Barcelona Trip

During the Easter Holidays a group of nine sixth-formers set off for Barcelona accompanied by the trip organiser Mr Sykes and Head of Modern Languages Mr Edmundson. With A level exams on the horizon, this trip promised to include plenty of practical Spanish language revision as well as the usual sightseeing and touristy activities. Upon arrival on Sunday, we were dropped off with the families with whom we were to stay the entire week and would provide us breakfast and dinner every day. Fortunately for us, and rather sadly for the locals, we didn't take the British weather with us to avert the ongoing drought in Catalonia. The weather held up wonderfully well for the duration of our trip, with little rain, and plenty of sunshine.

Each weekday morning comprised about three hours of high level tuition at the Don Quijote language school, including some hilarious discourses and discussions with the director of the school, Demetrio Sánchez. After the lessons, we would meet our CLS teachers and begin the excursions. The first day's activity was a carefully planned orientation of Barcelona with three teams of three needing to go around the city finding out various bits of information, taking photos in various circumstances and purchasing random items. This proved to be a tiring, yet incredibly fun exercise and by the end of it, we were almost all familiar with the bustling metropolis.

The next few days, the post-lessons excursions mainly included sightseeing, with Mr Edmundson - a veteran of Spanish trips - as our tour guide, constantly giving historical and cultural background information to enhance our experience. We explored the National Catalan Art Museum, surrealist Joan Miró's artwork, the Gothic Quarter, the Museum of Catalan History and the famous Camp Nou Stadium, as well as enjoying the lovely views of the city from the Parc Guell and Montjuic. Amongst all this, there was time for a whole afternoon in the picturesque seaside town of Sitges, a rather queer but charmingly tranquil escape from the commotion of the Catalonian capital. This proved to be the best day of the trip, with some much needed rest and football on the beach being ideal after three days of walking around town, despite frequent calls by the deep-pocketed fitness-enthusiast Master Faruqi for ‘cabbing it'!

More than anything, the trip became something of a gastronomic godsend, with various lunches and our group dinner on Saturday turning out to be highlights of the week. Be it tapas or paella, set menus or à la carte, we always managed to end up eating some of the city's finest dishes. Special thanks must go to our teachers who, after extensive research and consideration, found some excellent restaurants for our benefit. On the slightly less cultural side of things, on Friday night we found ourselves at a live music concert. The entertainment did not stop there, however, as our very own talented musicians Guy Hindley, Tomo Takabatake and Bertie Watson seized the moment (not to mention the performers' instruments) and impressed the audience by performing their very own hit number.

Saturday allowed us to have a full day of visiting attractions and this mainly entailed discovering the architectural marvels of the renowned architect Gaudí, including the yet unfinished Sagrada Familia church and various houses designed by the Art Nouveau specialist. Even the occasional quiet moments were not boring, courtesy of Messrs Watson and Malka-Wishart who entertained one and all (general public included) with their acoustical enchantments and fearless displays of self-deprecation. The trip proved to be a great team building exercise too, as the concept of ‘team Lays' (sharing one's crisp packet with the whole group) became common practice. Our week in this vibrant, culturally and historically rich city went by very quickly and we can't thank Mr Sykes enough for the time and effort he put in, to organise a packed schedule of immense value to us all. For many of us, this was the last school trip we will ever go on - a fittingly memorable experience!

Hursh Mehta (S6RE)