Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Basketball Foreign Tour -- Day 4
August 11, 2012 | Cowboy Basketball
Aug. 11, 2012
Barcelona, Spain -- In their only full day off in the city of Barcelona, the Cowboys had the morning to explore the city on their own before an organized bus tour took Oklahoma State on a four-hour trip around town. The tour was led by Anthony, an Oklahoma City native who has lived in Spain since 1992. He provided a great sight-seeing tour for the players and staff, and was very informative as well.
The tour began at the Palau Nacional de Montjuic, a mammoth monument built for the 1929 World Expo in Barcelona. On top of Mt. Montjuic, it now serves as a museum to the history of Barcelona. From the front steps of Palau Nacional, the travel party could see all across most of the city.
Also included on Mt. Montjuic is the Estadi Olimpic de Montjuic, site of several events, including the opening and closing ceremonies, at the 1992 Olympic Games. The stadium was also built as part of the 1929 World Expo, and was going to be used as a non-facist, alternate site of the 1936 Olympic Games. However, the Spanish Civil War, which lasted from 1936-39, eliminated the opportunity to serve as an alternate location.
The stadium is currently used for Barcelona's Division 2 national soccer team. Once the Cowboy players heard this, they wanted to see where F.C. Barcelona played their games, so it was off to Estadia de F.C. Barcelona. The stadium was quite impressive from the outside, and is the largest soccer (futbol) stadium in Europe, and the third largest in the World at just over 100,000. There are obviously bigger college stadiums for football in the United States, but as far as soccer stadiums goes, this is the third largest.
Anthony then took the travel party to Parc Guell, a national "park" on the northeast side of the city. The land, which was originally about 15 minutes outside the city, was owned by Count Eusebi Guell, who wanted to develop it into a unique real-estate investment. He even hired a world-famous architect named Antoni Gaudi, to not only design the homes, but the streets, sidewalks, parks and everything else as well. Due to the distant location at the time (the early 1900s), only three houses were built. After Guell passed away in 1924, his family donated the land to the city of Barcelona, and it was named an historical artistic monument in 1969.
The final stop on the bus tour was at Sagrada Familia, or "Sacred Family", a large Roman-Catholic church northeast of downtown. It was the most popular site visited in Barcelona in 2011, drawing more than 3 million visitors. Construction on the church began in 1882, and has yet to be completed, as it is completely funded by donations. It's expected completion date is scheduled for 2026. It has three facades, one of which is complete, the second is nearing completion, and the third has yet to be begun.
With the second game of the tour scheduled for Sunday evening at 7 pm, the Cowboys have an early curfew tonight and will prepare for their second game in three days against the Barcelona Select team.
