School News
Nicci about to enter the bullring!
A chilly open top bus tour!!
Miss Matador Shepherd!!
Madrid 09
News posted: 30-04-2009
On Friday 3rd April 2009, 33 pupils and 5 staff set off to the beautiful city of Madrid. We arrived at our hotel, the Hotel Mediodia, which was conveniently located in the centre of the city. Every night we ate in FresCo, a fine restaurant with a wide choice of food to suit everyone’s taste. This was also Miss Turner’s birthday, so we congratulated her. We spent the next day exploring Madrid, travelling by Metro and visiting the Sorolla Museum and the Royal Palace (where we also did a spot of sunbathing!). We also visited the Ventas Bullring, which seats 25,000! We were lucky to have a guided tour of the bullring and learn all about it, although we didn’t actually watch a bullfight. Sunday 5th April saw us heading 204km north of Madrid, to the historical city of Salamanca. We visited many places including the Roman Bridge, Casa Lis, Casa de las Conchas and the Cathedral. We also enjoyed an interesting experience watching (and being a part of!) the Palm Sunday parades, marking the start of Semana Santa. There was live music, statues and dancing. Hundreds turned out in their best clothes to see the parades. Here, many of us took the opportunity to buy matching University of Salamanca hoodies, including Mrs Kershaw! On Monday we visited Segovia, where we had chance to raid the shops! As well as shopping, we saw the historical Roman Aqueduct, which was built between the late 1st and early 2nd centuries. It stands 28.1 metres tall and contains an amazing 20400 blocks! As well as this, we visited Alcazar castle, which is supposed to have given Walt Disney inspiration to create his Cinderella castle. We could certainly see why! On our last day in Madrid, as it was Mrs Kershaw’s birthday we presented her with a personalised Salamanca hoodie to say thank you for organising the trip. We fitted in some last minute sightseeing by taking a trip on an open-top bus, even though it was very windy! We then took a trip to Atocha railway station, which was just opposite our hotel. In the railway station are some vivid tropical gardens with hundreds of turtles! Then all too soon it was time to go to the airport and say our goodbyes to Madrid. The Madrid trip was a tremendous success and we thoroughly enjoyed it. By Jessica Forbes, Melissa Kerr and Louise Bintliff
