Mason Mitchell

Starting the “shortened” free day in Barcelona off right, Ben and I left our room and went to eat a BIG breakfast around 8:45am. Finishing up a wonderful meal, we returned to our room, grabbed our luggage, and then promptly checked out of the hotel and boarded the bus at 9:30am to drive to the meeting place of the group to return to Valencia at 3:00pm. Arriving at the group meeting point, which was the Christopher Columbus Statue, around 10:30, Ben, Justyn, Kevin, Maggie, and myself split off in search of an adventure in the city!

Reading the map and talking with Amparo, we decided to go to the Museu de la Xocolata (Museum of Chocolate) first. After walking for about 30 minutes, we arrived at the museum and bought our tickets – edible bars of dark chocolate! Moving past the entrance, I began savoring my chocolate bar while exploring the museum and its multiple structures made from chocolate. From famous structures in Spain like the La Sagrada Família, to famous pop culture like Beauty and the Beast, there were many chocolate and chocolate covered items in the museum, along with history of how chocolate was made in the old days in Spain. Finishing our exploration of the chocolate museum, we made a quick stop at a super market for hydration purposes and bought some waters and coffee, we then made our way to the Museu Picasso (Picasso Museum).

Having a Purdue student ID with me, I entered the museum for no charge after a short wait in line. Walking around the two floors of the museum, we admired the many paintings displayed that were created at different points in Picasso’s life. While in the museum, there were several people who stopped us and had a conversation with us about Purdue (I was wearing a Purdue t-shirt) and our trip in Spain, something I enjoyed and made the experience in Barcelona all the more interesting.

Leaving the Picasso Museum, we went to lunch as our departure time for Valencia was approaching quickly. After walking down multiple backstreets searching for something to eat, we made our way to the famous street La Rambla where we found a place to eat. After being seated, we got our food and I took the opportunity to try many new and unknown foods to me. I was able to find several foods I thought were quite delicious, and was able to enjoy my meal significantly. After we all finished up eating, we left the restaurant and made our way to the bus where we boarded to head back to Valencia.

The little over three-hour ride to Valencia was quite dull as you can imagine, with many people catching up on some sleep (including myself), with the highlights of the ride being beautiful sights of nature out the window.

Finally arriving in Valencia, I grabbed my luggage, walked to my homestay, and unpacked and talked with my homestay about our weekend trip. Ending the day, several students met up to watch the Barcelona soccer game and had dinner together, a very fun time!