Spain

Spain was an absolute blast and the perfect way to end our time together. By this time we all knew each other well and felt comfortable around each other. We also knew that the pace of Spain would be a bit different than the rest of the trip, due to the nature of our agenda and such. Below is a brief overview of our activities in this beautiful country.

Barcelona:

*flew in early Monday morning (3:30 am taxi! We were there super early... somewhat gunshy from our Chunnel experience arriving in London)

*Arc de Triomf, yes again. Apparently every major city in Europe (at least the ones we visited) has one

*walked around Barcelona by way of the train station (on the completely other side of town)

*Olympic Park

*Beautiful art museum/government building (not sure of the function)- same location as the Magic Fountains. Put us high enough so as to be able to see all of Barcelona- walked along south side of the city just in awe of it's beauty

*walked Las Rambas (main street) full of street vendors and artists and magicians, etc.

*ate Paiella (sp?) for dinner, along with $7 sodas (supposedly the waiter realized we didn't drink and didn't want to lose any revenue- the price for soft drinks wasn't printed on the menu)

*danced the Polka with Dave in front of fountains at the top of Las Rambas

*La Sagrada Famillia (Goudy)- absolutely exquisite building- been under constructions for hundreds of years, simply because of the intricacy of the design

*more Goudy buildings

*Picasso Museum- the largest in the world

*chilled by the Mediterranean beach

*ate a banana

*overnight train to Madrid

Madrid:

*retrieved Jordan's lost books

*stayed at the hostel on Temple Square- all Portuguese roommates

*baptisms

*saw Elder Middleton

*Grand Palace

*Grand Cathedral

*Prado Museum

*Financial District

*Hymns sing-along in the chapel

*quiet, personal time on the grass of the temple

Granada:

*6 hour bus to Granada

*member (Susanna) met us at the bus station to show us around the city

*lunch at Burger King... becoming one of our more frequented restaurants in Spain

*cutest square of street vendors- purchased Mom's birthday gift (green and brown hand made plate)

*town was all decorated for the festival that weekend

*ward party! Youth fundraiser for EFY- dinner and dance (I think they were expecting us the be more of the life of the party than we ended up being... did anyone tell them they invited a group of accountants??) Dancing was hilarious.

*Birthday party at member's house- I'll have to write more about this one- this was definitely the highlight of our Spain experience. Cultural experience to the max.

*slept at member's house- all three of us girls on a mattress smaller than a twin... just part of the experience!

*toured La Alhambra- comparable to the grandeur of the Egyptian Temples in Luxor

*gelato

*Church- thanks to our three Spanish speakers for the translations

*bus to Malaga

*Holiday Inn Express abandoned- funny story- maybe I'll write more about this one too

*played on the beach for our last night

*spent the night in the airport- cards (Scum) till late, then tried to sleep. Ultra uncomfortable.

*early flight home!

*passport confiscated in Texas. Details to come :)

There's Spain for you!