barcelona

Pete and I began our day again in Spain with a 30 minute run down las ramblas and the port. Today as a group we started out the day with a two hour bike ride around Barcelona. We went through the parks and went in the prominad along the Mediterranean. We all went in groups to eat a three meal lunch by the basilica Santa Maria. The students then had some time to do some last minute shopping en el corte ingles and along the ramblas. Towards the end of the free time Amanda and I sat at the cafe Zurich and enjoyed the beautiful weather. This afternoon we took the metro to parque guell to see the benches and architecture of Gaudi. The students saw a beautiful view of the city. We the tom the metro to the Sagrada Familia which is another basilica which was first started in 1918 and is expected to be completed by 2026. Yes 14 years from now.!!! Tonight dinner was thee Spanish dish paella. The students continue to love the culinary aspect of Spain. To end the night we stopped at dinos gelatos and the students at ice cream one last time while enjoying the comfortable night in plaza catalunya.

Granada

Day four and five have been spent in Granada, Spain. Yesterday, the students had a chance to visit the last Moorish palace during the 15th century, La Alhambra which means the red walls in Arabic. The students walked through the palace and fort which was build in the 8th century. The students also had a chance to visit the room where Colombus met with Queen Isabel to discuss financing a trip to the new world in April of 1492. Afterwards, we visited the center of Granada where the students had lunch, visited the Cathedral where the Catholic queen and king of Spain are buried and then ate ice cream in Los Italianos where Michelle Obama visited and ate ice cream in the last year. Later on this evening, the students and teachers both learned to dance el flamenco. The ladies danced with success while the boys made the flamenco more interesting! After our lesson with the instructor, she then performed flamenco for us during a dinner and flamenco show. The food and  the performers were absolutely amazing! We had a chicken and pork dinner followed by a  tiramazu dessert. This was followed by a sunset view of La Alhambra where the teachers took pictures with the students that they had in class! Our next stop is Valencia!

Madrid and Sevilla day 3

After another early run with Pete this morning the group went on the AVE train which is the high speed train in Spain. This morning we took a two hour ride to Sevilla which is in the southern part of Spain. After arriving at the hotel we ate lunch in the near by plaza where the students had a chance to order in Spanish. After lunch we met our your guide carmen for a tour around town. The students climbed la giralda which is a tower with a beautiful view of the town. Then they entered the cathedral and saw the incrdible structures and the tomb of Christopher Columbus. From there we continued our tour to the alcazar which was once a moorish palace in the eleventh century. The students then had shopping time around the cathedral before eating a three course meal in the Cabildo Restaurante. To end the day we listened as the Spanish defeated the Portuguese in the semi finals while we were enjoying a 90 minute boat ride on the gualdaquivir river. Oh by the way it was 42 degrees c. today which is 108f. !

madrid day two

Pete and I started the day with a 25 minute jog from the hotel on the main road Gran VIA. After breakfast the group went on a city tour of Madrid stopping at the plaza de toros, plaza de murillo and plaza de colon . The group also had a nice visit to the prado museum where the saw velazquez, murillo, goya and el greco. We had a wonderful tour guide who explained the paintings very well. Afterwards we took a stroll through the retiro park where students strolled in the shade while others took a rowing trip in the lake. After eating lunch the boys went to the hotel while the girls got some shopping done on san antonio. In the evening we took a walk to the royal palace where the student had a chance to see where the monarchy used to live in Spain. I think their favorite part was the armour room! Finally we headed to two local tapa restaurants where we sampled 6 different types of tapa like calamare, peppers and tortilla espanola. I would think the highlight of the day was going to the chocolateria and eating real chocolate and churros. We walked back to the hotel enjoying the Spanish atmosphere from music to local performers in the plaza del sol. Sadly but this was our last day in Madrid.

Madrid day 1

After a nice and relaxing flight to madrid this morning we arrived at our hotel high tech along the Gran Via in the heart of Madrid. We had a chance to walk through the plaza callao and mayor. We tried to stay we much in the shade as possible as the temperature was in the upper 90's. After lunch on the plaza mayor we headed to the museo de reina Sofia and saw works from Giro and Picasso amongst others. For dinner we had a pasta appetizers and meatballs and potatoes at an excellent Italian restaurant. Kids made it through their first day in Spain. Tomorrows itinerary will include more sites to visit.