Since Bob has pretty well covered all that we have done in the past two days I will start with day 3… and just for the record; yes my jaw did drop when we saw the cathedral. The cathedral was BEAUTIFUL even with all the construction that was going on and all the preparation that was being put into it being consecrated by the Pope in November (however we were not sure on if it was November this year or next). The outside of the church was under like I said a lot of construction but words cannot event describe how magnificent this place was.

Today started off with a later morning with an hour bus ride to Barcelona Montserrat, which is a monastery located near Barcelona. The mountains that surrounded the monastery were rounded and made us question that how in nature could that happen? A lot of people chose to go to the top of one of the mountains in a “tram” that took about five minutes to rise to the top. Once at the top you saw this magnificent view of the Spanish country side. Some chose not to ride the tram and toured more of the monastery itself and even lit a candle for loved ones for a blessing. On the way back to the bus, many stopped and picked up fresh cheeses, honey, and meats that were located along the sidewalks. Once we got back on the bus we had another hour long ride back into Barcelona for some it was a free afternoon and others it was an opportunity to go to the Picasso museum. I had gone to the Picasso museum yesterday and WOW… It was amazing to see how his work progressed throughout his life time. From some of his very first pictures that his father showed him how to create to some of his later works that the family had donated. The museum consisted of about 11 rooms and had different periods of his life and the different works that he created at those times. I got a discount for being under the age of 25 and only had to pay 6 Euros instead of nine which saved a little bit of money. Today, however, I took a trip to the beach. Relaxation was needed sense we have been going nonstop sense we took off on Wednesday. Laying out in the party cloudy skies and watching the Mediterranean just relieved the stress level just a bit. We ended our last evening in Barcelona with a buffet meal at the hotel (they had meat that was not fish! Not that fish inst appealing to some participants but I am not one of them). We are all gathering in one room for some reflection and some laughs about our time so far here in Spain and can’t wait for the next place which is Madrid and Morocco in the morning. I am not really sure how a 4:30 wake-up call is going to work out but I will push through! Check back tomorrow for more


KK