Friday May 25: Medieval cities, along with culture shock...

Today we left the city of Arles, France and began our trip to Barcelona. It was the last long leg of the journey, as well as the final destination of the trip. After two hours on the bus we arrived at the medieval castle city of Carcassonne. We were given three h to roam around, shop, pillage, eat, and explore. Upon entering the city, the feeling was like going into a castle, during medieval times. We were filled to the brim with knowledge from the excellent presentation from Kaedi LeFevre. Roaming down the maze of alleys and streets we found exciting shops and fine cuisine. The three hours flew by and the end of our time the group had accumulated a fin time and some interesting purchases. Including several swords, daggers, and ninja swords, all of which would kill dragons, pillage villages or cut meat depending on your preferences, we're bought. Our adventure in Carcassonne was cut short by our return to the bus. We drove for several hours through Soft southern French countryside until finally reaching our destination: Barcelona, Spain! We weaves our way through the city and found our hotel where Jean-Paul received a parking ticket due to bus parking drama from the police, and Ken Rodgers had one of his bags stolen in the lobby. "Welcome to Barcelona everyone!" but regardless of these setbacks, we enjoyed a lovely meal in the restaurant and explored the local area, preparing us for the day ahead. -Neal Brubaker, Goessel, KS