This weekend we took another (free) trip through our Maryland-in-Barcelona program. We started off our trip Friday morning with an hour-long bus ride to Figueres, Spain. I was asleep for the majority of the ride but towards the end, I woke up and was greeted with a view of some beautiful snow-tipped mountains out the window of our bus.
We had come to Figueres for the renowned Dalí Theatre and Museum. It’s a beautiful building with Dalí symbolism all around the exterior. There are eggs, loaves of bread, and big letters spelling out Figueres right outside the museum to greet you to the city and its most popular attraction.
We took a tour with a nice man who provided us with a lot of insight into Dalí and the influences in his art. As you walk in, one of the first things you see is the courtyard. In the center of the courtyard is one of the coolest installations in the museum. Dalí’s personal Rolls Royce is parked attached to the neck of a large blindfolded woman. It had three mannequins inside – representing a driver, Dalí’s wife, and Dalí himself. When you press a button on the side of the car, the car actually has water drop from the ceiling as if it’s raining inside the vehicle.
After seeing this, we journeyed inside the museum to see the rest of the Dalí works throughout the museum. I’m just going to toss a bunch of my favorites here.
The Dalí museum was fascinating. He was a very interesting guy. We learned a lot about the incorporation of his insecurities into his work. A lot of weird sexual stuff that I didn’t know prior. Still, very cool to see so much meaning poured into what seems like a random assortment of things on canvas. After the museum, we got back on the bus and headed towards Banyoles Lake where we were to go on a bike tour around the lake. The lake is located in a province of Girona, Spain. This was super, super cool! We got to go around with a two-time Argentinian Olympic athlete. He was a kayak racer. We tried to find more information about the guy after our bike tour but couldn’t find much. As we biked around the parameter of the lake, I spoke with him about the athletics in the area. He explained how a lot of Norwegians come to Banyoles to train for rowing (on the lake). There are also nearby mountains. Sometimes, he said, he likes to kayak down the mountainside into the river that circles around the city. It looked and sounded like an amazing place to live.
This is the lake we circled on our bike tour. There was a lady rowing. As I mentioned earlier, lots of people (mostly Norweigans I believe) come to Banyoles to perform rowing training. There were long streaks of orange buoys set up for races – plus a beautiful view of the mountains in the background.
Here is us on the Bike Tour! About halfway through, my friend Dan and I asked our friends, Ruby and Maggie, (who had gotten the only tandem bike) if we could take the tandem for a spin. They were getting fed up with the wonky gears and were happy to switch to individual bikes. So, for the rest of the bike tour, Dan and I took on the challenge of keeping up with the group on a tandem bike. This was my first time riding a tandem bike. I was upfront and it was unlike any bike I’d ridden before. Any slight variation in the handlebar direction and I would feel the weight of the bike entirely shift. It was also tricky trying to synch up my pedaling with Dan. But, overall we had a great time trying the Tandem Challenge!
Here is an over-the-shoulder shot Dan took of us biking through some local fields. Absolutely stunning. After our tour, Dan and I asked if we could take a picture with “Antillio” – the Olympic Kayaker who was guiding our tour.
I wish we could have stayed by the lake for longer. It was so tranquil and pretty. But, after the bike tour, we headed to Girona. Our scheduled activities were done for the day so we had the evening to ourselves. So, after arriving at our hotel (which was pretty nice) my friends and I all took a little power nap and then headed out for dinner. We went to a local pizza place and I got a burrito! Afterward, we went to a local Irish bar which is apparently popular with foreigners. It was fun. I got a tasty $9 sour beer! The next morning, we set out on our tour of the city. Before we left for Girona, my mom told me that a lot of Game of Thrones had been filmed in the city. Our tour guide made sure to emphasize this. She pointed out several spots where scenes from the show had been filmed. She said almost all of Season 6 was filmed In Girona. Rather than trying to explain where we were in each of the pictures I am just gonna toss a bunch of the cool pictures we took while there below 🙂
Olive tree! ^
After our little tour of the old town parts of Girona, we got lunch at a really tasty little Mexican spot. I got some enchiladas. It was really good!
Then, we came back to the hotel and jumped on the busses to come back to Barca! Overall, we had an amazing time. Plus, it’s always nice to get a free trip somewhere new! Now, we are making wings and picking up pizzas for our little apartment Super Bowl party! Go Chiefs! Over and out!
Nick Henderson
9:36pm
Barcelona, Spain