texans on the autobahn

Beautiful Barcelona!

Sam and I just returned from a school language trip to Barcelona, Spain, the second largest city in Spain. It is a Mediterranean city because of it’s location by the sea, history, tradition and culture. When the trip was announced at the school Sam immediately knew he wanted to go and I immediately knew I wanted to go as a chaperone if that was allowed. Of course, I had not figured into the planning that I would have had knee surgery just a few weeks prior to the trip. However, I managed to go and although I enjoyed everything I saw, I have asked Robin to shoot me if I ever volunteer to go on another school trip!

We arrived in Barcelona via a short 2 leg flight from Munich to Palma Mallorca then to Barcelona. The flight was uneventful for the most part, but I have to say that many of the students use bad language a lot, and I had to remind one of the German boys that his jokes and his language were inappropriate. As it would turn out, there were many things I had to remind students of in regard to their conduct.

Once we arrived at the airport in Barcelona and gathered our luggage we headed towards the train that would take us into the city and closer to our hotel. Our hotel was situated on the other side of Barcelona. I don’t think that I could ever travel this way without having a guide familiar with the area, as was Senor Lopez, the Spanish teacher who is from the Barcelona area. The train or Metro into the city was one thing, but then having to navigate the subway terminals with luggage up escalators and often stairs (yes stairs!) was not easy. Upon arriving at the stop where we needed to get off to get to our hotel, we then had to walk up a street much like one of the lower hills you might find in San Francisco! Remember. . I am still wearing a knee brace, without full function of my left leg, carrying a large suitcase on wheels that I’m sure is overpacked for a European holiday, and I’m walking up a hill for about 1 kilometer. All I could think of was the children’s book “I think I can, I think I can. . .” I made it up the hill and was thrilled to be able to rest and catch my breath. . .this was only Monday!!!

After quick room assignments, the group of 21 headed back to the metro for a short walk along Las Ramblas, a tree lined walk way with flower vendors, bird vendors, and performance artists. We then walked to the harbor and I learned that the bridge architecture was used in a Tony Hawk skater video game that one of the boys had on his PSP as we were walking. Up to that point, that seemed to be the most interesting thing for the kids. . .the use of real places in a make believe video game. . .perhaps our trip to Barcelona wasn’t so much about cultural differences of different nations but that of teenagers and adults?

posted by stuckinthemiddle @ 3:47 PM