Barcelona

In the early hours last Monday, 41 yr10 students set off from Ralph Allen for Barcelona.
There was slight panic when thunderstorms meant we spent time circling over France but
we finally landed safely at Barcelona airport.

Our first excursion was to the mountainous monastery of Montserrat which is accessed by a
cable car and gave us beautiful views. We had time to explore before heading to Calafell
where the hotel was very close to the beach and students played football on the sand
before dinner.

Coats were donned on Tuesday for our first visit to Barcelona itself. Students learnt about
the history of tapas in the Poble Espanyol and we sampled traditional Spanish dishes,
including patatas bravas, jamón and tortilla. Time in the Joan Miró foundation was followed
by a spot of retail therapy at the Las Arenas shopping centre, which was previously a
working bullfighting ring.

The sun came out on Wednesday and students completed role play tasks around the town
of Calafell where they had to use their Spanish language skills to complete questions and
do a picture treasure hunt. Following this we travelled to Tarragona for lunch and to explore
the Roman Amphitheatre and Roman Ruins. Some students took the opportunity to visit
the beautiful cathedral in the city and others made the most of souvenir shopping time.

Thursday was very busy, with students exploring the Gothic Quarter, the oldest part of
Barcelona, using their ever improving Spanish to complete a work study of La Boquería
market (and most importantly to buy their lunch there!) before walking down the
picturesque Rambla to see the monument dedicated to Columbus’ return to Spain and then
spending time at Port Vell. We visited the famous Sagrada Familia, Antoni Gaudí’s
unfinished cathedral, where we had a guided tour of the amazing building. This was a
particular highlight of the trip and students enjoyed learning about the architect and the
building itself. In the evening we enjoyed a BBQ dinner and a fantastic flamenco show
which ended with the students dancing the macarena on stage with the dancers!

Friday saw a treat of churros con chocolate with breakfast before the return journey to Bath.

It was truly amazing watching the students grow in confidence with using their Spanish
throughout the week. A huge thank you to Mrs O’Leary, Mr Tremblen and Miss Hetenyi for
all their help and support on the trip, and to all the students who came. They represented
themselves and Ralph Allen extremely well and it was a pleasure to spend the week with
them. ¡Gracias!

Mrs Reynolds