Barcelona 2025

Me and Natalie Hancock at the Design Museum

Some of us went to the beach. I have to dip my toes in the ocean if it's this close.

Piper Barron, Julia Halliday, Maddie Clark, me, Sarah Fenn, Abby Russell

Mies Van de Rohe Pavillion designed and build for the World's Fair

The Barcelona Chair

A rainy walk back to the hotel, but with churros and chocolate sauce, Courtney Van Der Werken and Ella Massaglia

Casa Batllo goofy picture - Natalie Hancock, Chad Gibbs, me

Some of us went to a Picasso Museum

The fancy D in Casa Batllo

I didn't get to see the gardens and yard of Casa Batllo last summer. We got to see it this time. It was beautiful. 

Climbing Sagrada Familia with Piper, Abby Richardson, and Natalie

The whole group in Sagrada Familia. Abby Richardson cried. She loves churches.

My cozy hostel room

Dropping the group off at Park Guell - Natalie, Abby Richardson, and me

In order to report on our Fashion and Design in Europe study abroad 2025, I'm going to write a blog post about each city. I hope I can remember highlights. There really weren't many lowlights. The students were great. They were grateful and cooperative. They were good to each other. Everyday we heard "this is awesome. This is the best thing we've done so far..." It really was a dream. 

I also realize, now that time has passed, that I've been so blessed to help direct 3 study abroad experiences. The magic that was there the first time is still there, but maybe to a lesser level. It's crazy how one can get used to such spectacular things. Absolutely crazy!

We left for Barcelona on Sunday, May 4, the one-year anniversary of dad's passing. Mom was in California with Kristen, something we planned so she wouldn't be alone in Utah. Kamiko and Bekki and their dog Jerry had moved into my house because they sold their home and are waiting for the perfect house to come along. I was very grateful that they could watch my house while I was gone for 6 weeks. I'm sure they were grateful to have a free place to stay and to have run of the place. 

The flight was uneventful. I'm used to the long flights. I just get situated and decide that I'm going to watch 4 movies. The day we arrived in Barcelona, we got situated in our hostel, which was in a great location. It had a very old elevator. The kind that you can see all of the cables and workings. So cool. We didn't officially start appointments until the next day, so we just focused on staying awake. Natalie and I had tickets to Park Guell. Some students tried to get tickets and found that it was sold out, so we gave our tickets to them. We walked to the park with them. Everyone who wanted to get in got in. Abby Richardson, Natalie, and I walked back to the hostel in the pouring rain. Everyone at the park got soaked. Nobody had an umbrella. They did by the end of the day. LOL. 

While in Barcelona, we took the students to a design museum, Sagrada Familia, Casa Batllo, Mies Van de Rohe Pavillion (utterly fantastic!!!!!!). It was fun to learn about famous pieces of architecture from our colleague Chad Gibbs. He's very enthusiastic about all things design and architecture. I bought a cute floral fabric at an outdoor market that I've already made a dress out of. Ashley and Bruce started their McDonald's adventure, stopping at McDonald's a lot and trying all the local foods, especially McFlurry flavors. 

Barcelona miracle: I walked a lot and suffered from sore legs and feet. It was horrible. I cried on day 3 and realized that I am really getting too old for this. I asked my family to pray for me. I also asked the study abroad kids to pray for me. I never had problems again. Definitely an answer to prayers. We started each day with a spiritual thought and a prayer. Recently I had a student who took her turn for thought and prayer in class and asked if anyone needed any special prayers. I was so touched by her example. When I started study abroad on day 1, I asked if anyone needed prayers. The students kept up that tradition. Each day, before prayer, the person leading thought and prayer asked if anyone needed special prayers. We prayed for people's health, job hunts, lost phones, etc. It was a very special experience for me.