didn't get out to see it, but it was really cool to look at it when we drove by. Then we got out of the bus and walked around the town for a little while touring old palaces and buildings. This day was very, very hot but it was also really fun to be able to walk around the town. We went to a huge cathedral (Catedrál Alcázar y Archivo de Indias), the third largest in the world (1. Vatican in Rome, 2. St. Paul’s in London). It was seriously a “take your breath away” moment when I walked in. It was amazing. Supposedly Colmbus’ body is buried there. We climbed up a tower to see the beautiful view from the top. You could see all of Sevilla from up there, including the La Plaza de Toros! There were 34 ramps to climb, because the priest had to go to the top of the cathedral 5 times a day to pray, so he rode his horse which needed ramps.

Christopher Columbus' tomb!

Walking up the ramps!

View from the top

La Plaza de Toros!

Another place that we visited was a Palace called Alcázar of Seville. It was originally a Moorish Fort but was taken over by the Christians and given to the Royal Family. This is the oldest royal palace still in use in Europe (all of the upper floors are the official Seville residence for the royal family). Spain, and Sevilla, have a very heavy influence from the Moorish people. This building was one of my favorite stops on the whole trip of Spain because of all of the intricate detail that is put into the designs of their buildings. 

Then we got on the bus and drove to Costa del Sol. It is right on the Mediterranean coast! We got to our hotel and walked down to the beach. I went swimming in the MEDITERRANEAN SEA!!!! That is so cool! It was funny to be there because we were just so excited and most of the people there were very relaxed and laid back… and some of them weren’t wearing any swimsuit! Haha, the nude beach thing is true, even though this wasn't designated that way. It got to the point where we just wouldn’t look anywhere but at the ocean or at our feet. Then we went back later that night after dinner and we looked for shells and walked through some stores.

June 13, 2009; Morocco

Today we went to MOROCCO! It was really, really cool. I loved it there! It was the first time since I have been here that I really felt like I was in a completely different world. Everything was different here. We rode the bus for about an hour to the coast of the Strait of Gibraltar, and so I saw the rock of Gibraltar! We left the port in Spain and it was about 50 minutes until we got to the port in Africa. We were able to go out on the deck and one of the chaperones saw some dolphins! But I didn’t see any (until the way back J).

Rock of Gibraltar

On the ferry across the Strait of Gibraltar

We are just so stinkin excited to go to Africa!!

AFRICA!!!!!!

We got out in Morocco and went through customs. We had to have our temperature taken to make sure that we didn’t have the swine flu. We weren’t allowed to take pictures as we passed through the two customs. First was Spain’s custom station, next was Morocco’s. So for a while we were nowhere! J We picked up our guide back at the port in Morocco. His name was Abdul and he was really funny. As we entered Morocco we saw the newest parts of the city that we visited. Everything was bright blue and white. The first adventure we went on was to ride real Moroccan camels! Well, actually they were dromedaries because they only had one hump. But it was awesome! Kind of scary when he stood up and when he laid back down. It’s a long way up!

Abdul took us on a tour through the Medina (old part of the city) and the market that was going on. This was one of the coolest things that I have done in my life. The ground was uneven, with weird stains and puddles of strange things everywhere. The Medina was filled with narrow passageways like a complex labyrinth, and it would have been very easy to get lost had it not been for our four guides that we there with us to make sure we were safe. Three of them also were carrying huge guns… which made me a little uneasy. But all things considered, I didn’t really mind it that much during the day. It was all just very exciting! There were things to see everywhere. Fish, chickens (alive and dead), eggs, fruits, vegetables, clothes… you name it. Abdul bought us some bread and goat cheese to try while we stood in the market. 

The entrance to the Medina

Inside

Goat cheese and bread. Goat cheese is really salty and grainy.

Narrow passageways. This place really made me feel like I had entered a completely new world. I loved being here!

Abdul taught us some interesting facts about the people and culture there. There are five pillars of Islam (1. Proclaim faith 2. Pray to Mecca five times a day 3. Ramadan 4. Alms to the poor 5. Pilgrimage to Meca). They also have shorter door frames so they have to lower their heads when entering the house in symbolism of respect to the house and those in it. The buildings are painted with white chalk and water combined together to protect against heat. Arab houses (and palaces) are plain on the outisde but beautifully and ornately decorated on the inside. This is so that they could hide their wealth and protect against enemies. Moroccans are also allowed up to four wives, but each wife has to have her own house so only wealth men can do that. We also learned a little bit of Arabic! “Shugran” is thank you, “salom walekum” is peace be with you (like a greeting), “sma hali” is sorry or pardon me, “la” is no and “wa ha” is yes. I came back to Spain the next day and was speaking the little Arabic I knew to people on accident instead of Spanish. We went to a Cooperative place where they had beautiful, intricate rugs. I bought some cool brown and green shoes there. I was chased around the Medina by two street vendors who really wanted me to have some bracelets and drums. I found sanctuary with Amy (our chaperone) and her ability to say “la” with her “La Dance” hahaha. Then we went to lunch and tried some vegetable soup and a giant bowl of couscous and steamed vegetables and chicken. It was really very delicious! There were some people playing music and dancing with a tray carrying candles on their heads while we ate.

Shish-kabob things!

Mmmmm couscous.

We got to explore a little more around the town which was really interesting. I loved seeing the people and buildings and how different they were. I learned a lot of really cool things about the culture!

This was the community stove. Everyone in the town would bring their food here to cook it.

All of the doors here were cut really low so you had to bend over when you walked in. (This is a really bad example because we are on a step in front of the door). They were built this way because then you would bow when you entered the house, showing respect for the house and the people inside.

There are six arches above this big arch, which symbolize the six points on the Star of David. This is how you know you are entering the Jewish quarter of the town.

Then we went to a “doctors office” and he told us about many different Moroccan herbs and miracle cures. We tested different things on our hands including “magic lipstick” that stayed on for hours. We said goodbye to Abdul and then got back through customs and onto the ferry. 

There were some drunken Spaniards on the ferry dancing and singing. What else is there to do but to join in and do the Conga with them! Haha, it was so much fun!

Here comes the Conga Line!

    

June 14, 2009; Granada

Today we went to Granada! Granada means pomegranate, and it was the most beautiful place we have visited in Spain. It was near the Sierra Nevada Mountains and everything was green. We visited the Alhambra, which is a whole city that was built between 1100-1200 AD. There was a Christian palace that was beautiful outside and inside. King Ferdinand gave Queen Isabelle that palace as a wedding present. It was an arranged marriage, so Granada was the place where they fell in love. The Spaniards loved Queen Isabelle very much. So this is a special place for the Spaniards in general. The acoustics in it are amazing! Now they hold opera festivals inside.

Next we went to the Arabic palace. Everything was designed from the point of view of sitting on the ground because there wasn’t much furniture. It was extremely beautiful. There was also a “whisper room”. In each corner of the room you could hear what someone was whispering across the room in the opposite corner as if they were right beside you! It was amazing! The King could have four wives (one was a Queen) and countless concubines. The Queen was the wife who was the first to bear a son so sometimes wives would kill other wife’s sons so that they could be Queen. This palace had a sauna room and also a bathroom. The bathroom was a hole in the floor with running water, but this was better than what most had back then. We learned that gypsies came from India but are called gypsies because people thought that they came from Egypt. Later we saw a HUGE garden that was magnificent. Many gypsies still live on the outskirts of Granada in caves today. That night we went to our hotel and played Farkle. It is a really funny game haha, I LOVE it. It was really hot today, but we had some free time to shop.

  

June 15, 2009; Valencia

Today we went to Valencia! It was a long bus ride; we have been spending a lot of time on that bus. But we have seen some cool things!

Lots of vineyards, orange trees, olive trees, and sunflowers

Windmills! Just like in Don Quijote!

And our super cute tour guide Fernando. He stayed with us for our entire trip (except for Morocco) and was the best. We loved him!

 So, if I ever get to come back to Spain, Valencia is where I would love to go. It’s a big city (1.4 million people) but it doesn’t feel overbearing. The city has a relaxed feeling about it, and it is very pretty. We looked around (did a driving tour and a walking tour) and tried some of the most popular things here like churros, chocolate, and horchata. Spanish horchata is like a cold fruit drink that looks like milk. It was delicious, and so were the churros! To die for. We went into a huge cathedral, where supposedly the Holy Grail is. That part is only open in the mornings though so we just got to see a picture of it. We did see Saint Vincent’s arm… He apparently died in 304 AD as a martyr for the Church, and they preserved his arm all of this time. Then we went to the town square, La Plaza de la Virgen, which is my favorite part of the city. There were lots of pigeons and a big fountain of Poseidon in the center. It was close to the Cathedral as well so the whole square was just beautiful. After playing there for a little while we went back to the hotel and ate dinner and played some games.

St. Vincent's arm. Yum.

Neptune!

June 16, 2009; Valencia and Barcelona

Today we were still in Valencia, and we got to go to the aquarium! Supposedly it is the largest one in Europe, and it was really, really cool. But it honestly wasn’t that big haha. We saw a really ugly, weird fish called a Sunfish. The architecture in Valencia is absolutely gorgeous, and the aquarium was no exception. And inside there were lots of tunnels you could walk through with the fish all around you. I just love it in Valencia. 

The architecture of the aquarium was really fascinating!

The Sunfish! This ugly little guy quickly became our favorite.

Getting on that dang bus again is making me crazy!!

I was sad to leave Valencia :(

Then, we drove to Barcelona. Our hotel was actually about an hour away from Barcelona, and right by the coast. So tonight we went to the beach and then went shopping a little. 

The beach close to Barcelona!

June 17, 2009; Barcelona

Today we woke up and got on the bus and drove in to Barcelona. There are hills all around the city, and when you see it, it gives the impression that it is going to actually start pushing the hills back. It is so populated! We went up onto one of the surrounding hills and saw a wonderful view of the city. On the hill, we saw some amazing things. About 150 years ago a man named Antonio Gaudí started to build a city up on the hill. He created beautiful gardens and a fake cave (that was pretty amazing) and a wonderful covered marketplace. The city never became populated though because it was too far out of the city center. So they sold it to the city and now it is a public park.

It felt like I had just walked in to a Dr. Seuss book!

We also went and saw La Sagrada Familia, also done by Gaudí.  It isn’t finished yet, they are still working on it. It is estimated to be done in 25 years. I would love to go back and see it! The four sides of the cathedral are each different. The North side has winter fruit and darker colors (cool tones like blues) and the South side has summer fruit and warmer tones, like yellow. There is a side recently completed that is very controversial. Gaudí always used curved lines because he loved nature. This side is very angular but has a lot of symbolism in it. It reads like a story from the left side of the building to the right side. It has Judas giving Christ a kiss on the cheek, the Roman guards, the Savior on the cross, and a man in utter sorrow with a cock behind him (Peter after denying Christ). There is a box of 9 number. It’s called magical because it doesn’t matter if you add it horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, it will always equal 33 (Christ’s age when he died for us). His head is down and his hair is done in lines so it looks like a Bible with the pages open, inviting others to read it. It was a really cool place, I loved the emphasis that the church gave the city. 

We had a lot of free time in Barcelona (2-3 hours came to be a lot to us haha) so after we did a tour on the bus we went to lunch. We ate at the Hard Rock Café! It was our first breakdown for American food, and it was wonderful J We walked around Barcelona and bought our final souvenirs and it was a lot of fun! There is a street there called Las Ramblas, and it is the most famous in all of Spain for pickpockets. So of course we had to walk down there haha. Then there was a street with markets everywhere. It was a continuation of Las Ramblas and there were so many cool things there! There were people who were painted and pretended like they were statues. It was awesome! We also stopped by a beach for one last time.

Las Ramblas!

We didn't pay our statue so he wouldn't turn around for the picture haha.

June 18, 2009; Flight Home

This morning we had to leave our hotel at 3:30 AM so Caitlin and I didn’t ever go to sleep. We rode the bus to the airport, had a couple hours flight to Frankfurt, flew 8 ½ hours to Chicago, had a 8 hour layover PLUS a 2 hour delay, and then a couple hour flight to Boise… It ended up being 30 hours of travel to get home, and it was Thursday for 28 of those hours haha. We were so glad when it was finally Friday!  When we had our layover in Chicago Jessica turned to me and said, “I just don’t know if people are speaking Spanish or English anymore. I can’t understand anything!” Hahaha. We were also really happy to be back in the states. On this trip I really came to love Spain and the culture that it has, but it also made my love for my own country grow too. I love the country that I live in and the freedom that I have here. This trip was AMAZING. It was such a great opportunity to be able to go to a new country and see how they lived, and I couldn’t imagine a better country to try out than Spain. I will never forget this awesome experience.