Day 5

Today was a big travel day. We had 6 hours to drive to Barcelona. To be fair most of us spent the drive sleeping and getting ready for going out later that night. We made a stop 2 hours in at a place called Zaragoza. This was a roman city founded in 24 bc. This town was destroyed by Napoleon but rebuilt for the 2008 expo.

We had a quick tour of the Basilica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar. A church built around a pilar on which the Virgin Mary is said to appear to St. James. You are supposed to kiss the pilar. There are also 2 bombs in the church that were dropped on the church but never went off. I spent the rest of the time walking around town and shopping for shoes.

Then it was back on the bus for Barcelona. We had a bus tour of Barcelona where we saw the Olympic stadium, the expo buildings and the port. We had a walking tour of the Sagrada Familia, the cathedral designed by Gaudi. It should be finished in 2026. Then we had a quick walking tour of down town. We saw the government buildings and evidence of Barcelona’s wish to leave Spain and be independent. We then checked into the hotel and got dressed for dinner. We had amazing food on top of an old bull ring. We had amazing views of the whole city from the restaurant. Then we went downtown using the metro to the port side bars. We had a deal with the bar to get cheap drinks for a long as we stayed drinking on their outdoor patio.

At 1 we moved over to the club Opium. This is a huge club on the beach. However it is also way to crowded and a haven for pickpocketers. One girl on tour got her phone stolen.