Adios, Barcelona. It's been real.

My last week in Barcelona has been just as much of a whirlwind as the rest of the month has been. I've met more people, seen more places, and stretched my hours to fit as much as possible into my final days in the concrete jungle. Here's a photo summary of the week:

On the last day of English classes with EduRed, we had a end-of-course celebration. This is me and Chelsea with our younger students. It was terribly hot in my little classroom, and I swear that every person in the room wanted to get their own copy of each pose with their own camera. After nearly half an hour of a sticky, stuffy photoshoot, though, we had a delicious potluck feast.

For the potluck, I brought peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. No one here eats peanut butter, much less this delectable creation that we Americans enjoy very often. The jar of peanut butter cost me about seven dollars, and I had to buy strawberry jelly because I couldn't find grape. Everyone loved it! Other food brought for the potluck included anchovy-stuffed olives, sliced meats and cheeses, Spanish omelet, croissants, and a few desserts.

On my first free day without having to teach or go to Italian class, I went on a tour of Campe Nou, the soccer stadium for F.C. Barcelona, with a group of interns. I don't follow soccer regularly, but this visit still got me so pumped. I could feel the excitement of all the years of games that have taken place here. As I walked through the locker rooms, press box, and onto the field, I could tell how much passion and raw energy are poured into this place. It made me want to go to any sort of professional sports game: baseball, football, basketball, anything! So, Dad, if you're reading this, let's go soon!

We got a picture taken with a replica of the Champions League trophy that F.C. Barcelona just won last month. From left is Herman, Zach, TJ, and Jordan, all interns with my program who work in other places in Barcelona.

After the visit to Campe Nou, those of us who were only doing a month-long internship met with our director for a farewell lunch. This is me, our director Rich, and Jamie in front of the Greek restaurant he took us to. Afterward we had a meeting to reflect on our internships. It was very helpful! He gave us specific questions to reflect on and helped us look at our experiences from a new perspective so we can talk about what we've learned and how we've grown while working in Barcelona. If you ever want to do an internship or study in Barcelona either for a summer, semester, or year I highly recommend Barcelona SAE (study abroad experience). I've studied abroad with several different programs and also gone solo, and this is by far the most well-organized program with the most perks. Here is their website if you're interested: Barcelona SAE. Look for a video testimonial by me on their website in the near future!

The next day I went with Jamie to Palau Guell, a palace in the middle of the city that was designed for the Guell family by Antoni Gaudi. It just opened back up in May of this year after being closed for over a decade to completely renovate the entire place, so everything inside was pristine and good-as-new.

On Saturday night, I got to experience "Montjuic de Nit," an art, music, and cultural festival in Barcelona. This photo is of MNAC, the national museum of Catalan art. Several of the city's museums waive the entrance fee and stay open until 4:00 a.m. for this once-a-year festival. Each museum has a schedule of live performances, movies, etc. throughout the night. The ones that I saw were a Bob Marley cover band (who sang in broken English and Catalan); the Doors documentary narrated by Johnny Depp called "When You're Strange"; DJs playing house music and techno in the moat of Montjuic's castle; and a live flamenco show in Montjuic Castle's courtyard.

This is just before watching the flamenco show in the castle. I was with RJ, Sunil, Herman, and also Nauzli who's not in the picture. We each ordered two beers because the line was way too long to just get one.

I spent Sunday on the beach at Barceloneta with the same group (really fun and genuine people!) and then did some souvenir shopping for friends and family on Monday.

On Monday night, we all went to a hookah bar called La Concha, named after a movie that starred Andalusian Sara Montiel. This entire bar is covered in photos and movie posters of this Elizabeth Taylor look-alike. She's gorgeous! I really want to see some of her movies, which seem to have mostly come out during the 1930s and 1940s. This photo is all of us with the bartender, who calls himself "DJ Volkswagen."

Today, my last full day in Barcelona, I went to the Salvador Dalí museum in Figueres, which is a two-hour train ride from Barcelona. I took this photo through a huge magnifying glass near the ceiling of the living room. The couch is the lips, the fireplace is the nose, the artwork the eyes, and the hair is the archway to enter the room. Dalí is buried at this museum, which used to be an old theater. He had his first art exposition there, was baptized just around the corner, and he grew up in Figueres. I loved seeing all of his outrageous art; he's one of my favorite artists and visiting this museum has been on my to-do list for years.

In the morning I leave for my 3-week trip to visit old friends throughout Europe. Train itinerary: Pamplona, San Sebastian, Amsterdam, Munich, Budapest, Venice, Florence, probably a random coastal town in France, and then back to Barcelona to fly home on July 27th. From here on out, I'll be posting to my blog with my iPhone, so the posts will definitely be shorter with fewer and lower-quality photos. I'll do my best to keep up with it and let everyone know how it's going! Much love to all of you <3