15 de abril

Our last day in Spain was spent relaxing and decompressing. We had breakfast together in the morning and then headed off to the Marbella beach where we spent the day tanning, swimming, and reminiscing about our past week.  

Later, we took a catamaran to a lovely dinner at Paella y mas. We enjoyed several traditional Spanish tapas and our main course was a choice of vegetable, seafood, or meat paella.  Our meal ended with a delicious chocolate cake complete with candles for Jack Fox's birthday.

We have a VERY long day ahead of traveling back to the United States.

See you all tomorrow!

14 de abril

After being able to sleep in a little bit today, we were out and about by 10 to meet up with our tour guide Christian at the Catedral de Sevilla. We were lucky enough to tour the Guinness Book of World Record's largest gothic cathedral in the world on Good Friday before the masses began for the afternoon.  We learned about the architecture of the cathedral and how it took 500 years to build the large tower of Sevilla within the cathedrals' walls. Because of the time span, there are multiple styles of architecture that can be seen throughout. The inside of the cathedral is home to the world's largest altar decorated with over 1,000 gold leaf sculptures going up an incredible 108 feet.

After the cathedral tour, we were able to take a walking tour of Santa Cruz through the narrow cobblestone roads complete with shops, restaurants, and of course orange trees.  The students enjoyed lunch before we took a walk to briefly view Plaza de España where a tile wall exists for each Spanish city surrounding a moat. We then took off for Costa del Sol.

Upon arrival, we enjoyed a buffet style dinner at the hotel and ended the evening with a walk through the square. We stopped at the beach to stick our toes in the sand and get a taste of what's in store for our beach day tomorrow.

¡Hasta mañana!

13 de abril

 Hola from Seville, Spain!

Today, we started in Granada touring the beautiful and historic La Alhambra fortress.  It has an intriguing mix of Arab and Spanish architecture and art.  Granada was the last area of the Iberian Peninsula to be conquered by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, the "Catholic Monarchs," in 1492.  After the tour, students worked in groups on a "Granada Scavenger Hunt."  They had to find various monuments and ask granadiños to take their pictures.  They also used their enhanced Spanish-speaking skills to eat at local restaurants with their friends.

We had a long drive to Seville, but had a great dinner where we got to celebrate Reid's 15th cumpleaños!  Seville is renowned for its religious processions, and we got to see a Holy Thursday procession.

12 de abril

12 de abril

We said our goodbyes to the capital city of Madrid this morning as we journeyed south towards Granada. On our drive we stopped in a small town in Castilla de Mancha called Consuegros where we able to view the windmills depicted in Cervantes' famous piece Don Quixote. This piece of work is second in publishing worldwide, only to the Bible. There we walked to the top of the windmill to see how they were used to grind grain. In the story Don Quixote believes he needs to fight the arms of the windmill!

Tonight we drove to the old caves on the side of the mountains in Granada to experience Flamenco with an old gypsy family that has been teaching for many years. The show was in the cave that was their home many years ago. Former First Lady Michelle Obama and the former King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia have visited the family to experience flamenco shows there as well! There are 5 elements of flamenco dancing, guitar, casanovas, clapping, shouting and cheering on the dancers. The word flamenco comes from the Arabic word fellahmengu meaning "expelled pheasants" because during the Spanish Inquisition the gypsies, Jews, and Muslims all lived in the caves in the mountains to be able express themselves freely. Hence the caves where they lived and now dance! The family served us a traditional family dish and we finally had flan for dessert! After dinner we walked through the old winding stone streets to an overlook of the Alhambra and the entire city of Granada all glowing in the night. 

Tomorrow we experience the Alhambra and a walking tour of Granada before heading to Sevilla. 

11 de abril

Guest Post by Sam Nagy

Today we spent our day in the beautiful city of Toledo. We were able to see stunning views of the city. And the breathtaking Gothic Cathedral.  We learned that Spain has the oldest standing synagogue in Europe. Afterwards we headed back to Madrid we shopped until we dropped and got amazing food at Museo de Jamon. Yum. 

10 de abril

Student submission by: Deja Ellison- McDade

     The group met a very nice and informative guide named Ernesto, who took us on another, more historical tour of the city. We were told all about different avenues and areas of Madrid, and how much of the urbanization is recent history. 
     We passed a large metal statue of the famous literary character, Don Quiote.
In my opinion, the most amazing thing we experienced today was the Royal Palace. The group walked to it, and coming up on it we could see just how huge it is. Even the outside architecture very beautiful. The last room we could take pictures of was just gorgeous fresca ceiling. The entirety is painted in this beautiful renaissance-esque design with so many colors, and images of angels, all wrapped in an ornate gold border. It was unbelievable.

During another walk, we all took pictures of an Egyptian temple with archways in the middle of a park. That wasn't something you'd think you see in Madrid.
    Ernesto took us to the Plaza De Toros; a huge bull fighting stadium. He told us all about the performance and stages of a bull fight, and of the current dispute over it.
     After driving and seeing more of Madrid, we walked a bit to lunch. Even for lunch it was 3 courses.
     Next we took the Metro to the Real Madrid stadium. We got to see the museum where all of their trophies are held and we also got to walk on the field.  It was a great experience especially for our soccer players!
     We finally got back to the hotel where I believe everyone took a nap or shower. Next was an underground restaurant called "La Mazamorra Meson". We were told it used to be a jail, and we had to practically go spelunking to get in. The "Tapas" was cramped but delicious, and the "Tunas" was a band the played us a song that, even in the small space, we all danced to.
     After a short walk, we went for a dessert of Churros Y Chocolate. Everyone thought it was really, really good. When we were all done, we returned to the hotel and retired for the night.

¡Hasta mañana! 

9 de abril

We landed nice, bright and early at 8:30am local time in Madrid ready to take on the day and jet lag. We were greeted at the airport by our tour director Bev. 

We quickly dropped our bags and headed out for a walking tour of the center of Madrid. We saw Plaza Mayor, Puerto del Sol, and had lunch at Mercado de Miguel. 

Following lunch we headed to El Prado to see the paintings of the greats, El Greco, Goya, Velázquez and many more! The students broke into 3 teams to complete a scavenger hunt which included them needing to ask guides questions in Spanish! The winners will be announced tomorrow. 

From there we headed to Parque del Retiro where some of the group took a traditional siesta under the shaded trees as we fought jet lag. 

We headed back to our hotels to settle into our rooms before venturing out for dinner. On our way back to the hotel we came across a processional for Palm Sunday where we saw a band and float. 

Everyone is in bed and ready for an adventure tomorrow!  ¡Hasta luego!