BARCELONA
On Monday 23rd of April, 46 TY students and 4 teachers departed PCS. The bus arrived in Dublin airport during the early hours of Tuesday morning. Upon arrival we went through the whole rigmarole of checking in and getting past security, before boarding our flight at around 6 am. When we arrived in Barcelona we were instantly greeted with a welcoming sunshine. We then commenced our guided tour of the city. On this tour we began by visiting the science museum of Barcelona, which was quite interesting. Here, we also got the chance to get lunch and relax outside in the sun with our friends. We then roamed around the city, and visited different historical sites in Barcelona including the Gaudi Church, Which has been under construction since 1882, and is still being built today. It is expected to be finished by 2026. There was some very impressive architecture around the city which we viewed while we took the bus to the outskirts of Barcelona. Here we took cable cars to the top of the scenic ‘Montjuic’ area. On the ascending journey to the top of the mountain, there was a beautiful view of the city, which made the different historical sites and architecture look all the more impressive. Once we arrived to the peak, we had some time to wander around and take in the scenery, before returning to the bottom again on the cable cars. This was actually a lot more enjoyable than I had anticipated and I thought it was a great experience to view such a beautiful city from that angle. We then took the bus back to our hotel in Salou, it was during this journey that I got my first wink of sleep in about 30 hours. When we arrived, we had an hour or two to unpack and get used to the rooms, which were quite nice,comprising of 3 singles beds and a balcony, before we all gathered together in the restaurant for dinner. Dinner was a buffet with an array of different local cuisine, which I personally thoroughly enjoyed. Once we had finished eating we went to an arcade a couple of kilometres away, where we all got the opportunity to showcase our bowling skills, some quite frankly abysmal, and some surprisingly very good (including Mr Fallon). We then headed back to the hotel, where I was glad to get a good nights sleep after an enjoyable but tiring day.
On Wednesday morning, we woke up bright and early, we went downstairs for breakfast, which like dinner the previous night, was a self service buffet. We then left the hotel and went to Reus, where we visited the Gaudi museum. Here, we watched a short movie on Gaudi a life, and each received a mobile phone on which we could listen to more stories about Gaudi and his life while we viewed the 3 different floors in the museum. After this we we were given an hours free time in Reus, to get some food and go shopping around the city. We then went to Portaventura Theme Park, Which I was very excited for, and it certainly didn’t disappoint. Myself and my friends went on as many of the rides we could fit in in the allotted timeframe, and even though I had been there twice before, I got a great thrill out of the roller coasters and different rides. Having really enjoyed portavetura, it was soon time to leave and go back to the hotel. When we got back that evening, we quickly got changed and headed straight for the beach, which was tighy across from our hotel. The water was absolutely freezing as it was quite late in the day, but nevertheless it was very fun to play volleyball in the sea and just to be there with my friends. We then shook the sand off, and headed back to the hotel where some people got dinner, but most skipped it because We then got 2 hours of free time to spend in the area around the hotel. I was astounded as culture around Salou is just so contrasting to that in Ireland. It’s eye opening to see and embrace the performances,salesmen on the other types of personalities on the strip, and compare it to the likes of shop street in Galway. My friends and I also stopped for a bite to eat on a restaurant beside the beach, and then returned to the hotel at 11pm. I found the second day very amusing, and was disappointed that we’d have to leave the next day.
On Thursday, our final day in Spain, I had to skip breakfast as I hadn’t packed the previous night, and just about managed to gather up all my things in time for checkout. As we said our last goodbyes to the hotel, we too the bus to Tarragona, and visited the amphitheater which was a magnificent sight. We then had a couple of hours to relax and shop in Tarragona, which surprisingly didn’t actually have many restaurants or shops open, maybe because it was so early in the morning. We then went to the Camp Nou, which is the home of Barcelona. I found this enjoyable as I’m an avid follower of football. Here we got a tour of the stadium, trophies, the conference room and pitchsid. I also took pictures with my friends and bought a Barcelona top from the megastore. After this, we headed towards the Maregagnum shopping centre. We spent an hour and a half here, where I managed to get food and some gifts to bring home to my family. Unfortunately, this was our last activity in Barcelona, and we went back to the airport. At around 11 o’clock arrived back to the rain, and reality, as the bus of 46 exhausted students returned to Portumna.
On Wednesday morning, we woke up bright and early, we went downstairs for breakfast, which like dinner the previous night, was a self service buffet. We then left the hotel and went to Reus, where we visited the Gaudi museum. Here, we watched a short movie on Gaudi a life, and each received a mobile phone on which we could listen to more stories about Gaudi and his life while we viewed the 3 different floors in the museum. After this we we were given an hours free time in Reus, to get some food and go shopping around the city. We then went to Portaventura Theme Park, Which I was very excited for, and it certainly didn’t disappoint. Myself and my friends went on as many of the rides we could fit in in the allotted timeframe, and even though I had been there twice before, I got a great thrill out of the roller coasters and different rides. Having really enjoyed portavetura, it was soon time to leave and go back to the hotel. When we got back that evening, we quickly got changed and headed straight for the beach, which was tighy across from our hotel. The water was absolutely freezing as it was quite late in the day, but nevertheless it was very fun to play volleyball in the sea and just to be there with my friends. We then shook the sand off, and headed back to the hotel where some people got dinner, but most skipped it because We then got 2 hours of free time to spend in the area around the hotel. I was astounded as culture around Salou is just so contrasting to that in Ireland. It’s eye opening to see and embrace the performances,salesmen on the other types of personalities on the strip, and compare it to the likes of shop street in Galway. My friends and I also stopped for a bite to eat on a restaurant beside the beach, and then returned to the hotel at 11pm. I found the second day very amusing, and was disappointed that we’d have to leave the next day.
On Thursday, our final day in Spain, I had to skip breakfast as I hadn’t packed the previous night, and just about managed to gather up all my things in time for checkout. As we said our last goodbyes to the hotel, we too the bus to Tarragona, and visited the amphitheater which was a magnificent sight. We then had a couple of hours to relax and shop in Tarragona, which surprisingly didn’t actually have many restaurants or shops open, maybe because it was so early in the morning. We then went to the Camp Nou, which is the home of Barcelona. I found this enjoyable as I’m an avid follower of football. Here we got a tour of the stadium, trophies, the conference room and pitchsid. I also took pictures with my friends and bought a Barcelona top from the megastore. After this, we headed towards the Maregagnum shopping centre. We spent an hour and a half here, where I managed to get food and some gifts to bring home to my family. Unfortunately, this was our last activity in Barcelona, and we went back to the airport. At around 11 o’clock arrived back to the rain, and reality, as the bus of 46 exhausted students returned to Portumna.