Thursday to Friday probably consisted of the best few days I have had since coming to Spain. Thursday morning my U.S History class went to visit the Museo Taurino de la Plaza de toros de Las Ventas. I had been here before prior to our class field trip when I went to see the crazy tradition of bullfighting two Sundays ago. However, during this trip I had the unique chance of exploring the history of this crazy tradition, which dates back at least 100 years. I was kind of upset because the security guard would not let anybody take pictures inside the actual museum. Nonetheless, this was a great start to an eventful eight-hour bus ride to Barcelona. Kidding, but I actually had been looking forward to visiting Barcelona for months. Those who have seen my laptop see the picture of the Westin hotel that looks over the main beaches of Barcelona. I finally had the opportunity to witness and walk near this image that I have fantasized over for the past year! Let me backtrack my weekend. When I arrived late Thursday night in Barcelona my class and I ate at some restaurant connected to a hotel where we had a wide selection of food that consisted of mainly Spanish Tapas. The food was great and then we were brought to the beautiful Hotel Front Maritim. Our room was amazing with a fully decked out glass bathroom, normal sized beds (thank goodness), and a somewhat better form of air conditioning. That night I explored the beach with a bunch of people in my program and prepared for an action packed weekend. Friday we were taken on a city tour of Barcelona where I got to see why people really fall in love with Barca. When the tour ended I unfortunately met my worse enemy... seafood. I tried scallop and a real natural form of shrimp for the first and last time. However, I would not let that ruin my day. Soon after, I had the opportunity to visit the historic and one of my most sought after experiences and that was Camp Nou FC Barcelona's futbol stadium. The tour was everything I dreamed of and then some. Over the past few years some of my best friends from high school as well as family members have really got into soccer. Barcelona is said to have the best soccer team in all of Europe (arguably). At the tour I saw many pictures of the team's history, the Lionel Messi shrine, pictures of past legends, and then finally I got to step on the field and take pictures. This experience is probably something I will never forget. After the tour I purchased my first actual soccer jersey, which was Brazilian sensation Neymar. After being awed all day I finally went back to my hotel and hit the beach up. Here I saw my first topless woman (not the best sight) and started engaging with locals. I played beach volleyball and for those of you who have never played it gets pretty intense. After, I got ready for dinner and headed out to check out the Barcelona night scene. I went to an icebar for the first time, which was really interesting because the concept is what the name implies. Everything in the grill/bar was ice where we were given coats and gloves because temperatures reached about 20 degrees! Finally, my last full day our program as a whole went to visit a winery where we were taught the art of the business and the long history of that specific companies' existence. After the winery we were taken on a mini cruise getting to see multiple views of the beaches in Barcelona. Now let me skip ahead to the craziest part of my weekend. I went parasailing! Stefon had always been joking the whole time about doing something like that, however we never followed through with it. I have to say it was one of the most exciting things I have ever experienced before. This weekend I am visiting the North of Spain so be on the lookout for another blog in the next few days.