Barcelona March 2010

On the 11^th of March 2010 the VAD Year 13 and A2 Art and Design students accompanied by Harry and myself descended on Barcelona for a 3 day feast of Artistic, cultural and historical exploration.

Having been warned by a parent just prior to departure of some freak wintry weather conditions in Spain we were a little concerned that we may not have packed sufficiently suitable clothing and footwear. Fortunately on arrival in Barcelona these fears seemed to be unfounded and although there was a slight nip in the air we were greeted by glorious sunshine. After a short walk from the central station up to our Hotel we were able to leave our luggage and embark on our first excursion of the trip. Our first port of call was the famous ‘Ramblas’ area on the edge of the old quarter, such a busy area full of market stalls and people offered numerous opportunities for students to sample some of the local food and get to the serious business of visual recording.

Having spent a couple of hours exploring the area we moved on to the CCCB gallery just up the road where we saw their ‘Art in the City’ exhibition which offered an eclectic and diverse range of contemporary work by current artists all exploring what the city means in the 21^st century. This provided some excellent support for the year 13’s whose Final Major Project title is ‘The City’ this year. By the time we left the gallery it was getting on for eight o’clock and we were all starting to feel the effects of having been up since 4 that morning. Tired and hungry we made our way back to the hotel for dinner and a well earned rest.

Friday greeted us with a grey, drizzly light and it seemed that our good fortune of the day before wasn’t going to hold and even more frustratingly this was the day that had been earmarked for all of our outdoors visits, undeterred we set off for Montjuc and the Olympic park. Despite the mist that hung over the city we spent an enjoyable and worthwhile morning exploring the castle at the top of the hill and the views it offered of the city before moving down the hill to walk around the legacy of Barcelona’s summer Olympics.

By lunchtime we were back down in the town itself to sample more Spanish cuisine before moving on to a tour of the Old quarter and the amazing range of twisting alleyways and gothic architecture. That afternoon the sun managed to break through a little more and we were able to enjoy the wonders of Parc Guell where we spent a long time taking in the inspiring work of Gaudi and Jojul. Afterwards the students we able to head back into central Barcelona and explore further before heading back to the hotel for dinner. That evening we ventured out once more, this time to see the city at night and in particular the wonderfully lit Casa Battlo.

Saturday morning provided the students with an opportunity to identify a particular area of the city that related to their own work and explore it in more depth. We also went to the Tapies gallery to see the collection of work and artefacts by one of Spain’s most innovative artists. All that remained after that was for the students to enjoy their last few hours in Barcelona before we headed back to the airport for our flight home.

Our three day trip to Barcelona was a real whirlwind tour and it was a shame that we had to make so many tough decisions about what we could and could not get to see. The students were brilliant from start to finish and behaved in a manner that was a real credit to them.