It’s taken me quite a while to get around to posting, but I hope the fact that I’ve been quite busy getting accustomed to my surroundings and soaking in the essence of Barcelona can be considered an extenuating circumstance. IES has also been keeping our schedules pretty packed, especially with our fieldtrip to the Costa Brava the other weekend. It’s rather odd that my first post from Barcelona is actually about our field trip somewhere else, but I feel our trip was definitely worth writing about.

The study journey organized by IES provided a great mix of cultural learning and relaxation. Each day we had a planned activity in the morning (Exiles Museum, Dal�Museum and a guided tour of Girona) and then afternoon off to each lunch and relax on the beaches of beautiful coastal towns.  The Exiles museum was a very eye-opening experience, because very few Americans (myself included) are familiar with the suffering that many Catalans and Spaniards from other parts of the country had to endure when they fled to France to escape Francisco Franco�s dictatorship in the 1930s. It was interesting to learn about an unfamiliar part of history, especially because it was something we also discussed in my History of Modern Spain class. Although it was definitely informative, our hour-long museum visit in Spanish was a little taxing, and by the end of it we were ready for a change of pace.  An afternoon visit to the gorgeous, quaint beach town of Collioure, across the border in France, was the perfect solution.

Another highlight of the trip was the Dal� museum in Figueres.  This extraordinary place was truly unlike anywhere I�ve ever been, and believe me, I�ve seen more than my share of museums.  Most are are created after the death of the artist, but Dal� himself spent over a decade designing this one. The result is a museum that is basically a work of art itself, as eccentric and original as the most beautiful pieces in Dal��s collections. I must say that before the museum visit, I didn�t have a huge appreciation for Dal� �s work, probably because I found it confusing and couldn�t “make sense of it”. However, once our guide got to explaining the symbolism behind many of the recurring shapes and images in his paintings, it was like something finally clicked in my mind and I suddenly understood it. It was a great experience for an art lover.  Naturally, having the afternoon off to relax on the beach in Cadaququ�s, sipping Sangria and eating tapas and fresh seafood made it that much better. 

The last morning we visited Girona, where we had spent the past two nights but without much of a chance to explore the city. Our (slightly rainy) guided visit took us across a historic bridge built by the same company that later constructed the Eiffel Tower, and into the the old part of the city. We visited the beautiful Gothic cathedral and the Arab baths, and then departed Girona. 

In fairness I have to admit that prior to the trip, I wasn’t too thrilled about leaving Barcelona for a whole weekend only a week after arriving. I would have liked some more to get adjusted and explore the city, but when we got back from the trip it all made sense. A weekend together really gave us the chance to get to know our fellow IES students, meeting new ones and spending more time with the ones we’d already met. Apparently the IES people had figured that out better than I had, and I’m very glad they did.