Water Balloon Fight!

Today we had a water balloon fight in the park right by the residence. We played a version of capture the flag in whihc instead of tagging people to freeze them you threw water balloons at them. The teams were tri-state area vs. everyone else. Each team won one time. We all got pretty wet. It was a great activity to do as the trip comes to a close because the whole group just got to run around and have a great time together.

Trying to hold on to all of my water balloons
Sophie, filling up water balloons like a pro :)

Tibidabo

Today went to an amusement park called Tibidabo that is on top of a mountain and overlooks the city. It was old fashioned and really cute! There was one roller coaster and a bunch of really cute rides that gave you a great view of the city, my favorite was the swings. We also went in a haunted house that was really scary, we were all screaming at the top of our lungs! The day was amazing, Tibidabo was one of my favorite stops during the trip.

The Krueger Hotel was the name of the haunted house
Fletcher before the roller coaster
The view from the park
Sophie on the swings
swings!

Flamenco y Abanicos

On Wednesday nightwe went to a Flamenco show. It was really amazing to see and listen to. I hadn't realized that Flamenco was not only a style of dancing but a type of singing as well. The show was very entertaining, Encarni even got up and danced!

Here is a video of Encarni dancing!

Yesterday, we painted fans, or abanicos. Mine was splatter paint. Some people's came out amazing and I really wish that I had pictures to share. We have been up to so much fun stuff here, time is flying and I can't believe that it's almost over. I will definitely be enjoying as much of Barcelona as I can during my last few days here.

El Fin de Semana y Montserrat

The past weekend was filled with activity and excitement. On Saturday we went to the Picasso museum, which was amazing. We weren't allowed to take pictures but I will include an image I found online of my favorite one, Las Meninas.

http://www.themasterpiececards.com/Portals/40667/images/picasso%20las%20meninas%20105-resized-600.jpg

Then on Saturday morning we went to Poble Espanol, which is a model town with buildings typical of all areas in Spain. It was so amazing and there were many cute shops, but my camera was out of battery so I couldn't talk any pictures. In the afternoon we went to the Maritime Museum of which the highlight was actually a photography exhibit about immigration to Spain and life in impoverished countries. It was very interesting and powerful. Then in the evening some of us went to a bull fight, I thought that it was interesting because of the cultural aspect of the fight. Everything had a meaning and importance. Also, the matador basically dances with the bull, which is very cool. I will include some pictures but BEWARE, some of them are graphic.

Today, we went to a monastery called Montserrat. It was up in a mountain top and it was so beautiful. We waited in line to see a statue of Mary, which was a touching experience when we finally reached her.

Freixenet y La Sagrada Familia

Over the past two days we have seen some really amazing things here. Yesterday, we had our weekly day trip. First, we went on a tour of a Cava factory called Freixenet. Cava is a type of sparkling wine (dont' worry no one had any). It was really cool because we got to see the whole process from start to finish.

After the winery we went to Sitges, a beautiful beach town

Today, we went to Sagrada Familia during the day and had a tour of it. The church is so beautiful, even through it isn't even finished yet. Pictures won't do this amazing building justice, but here are a few anyway.

Casa Mila

Today we went to see Casa Mila, or La Perdrera. This house was built by Gaudi but it was unfinished because he had a dispute with the owners and left the project. Despite this it was still really beautiful. After that I went shopping on La Passieg de Gracia, the high end shopping area of Barcelona. It was really fun and there were a lot of sales!

The wall of Casa Mila.

There were sculptures on the roof of Casa Mila

Serious faces

From the roof you could look down into a courtyard on the ground level.

Lunes y Martes!

As with every day in Barcelona, the past two days were amazing! On Monday we had classes as usual, and then in the evening part of the group went on a walk in the Passieg de Gracia, so that we could see some of Gaudi's houses lit up at night. It was a great night and everyone had a ton of fun!

Me and Fletcher on the walk to the Gaudi house

Casa Batllo lit up at night!

Me and SophieD in front of La Perdiera

La Perdiera, we're going there tomorrow

Me and Robert (our counselor) are twins!

Today we went to the FC Barcelona stadium, it was so cool to see where the team plays their games, we even got to go on the field! We had our major classes in the afternoon but since it was such a beautiful day we went to the beach! We went out for dinner at a buffet restaurant, I ate so much!

The stadium

Messi's jersey and cleats, plus the ball that scored FC Barcelona's 5000th goal!

Me and Sophie J. in front of the field!

The team's motto, it means, "More than a club"

Sophie and Erika were pretty tired on the subway back

A picture of me and Sophie J. with Lionel Messi is soon to come!