Students soak up Barcelona history

Editor's note: Second-year students have gone on an educational trip to Barcelona, Spain. Cottey College Public Information Officer Steve Reed is sharing the experience with the Nevada Daily Mail's readers in daily accounts, in the form of letters back home. Here's how Day 2 went:

Hola, Mama!

After today, I can tell all my friends that I have vacationed on a Mediterranean beach. (Well, for an hour or so, anyway.) The details are not nearly as exciting as it sounds, but it sure sounds impressive. I'll fill you in shortly.

The second day of our trips always begin with a half-day bus tour of the city led by an official (and very knowledgeable) local guide. That's what we did today as well. Our bus driver, Javier, was incredibly skilled at moving our bus through narrow, twisting streets and making turns that looked impossible for a vehicle that big. Our guide, Carmen, was very informative as she pointed out landmarks and explained the history of this city that dates back 2,200 years.

Our first stop to get out and explore was Park Guell, a lovely, and unusual, park designed by architect Antonio Gaudi. When I say "unusual" I don't mean anything negative. The stone work to create the terrace and the pathways is incredible. It took Gaudi 14 years to create this landmark. The famous curved, mosaic benches are known the world over, and the mosaic medallions on the ceiling beneath the terrace are impressive as well.

The next opportunity to get out and walk was at the world-famous Sagrada Familia. This church, originally designed by Gaudi, has been under construction for more than 100 years! No foolin'. In fact, there are four new towers or spires that have just begun to be erected. This place will still be in some stage of construction after I'm dead and gone.

That doesn't mean it isn't impressive. The amount of details all over the facades is incredible. The side Gaudi completed features the nativity. Another sculptor, after Gaudi's death, designed the facade featuring the crucifixion. The side to feature the resurrection hasn't even begun to take shape.

The bus took us by two other Gaudi-designed houses, Mila House and Casa Batillo. I'm not sure how to describe Mila House, you should probably look it up. Casa Batillo is designed to tell the story of St. George slaying the dragon. It is completely covered in mosaic tiles. The ridge line looks like the spine of the dragon, and the roof tiles look like scales. There are pillars in front of some windows that are to resemble the teeth of the dragon. It's a super cool-looking place.

Following the bus tour, a few students invited me to join them for lunch. They wanted to eat at a little tapas place they visited yesterday. Tapas is a Spanish word that literally means tops, but tapas are like appetizers. If you go to a tapas place, you order a small dish of something, or several somethings, to hold you over until dinner. Spaniards traditionally eat dinner at a late hour.

We sat down, and in true Spanish fashion, each ordered something different so we could share and try new things. I ordered pulpitas in salsa, which is baby octopuses in a tomato sauce. It sounds bizarre, but they are pretty good. I even got Samantha and Stevie to try one. Both were a little weirded out about the idea of eating a baby octopus, but both agreed it was pretty tasty. Sam even said it tasted a little like Spaghetti-Os.

Speaking of Samantha, I had to play the role of her dad after lunch. We went to a big department store to look around, and shortly after we arrived, a Spanish guy got right in Samantha's face, literally, and told her, "I like you." Sam tried to get rid of him, but he was very persistent. She made eye contact with me and I could tell she was pretty flustered. I walked up to the guy and said "Hello."

"I like her," he answered.

"Es mi hija," I answered in grammatically poor Spanish. "Is my daughter," is what I told him. The guy took a big step backward, shook my hand, made a little small talk, and left. Samantha looked at me and said, "Thanks, Dad."

That's when Taylor, Stevie, and I decided to visit the beach. Barcelona is a port city and has three miles of beaches. We walked down to the ocean, but then had to turn right and walk around the port a ways before we actually found the beaches. They are beautiful, though, Mama; although it was really too cool to be playing in the surf. Taylor and Stevie decided to take their shoes off anyway and see how cold the water was. It was quite cold. I did stick my hand into the surf, just so I can say I've been in the Mediterranean.

After an hour of looking for seashells and rocks, we went back to the hotel. Mama, the walk back sure seemed a lot longer than the walk down. Maybe that's because it was uphill.

That night was our faculty/staff dinner at a very nice restaurant called 7 Portes which is Spanish for 7 Doors. We started with several plates of tapas, and the waiters just kept bringing us plates of things for us to try. There were vegetables, and thinly sliced ham, and anchovies, and tomato bread, and on and on. And that was before the main course! We had paella (pie-ey-yuh) which is a traditional Spanish rice dish. I had the seafood paella. I was feeling pretty stuffed by this point, when they brought out dessert. We had flan and coffee. So good, but I can't believe I ate it all.

We had to take taxis to and from the hotel because of the distance. I hailed a cab for my small group, told the driver our hotel address and got in. The driver announced he was "number one driver," and took off. Number one driver must have meant he wanted to finish before the other drivers as he raced them through the streets, cranked up the radio when the song "Moves Like Jagger" came on, and tried to find a shortcut to get us to the hotel first. He was generally pretty entertaining, but despite his efforts, did not get us to the hotel first. I guess NASCAR will have to wait.

All in all, Mama, it was a fun and educational day, with a great finish at the end. More adventures to follow tomorrow!

Your loving son,

Steve