St John Plessington Catholic College

Barcelona Trip 2019

Shortly before spring break twenty of our Spanish pupils from year nine and ten did a study tour of Barcelona.

Everyone was very excited to arrive in Spain and pupils confidently conversed with the Spanish staff in the airport and even asked for passports to be stamped in Spanish! That evening, following dinner, we visited a local churrería and all enjoyed some churros y chocolate.

On the next morning we were out bright and early to visit the breath taking Parc Guell. We took a tour of the monumental area of the park and the surrounding area.

The afternoon was spent exploring La Sagrada Familia cathedral where pupils were given an audio tour and lots of interesting facts about the cathedral. We then visited the Picasso museum which gave pupils an insight into the painters life and the way in which his art changed throughout time as a reflection of his experiences.

In the evening we visited Las Ramblas, browsed the stalls and shops and ate dinner in a local restaurant.

Thursday was also extremely busy, pupils started the day with a visit to the Nou Camp stadium where we toured the ground and museum.

The afternoon was spent in ‘Poble Espanyol’, a Spanish village created with the desire to concentrate on the soul of Spain. Today most of its constructions remain intact and are scale reproductions of buildings, squares and streets of different regions of Spain.

Strolling through Poble Espanyol pupils discovered artists which they could watch as they worked, as well as viewing pieces of contemporary art by Dalí, Picasso, Miró and Guinovart.  Whilst in Poble Espanyol pupils enjoyed a tapas lunch in one of the traditional restaurants within the village.

In the evening pupils had their first experience of the Metro as we used it to travel to an outdoor restaurant on the far end of Las Ramblas. It was a lovely evening accompanied by music from a group of local Spanish musicians who played their own choice of songs as well as taking requests from the pupils!

On Friday morning pupils visited Barcelona Zoo and viewed many different animals as well as spending some time in the park. Lunch was at Hard Rock Café and was followed by a visit to Sephora and some relaxation time in the plaza. The afternoon was spent touring the chocolate museum and enjoying the samples available!

In the evening pupils re-visited their favourite restaurant from the trip and said their goodbyes to the fantastic staff there.

The trip was a great success where all students were immersed in Spanish culture and took every opportunity to practise their language skills in a wide range of different contexts and situations.