Doane Academy Spain 2026
February 14, 2026
Today was our first official day in Spain and we had such an amazing day! We first arrived to the Alhambra, which was a gorgeous palace rich in different cultures and history, and had a very nice tour. It was a pretty far walk since it was so big, and it was pretty cold outside, so after our tour with our amazing tour guide we went and got hot chocolate. We then explored a little more, took a lot of photos with an amazing view, and walked a bit to share some delicious Moroccan food. After, we decided to walk downtown a bit to truly see the Spanish culture. We took pictures, giggled a lot, and even went to shop at some local shops and buy some souvenirs. After shopping was done, we walked back to the hotel to have some siesta time to get ready for the Flamenco show.
Even though we were all tired, we walked what felt like a million years to go see a cool viewpoint of Alhambra and watched a Flamenco show that was wonderful, very energetic, and a sight to see. The dancers were incredibly talented. Last, we ended our day by choosing our own dinners, some went to Italian while others went to tapas, eating ice cream, and walking back to the hotel. We came back to talk about our schedule for tomorrow and what roles each of us will have. We are so excited to see what comes tomorrow.
By: Kennedy and Alyssa
February 15, 2026
Hola! Today we packed up and left our hotel in Granada at 10:00 sharp then we hopped on a bus that took us up the mountain to our new hotel in Dilar. We dropped our bags and played a few team building games/exercises and headed for the finca la Furriola, a permaculture farm.
We enjoyed beautiful views, after we participated in an exciting flamenco class. We were instantly greeted by 3 adorable cats and 2 dogs, Dino and India. They roamed around freely and watched as we learned about new ways to preserve nature. We all sat down at the home and enjoyed a delicious pasta, while taking in the fresh air and calming river sounds. After, we hiked up the mountain tops and sat down to reflect on the views. Lastly we hiked back to the hotel and had a delicious dinner.
By: Shaniya and Bella
February 16, 2026
During our time at the Finca farm, we split up into two groups to help Irene and Mateo tackle some agricultural jobs by working on their gardens and land. One group helped Mateo plant apricot, peach, cherry and pear trees around the land by digging holes with pickaxes and hoes. The other group planted flowers, berry bushes, and herbs around the land . For lunch, each student had the pleasure to build their own pizza!! There were so many different options to choose from that were all locally grown including the tomato sauce! After lunch the group participated in a clowning workshop, exploring the idea of letting go and relaxing your body by doing silly things. Some activities included moving only your face and jumping up when the word “hey” is said. After La Finca we had the opportunity to Flamenco dance again using all the techniques we learned from the day before. This gave each and every person the chance to have the spotlight more than once! After the dance classes we split into two groups, some stayed back and played soccer while the others went to see the horses and had siesta time before we met up again for dinner.
By: Sydney and Katie
February 17, 2026
We woke up and got ready to go on a hike. We began to climb to mountain. It was pretty long and it took around two hours. We went up the first hill and walked through the olive groves for a while. Then we went up a little more and there was an abandoned house. We stopped there on the way back and explored it a little bit. We climbed up the mountain and we stopped at a gate. People lived or worked up on the mountain. We saw great views from up there, and then we headed down and had lunch. After we had our siesta time, we went into the city to do some traditional crochet with some locals. And when we did those crochet things with the locals, we got to learn more Spanish and expand our broad and diverse knowledge of Spanish culture. This really helped us develop new critical solving skills that we can have in the real world. And in doing this, we can clearly say that our Spain trip was very eventful and after we came back from the crochet, we had ice cream! Then we came back to our hotel to relax and enjoy dinner.
By: Micah and George
February 18, 2026
Today we made a large departure from our hotel in Dilar and went on a 2 hour drive to visit the Mezquita Catedral (mosque cathedral). We walked around and learned about its Christian and Muslim roots and history. After that, we went to get lunch and visit the Sinagoga and took beautiful photos and did a little shopping before continuing on to Sevilla.
After the bus ride we arrived at our hotel in Sevilla and settled in, we headed out for a stroll to the Plaza Espana. This was a beautiful area with a gothic type architecture. We had a chance to take a bunch of fun pictures and walk around the city. We were quite hungry after getting our steps in, so we headed over to a pizzeria called La Casa del Tesorero for dinner. We left the restaurant with room for dessert. We then went to this cute gelato place and ordered some unique but delicious flavors.
Overall it was a fun day and we can’t wait to see what Sevilla offers us tomorrow!
By: Asher and Bella
February 19, 2026
Today was our second to last full day in Spain. We’ve been having so much fun with our group, and today was an even more eventful day. First, we went to the market to grab some ingredients to make paella which is a special dish in Spain. The walk from our hotel to the market was pretty short and we enjoyed the scenery along with a nice breeze and a sunny day. After we got to the market, we took a tour and got some historical context and learned how old it really is (19th century)! We also never realized how much olive oil is valued in Spain. There are mainly 3 types but there are many varieties of it. Ham is also a very common Spanish product. In Spain they provide signs in the market that tell you how high quality the meat is, which also determines the price. They use the whole pig too which is really sustainable! After the market, we walked a bit and went to our paella cooking class. It was really cool collaborating with our friends all together to help make lunch. We all made gazpacho, which is like a cold tomato soup and then we made paella, which was full of flavors and new discoveries. After we ate, we had some siesta time and then took a tour of Sevilla with a wonderful tour guide. We visited a palace, which was rich in culture and history. We then had churros and went shopping around the gorgeous city. We went back to the hotel for some free time before heading to get tapas and reflected on our trip together. We then headed back to the hotel for our nightly meeting. It was our last full day in Sevilla, and it was a really nice day!
By: Kennedy and Alyssa
February 20th, 2026
We woke up on our final morning in Sevilla and packed our bags. We left them at the hotel and went to tour the beautiful Cathedral and climb the La Giralda Bell Tower. Then we went to the market and all split up to get different things for a picnic lunch. We got bread, vegetables, fruit, meat, dessert, and drinks. We also got olive oil from a nice abuela. Then we went to the river for a picnic. After we finished, some of us played soccer. Then we packed up and left on the bus. We checked into the hotel in Málaga and then went to the beach to see the sunset. It was super cool. Some of us climbed on the rocks and some played volleyball. We all had a great time. Then we did one final reflection activity and went to dinner. Afterwards, we had our final group meeting and shared highlights, lessons we learned, spoke about someone else on the trip who made a positive impact. It was great evening, along with the whole day, and the rest of the trip!
By: George and Shaniya
