Sant Cugat, Spanish Soccer and Sopa de Pescado

Welcome all.

Today has been a day to remember.  I started off my day by visiting 4 more English schools in the northern region of the city of Barcelona.  One of these schools was named Benjamin Franklin International School.  The schools grounds easily took up a block of the street and had buildings for primary to secondary levels of education. There was also another important school that I visited: The Oak House School.  This was located near the Benjamin Franklin School and it was also an impressive building.  It also easily took up a block of the nearby street and included plenty space for many students, from primary to secondary levels.

After that, I visited the town of Sant Cugat.  Sant Cugat is a little town outside the city of Barcelona and has a historic monastery, dating from the 13th century.  I visited it with my host mom from two years ago, Pilar, and it was a beautiful sight.  The Monastery had gone through multiple stages (Romantic, Gothic, etc...) and had an amazing open area, featuring a museum which housed some physical remains of the Monastery.  I was also able to obtain some photos of it`s church section before a wedding and funeral occupied the space.  What made it more remarkable was the fact there was hardly anyone there.  I was able to grab some amazing photos of the building with the absence of people passing by.

I also had some great Spanish cooking.  It included eggplant with meat and cheese, sopa de marisco (which had shrimp and calamari mixed in), and some finely cut pineapple.  It was a great meal and it ended the night off in a great fashion. 

Before dinner, I partook in a ritual that I participated in when I was in Barcelona two years ago: joining in on a pick up game of soccer with the local kids of Gracia.  Once I returned to Pilar`s apartment, I headed down to the local park and joined in a game that was already taking place.  Before I knew it, I had played three games, two of them as the goalie/portero.  It was a fun activity that relieved my stress from the day and allowed me to partake in local culture.  I did pretty well against them, (though I did see a good number of goals get out of my reach or go through my legs).

Below, I will be posting some photos from the Monastery.

Visca Barca!