Thursday April 23rd
Another early start to the day as we have a long travel day on the bus as we cross borders into Spain. I found it interesting that crossing from France into Spain was no different than when we cross the state lines here in US. There was no border crossing, no nothing, the signs just changed from French to Spanish. Scenery was nice, couldn't get any good pictures though, but you can tell Addison was enjoying it.
I learned on the trip that Barcelona is in the Catalonia region of Spain and which has tried to succeed from Spain on numerous occasions. This region of Spain is the largest tourist destination of the country. They have two official languages in Spanish and Catalan, I also learned I know enough French to get by, but not enough Spanish.
Our first stop was in France and the medieval City of Carcassonne, which is a walled fortified city that is, you guessed it, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This city was bad ass, I mean to me I was visiting a Castle like I've seen in the movies complete with drained moat, and explored all the shops inside walls.
I really enjoyed the south of France more than the Paris region. We had lunch in Carcassonne I got a this big cheese sandwich that was good.
Back on the bus we continued our journey south, stopping at a rest stop briefly to break up the drive and then stopping once again in Girona, Spain visiting their walled Old Quarter. It was a holiday today, Saint George's Day, where books and roses are exchanged. There were tents set up all over where you could buy both.
Through-out the town I saw all these souvenirs if a guy or girl bare-assed with a pile of poop behind them. I saw more than one shop that, that was all they had and it was all kinds of different characters or celebrities in this pose.
I had figure out what the hell this was all about: A caganer (literally "the pooper") is a traditional Catalan figurine featured in Christmas nativity scenes, depicting a squatting person with their pants down and exposed buttocks. Originating in the 18th century, it is a symbol of good luck and prosperity, as the act of defecation is said to fertilize the land
We also saw some buskers near the edge of the city, a man singing opera and two sisters singing with one playing the guitar. We loaded back on the bus for the final trek to our hotel about 45 minutes outside Barcelona in Santa Susanna, Alegria Florida Park.
We got into our rooms, mine was a double bed but really two singles pushed together, and I had a great view of the elevators. This TV was different, in the previous hotels we only had French language programming, however I could cast my phone to the TV and watch Netflix or whatever off of my phone. Here they had numerous foreign language channel blocks with 4 English speaking ones, all from the UK. One was a the same game show 24 hours a day, and it was just ok, one was a gardening channel, and the final two were listed as two different channels but they simulcast the same programming on both.
We had dinner at the hotel and it was a buffet of various foods, it was very good and nice to get a mixture. We also had breakfast each morning at the buffet, and it was quite good with a nice variety including cereals that I rather enjoyed.
After dinner I went for a stroll and check out the area around the hotel. Santa Susanna is a coastal resort town, reminds me a bit of Ocean City, Maryland. You can see the beach and the Balearic Sea from the hotel, and it's only a short walk to get there.
Friday April 24th
After breakfast we loaded up on the bus for our drive into Barcelona for what ended up being a very full day. First we headed into the city for a walking tour and later a bus tour of the city. We spent most of our time on foot in the Gothic Quarter which is the historic center of the old city and has the oldest parts of Barcelona.
Once again numerous narrow streets and shops, we did see protests going on at the town hall. The Starbucks at the edge of the Gothic Quarter became a meeting spot of sorts for everyone as we were all pretty worn down at this point.
Addison and I headed out to look at the shops and while she went into a ring shop I decided to go across the way and get a 10 minutes reflexology foot massage because my feet could use it, ended up getting a pedicure are well, never had one of those before, with the quick massage it was a cheap 25 euros.
Addison and I got separated for a moment, but we were able find each other quickly enough. We didn't have cell service on our phones because it is $15 a day, which would have been $300 for us while we were there, and we didn't suffer not having it.
I went to this VERY cool Christmas shop called Käthe Wohlfahrt, a Germany based company with stores around the world including several in the United States.
I ended up buying a an owl ornament that was very cool, but really could have like on of these little TV's.
After lunch on our own, we loaded up the bus and headed to Park Guell, UNESCO designated the park a World Heritage Site, recognizing it as part of the "Works of Antoni Gaudí" collection. Antoni Gaudi was a famous architect who was from the Catalan region and lived from 1852 - 1926.
Park Guell, based on what the guide said, was essentially a housing development for rich people up in the hills over looking the city. It was a failure because no one wanted to live that afar away from everything as in 1900 it was very inconvenient.
The only home built, the show home, Gaudi lived in for a time and it is now the Gaudi House Museum. We saw a lot of Gaudi architecture in Barcelona, he is quite popular in that region.
When we got to the Park, before entering we saw wild parakeets and even saw some kids feeding them and pigeons by hand!
Loading up on the bus we headed to Gaudi's biggest project that is actually still under construction today, Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família, aka Sagrada Familia, the largest unfinished catholic church in the world. Construction began on March 19, 1882 and is projected to conclude in 2034. The basilica reached structural completion on February 20, 2026, when the final piece of the central Tower of Jesus Christ was installed.
We did not go in the church but viewed it from the outside. It is a massive structure, no doubt, and the intricate work on the outside is quite an accomplishment. However, I've seen prettier churches and to me it's just too much.
We have free time after to explore the area. Addison and I checked out a few shops and then sat at a cafe and relaxed with a beverage until it was time for dinner. We ate across the street from Sagrada at Els Porxos.
On the walk back to the bus I was able to grab a photo of the Barcelona Lucha Libre school.
I've seen two wrestling related places on this trip and both were closed. I knew it was highly unlikely but I was really hoping to check off go to wrestling in either France or Spain. Oh well. We got back to the hotel and was told that there was a private event that night at the hotel and there would be a private fireworks show. Even though it was private, I did take a look.
Saturday April 25th
Last full day on the tour and it was an early start but the bus this time was a double decker! Of course we rode on the top floor!
Today we started with a Taste of Spain cooking class at La Cuina De La Boqueria where the whole group participated in the preparation of ingredients and cooking of chicken and vegetable paella, vegetable paella, and a Spanish omelet. I was in the crew that cut all of the chicken.
It was DELICIOUS, I mean just absolutely delicious. They gave us the recipes and I hope to make it at home.
After the cooking class, which was also lunch, we had some free time to explore Barcelona and Las Ramblas. Addison went off shopping with her friends and I did some exploring myself checking out the Erotic Museum, which was much more informative than you would think, a movie store, comic book shop and the Arc de Triomf before we all met at the Picasso Museum.
The Picasso Museum was cool, especially if you like Pablo Picasso. We got broken up into 3 groups, I ended up leading one of the groups. I mean it was cool, don't get me wrong, but we were all exhausted and still had a long night ahead of us.
After the museum we loaded up on the bus and they drove us down to the beach for some more free time before dinner. Addison, Ella, Matt, and I walked from the beach towards the restaurant snacking along the way at an open market getting donuts, cookies, churros, and other goodies.
We had dinner at Tapa Tapa Maremagnum. Tapas are shared meals where several rounds of food are brought to the table in shareable portions so you can sample all kinds of different foods. I can't recall everything that we had, but it was tremendous!
After dinner we walked over Tarantos for a traditional Falemco show.
Here is what Google defines it as: A traditional flamenco show is a passionate, highly rhythmic Spanish art form that combines singing (cante), guitar playing (toque), and intricate dance (baile). Typically hosted in intimate venues called tablaos, these performances showcase the raw, emotional energy of Andalusian gypsy culture.
IT WAS AWESOME! Almost our whole group and many other tourist packed into the small theater to watch the show. I loved it, and it was a tremendous way to close out our last day in Barcelona.
After the show we headed back to the bus for the journey back to the hotel. I packed up everything that I could because I decided to join the group that planned to get up early to watch the sun rise in the morning.
Sunday April 26th
Got up early to hit the beach to watch the sunrise, and of the crew that said were going to go, only about 8 of us made the short journey across the street and onto the beach it rose at 0650am CET (Central European Time).
We piled on the bus for the drive to airport in Barcelona. Unlike Logan where they had all our tickets in one section, Iberia air assigned seats as we went up and checked in. I was thankful as when I did the lady asked me if I wanted an aisle or window seat, I chose aisle.
We had a bit of a wait at the airport before out flight left at 135pm to Madrid. The flight was only 85 minutes, but we did have a 2.5 hour layover before our flight to Boston. At the Madrid airport we had lunch, fancy Burger King as our final "meal" in Spain.
The flight from Madrid to Boston was 7.5 hours, I managed to watch 3 movies on the flight! In Bruges, Fracture, and Presence. Mrs. Katie Collins was sitting in front of me on the flight, she was one of the few that was in the group that morning that took in the sunrise. I mentioned to her, wouldn't it be funny if we saw the sunset in Boston.
The flight landed and when walking through the gate Katie was yelling for me and pointing out the window.
We made it just in time to see the sunset in Boston, 17hours and 48 minutes later at 738pm EST.
We had to go through security for the 3rd time that day, and customs. It was a bit annoying that from when we got off the plane to the bus there was no soda machines to be seen! Also we didn't pay for any stops so we drove directly from Logan airport to Gardiner Area High School.
I had an amazing time and I'm so grateful to have this experience with Addison that we will remember forever. I think we balanced the time of us doing things together and her having that freedom to go off with her friends alone.
We got back the high school where Kate had left the van for us, and I was home before midnight.
Mrs. Creamer planned us an amazing trip, she worked so hard on this and I'm thankful for all of her efforts. I can't imagine how stressful this was for her but she did awesome.
Our EF Tours guide Virginia was awesome. I got used to her on the bus saying "wakey, wakey" before her announcements. Also everything was only a short walk or 10 minutes away. It was NEVER a short walk to 10 minutes away. I mentioned it to her once, she said the faster you walk the shorter the time to get there, you walk slower it's going to take you longer. She was a FAST walker, I tell you what. I commend her though she wrangled 49 people through so many locations with ease. Also at dinner she made sure that everyone with special food needs were attended to.
She said she does about 10 of these tours year during the spring through fall, and in the winter her and her husband operate a Atiaia Jungle River Retreat, Visconde De Maua, Brazil. She is originally from Italy.
In the days after getting home it was a bit odd for me. I went from seeing this group of people everyday for over a week to not seeing them at all. I didn't even seen Addison for almost a week after we got back.
Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed these three posts about our adventure.
Until Next Time!
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