Travel Blog ✈️ Spain & Portugal with the Glee Club!

Over Spring break, the Princeton University Glee Club went on the biennial international tour: to Spain and Portugal! I had an incredible time in the two countries I had never been before.

• SEVILLE, SPAIN (3/9 - 3/11/25)
  It was a joy to experience live flamenco for the first time. The combination of the powerful grit of the vocalist, the the passionate strumming of the guitar, and the impressive footwork of the dancers blew me away! The architecture was notable as well. We toured the Alcázar de Sevilla, a stunning 13th- and 14th-century palace that blends elements of Islamic, Jewish, and Catholic culture that even inspired the Game of Thrones creators to film there. Not only did we get to walk around and take in the Renaissance paintings of the massive Catedral de Sevilla, but we also got to perform inside it! I never thought that I would find myself singing in a 90-person choir inside the world’s largest gothic cathedral. [Check out how we sounded!] Taking a Renaissance music class at school and then feeling as though I get to briefly live inside that world has been a wonderful experience.

• VILAMOURA AND FARO, PORTUGAL (3/12 - 3/13/25)
  The beach in Quarteira, near the hotel where we stayed, was stunning—picturesque, with vast clouds looming overhead and strong winds brushing through our hair, as if whispering, who are you who are you who are you. I find that looking out into the ocean makes the perfect place for self-reflection, on what are dreams are and where we are on the journey of achieving them. We had a concert here as well, in Igreja de Sao Pedro—I could not have put it better than one of my friends, an art history major with a particularly sensitive eye for detail, who observed: “Igreja de Sao Pedro was a small barrel-vaulted church with a wood-formed ceiling and white plaster interior walls. Built in an eclectic manner, just about every nave and side chapel was constructed in a different architectural vernacular—rococo to the choir’s left, gilded baroque at the center, and Palladian at the right. In the choir gallery behind, a steel lattice held up a wooden balcony. The intimate space would be perfect for the choir’s second performance of the tour.” (from the Glee Club tour blog) It was wonderful to see the church filled with curious and supportive locals, and a true pleasure to sing for them.

• LISBON, PORTUGAL (3/14 - 3/16/25)
  Pastel de Nata, the famous Portugese egg tart, is absolutely to die for. And, I was in awe once more as we arrived at Sé de Lisboa for our final concert, a breathtaking cathedral, especially when bathed in the golden light of the sunset. It was a treat to get to celebrate our last evening on tour with a group of fado musicians, who serenaded us with the traditional Portuguese music that is rich in melancholy and longing. Even without understanding the lyrics, we were all deeply moved by the emotional landscape painted by the mournful melodies and passionate guitar strums.