On Wednesday, March 20, 47 students and teachers embarked on the trip of a lifetime: the much talked about bi-annual Spain trip.
After 11 days of travel, the tour group is back home safe and sound and have many great stories to tell and pictures to share.
GRANADA
The first stop on the Spain adventure was Granada, a city in the south of Spain. Granada is influenced greatly by the moors; therefore, much of its architectural style looks very similar to northern Africa.
The main event in Granada was visiting the Alhambra, a palace in which many different rulers, and even peasants, lived throughout hundreds of years. Many students on the trip agreed that this was their favorite spot that they visited while in Granada.
“The views were incredible and it was so interesting learning about the history of the palace,” junior Suzanne Selman said.
Another culturally rich experience was visiting a moorish tea house, where the students drank tea in the moorish style.
“I liked the moorish tea house a lot! It was interesting to see a cultural aspect that we hadn’t learned very much about,” junior Kayla McGuire said. “The tea was so good, and the whole place had a really authentic feeling to it.”
SEVILLE
Seville is a beautiful city full of culture and life. There were many great historical sites to see and a lot of culture to take in.
During each city, there was generally one big cultural event that the group got to see and be involved in. For Seville, it was the popular Flamenco dances.
“My favorite part about Seville was the Flamenco dances because it was nothing I’ve ever seen before,” junior Kirstin Quilty said.
Since the visit took place the week before Easter, or La Semana Santa, the students and teachers got to witness a holy procession on the streets of Seville.
Many brotherhoods paraded through the city with crosses and in their special robes on their way to the cathedral.
“I thought [the procession] was an excellent cultural experience,” senior Olivia Muth said, “although it was a little bit frightening seeing people parading so proudly in costumes that we would not normally be accustomed to seeing on the streets.”
Seville and Granada are not too far from each other geographically, but are almost like two different worlds.
“Seville was a big change from Granada; we went from the countryside to a busy city,” junior Kira Sullivan said. “It was a lot more crowded, but still just as fun.”
MADRID
Madrid is a bustling city not too far from what New York is like, some would say. This city was very different than the other ones previously visited. While it still had a lot of history, it was much more modern than Granada or Seville.
“I loved the city aspect [of Madrid]. There were so many antique shops, but also tourist-like places,” junior Kayla McGuire said. “It reminded me of New York City at first, but when we really got into the local parts of the city it was great.”
It may have been raining a lot in Madrid, but that didn’t stop people from having a good time.
“My favorite part of Madrid was definitely the shopping!” Selman said. “The view from our hotel was amazing!”
Shopping in the city of Madrid was a great experience for a lot of the students, but they soon realized that while they may have been in a city similar to ones near home, they couldn’t let their guard down.
“[In Madrid] you had to be on your guard and constantly holding onto your purse,” junior Megan Luybli said. “Not to mention, some of the pick pocketing experiences we had were pretty crazy.”
Pickpockets were a very serious issue in Madrid, but the students made sure they were always aware of their surroundings and didn’t let the idea of pickpockets ruin their once-in-a-lifetime trip.
The students that chose not to go shopping visited various museums.
“I chose to go [to La Reina Sofia] because I like modern art,” Sullivan said. “All the pieces there were very unique and interesting. They had one of Picasso’s paintings that took up a whole wall.”
BARCELONA
Barcelona was the last stop on the Spanish tour of a lifetime. A lot of students loved this city, and many agreed that they would definitely want to come back. One of the things that the group did together was go on a bike tour.
“I loved the bike tour because it was a cool experience to be able to bike around Barcelona instead of just walking or taking a bus,” Sullivan said. “They have designated bike routes there, unlike here, where you just share the road or sidewalk with everyone.”
Aside from the bike tour, there were many other places the group visited, such as the beach, parque Güell, and Las Ramblas. Las Ramblas is sort of like the main street in Barcelona. There are many shops and places to eat, and also the entrance to the famous market.
Everyone believed Barcelona to be a wonderful city full of life, beauty, and adventure.
“I loved the city and how beautiful it was,” Luybli said. “Las Ramblas was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. There were flowers everywhere and the market was a lot of fun.”
The adventurous students who went to Spain agreed that the trip was worth the long plane rides, the rainy days, and the language barrier.
“It was different than I expected,” McGuire said, “and I loved that. The experience was once in a lifetime.”
