Day 7, May 31 (Barcelona)

Today is the first day on our tour in which we've spent the entire day in one city. We began with breakfast at the hotel, which was the most elaborate of any we've seen. We loaded our buses at 9 am for a guided tour of Barcelona. We began near the city center and worked our way up Montjuic, one of the two mountains that surround the city. The Romans used the limestone from this mountain to build the city in the first century BCE. In 1992, the mountain became the home of several sporting sites built for the Olympic Games. There is also a beautiful cactus garden, a castle, and a large fountain at the top, which provided us with wonderful views of the city and Barcelona's large harbor.

We then drove through the central part of the city, admiring, among other things, a huge, smiling sculpture of a lobster and another sculpture by Roy Lichtenstein. We then began a kind of pilgrimage to several buildings created by the famous Barcelona architect, Antonio Gaudi (1852-1926). As we travelled on the Passeig de Gracia (Barcelona's answer to Paris' Champs-Elysee), we saw two beautiful and playful apartments built by Gaudi for two prominent families. Further north of the city center is the Park Guell, which Gaudi intended as a residential subdivision but which now has become the city's most visited public park. Only three houses were built, along with a market square (capped with a 880 foot long bench) and an iconic symbol of Barcelona, a huge sculpted salamander. But the ultimate Gaudi structure is the yet-to-be-completed cathedral, La Sagrada Familia. What is completed, however, is stunning--stone carvings and spires like you've never seen. The foundation which manages the construction of the cathedral is hoping to finish by 2026, just in time for the 100th anniversary of Gaudi's death. Most of the locals in Barcelona don't see that happening, however--only about 1/3 has been completed, and the architects working on the project don't always agree on how to fulfill Gaudi's plans.

We had a free afternoon, so many of us ventured down to the beach to soak in the warmth of the sun and feel the cool, blue waters of the Mediterranean. Others ventured to the Picasso Museum and other sites in the city. Miraculously, we all made it back for a group dinner at 5, followed by a rehearsal at Santa Maria del Pi, a 14th century church with beautiful stained glass windows. Just before 8 pm, we walked to the concert venue, the Church of Sant Jaume. As it turns out, the church had the best acoustic we've encountered so far--nice and spacious but not too boomy. To our surprise and delight, there were already 50 or so audience members waiting for us, and by the time the concert began, another 250 came to listen. At one point, a crowd had gathered outside the church doors on the street, as there was not even standing room inside the sanctuary. Choir member Felix Palpica provided on-the-spot Spanish translations for Craig Arnold's comments, to which the audience responded warmly. The crowd also responded to the singing they heard, rewarding the choir with two standing ovations. Here is a sound clip:

Spiritual/arr. Helvy, "Ezekiel Saw the Wheel"

On a personal note, I listened to most of the concert from the rear balcony, where I had a better perspective to take pictures. I discovered that the rear wall contained two lovely stained glass windows, depicting a group of musicians playing and singing together. It seemed as though this was the right place for us to sing in Barcelona, and a large number of local residents and tourists took time to listen. We'll leave this city wanting to stay longer, but also looking forward to our final destination, Madrid.

Day 6, May 30 (Arles, France and Barcelona, Spain)

To begin, here is another sound clip from the concert last night in Aix en Provence:

Christiansen, "Glorification"

Today we bid adieu to France and made our way to Spain. Before leaving the country, we made a stop in Arles, another town in the region of Provence, famous for its Roman ruins, bull fights and famous residents. Arles is roughly halfway between Rome and the Spanish coast, and as it is situated on the Rhone river, it has historically been an important location. We departed the hostel at 9 am and drove for a little over 1 hour. Our guides began by walking us through an incredible outdoor market, filled with every imaginable food, flower, craft and novelty item. We then saw the remains of the Roman theater, built in 12 BC, with columns made from marble imported from northern Africa. Some of the marble was later used to build a church in the center of town in the 12th century. Near the church is a courtyard made famous by the most important artist to live in Arles, Vincent Van Gogh. Although he lived here for only 1 1/2 years, he completed 250 paintings, including many that feature locations throughout the city. Winding through the city streets, we came upon another major Roman ruin, the amphitheater. Like the Papal Palace in Avignon, this site has been used for various purposes throughout the ages, and these days, it is used for bull fighting. We learned a lot about the intricacies of this sport, which has become an important part of the local economy. We then enjoyed some free time--most of us ventured back to the market to sample some of the food items.

Then came the primary activity of the day--traveling to Barcelona, Spain. This took approximately 6 hours, with two short stops along the way. When we approached the border with Spain, we encountered another mountain range, the Pyranees, which at times resembled our own Blue Ridge mountains. Upon arriving at the Gran Hotel Roy Don Jaime in Castelldefels (a suburb of Barcelona), we were treated to a wonderful meal. We also said farewell to four people who have made this trip so wonderful and worry-free, our guides Favio and Laura, and our drivers Alessandro and Fulvio. It is amazing how quickly bonds form on a tour like this, and it was difficult for all of us to say goodbye to our new friends. Luckily, we have two new guides to take over, Josu and Nacho. Tomorrow, we look forward to spending the day in Barcelona with all its treasures and surprises.

Day 5, May 29 (Aix en Provence and Avignon)

Today we experienced two beautiful French cities. We began at 9 am with a walking tour of the city center of Aix en Provence, an ancient city in southern France. We began with a stroll down the Champs-Elysee of Aix, Cours Mirabeau. We learned about the last king of Provence, the good king Rene, who sent his betrothed sugary "hugs and kisses" called Calissons (see the picture of the candy store). We saw some wonderful architecture, including a building now used as a music conservatory named in honor of the composer Darius Milhaud. We saw several sites associated with two cultural figures in Aix, artist Paul Cezanne and writer Emile Zola. The city has many beautiful fountains, and we stopped to take a group picture in front of one of the more picturesque. We ended our tour at the cathedral of Saint Sauveur, which is also the venue for our evening concert. This church is remarkable for its beautiful architecture and decoration, which contains examples from nearly 2000 years of history (dating back to Roman times). There is also a beautiful French organ, dating (mostly) from the 1850s.

After a break for lunch and some free time, we reconvened to travel to Avignon, the seat of the French papacy, which lasted from 1305-1376. During this time, the French pope Clement V established Avignon as the holy city of the Catholic church, displacing the Vatican for 70 years. After viewing the famous bridge, we toured the Palace of the Popes, a grand structure that has seen multiple uses over the years, including army barracks for most of the 19th century. Most stunning is the fully restored papal bedroom, complete with beautiful murals and even some original furniture dating from the 14th century. One of the large rooms in the palace is the private chapel, used primarily by the pope and his visitors. This particular room had such wonderful acoustics and sense of space that an impromptu concert was offered. Here is a brief video of that moment (sorry for the poor quality!):

Video of singing at Avignon

After some more free time, in which several students snagged pairs of fancy Italian shoes, we headed back to Aix to prepare for the evening concert. We arrived at the cathedral in time for a quick sound check and devotions led by Mandy Inhofer. A large, appreciative crowd enjoyed a one hour concert by the Nordic Choir. It was particularly wonderful to hear two French works, by Vierne and Poulenc, in this wonderful cathedral. Here is a sound clip of the Vierne, in which you'll hear Zach Busch play the magnificent organ in Saint Sauveur:

Louis Vierne, "Kyrie"

Although many of us remarked yesterday at the beauty of Monaco, Aix en Provence is becoming a new favorite spot.