News & Updates - Barcelona
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Adios, Barcelona!
It is hard to believe that we are beginning our trek back to the United States at 7 a.m. tomorrow morning! This month sure has flown by, but we have really experienced a lot here in Barcelona!
On Friday morning, the whole ASA program got together in one room to view the final presentations by each Spanish class, ranging from comic strips to magazines to a news show to a soap opera-esque skit! After class, some students made a last visit to Gaudi's Parc Guell to take pictures and others went to Barcelona's wax museum and Bosc de les Fades (Fairy Forest) cafe. Friday, students made reservations at Port Olimpic.
We spent Saturday relaxing at Isla Fantasia, a water park about a half hour outside of the city. We went down water slides and soaked up our last of the Mediterranean sun lying on poolside lounge chairs. In the evening, the whole group went to the discoteca "Sweet Cherry" to dance to a combination of Spanish and American pop music and then out to a late dinner on Passeig de Gracia.
Students could choose to spend their last full day in Barcelona at the beach or in the center of town doing last minute souvenir shopping ...or suitcase shopping to carry the souvenirs home in! Some fully immersed themselves in Spanish culture by experiencing a bullfight this afternoon. Tonight we are going to the restaurant Iboo for our farewell group dinner and receiving our SummerBooks with memories and photos from the trip. Then it's time to squeeze everything back in those suitcases and try to get a little sleep before heading to the airport first thing in the morning! See you soon!
Sagrada Familia and Tibidado
We braved the heat this week to visit some places with great views! Yesterday, a large group of students visited La Sagrada Familia, Gaudi's famous unfinished masterpiece. You can ride an elevator up to climb the spiral staircases in the towers for great views of Barcelona! Other students explored the Barrio de Sants, a neighborhood in southern Barcelona.
Today, nearly all the students chose to visit Tibidabo, a retro amusement park built in the shadow of a huge church on the mountain overlooking Barcelona. Those who took the elevator and climbed to the top of the church experienced being as high as you can be over Barcelona except for being in a plane! We also rode many rides such as bumper cars, a ferris wheel, and a pirate ship, all with amazing views of the city and Mediterranean Sea!
Those who did not go to Tibidabo took a guided tour of the elegant and colorful Palau de la Musica Catalana concert hall, designed in a similar modernist style to Gaudi's. Afterwards, they had free time to explore the El Borne area of the old city.
Tomorrow during class time, each Spanish class will present their final project for the rest of the group. We are excited to see the products of everyone's hard work this month!
Heading Into the Last Week
It's hard to believe that we are well into our last week in Barcelona! We are trying to squeeze in as many sights as possible before we leave!
On Monday, many students chose to visit Gaudi's colorful Casa Batllo on Passeig de Gracia. Today, students chose to ride the cable car to the castle on Montjuic mountain. Others relaxed on the beach, visited the City History Museum, and went to the Arc de Triomf. Stay tuned for taking in more sight the rest of the week!
Figueres and Tarragona
We had a busy weekend! On Friday, the digital photography elective class went on a field trip to take pictures at La Boqueria, Barcelona's famous food market on Las Ramblas. After class, most students chose to visit Gaudi's famous Pedrera (the wavy looking apartment building on Passeig de Gracia) while others explored El Raval neighborhood, to the side of Las Ramblas. On Friday night, we had groups of students seeing the movies Bruno and Harry Potter and also a Flamenco Fusion show!
On Saturday, the whole group went on an excursion to Figueres, about 2 hours north of Barcelona, home of the famous museum of Salvador Dali's artwork. Since the entire museum was designed by Dali himself, it is not your traditional art museum! In the late afternoon, we went to the nearby beach of Roses and stayed for dinner.
On Sunday, we had another full group excursion to the city of Tarragona, south of Barcelona. Tarragona was an important city during the ancient Roman empire and we were able to walk among many of the ruins on our tour, including an amphitheater right on the Mediterranean Sea. We spent the rest of the day swimming in the sea and sunbathing and came home to have a pizza party on the rooftop of our residence.
Barcelona Must-Sees
We had a busy middle of the week, hitting some of Barcelona's "Must See" spots. On Wednesday after class, most of the group chose to visit the famous Picasso museum in Barcelona's artsy part of the old city called El Borne. Others decided to visit the Parque de la Ciutadella for some snacks by the fountain and lake, while a dedicated group of animal lovers checked out the zoo that is part of the same park. At night, we held a poker tournament at the residence. Prizes included pizza and laundry tokens!
Today, everyone left the school right after class today for a group excursion to Monteserrat, which literally means "jagged mountain" in the Catalan language. It is the site of a Benedictine abbey, which houses the famous Black Madonna of Montserrat. After the optional tour, many students took advantage of the Sant Joan Funicular to ride to a summit almost 1,000 meters above sea level to check out the hiking trails and spectacular views! A few students still had enough energy left at the end of the day to participate in a basketball game with some of the RA's.
A Sports-Filled Start to the Week!
This week began with many sports-related activities. On Monday after class, many students took a tour of Camp Nou, the stadium of the FC Barca futbol team. Others went to the aquarium or Barcelona's modern art museum. Today, students had a choice to go kayaking in the canal built for the 1992 Olympics and also do archery there or relax on the beach in the town of Castelldefels. We're so glad we had fabulous weather for all of these active activities!
Better Weather Weekend
Beautiful, sunny Spain weather returned for our excursion to the city of Girona, north of Barcelona, on Saturday. Girona's old city is bordered by a river (with houses right along it, Venice-style) and a wall. Students took a guided tour of the old city, included the former Jewish Quarter. On the tour many groups climbed the wall for some views of the Pyrenees Mountains and visited the Arab Baths. After the tour, students had free time to shop and eat lunch on Girona's smaller version of la Rambla street. Saturday night, we had dinner out at restaurants of our choice on Barcelona's Passeig de Gracia area.
Today, we relaxed on a different beach, Sant Feliu de Guixols. Many students chose to explore the outdoor market in the morning and then soak up the sun on the sand in the afternoon. Tonight, we are hanging out at the residence, doing laundry, resting and getting geared up for our next busy week!
Braving the Elements
Yesterday, we experienced an unusual afternoon of Barcelona weather: it started drizzling during class and then the drizzle turned into an all out downpour in the afternoon, lasting several hours! We had to scrap our activities for the afternoon and dash back to the metro, getting completely soaked in the process! Although we were disappointed about the rain, it was a good excuse to relax at the residence. Later, when the rain slowed to a drizzle again, a small group braved the elements to go out and see the Tour de France pass through Barcelona.
Today, the students had both their Spanish and elective classes. The Art and Architecture group went on a field trip to the Fundacion Miro to view the modern art of Joan Miro. After class, we split up to explore and shop in various neighborhoods of the city and a few went to a Chocolate Museum! Tonight, most of the group is heading to Port Olimpic, a waterfront area of restaurants. Students made reservations at a variety of places, such as sushi, tapas, and mediterranean cuisine!
The First Full Week
Our first full week is definitely in full swing! On Tuesday, after their morning class, students had the option of visiting Fundacion Miro (a modern art museum with works by Joan Miro), Parc Guell (the famous garden city of mosaic structures by Antoni Gaudi), or the Barrio de Gracia (a neighborhood of artsy boutiques and cafes).
Today, students had both their Spanish class and elective class. This afternoon, the digital photography class took a field trip to Parc Guell to sharpen their photography skills. After classes ended, students chose to visit Gaudi's unfinished masterpiece, La Sagrada Familia church, a different artsy neighborhood of shops in the Old City, el Borne, or take a boat ride on "Las Golondrinas" around the port area. Tonight, we all returned to the town of Terrassa to view their spectacular fireworks display, celebrating the end of their week-long festival!
Stay tuned for our sports-filled day tomorrow!
Bienvenidos a Barcelona!
Our first few days have been a whirlwind of getting settled in the Residencia Universitaria de Sarria, getting to know the city of Barcelona, and also catching some rays on two playas outside of the city!
The group of 103 Barcelona students arrived on Thursday and got settled in their rooms and explored Sarria, the neighborhood where our residence hall is located.
On Friday, we went to the Casa Convalescencia, a campus of the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, where the students take Spanish classes in the mornings and elective classes three afternoons a week. On Friday night, students explored the Plaza Catalunya area (center of the city) and a street festival in a nearby town.
We took some time to relax this weekend at two area beaches: Tossa de Mar, north of the city, and Sitges, south of the city. Tossa has Roman ruins to hike up for amazing views of the shoreline! We weren't home in the USA for a traditional Independence Day celebration, but we did go to Plaza Espanya to see a fountain show complete with lights and music (similar to the Bellagio fountains in Las Vegas!).
Today after classes, all students took a walking tour of the Barrio Gotico, the oldest and most central part of Barcelona. We learned that the city known as Barcelona today was built on top of the Roman city Barcino and we were able to see remains of these ancient Barcelona beginnings dating over 2,000 years old, along with the cathedral of Barcelona, the current government buildings, and some great shopping! Students had free time to dine and shop in this area after the tour.
A few reminders
Saludos, ASA Barcelona students and parents!
As we are getting very close to the program start date, we wanted to touch base on a few important items.
All Forms Due
We have now past the due date for all forms. I have sent out reminders today to those who are still missing forms. All students must submit their forms to the NY office as soon as possible: Rules & Regulations, Housing Form, Medical Form, Passport Copy. If you have not yet submitted your ISIC photo, please bring it with you to the program. If you are faxing any forms this week, please also bring a hard copy of those forms with you to the program.
Tshirts
By now, you should have received an ASA t-shirt and luggage tags in the mail. It is very important that you wear your ASA t-shirt when you travel to the program so our staff will be able to easily identify and help you when you arrive.
Magnet Material
You should have also received Before you go/Predeparture travel information in the mail by now. Please review this information to prepare you for travel day. Parents, be sure to print out the sheet with summer contact information and stick it on your fridge for easy reference during the summer!
Handbook and Packing List
Be sure to review your Orientation Handbook / Packing List that was posted on MyASA. The Handbook contains important information about the program and guidance as you prepare for the summer. Please read it through promptly, as it holds the answers to many questions, including some you haven’t thought to ask!
We are looking forward to meeting you in a few weeks in Spain!
As we are getting very close to the program start date, we wanted to touch base on a few important items.
All Forms Due
We have now past the due date for all forms. I have sent out reminders today to those who are still missing forms. All students must submit their forms to the NY office as soon as possible: Rules & Regulations, Housing Form, Medical Form, Passport Copy. If you have not yet submitted your ISIC photo, please bring it with you to the program. If you are faxing any forms this week, please also bring a hard copy of those forms with you to the program.
Tshirts
By now, you should have received an ASA t-shirt and luggage tags in the mail. It is very important that you wear your ASA t-shirt when you travel to the program so our staff will be able to easily identify and help you when you arrive.
Magnet Material
You should have also received Before you go/Predeparture travel information in the mail by now. Please review this information to prepare you for travel day. Parents, be sure to print out the sheet with summer contact information and stick it on your fridge for easy reference during the summer!
Handbook and Packing List
Be sure to review your Orientation Handbook / Packing List that was posted on MyASA. The Handbook contains important information about the program and guidance as you prepare for the summer. Please read it through promptly, as it holds the answers to many questions, including some you haven’t thought to ask!
We are looking forward to meeting you in a few weeks in Spain!
Get Ready for ASA in Barcelona!
Welcome to ASA News & Updates! As you finish off the school year, ASA will keep you posted with important information through this feature to prepare you for your time in Spain. Once you arrive at program, staff onsite in Barcelona will post updates to the site regularly, reporting back to those at home on all of our travel and cultural adventures, including photos.
Please make sure you subscribe to 'News & Updates' now so as not to miss any pre-program details. Encourage family and friends to subscribe as well so that they can see all that you're up to in Spain this summer.
Also make sure to complete all of the ASA forms that are due before departure. If you are not sure what is missing from your file, please log on to your MyASA account, where you’ll be able to check the status and download any necessary forms.
Thank you, and look out for the next update!
Please make sure you subscribe to 'News & Updates' now so as not to miss any pre-program details. Encourage family and friends to subscribe as well so that they can see all that you're up to in Spain this summer.
Also make sure to complete all of the ASA forms that are due before departure. If you are not sure what is missing from your file, please log on to your MyASA account, where you’ll be able to check the status and download any necessary forms.
Thank you, and look out for the next update!
