Final Days!!!

Sunday 3/11

Cannot believe what a day we've had! We spent the first couple hours on the bus traveling to Costa Brava. Our first stop was lunch where were secretly very happy to be served and American lunch - burgers, hot dogs, french fries and Coke! Just a note of food - we've had a wonderful culinary experience here. We've tried everything from traditional tapas to Spanish calamari! We were shocked to discover that french fries are served at pretty much every meal and are often topped with olive oil. Anyway, after lunch we had a little bit to walk around, shop, and yes...even play in the water. It was FAR too cold to get in but there were a couple brave souls who put on bathing suits and got in anyway. It was terribly windy, Cesar tells us that the wind makes the people of this region a little crazy - I thought he was kidding until I got knocked over by a gust of wind and a shop owner cheerily remarked - "what a lovely light wind today! So much better than yesterday when the wind broke one of my windows!" Hmmm - perhaps Cesar was right! After out afternoon excursion we left for our final concert at the Basilica in Castelo de Empuries. The basilica was huge, stunning and had the most amazing acoustics! Here we sang our full set. The concert was well attended and received. We even sang several encore numbers! The highlight of this concert, however, was getting to watch Mr. Berryman fill with glee when the priest asked if he would like to play the organ. Mr. Berryman accepted the offer and filled basilica with some gorgeous music - he even improvised on our school hymn, "Sun of my Soul!" After the concert the town hosted a little party for us. I think we all gained about 20 pounds from the pastries but we worked it off afterwards in a little game of "football" in the town square. Back to the bus and "home" to Barcelona we went - it was a late night and so it's off to bed!

3/21

It was strange waking up thinking that this will be our last day in Spain! With no concerts left we were able to enjoy a nice relaxing morning. We started with breakfast in the hotel and then it was off to explore Barcelona some more. Several went shopping, others went Gaudi hunting and still other spent their time leisurely walking about. (I myself spent a delightful afternoon basking in the the sun, sipping WAY TOO cafe con leche in a very cute little cafe in total shock that I was actually "working") In the early afternoon we met as a group and joined our city guide Rosa for a final tour of the historic districts of Barcelona. On our tour we made a special stop at Palau de la Musica Catalan, the Palace of Catalan Music. Here we walked through the opera house and even got to hear their organ! (We all agreed that, in our HUMBLE opinion, Mr. Berryman's impromptu concert the night before was far superior!) After our tour we enjoyed some gelato and then went off to our farewell dinner. Here we ate WAY more food that any one person should in a lifetime, enjoyed each others company and reflected on what a wonderful tour it has been! Tomorrow will inevitably bring stress as we travel from Barcelona, to Paris and finally back to Boston but right now...we really would rather not think about that.

This trip has been amazing in so many ways - I can't believe how much we've seen, done and experienced. It has been a joy to travel with these students. They are interested, engaged and as always entertaining - I have been amazed at their level energy, their willingness to try something new and their enthusiasm for even the most mundane things. There is so much educational and personal value in trips like these and I feel very lucky as a first-year teacher, a musician and a conductor to have had the experiences of this trip - I am confident that our students feel the same.

Buenos Dias!