My first post from Barcelona! These past three days have been so hectic and fascinating I could go home now and feel completely satisfied, but of course we have 22 more days left here. We just moved into our dorms, which are fabulous by the way and I couldn’t be happier that we are staying here for the duration of the study abroad.

The first 3 days we went of different excursions to different parts of Catalonia. Our first day we went to Girona, a historical town in the heart of Catalonia with remnants from the Medieval times. We explored the history of the Cathedrals and the history of the influences of the church and our tour guide explained the wonders of Catalonia and the oppressions of the people . Afterward we had a group lunch at a quaint restaurant and I had the most amazing Paella! The cuisine here is so simple, yet so delicious! We then had time to shop and wander around before heading back to our hotel. The next day we went to an archaeological site called the Empuries, where they have relics from the ancient Greeks and Romans that settled in Catalonia. They introduced roads and sewer systems to the indigenous people and helped them become more “civilized”. Our tour guide, who was originally from Vermont and had lived in Catalonia for 24 years, explained to us that the without the influences from the Romans and Greeks, Catalonia would not be what it is today. Later that day (and my favorite part of the trip) we went to the famous Dali Museum in Figures. it was such an amazing experience and we had the opportunity to see many of Salvador Dali’s works. My favorite piece was Galarina- 1945, a portrait of his wife Gala that shows her in a simple, yet very sexual way. Gala was Dali’s muse until her death in 1983. The last day of our 3 day excursion we traveled 3 hours to Montserrat where the Mare de Deu de Monserrat also known as the Black Madonna is located. The views from the top of the mountain were gorgeous and the Cathedral was absolutely beautiful. Today we will be our first official day of class and we will be taking a tour of the Gothic City Quarters. I’m ecstatic and cannot wait! I’ll let you know how it goes!

Muchos besos!

Melissa W.