Everybody woke up at 6:45 to start getting ready for the day because David wanted to get to the Barcelona Cathedral right when it opened at 8:00. Though everyone was annoyed at being woken up, they all, quite reluctantly, got up to prepare for the day. After eating breakfast and getting ready for the day, everybody headed out except Evan Cope, who had fallen back asleep in the middle of getting ready. David yelled for him to wake up and hurry because the most important thing to him at the moment was getting to the cathedral by 8:00. At 7:55, David arrived at the Barcelona Cathedral, leaving everyone else behind. Shortly after him was Matt, followed by Evan Langebeck carrying a sleeping Evan Cope on his back. After waking up Evan Cope, the time read 7:57, so everyone marveled at the height of the famous structure. Reading out of a pamphlet of the place, David informed the others that the building was 295 feet tall. This seemed to keep Evan Cope awake, which was perfect because it had just turned 8:00.
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| The Barcelona Cathedral |
Evan Cope was almost not allowed into the Cathedral because it had been a hot day and he had worn a tank top shirt. Unbeknownst to the group, the Cathedral has a strict rule, enforced by guards, that everyone's shoulders were covered. Luckily, just outside of the Cathedral, there was a group of people selling cheap scarves for three Euros, which Evan Cope bought and wore into the museum. As the group entered the enormous building, they noticed that the inside was as beautiful and tall as the outside. Though this should have been quite obvious (especially the tall part), it was still amazing to experience the building from the inside and the outside. After doing some research, David found out that the Cathedral had been built between the 13th and 15th centuries, on top of the spot where two other churches had stood before. Being clueless as to how to tour the place calmly, Evan Langebeck suggested that we all take a tour of the Cathedral, which the others agreed to since they didn't know where to start.
Barcelona Cathedral // History
As David, Matt, and the two Evans walked traveled through the Barcelona Cathedral, Matt and Evan Langebeck started asking stupid questions to annoy David, would answer them for fear of the two being serious. Everybody did learn a lot from David, such as the knowledge of the Cathedral being dedicated to Eulalia of Barcelona, which came from the question: "why was this church built?" The obvious answer that Matt and Langebeck were expecting was "to worship Jesus", but David went into detail about stories of Eulalia. Though the entire building was extremely beautiful and detailed, everybody agreed that the best part was the cross with the four pillars around it.
According to David, the cathedral was built on over the crypt of a previous church. Construction on the cathedral had started in 1046 at the order of Count Ramon Berenguer I, his wife Almodis, and Bishop Guislabert. It was later consecrated in November of 1058. The current Gothic cathedral was built on the foundations of the previous churches on May 1st, 1298. After 150 years, the construction was finally complete in 1448. Later more changes were made to complete some of the original plans, finally completed in 1913.
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Barcelona Cross + Four Pillars
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Once the group left the Barcelona Cathedral, Evan Langebeck said he wanted to go to the Camp Nou stadium, which he claimed is the largest stadium in all of Europe. Skeptical about this fact, Evan Cope challenged Evan Langebeck to a bet; the loser would have to go back into the Barcelona Cathedral and "confess his sin of not believing the other." Sure enough, as the group walked closer to the front of the Camp Nou entrance, Matt pointed out a large sign near the gate that read, "Camp Nou: The Largest Stadium In All of Europe!" When Evan Cope saw this for himself, he was partially amazed by the size of the stadium, but mostly annoyed and embarrassed since he lost the bet. Laughing, David bought tickets for everybody, which were twenty Euros each, resulting in eighty Euros spent to enter. Evan Cope mumbled that this museum better be worth it since they were spending so much money on it.
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The Camp Nou Stadium
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Once the group walked into the stadium, they voted 3-1 on heading to the museum, which turned out to be a ton of fun! David spent the entire time analyzing each player's strengths and weaknesses, while Matt and Evan Langebeck marveled at the greatest highlights of the team and the trophies, including twenty-two League and four Champions League trophies. Evan Cope, meanwhile, spent almost the entire time attempting to recite the team anthem, which he was somewhat successful at, getting the first four lines down but forgetting everything after "Makes no difference where we hail from."
Camp Nou // Technology
After the museum, Matt suggested going to the visitor's changing room, where they could see the plays written up by coaches of other teams, and seeing the luxuries of the visiting team, such as the massage tables and the Jacuzzi. Additionally, since it was dark, we got to see the stadium light up, a spectacular sight for more than just soccer fans. With seemingly the entire outer shell of the stadium lighting up, it could be seen from over a mile away.
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| Barcelona Trophy Case |
Once everybody had gone through the museum and the visitor's room, everybody explored the stands, the press box, and the field until it was time to leave. Feeling generous, Evan Langebeck let Evan Cope off the hook, relieving him of the consequences of the bet. Thankful, Cope, gave Langebeck an extremely tight, and somewhat creepy, hug that nearly made Evan Langebeck want to put Cope through the punishment after all. Heading back to the hotel, everybody was talking about the long day and scrolled through the pictures they had taken to find their favorites. This continued in the hotel room for about half an hour, when David and Matt fell asleep. Still too disturbed to talk to Cope, Evan Langebeck decided to just go to sleep, and Cope followed shortly after.
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