OVIEDO

BARCELONA to SANTIAGO to OVIEDO

farewell to studio and la playa

al Torre do Agbar

return to Montserrat

Since Fridays are our days off as part of our three-day weekends, we got up at 7 am because we don't want to be considered perezosos or anything.

Actually, today was our group trip to Montserrat. Professor Vidal organized the trip for us and was able to set up a tour at the monastery with one of the monks. They usually don't give tours, but Professor Vidal apparently has some pretty good connections. We went to a late morning mass in the church on the mountain and then we met a couple of the monks. We watched an short video on Monetserrat and then we were taken on a tour around the monastery and the church. We were able to see the behind the scenes of the monastery and some "never before seen fotage." We then went up to some of the tallest peaks of the mountain range and ate lunch looking out onto a world far below us. We wandered on the mountains, climbing the rocks and trying to take in the breathtaking views. After looking at my pictures, I realize that they do not do the scenery justice. The mountains we were climbing and the mountains on the other side of the winding river created such an image that cannot be captured with a camera. It was a very surreal experience.

There were no seats left on the hour long train ride back so I had to stand. However, I was too tired to stand so I just sat on the floor and fell asleep. The people walking on and off the train kept waking me up, but I forgave them.

When we got back to Aldana, I fell into my bed and was out when my head hit the pillow. I needed a good night's sleep and that is just what I got. Thank you night time.

vamos a la playa

Today was out final regular class day of Spanish. It is hard to believe but we will only be seeing Andriana Montes once more and then she will fade into our memories as so many people tend to do. After spending all afternoon in studio, we decided to take a break and went to the beach for an hour. The sun had set, but we have a light-up frisbee, so it's all good.

We went back to the apartment for dinner, where Ben felt obligated to hackle us because of the five of us who ate in the apartment (all guys), four of our dinners came from a can. Only Ben had a "real meal." My canned raviolis could still beat up his chicken and sneeze-inducing herbs.

It ended up as another long night of architecture.

Jardi Botanic

This morning for our field trip class we went to the Jardi Botanic on Montjuic. It was a beautiful garden on the side of the mountain with a wide variety of vegetation. It also had spectacular views of the city.

Today is the most beautiful day so far in Barcelona. A perfect day to swim in the Med, we all went to studio for the rest of the day.

Abre los Ojos

We watched a movie this morning in Spanish. It was a Spanish film from 1997 titled "Abre los Ojos." Tom Cruise bought the rights to the movie and starred in the American re-make of the movie in 1999 titled "Vanilla Sky." The movie was a good suspense/thriller movie with a couple of good twists. I enjoyed it. Now I want to see "Vanilla Sky" so that I can compare them.

After class, a few of us went to the park and laid in the grass next to the fountain until it was time for our last history class of the semester.

After history, Tom and I went to studio to collect everybody's watercolor assignments and sketchbooks. We decided to work at the beach for the evening and maybe get a game of frisbee in there as well.

I stopped at the apartment to change and grab the frisbee and then I ran to the beach. It was a great day for a run, especially with the cool waters of the Med waiting for you at the end. When I got there, Gisela asked if I had just taken a shower. I guess I was glistening a little bit. We laid on some bed sheets that have become our beach sheets and worked on our watercolors and sketchbooks. We were able to get a game of frisbee going and a German guy even joined us. We told him we will be playing again soon and we exchanged numbers with him so we could let him know when we go to the beach next. The group broke up at sunset and Rob and I walked back to the apartment. After a few hot dogs in the apartment, I headed to studio for a long while.

sea before studio

We woke up this morning and went to the beach. So sue us. We enjoyed ourselves. The weather is so beautiful. We were only there an hour or so, but it was enough time to toss the frisbee around a little bit.

Brian and I went to the doner restaurant for a quick lunch during studio. Once again, I found myself staying in studio too long.

beach bums

Okay. So we woke up this morning...late. We went to the beach. We laid in the sun. We played frisbee. I dug a hole in the sand. We went in the cold water a little bit. We played more frisbee. It was a very relaxing day followed by some Cheers in the apartment. We did go to studio in between the two so we are not complete bums. I think it was a much needed day of rest and relaxation in the sun that we all needed.

los parques

We woke up this morning in the rain to meet at Parc Guell at 9 am. We visited five parks in the city, including on cemetery. It only rained while we were at the first park and the skies cleared up and it was sunny and warm by the afternoon. Even though I wish we would have done something more like this when we first arrived in Barcelona, I am glad Professor Vidal spent his Saturday showing us the important city parks and green public spaces.

Nick is visiting this weekend and he was able to meet up with us in Placa Catalunya. He just finished his semester in Brussels, Belgium and decided to pay us a visit in Barcelona. It's always good to see new faces.

Friday the 13th

We met at 3 pm to go to an architecture exhibit in the old city. It was ten projects by top of the notch architects designing a skyscraper for Paris. We had to analyze their board layouts and figure out each of the project's concepts.

I stayed clear of black cats and ladders all day. I don't think I broke any mirrors either...