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Two weeks ago, my IES program took all of the students in my program on a weekend “study journey” to Girona, Spain. We left at 8 am on Friday, September 16^th, and our first stop was the Teatre-Museu Dal� in Figures. The Teatre-Museu Dal� was built on the remains of the former Figueres Theater, which was partially destroyed in a fire. It displays some of the most amazing range of works from the artistic career of surrealist artist Salvador Dal�. Because Dal� built the museum, it is only his work that is contained. He did a lot of amazing things with the architecture of the walls to create sculptures and art within the framework of what was left of the building. This museum is possibly my favorite one that I have ever been to, because I believe that Dal� was an artistic genius, and his work is magnificent and never ceases to amaze me.

After a tour of the museum, we went to Cadaqu�s, where Dal�’s house is located, for lunch and free time to explore the beach that was there before heading to Girona for the night.

The next day, we went to La Jonquera to visit the Museu de l’Exili, the exile Museum that commemorates the Republican exiles from the Franco dictatorship era. Although quite depressing, this museum was a very important part of our study journey in that it taught us a little bit about the Spanish Civil War, which happened from July 1936 to April 1939. I had never heard about this war between Franco’s supporters and the republicans of Spain, so it was interesting to learn about it.

After La Jonquera, we took a ride to Collioure, France, a small town on the coast of the Mediterranean bay. Here, we visited an important graveyard and were given a few hours to explore the alleys of the town filled with various shops and restaurants. Most of us, however, decided to take advantage of the gorgeous, crystal-clear bay for the afternoon before returning to Girona again for the night.

On the last day, we went on a walking tour of the city of Girona. It was rainy and probably the last thing that I wanted to do was walk around the city for four hours, but we got to see some beautiful buildings and glorious works of architecture, like the old Jewish quarter, The Cathedral of Saint Mary of Girona, and a really beautiful  area behind the church with centuries-old stone walls and the best view of the city.

Location: Girona, Spain