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When in Barcelona
 Barcelona
is a great city to visit - vibrant, exciting, cosmopolitan
and hip - with plenty to do and see. It was the site of the
1992 Olympics and the stadiums are used in the city today.
Barcelona has a long history of unique artistic expression,
and is home to Miro, Dali, Picasso, and Gaudi. You can see
some of their work in the
National Museum, a beautiful building in its own
right.
Gaudi & La Sagrada Familia
 Barcelona
is the home of the famous architect Antoni Gaudi. And, in
this great city, you'll get a chance to view a lot of his
work. Some believe that
La
Sagrada Familia is his best work. Lot of others agree
since nearly two million people a year visit this cathedral,
the most popular site in all of Barcelona. It's actually a
giant temple that has been under construction since 1882
(no typo here!) and they don't expect it to be finished for
another 30 to 80 years (estimates vary). Gaudi played an
active role in the construction of the Sagrada Familia until
his death in 1926. He would often request that work be
modified and adjusted until it was exactly what he had in
mind. Today, however, his work is partly open to
interpretation.
 Much
controversy surrounds the building of the Sagrada Familia.
For example, new construction materials are being used
which, some feel, Gaudi himself would not have used. The
building is still under construction so be prepared to see a
lot of work continuing when you visit (note the cranes in
the photo above). If you have time, you'll want to visit the
museum inside. There you will see the stone masons at work
carving stones to be used in the building. Regardless of
all the controversy surrounding the Sagrada Familia it is a
truly magnificent building and an absolute must-see
when you visit Barcelona.
More Gaudi
 Another
one of Antoni Gaudi's creations once again hits the top 10
most visited attractions in Barcelona. This building used to
be called Casa Mila but nowadays it's more commonly known
 as
La Pedrera which means "quarry". Gaudi was
instrumental in completing this building and his
characteristic wavy brick work and colorful tiles are also
evident on this masterpiece.
Casa Batllo is also a Gaudi work and worth seeing during
your time in Barcelona. This house, like La Pedrere above,
is a unique piece of architecture, like much of Gaudi's
work.
 And,
after all this traipsing around and a full day of
classes/studying, you might take in one of many of
Barcelona's
famous beaches.
When in
Madrid
Parque de
Buen Retiro (Park of the Pleasant Retreat) is a large
park of approximately 350 acres found in the center of
Madrid, near the Prado Museum. Beautiful gardens are located
throughout the park in addition to a large artificial pond
found in the center where one can rent paddle boats. It is a
very popular spot on Sunday’s with street performs, fortune
tellers and tappas bars found throughout the park.
Bull Fights
are common throughout Spain and Madrid hosts Las Ventas, the
largest bull ring, or Plaza de Toros, in Spain. The
bullfighting season begins in March and ends in October. The
best time to see bullfights are during May and June when the
world’s most famous bullfighting festival, San Isidro, takes
place.
Real
Madrid is Madrid’s professional fútbol club which plays
at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, one of Madrid’s two 5-star
stadiums. The other is Vicente Calderón Stadium, home of
Atlético Madrid, another football team in the city. Real
Madrid is the most successful football club in the 20th
century, according to FIFA and this past year won the La
Liga title, the title of the professional football league in
Spain. In addition, Madrid hosted the 1982 FIFA World Cup.
El Rastro,
the most popular open air flea market in Madrid, is held
every Sunday afternoon and is a great place for shopping.
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