Barcelona
Barcelona – A pupil write-up!
We left school really early on the Wednesday morning to get to the airport, but it didn’t matter as we were off to Barcelona! Everyone was so excited, as you can imagine, and there was a real buzz on the coach. Our flight was great and we got some amazing views of the Pyrenees as we landed in Barcelona. Once on the ground, everyone got their bags and we headed into Barcelona City Centre. We headed straight to the Mare Magnum shopping complex for some lunch…ordering in Spanish, of course!
After lunch, we headed up the Montjuïc hills where we were met with some breath-taking views of the city and port below. We took a giant cable car right up to the top of the hills, where you could see the entire city in one view. We had a scenic walk back down to our coach and even had time to play in a fountain! We then headed to the Olympic Stadium and had a look around – it was huge! Finally, after such a long day, we headed to our hotel in the town of Salou and checked in.
Our alarms were set very early on Thursday morning as we were travelling back into Barcelona. This time, we had a guide on our coach journey into Barcelona, who told us all about the history of city and the region of Cataluña. We had the chance to visit Plaza Cataluña (the main square) and Las Ramblas, a wide street filled with pop-up stalls and live street statues and entertainers. We all had fun trying to barter with the stall owners in Spanish – what a challenge! Our busy itinerary kept us on our toes and we headed straight to La Sagrada Familia – a huge, unfinished cathedral created by the architect Gaudí. It was amazing to see such a beautiful building covered in stunning statues and designs. After this, we went to the Camp Nou, FC Barcelona’s home stadium and museum. We couldn’t believe the sheer size of the stadium, nor the amount of trophies won by such a prestigious team. However, we did all spend a fortune in the Barça shop!
Friday was our favourite day – Port Aventura! This is a huge theme park outside Barcelona which has the highest ride in Europe. Of course we all went on it…but the teachers seemed a lot less excited than us! They were even less excited when we all squirted them with massive water cannons as they went on the Rapids ride! We spent the whole day here, moving from zone to zone and never wanted to leave.
Saturday was another chance for us to see more of the amazing city of Barcelona. After looking at some spectacular sea life and learning lots of related words in Spanish at the Aquarium, we had some free time to go shopping. However, Mr Nelson gave us a ‘selfie’ challenge! We had to get photos taken with a whole range of things, from a Spanish flag to a shark! It was a great task as it meant we all had to speak lots of Spanish asking people to help us. We all bought lots of souvenirs for our friends and family at home.
After a few hours of chill-time, we got dressed at the hotel and headed into Salou for our last night. We were all sad to have to think about packing and heading home, but our trip wasn’t finished yet. We had a tapas evening in a lovely family restaurant. We got to speak with the waiters and waitresses in Spanish and we tried so many dishes, from tortilla española to patatas bravas to ensaladilla rusa. We even had some cake for my birthday! The food was so delicious.
Sunday was our last day. After a few hours at the beach on Sunday morning, we left the hotel, sad to leave Salou. On our way to the airport, we stopped in the historic city of Tarragona where we saw the old Roman amphitheatre and some amazing historical architecture.
Overall, the Spanish trip was a wonderful experience. It has really helped to improve our skills and confidence in Spanish. The best part was the chance to experience such a rich culture whilst learning lots of new language. Thank you to all the teachers who came with us – we all had a ball!
Catherine McBarnet & Lee Fitzgerald
