The End of the Story is Never the End of the Story

Now on to the second half of my trip to Barcelona! The next day started out with a visit to the Picasso Museum. Picasso was born in Spain and lived in Barcelona for some time. Picasso loved Barcelona and  had described it as his true home when feeling nostalgic or a little depressed. It was cool to see his work in a city that he loved in his home country.  Furthermore, I was absolutely blown away by the immense skill he had as a teenager. He painted this painting below, Science and Charity, at just 16, the same age as I am now. I don't think many people know about these early paintings and how Picasso was a technical genius at such a young age. I really liked seeing the contrast between these realistic paintings from his youth (that look like they could hang in the Prado next to world-renowned masterpieces) and the abstract, cubist work we all know him for.

Science and Charity (1897) by Pablo Picasso
Photo Creds: http://www.wikiart.org/en/pablo-picasso/science-and-charity-1897

After seeing the realistic works from his youth, we progressed into his more typical cubist style. Picasso really liked Velázquez, and put his own spin on Velázquez's most famous painting Las Meninas (I talked about it in the post De Madrid al Cielo). This painting, Picasso's Las Meninas, was really cool to see after seeing the original by Velázquez in the Prado.

Las Meninas (1957) by Pablo Picasso
Photo Creds: http://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Las_Meninas_(Picasso)

After the Picasso Museum, we had some free time. A few friends and I decided to check out the St. Josep market on La Rambla, the most famous street in Barcelona. The market was super hot and busy, but I loved seeing all the colors of the fruit and smelling the spices from all the different stands. Its probably one of the most colorful places I went to in these past 5 weeks! We sampled some fruit, walked around, and ended up liking the market so much that we ended up returning the next day to eat a full lunch there. The fresh fruit smoothies were delicious as well!

After free time, we met up with the rest to go on a group visit to the Parc Güell, which was designed by Antonio Gaudí (Sagrada Familia) and constructed between 1900 and 1914. Like the Sagrada Familia, the park is really unique and definitely a must-see if you ever find yourself in Barcelona. The various bridges, walkways, buildings, and sculptures that are scattered amongst the landscape all have a truly distinct look to them. There's also a lot of colorful tile covering various structures, including the famous bench that winds around the main terrace.

View of Barcelona from the main terrace. 

On the tiled bench on the main terrace

After walking around the park for a bit, we were feeling pretty hot and tired, so a small group of us went back to rest at the hotel before our last free dinner. We ended up going to a cheap (but yummy) tapas bar right across the street from the hotel. On the day we went, everything on the menu was only 1 euro, so naturally our group of 7 decided to order 31 tapas! Although it was a ton of food, it was really good and we ate all of it in only 10 minutes. It was nothing fancy, but it was a perfect way to spend our last free night together! 

And its finally here: the last day of Spamp (Spain camp, coined by Kyle). We started the day with a visit to La Pedrera, a building designed by, surprise, Antonio Gaudí (he kind of runs Barcelona). The roof of the building is like a maze of different chimney tops and boasts great views of Barcelona.

Equipo + Gaudí chimney + bucket hats

After the visit to La Pedrera, I went on an optional tour of the Palau de la Música Catalana, a famous music hall in Barcelona. This building was not actually designed by Gaudí. Instead, it is a work by  LLueís Domènech i Montaner and was built between 1905 and 1908. It has incredible tile work, and the main chandelier doesn't have any light - its all stained glass. The majority of the light in the concert hall is natural, giving it a airy and colorful feel. I love the garden-like architecture. The Palau de la Música Catalana was especially cool for me because Manuel de Falla's El amor brujo was performed there, and I played a piece from this work (Ritual Fire Dance) at my piano recital this year.

Stained glass chandelier - 100% natural light!

After visiting the Palau de la Música, everyone met back at the hotel to get dressed up for one last group dinner. We went out to a fancy catalan restaurant to celebrate the experiences had and friendships during our five week adventure in Spain. 

El equipo takes the swanky restaurant

At 8 am the next morning, I parted ways with the group and went off with my parents as they all departed for their homes all around the world. Before leaving for Spain, my grandma gave me a little book called Lessons of a Turtle. Its has lessons about how to get the most out of the little things in life, and when I read it this last week it helped me to really think about how much I've appreciated this experience. The last page of the book has the following words: The end of the story is never the end of the story. During my five weeks here I've made some incredible friends and gone on fascinating adventures. To my teachers, thank you for showing me the incredible nuances of the Spanish language and culture. You've all helped me learn to navigate and love this country. To my host family, thank you so much for giving me a home and making me part of the family. I know I'll come back to visit!  To the equipo, thanks for an amazing summer. It wouldn't have been the same without all of you, and I hope to see you all again soon. Hasta pronto.

Equipo on 4th of July