Park School Spain 2025
May 17, 2025
¡Bienvenidos a España!
After two flights and a stop in Dublin, we arrived in Málaga bright and early this morning to beautiful sunshine! Despite exhaustion, the students were troopers and rallied for a great first day. After collecting our bags at the Málaga airport, we met up with our Global Works guides – Carlos, Teresa, and Matt – who greeted us with excitement and snacks. We hopped on our bus to head to the beach, where we enjoyed lunch at a restaurant right by the water. We surprised Sydney with an ice cream cake and a card to celebrate her 14th birthday, and we all sang to her en español before she blew out the candles. We then took a few pictures on the beach before getting back on the bus to head to our hotel in Granada.
After a siesta, we walked to a nearby park; the students played on the playground and even joined some local kids for a friendly soccer game. We had our first group meeting with Global Works and talked all about expectations and hopes for the trip. We went over the plans for tomorrow, when we will visit the stunning Alhambra palace and see a flamenco show! Finally, we had dinner at a local restaurant. Now everyone is off to bed because we can barely keep our eyes open. We’ll be back tomorrow with a blog post written by some of the students. ¡Buenas noches!
By the Stellar Park School Teacher Team
May 18, 2025
This morning, we had buffet-style breakfast at the hotel before we left to go to the amazing Moorish palace, La Alhambra. First we went to the Generalife, which was a place of rest for the royal family, and took a tour of the gardens. We personally loved the view and the beautiful flowers along the tour. Then we went to the Nasrid Palaces, and they were beautiful. We visited four palaces; they all had wonderful patterns and the architecture was very cool. We also saw the Palacio de Carlos V, which is very different from the others because it was built after the Christian conquest of Granada.
After La Alhambra, we walked through the Albaicín, the old Moorish neighborhood, and had lunch at a Moroccan restaurant. The food was very cool. We walked back to the hotel for a siesta, a typical nap-time in Spain.
After our siesta, we went to see a professional flamenco performance, which was very interesting and fun. Then we went to see the view from the “Mirador San Nicolás” and had dinner outside at a restaurant right there. Tomorrow we’ll be doing a flamenco class!
By Jade, Kiana, & Theo
May 19, 2025
Today was an excellent day! This morning we woke up and ate a delicious breakfast with our friends. Then we got on a bus and headed to the small town of Dílar, where we went to Finca la Furriola, the farm of Irene and Matteo. It was EPIC!!! We first learned about permaculture firsthand. Then we prepared the vegetables we harvested to make a salad for our lunch. At the same time, we also cooked pasta and put sauce on it for our delicious lunch. After that, we walked down to the nearby Dílar river, from which the town gets its name, to refresh ourselves. The water was freezing because it came straight from the snow-capped Sierra Nevada mountains! We fed the leftover food scraps to the chickens and got to see a few baby ones!
In the afternoon, we took a Flamenco masterclass with Irene, who is a professional Flamenco dancer. We learned how to clap, dance, and stomp to rhythm. We took a break for a snack and another visit to the river to cool off before doing a masterclass in clowning led by professional clown Mateo. We learned to express our true emotions through various exercises. Finally, we thanked Irene and Matteo and said goodbye to their two dogs, Dino and India, who had spent lots of quality time with some of us!
We walked to a restaurant in town while enjoying stunning panoramic views of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Matteo and Irene joined us for our night meeting and a yummy dinner, and then we headed back to Granada to get some sleep before an early wake-up tomorrow.
By Nick, Marcus, & Dash
May 20, 2025
This morning we had a great, yummy breakfast at the hotel. Then, we said goodbye to Granada and boarded the bus for the two and a half hour ride to Córdoba. We walked across the Roman bridge and visited the beautiful Mezquita. We especially loved how the arches looked like an endless sea of palm trees! After the Mezquita, we walked the city streets, did a little shopping, and enjoyed smoothies. We then visited the synagogue, which was quite small but very interesting.
For lunch, we had tapas by the river, and some of us tried some new things! Then we crossed back over the Roman bridge and enjoyed a nice siesta during the bus ride to Sevilla. We arrived right outside the bull ring and walked to our hotel to check in and get settled. Then we walked through the center of town to the Plaza de España. Along the way, we passed and learned about the Archive of the Indies and the University of Sevilla. The Plaza de España was partially blocked off, but we were still able to see how magnificent it is! We also walked around the lovely Parque María Luisa a bit.
Finally, we had an amazing dinner at an Italian restaurant built over ruins, and then we all had delicious gelato! Yum!
-Peiwen, Sydney, & Andrew
May 21, 2025
We started the day waking up in a new hotel, Hotel Simón, in the city of Sevilla. After eating breakfast, we crossed the Puente de Triana and walked to the Triana neighborhood where we visited a ceramic shop (where we got lots of gifts!) Then we went to the Mercado de Triana to explore Spanish cuisine. We had a tour of the market, stopping at various stalls to learn about specific foods, like ham, olives, cheese, and fruits. After the tour, we took a cooking class in which we prepared two traditional Spanish dishes – gazpacho and paella. We all got a chance to mince garlic, cut vegetables, and stir the paella on the stovetop. It was an immersive experience into the world of Spanish food, and it was fun – and delicious! – to eat the food we made.
We took a bit of time for siesta back at the hotel before meeting our guide for a tour of the Real Alcázar palace. It was very cool to get to see a glimpse of where Spain’s royal family stays when in Sevilla. We learned a ton about the history of Sevilla and the story behind the palace. We also saw peacocks – there are many of them in the gardens of the Alcázar!
After the tour, we enjoyed some churros and chocolate in a plaza and then shopped on the famous Sierpes street. We bought some jewelry, clothing, and other souvenirs. We finished the day with a tapas dinner followed by a night walk to see the “Setas” of Sevilla all lit up in the dark.
-Grayling, Sawyer, & Alissa
May 22, 2025
Today was our last day in Spain. While we are excited to see our families, we will also miss this amazing experience. We ended our stay in Sevilla by exploring the Mercado de Arenal. We split into groups to shop for various items for a picnic. Some of the foods we purchased were ham, sausage, bread, cheese, and many fruits. After, we played on a playground for a bit before indulging in our meal at a park by the river. Señora Kuchta provided us with hackey sacks to throw around and play with.
After we left the park, we headed to the Catedral de Sevilla. It was a very beautiful place to spend our last moments in Sevilla. We climbed the Giralda tower and saw beautiful views of the city. There were a total of 35 ramps that we had to climb. Then we went on a quick tour of the cathedral and saw the tomb of Christopher Columbus.
After the cathedral, we went back to the hotel to grab our luggage and head to the bus. We arrived in Málaga after a two-hour ride. We checked into our hotel and settled into our rooms. Then we walked to a main street with lots of shops and cafes for some time to explore the downtown area. On the way to dinner, we stopped to see three amazing sites: the cathedral of Málaga, the house where Pablo Picasso was raised, and a Roman amphitheater that was built in the third century.
In addition to the main courses, our final meal at Vino Mío included a truly delicious salad and a sampling of lots of yummy desserts. We then had our final night meeting in the plaza outside the restaurant. Finally, we walked back through the downtown streets to the hotel to get some sleep before our full travel day tomorrow.
By Sofia, Lucy, & Will
