Day 3-Barcelona

Sorry for the delay in posting. The wifi was not working last night at the hotel. Here is a snapshot of what some of our day looked like.

Some of us went back to the Sagrada Familia to see the inside (pictures above), and we also were able to go up the inside to he spires on the top to look out over all of Barcelona. It was beyond gorgeous! We then ate at a cafe right outside the church and took the metro to meet the rest of the group. Some of the. Had stayed in the main area if Barcelona to do some shopping and some took the metro to ride a cable car that goes across Barcelona. We all had a great time and got to see several of Gaudi's fantastic works, and then spent the evening at the beach, either dipping our feet in or swimming in the Mediterranean Sea. We were exhausted, but had an incredible day.

Day 2-Barcelona

We just got home from ourvery long and exciting day out in Barcelona. We had a guided bus tour to see all the sights, including the buildings from the world fair, which was the third ever held. We sawbuildings from the 1992 Olympics and the beautiful Guell Park, designed by the famous Antonio Gaudi. We saw the gorgeous Sagrada Familia, also designed by Gaudi. It has been under construction for well over one hundred years and is scheduled to be completed in the year 2026. (pictured above, top two). We visited an art school and made art to bring home (pictured above, #3). We shopped and at lunch in a great little sandwich shop off La Ramblas, and we finished he night withheld fountain show at the National Palace. We got home at midnight, so I will sign off forn

Our hotel

The hotel is beautiful and small. There is no air conditioning in the main parts of the hotel, but we have it in the rooms. Yay!

Day 1-Barcelona

Today we got into Barcelona about 2:00pm and checked into our hotels, only to go right back out into the city for a tour and some sight seeing. We saw a Gothic cathedral, lots of upscale shopping, and the famous Las Rambles...complete with world famous market, statue actors, and pickpockets. We didn't have any problems at all and are all exhausted from 24 hours wih little or no sleep. We ate dinner at he hotel and are getting ready to turning for the night. Here's what dinner looked like. :-)

We made it to Barcelona! Here we are in the Dallas airport waiting to board our plane to Spain. It has been a very long day and we are just now going down to eat dinner at Spanish time...8:00pm.

More to come!

Ready for adventures abroad!

Minnie Mouse had a long day traveling through airports to get back to the Midwest in preparation for her flight to Barcelona tomorrow. She was able to pass the time listening to her favorite Spanish music group, Camila. Tomorrow she sees the world!

Tips for Travel

Packing Tips:

ü  Pack travel sized items or half-used full-sized items, keeping in mind that you will throw away the bottle before returning

ü  Pack an empty bag (like your EF backpack) flat in the bottom of your bag so that you can put your heaviest non-liquid items & breakables in it upon return (carry that onto the plane).

ü  TRAVEL TO/THROUGH/FROM EUROPE  (American airlines)

Number of Bags Allowed*

One personal item: No charge
One bag carry-on: No charge
One bag checked: No charge

Size and Weight Per Bag Allowed*

45 in/115 cm (carry-on)
62 in/158 cm (checked)
50 lbs./23 kgs (checked)

Overweight Baggage Charges

Checked baggage weighing over 50 lbs./23 kgs but not more than 70 lbs./32 kgs will be charged at the rate of $100 per piece.

Checked baggage weighing over 70lbs./32 kgs but not more than 100 lbs./45 kgs will be charged at the rate of $200 per piece.

Travel Tips:

ü  ANYTHING liquid (or semi-liquid) must be in a 3oz bottle or less and ALL liquid items that are carried onto the plane must be in a quart sized ziplock bag. (No size limit for checked luggage)

ü  Call credit card companies, banks, insurance companies, and anyone else that might need to be aware of international travel. Give specific dates when you will be gone. Give a window of a day or two on either side of our trip schedule, just in case!

ü  Bring something to chew on for the descent on the plane.  Your ears will need to pop from the pressure change, and it will help to have something chewy (gum, starburst, etc.) to help.

ü  We look out for each other. If someone with long legs in our group has a middle seat, we will move around so that they have an aisle seat to stretch out a little on the plane. (for the long flights.)

Miscellaneous Tips:

ü  Confirm with EF that your account is PAID, that your name has been CONFIRMED and that all is a go for you to travel. If you signed up for insurance through EF, confirm that information as well.

ü  If you are a traveler (or plan on being one!), set up a frequent flier account with American Airlines (who we will be flying with) so that you can earn miles towards a free flight! (We are hopeful that you can still do this with your ticket stub)

ü  Decide beforehand what is MOST important to you and to anyone you’re buying for…keep trinkets small and light in weight