Day 3 - Rehearsal, Bus Tour
We met everyone this morning at the Parroquia Sant Isador for rehearsal. Everyone had great stories to share about their homestays. Hannah Williams has the cutest little host sister that greeted her with a sign that said "Welcome Hannah," apparently the only English she knows! Hannah is staying in her room and they had lots of fun exchanging chalk drawings. Nora went on a nice walk with her host family and had a great dinner!
We had a successful rehearsal with Cor Vivaldi, conducted by Oscar, and then walked about a block to a park where we had our bag lunches provided by our host families. With full bellies, we loaded the bus and had a mini bus tour of Barcelona.
We drove by an old bull fighting ring that was converted into a very upscale shopping mall with great restaurants on top. Passing the Museu De Art, we headed up the hill to our first quick stop, which was at the Olympic Park. In 1992, Barcelona hosted the Summer Olympics. We took a group picture in front of the "Whale Tale," where the Olympic torch was lit, and then were back on the bus, this time heading down the hill, overlooking the Mediterranean. All everyone really wanted to do was go down to the beach!
Our bus dropped us off at Gaudí's very famous Sagrada Família, which was simply amazing. This church has been under construction since the year 1882, and no, that is not a typo!! Gaudí, a very plain and simple man, was way ahead of his times. His creativity could not have been finished in the few years after beginning the project, simply because the technology needed to complete the church simply wasn't around. He was criticized for his unusual designs but that didn't seem to stop him. He was a man on a mission. Gaudí didn't live to see the the inside of the church and it's magnitude, he just saw the shell. The stain glass windows and complexity of his designs are something very unique to his creativity and style of architecture, which didn't quite match his outside appearance at all. He got hit by a car and killed one day while crossing the street, on his way to church. He had no identification, and others thought he was a homeless man. Little did they know, it was Gaudí. They are predicting to complete this church in the year 2026, costing about one million dollars a week to continue the work. This church is visited by thousands, which helps pay for the work. To this very day, they are continuing to complete his dream. Gaudí's boss? God, up in heaven. He has all the time in the world to complete his masterpiece. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagrada_Fam%C3%ADlia
After our tour was over, we loaded up on the bus and headed back to the school to meet our host families. The kids are all off to celebrate St. Joan's Day, a summer solstice celebration with lots of fireworks and partying, eating traditional Coca cakes. Adios!!!
Click through the slideshow below to view some highlights from today:
