This past week was an extremely busy one, full of special school activities. Halloween isn't typically celebrated here, but as part of English class the students learned about the holiday and learned some Halloween songs (halloween songs?) and made a presentation to the school. That was on Tuesday and was very cute. On Wednesday I went with the 5th graders on a field trip to Lleida, which is a small city about an hour and a half from Solsona. It boasts two cathedrals, and an interesting story explaining the phenomenon. The oldest one, which we visited, is called La Seu Bella and the first stone was placed in 1202. It is a roman style construction and is very impressive. But in 1707 it became a military barracks and was no longer used for religious purposes. Because the city still needed to have church where the people could attend mass, another cathedral was constructed. It wasn't until 1948 that the military stopped using it and in 1950 restoration projects were begun that continue today. The Seu Bella is also famous for its cloister - it is the largest in Europe. I learned all of this and more from the guide that led our group through the tour - the best part is that she was speaking Catalan and I understood!
The bell tower connected to the cathedral has 238 steps, spiraling up 60 meters. Of the large group of eleven year olds on this trip, only two remained below - the rest excitedly marched to the top. At the top we took several pictures and one girl asked if I would take a picture with her. I agreed and suddenly it was a free-for-all! They all began clamoring around me asking to take a picture with me. It was actually a little overwhelming. I don't think I would like to be famous at all.
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