Barcelona July 22-24

The Ambassador's final performance of the tour was in Barcelona Spain on Sunday July 24th at the Castle Mont Juic,  set high on a hill overlooking the  Mediterranean Sea on one side and Barcelona on the other. The stage was set up in the courtyard which was rectangular with high walls all around. The acoustics were   great and the band performance was great. Many of our kids donned sun glasses as the late afternoon sun was on them for the first hour.

The audience was made up mostly of people who happened to be visiting that afternoon, but was peppered with special guests including Bus 1 driver Vergi's family, Jeff's brother Greg and his friend, the Norm Shied's niece and her family, and Leeann's Mother and Brother. Vergi's wife borrowed all the folding chairs she could from her friends and neighbors and the family that ran the restaurants and  gift shop let us barrow more for the show as well. I did not catch their name, but it was clear their were three generations involved in the family business at the castle.  The mother and her baby son particularly seemed to get into it.  It was a fitting end to the the tour to be surrounded by family.

We had two full days and 3 nights in Barcelona so we did get to do some touring including a tour of a park designed by the modernist architect Goudi as well as  the famous Sangrada Familia.  This amazing Cathedral is named after the Holy Family ( Mary, Joseph, and Jesus) was started in the 1800's and is expected to be completed in 2025.

Saturday we did a walking tour with Oriole, a native of Barcelona, and Martin. We walked from our hotel down the Roumolade with a stop along the way to drink from the Magic Fountain, which bears the inscription that roughly translates to "Anyone who drinks from the fountain, will return to Barcelona no matter where there travels take them."

Our farewell dinner was bittersweet, while we were all clearly exhausted we had just completed a journey of a lifetime.  I will miss our tour guides Martin and Oriole (named after the Saint from Barcelona who also was the youngest of six children). It was clear that this was more than a job for them as at every opportunity they went the extra mile to ensure our safety and comfort. They are great guides and friends who showed they are also great men.

While most of the group was heading back to Santa Clara, a few families were staying in Barcelona, some were off to Paris, and the Clabaugh's and Baggett's were off to the UK.