1st Batxillerat in London - diary

La nostra alumna de 1r de Batxillerat Francesca Fàbregas comparteix la seva experiència durant el viatge d'estudis que 1r de batxillerat va fer a Londres entre el 12 i el 16 de maig. Moltes gràcies Francesca!

Our Trip To London

From the 12th to the 17th of May, some students from 1st of Batxillerat spent an intense week visiting London. We discovered and enjoyed our stay in the capital of the UK sharing a nice experience.

May, 12th “Where it all began”

We all met at 8:50 am at Barcelona’s airport. Nervousness and excitement were not only in our faces, they were also reflected in our parents’, who were waiting until the last minute. Once we had checked in and had passed the controls, we took off. The journey was calm and we arrived at Stansted airport at 12:20 pm. We all got into a couch which left us in London. Afterwards, we started a route through the city centre. It was lunch time, so when we arrived in Leicester Square, we ate in there. Later, we took a stroll in China Town, Soho and finally, Piccadilly Circus. In the evening we returned to the meeting point until our host families took us to their houses. Most of us later watched the Champions League semi-finals.

May, 13th “Kilometres and more kilometres”

Next day, we met for the first time at the meeting point very early in the morning. As the forecast for Thursday 14th predicted rain, we decided to change slightly our schedule. We took the underground and went to Green Park, where Paul, our guide, explained some curiosities. Later, we walked to Buckingham Palace, St. James Park and Westminster Abbey where we saw a horse show starred by the official guardians of the queen. Finally, to finish our morning, we went to see the Big Ben which we found quite impressive. We were starving. Fortunately it was lunch time, so we split up for an hour. In the afternoon we went out for a walk checking out several landmarks and eventually getting to St. Paul’s Cathedral. Unfortunately, it was closed to the public so we went to Oxford Street and later we went shopping by ourselves. After this exhausting itinerary we returned to our houses to rest after the long day walking.

May, 14th “Museums and rain”

We had an intense day ahead of. The schedule was simple. In the morning we had to visit two of the greatest museums in the UK regarding science and history. We found them quite interesting and even similar to “Cosmocaixa” in Barcelona. The rain wasn’t ceasing, so we had to walk covered by umbrellas until we found a restaurant or somewhere to have lunch. Some of us celebrated my birthday there with a cake and candles having a really amazing time indoors.

Although we were very tired, we went to visit the National Gallery. We had a very long time to visit all the pieces of art so when we finished, we played cards in order to spend some time. Finally, we went to the theatre to see "The Phantom of the Opera". Everyone agreed that it was an amazing performance, all the special effects combined with the incredible voices of the actors and actresses created a magic atmosphere. After that, we all went back home. It was almost midnight.

May 15th “Culture and shopping”

Although the sun was shining, the temperature was chilly and we followed the schedule. After meeting in Ealing Broadway station, we went to the British museum. We spent the whole morning visiting the museum. We all agreed that the exhibition of Egypt and its mummies was really impressive. Then, we had lunch in Piccadilly Circus area and finally met all together to visit what we all expected: “Candem Town”. We arrived there at 15.00 pm. Paul, our guide, warned us about the pick-pockets and recommended not to leave our personal belongings unattended. We split up into little groups and spent the afternoon buying souvenirs and other stuff for our families and for ourselves. Finally, when we got together, we showed each other our purchased items and talked about how we had bargained to the salesmen. We took the underground to return to our houses where our families were waiting for us.

May 16th “Barcelona again”

In the morning our families took us to Ealing church. We left the baggage there and we took a bus and the underground to Hyde Park. While we were walking through the paths we could see the marvellous green landscapes. A few minutes before arriving to the monument of Princess Diana, we found some swans and fed them, they were so cute! After having lunch, we returned to Oxford Street just for a last minute shopping. And from there, we returned to the church where the couch was waiting for us. None of us wanted to go home yet, but it was time. We checked in and boarded. Finally, we arrived at the airport almost at midnight, where our relatives were anxiously waiting for us. It had been a long week, but we all felt grateful to be home again.

Francesca Fàbregas