Last full week in Barcelona

Day 22, Monday, 6/11

Today we had school and then headed to the post office to mail some postcards to family and friends! I mailed one to my parents, to RJ, and to my grandparents who helped fund my trip! It was a little bit hard communicating with the lady who worked there, but we think we did everything right and were in hopes that our post cards would make it!

After this we headed to meet up with some of our study abroad group to go on a tour of the Gothic quarter in Barcelona with the same tour guide we went on a walking tour of the city with before. We got to see some really neat areas of the city that we would have never seen otherwise and got to learn about this different quarter of Barcelona. We went by this school that had been bombed a long time ago during a time of war and over 200 children were killed. It was really sad to see, but they still use the school today and the bombing damage is still there as well, so that the people of Barcelona can remember how their actions caused something so horrible to happen. That way they will not let history repeat itself. We also learned about the language of Catilan and how they just started speaking it again about 10 years ago. So the different generations of people in Barcelona know Spanish or Catilan and it depends on when they were born and which era they grew up in, which I thought was pretty neat. Also now days they teach the children Spanish in school as well, so that they will eventually know both languages. I think they teach some English as well. 

 Water fill station people in Barcelona can use for free water

School that the bombing took place at

After we finished our tour we headed to the big market where we had been before, and I got a few yummy chocolates! Then we went grocery shopping nearby our flat, then headed home and made dinner. 

After dinner we went out with almost our whole study abroad group and it was a lot of fun! 

Day 23, Tuesday, 6/12 

Today we only had one class because we were going to tour a winery as our last excursion! It was about an hour train ride to get there because it was more in the countryside of Barcelona, which is understandable since it was a winery. 

Once we got there we realized that they produced much more Cava than they do wine, which is very similar to champagne but it doesn't ferment as long as champagne does, so it's less expensive to make I think. They also can't call it champagne because they aren't allowed to in this region. We went to a small theater where we watched a short film about Frexinet throughout history, and the different marketing and advertising strategies they have had and how the company got started. After this we headed into the actual winery where we stopped at many different stations to learn the ins and outs of producing Cava and everything that goes into it! We got to go really far down into the cellars and walk through small tunnels, it was really neat to learn about. We all really enjoyed this excursion, and I think it was most people's favorite one. After the tour was finished we got to all sit and have some of the Cava for free! Then we got to shop around in the gift shop and I bought my parents a bottle of red wine! 

Then we headed back to the city, and all went to a group dinner at an Italian place. I had pesto pasta, which was really good! Then I headed home with a few others, we worked on homework, showered and what not, then went to bed! 

Day 24, Wednesday, 6/13 

Today we had school and then headed straight to the beach to start our volleyball tournament we had planned! I get out of class earlier than a lot of people, so a few of us had to wait for the others to get out of class. It was started to get a little bit chilly and sprinkle a little bit, so we went to a restaurant nearby on the beach to eat a quick lunch and see if it was going to clear up. It cleared up pretty fast, so it was perfect and we were able to still play! Well everyone else played...I laid out and watched and played the photographer role =) More my style. 

Everyone had a lot of fun and we stayed at the beach until pretty late! Then we headed home, got ready, and went out! 

Day 25, Thursday, 6/14

After school we went home and ate lunch and then met downstairs to go to Park Guell with Doctor Shah. It was a small group of us who went because a lot of people had already gone in their own time! Park Guell was awesome. It was just a short hike up and you could keep going higher and higher if you wanted to! It was so beautiful and another work of Gaudi. We also got to see the house that Gaudi used to live in, which was pretty neat. And it was another great view of Barcelona.

Then we all went to eat some dinner at a nearby place and had some pizza! Then we went home and a lot of people went to watch the Spain game, but I was lame and stayed in to start working on a project that we had to finish by Monday!