#once

today was easily the most intense day of the trip: hiking, spelunking and swimming in the pyrenees was on the menu du jour. the cave entrance was (unbeknownst to us until we arrived) on top of a mountain, so we hiked up for about half an hour to get there. for a crowd of (mostly) out-of-shape artsy kids, this was a rather impressive feat, especially given that most of us lugged our cameras up the mountain and into the cave with us. spelunking was also pretty hardcore; there were some points where crawling was necessary. by the end of it, we were all muddy but luckily none of our cameras were any worse for wear, other than a fine layer of dusty clay that decided to settle on everyone and everything. after we hiked down and had lunch, we went swimming at a freezing-cold gorge with a waterfall. by the time we got back to barcelona in the evening most of us were fairly exhausted but still managed energy (and appetite) to go for dinner and a late-night stroll with gelato in hand.

crazy cave madness!

the whole group looked legit with helmets and headlamps.

moi after spelunking. i opted for the intense bit at the end, where the cave got so small it was necessary to do a army crawl/squirm manouver to get through. unfortunately there was a mud puddle on the way there. we decided a more appropriate slogan for my shirt would have been 'green is the new brown'.

gorgeous view of the pyrenees.

they have prairie plants there too! rock on, fellow albertans.

#diez

this morning a lovely surprise awaited us: our group leader, angie, had arranged a meeting with her photographer friend who lives in the city. we took the metro to poblenou (a post-industrial artist neighborhood) to meet up with him. we walked around, taking pictures for a while, and then we were invited in to see his portrait studio and take pictures using his lights. needless to say we had a blast and a half posing and taking pictures of each other. after that we had lunch and the best gelato in the entire world. then we headed back to the res to edit and rest.

fake symmetry created by a reflection.

random blocks and cool graffiti!

view of an industrial building from below.



cyclists!

a silly portrait of new friends lucy and lauren!

#nueve

today we woke up late-ish (a nice change) and headed to la boqueria market for breakfast. i had a crepe again - this time it was goat cheese, honey and spinach. probably one of the best-tasting things i've ever had in my life. then we wandered around the market for a bit, taking pictures. after that we did a little shopping in the born district (we found an adorable bake shop) and went back to the resa for photo editing time. we ventured out again for a late lunch at an asian-fusion restaurant called mosquito, and then had several hours of shooting time around the area. we met up with the rest of the group for a birthday surprise for one of the girls in the group, which turned out to be cupcakes from aforementioned bake shop and hangouts in the park! we spent several hours frolicking, eating cupcakes and having scream-y showtunes singalongs before leaving the park - only to realize that we'd been locked in. after thoroughly inspecting the locks and fence height (both impenetrable to our efforts) we found an alternate way out over a makeshift construction fence and went back to the res.

tomatoes at la boqueria!

sassy fish face translates to 'what-ever.'

an artist sketches away on the sidewalk.

the friendly but shy owner of the adorable cupcake shop.

spanish busker (playing a 12 string guitar, no less).

#ocho

today was dali day. we got up uber early to take the bus to the museum in figueres, which he had a part in designing. in other words, sheer beautiful madness. i'm becoming slightly obsessed. i took some pictures for my photo assignment (everyone on the trip has one), which i'm getting more and more excited about. my theme is "complex simplicity" - in other words, i'm striving to find simple, geometric lines and shapes in complex architecture. i chose this because i think it's a nice metaphor for finding humanity, the most basic element of art, across cultures. anyway, then we drove to cadaques (another small town) for lunch, where i had an amazing spanish omelette. shortly after, we hiked up to dali's old house in port lligat and had a short tour. it was crazy. think lots of taxidermied animals, white-washed walls, and a phallus-shaped pool. after that, we went swimming in the bay nearby, which was absolutely beautiful. we had a lazy swimming/sleeping afternoon and headed back to barcelona for a late-night dinner and gelato.

first sight upon entering the dali museum - dali's car with a giant statue on top.

the dome on top of the museum meets the window with circular grace.

rooftop chimneys in cadaques.

egg sculpture on top of dali's courtyard building.

cat, asleep in a sun ray at the bottom of a boat.

#siete

today we went to the beach to people-watch and wander. there were many a character to be seen - people in brightly coloured bathing suits, crazy little kids, leather-skinned suntanners, you name it. i creeped on a game of beach soccer being played by a group of preteen boys. after we'd had roughly an hour to take pictures, we went for dinner at a beachside restaurant. i had the saltiest fish-and-chips of life, but they were satisfyingly so after a hot, humid day. we spent the next while taking pictures of the beach as it grew dark. the light changes dramatically before dusk - an interesting photographic experiment.

everyone goes in to try and make the glorious head-butt.

a grandfather and grandson have a race down the boardwalk.

two birds find their perch on the corner of some crazy architecture.

fellow nat-geo photographers!

palm trees at night.

#seis

today took us on a little road trip to some small towns about an hour out of barcelona. the first stop was a medieval village called girona. there, we broke into our smaller on assignment groups and went on photo excursions. high points included the cobblestone streets and the gorgeous river that ran alongside the town. next up was besalu. we had an amazing lunch there and had lots of time to wander around and take pictures of the town and spectacular stone bridge that framed the river and the lush landscape of hilltop houses. on the way to the bus we all got distracted by a field of sunflowers and stopped for a while longer to gush photographically over them. we finished with a swim in the lake near a town called banyoles, where there were plenty of reeds and ducks near the shore but the water further out was calm and gorgeous (if not a little seaweed-y). we finished with a delicious dinner there and piled back onto the bus to the residencia.

the bridge in girona reflected geometrically on the water.

while taking pictures of the cathedral in besalu, these sparrows flew by at the perfect time.

did i mention i'm in love with geometrical bridges?

sunflowers contrasted against the blue-green spanish hills.

a tiny perfect lakehouse nestled on the shore.

#cinco

today we did a TON of walking. in the morning we traipsed around to get a feel for the city, and since i'd already been here a while i opted for my usual habit of taking reflection shots. on the way back we stopped at the arc de triomf (yes, it is spelled like that in spanish). later on in the afternoon, we took the metro to park güell, which is gaudi-designed and brilliant. from there we could see the whole city - spectacular. i'm so in love with mosaics and gorgeous views: put the two of them together and it's pretty much guaranteed to make me do a happy dance.

a cool van parked across the street served as my crazy, swirly backdrop.

arc de triomf, as viewed from directly underneath, on one side.

lady at the metro casually reads as she waits.

gaudi was a genius.

some sort of plant at park guell making silhouettes across the sky.