I lied...

Ok I lied. I can't stop writing. Last night for dinner was Crepes at an amazing little Crepery. And then it was bedtime.

This morning we woke up and followed some students to the Saturday outdoor market. It was National Geographic come to life. Rows and rows of cheap, knockoff brands, Okies (Oklies), Molex (Rolex), motorDiesel (Diesel), K&Y (DK&Y), Acliclas (Adidas), etc. Other rows were a crayon box of colorful food. Fresh produce and meat as far as you could see. Intermixed were various stands selling cooked food that smelled wonderful but I was too busy shooting students (with a camera) to stop and enjoy it too much.

After the market we made our way back to the hotel but stopped at a little sandiwch shop to order lunch. The poor lady tried to deal with 15 or so Americans trying to order and make change in her restaurant that was maybe 10'x10'. It was hectic but my Spanish is getting strong so it was no trouble to order food for myself and Ronnie and she seemed to appreciate being able to communicate with someone, even if at a low comprehension level. While we were there a horrible noise came from the street. I ran out to see a lady pull her terrier-mix away from the jaws of a HUGE german shepherd who was being held back by his owner. The woman ran away in tears screaming something in Catalon back at the other man. People rushed out of stores to help out and see what was going on. Turns out the lady's dog was fine but her hand was bleeding pretty good. I'm guessing she got bit pulling her dog away. I know it's a bad idea to interfere with a dog fight but her dog woulda been toast had she not done something. In the end the police showed up and they were giving statements as we left so I'm sure all will be well.

It's 12:30am now. We're in the bus driving back to Girona from Barcelona. I'm exhausted, but the bus is loud with excitement.

When we got to Barcelona we were running a bit behind so we quickly walked up Las Ramblas to meet the Fat Tire Bike Tour guides. The students were split into 2 groups and we were off. For 4 hours. It would be hard/tiring to film a 4 hour walking tour! Now take that, add in me having to try to ride a bike and film at the same time, while dodging traffic and pedestrians and it made for an exhausting afternoon. However, seeing the sights in Barcelona made it a little easier and once we hit the Mediterranean, it was all worth it. Our guide showed us several historic buildings and churches in the area, as well as the Gaudy cathedral. When someone says "that's gaudy" about something that's just too overdone (think old women's clothing and jewelry sometimes), it comes from this man's architecture/art. His cathedral was literally a bas-releif mural kind of thing on the entire outside of the front of the church. From the ground to the top tower. Not only that, but it was very random in it's architecture. Apparently he had a hard time making up his mind. When we got to the beach we had 30 minutes to find some dinner and hang out. I shot some students wading into the Mediterranean and eating and when I turned around to look for the band that was playing, I saw the weirdest site. A bunch of old people doing an odd circle dance. Apparently it's just what Catalonians do. These weren't tourists, just Catalonians walking around shopping that decided to dance when they heard the music play. Very interesting!

After the bike ride we boarded the bus to go to the soccer game. It was Football Club Barcelona vs Atletico de Madrid. Final score was 6-1 Barcelona! It was a high-energy game, let me tell you. Those people cheered for EVERYTHING. Even substitutions. I quickly learned that in Spain, whistling during a game is not another form of cheering as it is in America. It's the spanish version of "Boo!" Directly behind where my group was sitting was a fenced off area for the Madrid fans. I guess in an effort to keep fighting to a minimum. They were behind a chain link fence and had many riot police in full riot gear (helmets, shields, the works) in with them. Even though their team got spanked up and down the field they never stopped cheering. These people have some team spirit here. The only thing I didn't enjoy about the game was the fact that smoking was allowed in the arena. It's not allowed in most of the Spanish restaurants or stores and since Abilene has outlawed it in public places I'd forgotten how much I despise the smell and trying to breathe when the air is full of the stuff.

All and all it's been a LONG day of work, but then again, work consisted of a bike tour of Barcelona and going to a soccer game in freakin' Spain with 90,000 crazy fans!

Tomorrow's our last day with the students and we're only with them till around 4 before we head back to Barcelona to catch our flight home on the 6th. I'll try to get some of today's footage up but as exhausted as I am it will most definitely be rough and not pretty, but you'll at least get to see some of the things I was fortunate enough to experience. Until later...