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Students take bike tour of city
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 what happened on their last day in the city:
Bon dia, Mama!
Today is our final day in Barcelona, and there is still so much to see and do. I think our students are starting to tire from the full days and nights of exploring this beautiful city. I had organized a group of students who were interested in taking a bicycle tour of the city. Before we left, I had 20 people express interest in the tour. Come this morning, however, only three students were willing to get out of bed early enough to take the four-hour tour. The three who showed up, Jessica, Ashlee, and Corbin, were very excited for the tour, though.
We went to St. James Plaza to meet with the representative from Fat Tire Bike Tours. It's the same company I used last year in Paris, and the tour there was great fun and well run. We met our leader, a young man from Australia who said his name was Buddha. I'm not sure if he was pulling our leg, but that's what he wanted us to call him. He didn't look anything like Buddha actually. He is a tall, thin fellow with lots of tattoos and dreadlocks. He was very funny though and the students liked him.
The best part about these tours is they are pretty leisurely. We ride for a bit, stop at a famous landmark, learn information and history about that landmark, take some photos, and ride to the next stop. It is a fantastic way to see the city and learn new things.
At almost every stop, Buddha would ask a question about the history of that area to see what we might already know. Most of the questions I could answer because I'd been here a week soaking up the sun and the history. No one wanted to answer Buddha's questions, so I would. After each correct answer, Buddha would say, "Twenty more points for Steve. The rest of you better start catching up." At the end of the ride, he announced that I was the winner. That made the students laugh. Me, too.
We saw the old palace of Ferdinand and Isabella (they sponsored Columbus's trip to the new world), the cathedral, the Catalan Opera House, the Arc de Triomf (yep, they have one here, too), the Park Ciutadella, the beach, the aquarium, and many other noteworthy sites. I have so many photos to show you! Speaking of learning new things, I learned something today as well. Earlier I wrote you about the delicious fried potatoes, the patatas bravas, and called them "brave potatoes."
My translation was off, though. I learned today that the word bravas is what they call a false cognate, that is it looks like an English word, but doesn't mean the same thing at all. Turns out patatas bravas actually means wild potatoes. It's a type of potato, but not like the Idaho russets in the stores at home. See, it's not just the students who are learning, I've learned something new every single day.
After the tour ended a little past three, I was walking pretty quickly to try and catch Dr. Angela Firkus at the Arc. We were going to attend a local festival before the farewell dinner this evening. I was a couple of minutes late and couldn't find her at the Arc. However, I knew where the festival was being held, so walked down there, scanning the long line to see if she were waiting. Fortunately for me, she was near the front of the line, and I was able to slip in.
Once we finally got inside, I couldn't believe how many people were in there! It was held in the courtyard of an old convent, so there were four walls keeping us all confined. I can see why they only let a few people in at a time! We could barely stir in there, but we tried to see the sights.
We each bought a souvenir and then decided to head back to the hotel.
By a happy accident, we left by a different entrance and found ourselves in a beautiful, quiet little square. It was so pretty I had to take several photos. I may have to have one of those enlarged and framed, it was so pretty. Even better, walking out of the square, we found a small archeological excavation of Roman ruins under a building. Very cool.
Back at the hotel, we all put on our dressy clothes and boarded buses for the restaurant. These farewell dinners are always very nice, but it's a little sad because it means our week is over.
The food was, as usual, amazing. We had lots of tapas, followed by a cold seafood and pasta salad to die for, and then steak and potatoes. Not the "brave" ones, though. It was potatoes and sweet potatoes layered like an au gratin dish. Super good! Dessert was a chocolate mousse that was so rich it was like eating fudge. Yum.
Afterwards there was plenty of picture taking as we all wanted to have final reminders of a wonderful week in an awesome city. I'll be up early tomorrow, Mama. Gotta be packed and on the bus to the airport before 6 a.m. Barcelona time.
There is a fountain on Las Ramblas, the most famous street in Barcelona. Legend has it that if you drink from the fountain, you will return to Barcelona. I filled up my water bottle from the fountain yesterday, and made sure I drank all of the water. I will be very happy to return home and see you again, but would love to come back to this magical city again someday.
See you soon!
Your loving son,
Steve