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A Coruña

Today was a full day at A Coruña, a larger Galician city about an hour and a half away from Foz. We stopped to see one of the world´s oldest, largest lighthouses. Then we toured the science muesum where some of our students competed in a battle of the brain waves (see pictures). We ended the day at a local mall to finish our shopping. 4 more days until we get back on the plane!

Santiago de Compostela

Yesterday we went to the city of Santiago, escaping the clouds and coastal fog to see the sun! It was a beautiful, warm day for the rooftop tour of the giant cathedral. People from all over Europe and the world make pilgramages to this site. Along the road we saw people walking or biking the last stage of their journey and arriving in the plaza in front of the cathedral. We will get some pictures up tomorrow of our day trip in Santiago, along with the boat trip we´ll be taking around the bay while our host students take their final exams!

Foz!

After a 6 hour bus ride through the Spanish country side, we arrived in Foz! Our exchange school welcomed us with a giant banner on the side of the school (check out the photo). The families and students were so excited when we arrived that in minutes everyone was on their way to their new homes... we barely had a chance to say goodbye to them!
Tomorrow we´ll meet up with students at 9am at the school and at night we´ll go to the welcome dinner.

Our second day in Madrid

Today we have the most perfect sunny summer weather in Madrid! We began with breakfast at 8am at our favorite restaurant, Museo de Jamon, then ran to catch the Metro Rail! We navigated the maze of stairways and tunnels and surfaced just a few blocks from the Prado Museum. There we toured the famous works of Goya, Velazquez, El Greco and other famous Spanish artists! After the tour the students had 2 hours to explore that end of the city. Half the group went to the Hard Rock Cafe while the other visited the Parque de Madrid (or El Retiro) and made friends with the urban Spanish wildlife (see the photos). After the break the group rejoined and made the 2 mile trek to the Royal Palace where we toured 20 of the more than 2,000 rooms. After hours of walking, some students are back at the hotel (link to Google Street view of our hotel) now for a rest, while others are out on souvenir hunts. Tonight at 9pm we'll have dinner of a typical Spanish ham stew for the first course, chicken and french fries for the second, and flan (a Spanish custard) for dessert!
Tomorrow morning we'll pack the bus at 9am to meet our host families in Foz.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow we have a big day of site-seeing! We'll start at the Prado Museum and end our day-long tour at the royal palace. Check back for pictures!

Landed in Madrid

We landed smoothly this morning and spent the day exploring the city and relaxing after our day of travel. The students were tired, but happy and excited to be in Madrid.

For dinner we ate as a group at "Museo de jamon" (museum of ham) where the entrance walls are decorated with cured legs of ham. This is a well-known Spanish delicacy in which the most expensive variety comes from range-fed Iberian hogs fattened on a diet of acorns. The curing is done in the mountains as the cool dry air offers the perfect conditions for the curing process.

Landed in Miami Safely

We landed in Miami safely!

Flight Information

There has been a change in the last leg of our flight home. The returning flight from Miami to Minneapolis on the 23rd has changed to flight number 1961 leaving MIA at 7:45 pm and arriving at 10:30 pm.

Note: two nights in Madrid

We're not sure what kind of internet connectivity we'll have in Madrid (if any), so the updates during the first three days may only contain important info (landing, etc).

Expect more updates after we're in Galecia.