A very excited group of A-Level and GCSE students at Bloomfield Collegiate School took part in an amazing trip to the city of Santander in Cantabria, Spain. With a total of 26 eager Modern Language students with 3 members of staff, we arrived in Santander early on Wednesday morning. Carlos, who was our guide throughout the trip, took us on a fascinating tour of the city where we saw many famous landmarks, such as the statues of Los Raqueros jumping off the pier, the Palacio de la Magdalena, and the Centro Botín with amazing views of the surrounding mountains and landscape. Everyone enjoyed the serving of tapas and the pastel de mármon for breakfast. They were delicious.
On the Thursday and Friday mornings, we attended the Cantabria Spanish Association for Foreign Students where we learnt all about the culture of Spain, including the festivals, food and Santander’s interesting history. We also visited a local market selling every type of fruit and veg imaginable, as well as many types of fish and meat. It was quite new to us because we don’t have markets like this in Belfast and it was incredibly interesting to experience the atmosphere of a working Spanish market.
We participated in a dance class, learning Salsa and Hip-hop moves. It was quite funny, but it made us very tired, so the surprise of chocolate con churros afterwards was greatly appreciated!
On Friday, after classes, we went on a boat ride across the bay. We saw amazing views of the mountains and got to see the astounding architecture of the city. It was a good chance to relax after the past few days of walking and sightseeing to simply enjoy the beauty of the natural landscape and sea. Later, we walked to the station and caught the train to the shopping centre. It was exciting to see the city go by, and the shopping centre was huge. We also stopped at a small souvenir shop where many of us bought keepsakes of our trip.
On Saturday, we left the hotel early and took the coach to Bilbao where we would fly home from later that day. We were taken to the famous Guggenheim Museum filled with modern art and exhibitions such as the ‘Infinity Mirrored Room’ and ‘Rising Sea’.
The exhibitions were fascinating and the building really stood out against the rest of the city.
Overall, this trip was a great opportunity for both A-Level and GCSE students as we were immersed in the language, culture and lifestyle of Spain, and was very useful to hear locals speaking Spanish as it has improved our confidence greatly!
¡Hasta la próxima vez!
By Rachel and Kirsten (Year 14)
