Harton Away
Madrid Exchange, May 2009
On Monday 11th May we flew out to Madrid to stay a week with our Spanish friends. We arrived around 3 p.m. at Barajas airport to a wonderful reception and surprise, our partners were waiting at arrivals as we came through the doors. We then got the Metro to our school Colegio Lourdes not far from the centre of this busy, exciting city. We were met at school by our partners’ parents and went home with them. A little nervous and a lot excited, for the adventure awaiting us.
We came into school with our partners on Tuesday morning and headed out to explore the historic centre of Madrid. Marga was our guide, one of the English teachers from Colegio Lourdes. During our tour of Madrid we visited the Palacio Real (Royal Palace), a beautiful, ornate building right in the centre of Madrid, opposite the Opera Real (Royal Opera). We are told they only use it for special occasions and that King Juan Carlos lives with his family in a smaller house in Madrid. We were also told that the Palace would be closed for the next few days due to San Isidro celebrations. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take photos inside the Palace but got some lovely ones outside.
We had a picnic down in the Sabatini Gardens beside the Palace. From here we saw the Plaza Mayor as we walked through the old winding streets of old Madrid. This is the main square where they were preparing for concerts and the Zarzuela (a lively Spanish opera) for San Isidro on Friday. From the Plaza Mayor we walked to Puerta del Sol, full of shops. The most expensive street in Madrid is here, full of designer shops as well as El Corte Inglés department store.
In the afternoon we took the Metro up to Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, Real Madrid’s stadium. This was an exciting experience, including when Michael jumped the barrier and touched the ARTIFICIAL grass surrounding the pitch!! We took loads of photos here and spent lots in the shops at the end of the visit. When we returned to Colegio Lourdes we had a Welcome Party from the Spanish families and the Head came along and said a lovely speech. We were given t-shirts as a souvenir of our time in the school.
On Wednesday our partners joined us and we got the coach to Toledo, a beautiful, ancient walled city. Toledo is known as the city of 3 beliefs – many years ago Muslims, Christians and Jews lived side by side. We saw how different the Cathedral, the Sinagogue and the Mosque were, it was very interesting. We walked lots up and down the hills of Toledo and saw some views like we have never seen in our lives. Wednesday evening was spent with our families.
On Thursday we started school at 8.30, we attended lessons with our partners then had a football tournament with the Spanish school. England won the first match and Spain won the second match. It was great fun and very exciting! Even the girls joined in. We spent the afternoon in the local theme park (Parque de Attraciones) just a 10 minute walk from the school in Casa de Campo Park. We were joined by our partners when they finished school at 4.30, some parents joined us later and we all went for pizza together in the theme park.
Friday and Saturday we part of the Bank Holiday weekend in Madrid, they were celebrating San Isidro, the Patron Saint of Madrid so school was closed on Friday. We did lots of activities with our families including bowling, going to the Retiro Park, taking part in the celebrations around the streets. Everyone was out and about to celebrate and there were concerts and parties everywhere, special food stalls selling a sort of iced donut they eat for San Isidro and lots of people were dressed up in Chulapos outfits. The men wore a black and white check flat cap, and had a white shirt, neck tie and waistcoat. The ladies wore beautiful, colourful dresses, a white head scarf and a flower in their hair. It was all very exciting to see and take part in.
On Friday evening we all met up and went bowling together.
Sadly on Sunday, we flew home in the morning and arrived back in a rainy London missing the lovely sunshine back in Madrid already!
We had a fantastic time and will keep in touch with our Spanish friends, some of us want to go back in Summer to see them and if we have the chance next year we will go on the exchange again. Madrid is a beautiful, exciting city full of culture.
This year we have set up a new exchange with Colegio Lourdes in Madrid. It is a semi-private school with art specialism with 1100 students between 3-18. It is very well situated only 3 metro stops from the centre of Madrid. The school is situated in a middle class area just 2 minutes walk from the Casa de Campo park which is the largest green space in Madrid even with it’s own zoo! We will be heading out there 11-17 May with some students from St Aidan’s in Sunderland who are sharing our exchange this year. Our Spanish visitors have just gone home after a fabulous week. They arrived on Wednesday 25th February in the evening and went straight to their host families. On Thursday they spent the day in Newcastle with Mr Pine, where they explored the Quayside, the Baltic and the Sage, all before lunch. They said the views down the Tyne were beautiful. They then headed up to the Discovery Museum to learn about the history of Newcastle. The last stop of the day was St James’ Park where they did a tour of the stadium followed by an interview with two of the Spanish players, Jose Enrique and Xisco. They advise me that Mr Pine was even more excited than them!
On Friday they headed across the border to Edinburgh with their very own personal tour guide from Edinburgh, Mrs Armstrong. It was very windy and cold up at the castle but they enjoyed exploring and finding out about Scottish history. We wandered down the Royal Mile then had time to shop along Princes Street spending lots. We got home late that night, but Mrs Armstrong still had the energy to take the teachers to Ocean Road to experience a nice curry.
The Spanish visitors spent a fun-packed weekend with their host families. I am told some were lucky enough to go to London for the day. Others stayed in the area and went to Durham, the Roman Fort, bowling, swimming and ice skating. On Monday morning they spent the morning in lessons with their partners and then experienced school dinners. They said it was great because in Spain they have no choice, I saw lots of pizza slices go by!! They spent even more money at the Metro Centre with Mr Le Goff on Monday afternoon. On Tuesday Mr Pine took them to Tynemouth where they visited the Blue Reef Aquarium and then were blown along the coast to try fish n chips for the first time at Marshalls, the fryery by the Priory. They gave mixed reports about fish n chips!
On the last night all the students and their partners from both schools came to Martino’s Restaurant in Seaburn for a lovely Italian meal to say Hasta Luego and celebrate a successful week.
Our Spanish visitors went home to Madrid on Wednesday morning when a few tears were shed… However, we will keep in touch by email and hope to have a video-conferencing session before meeting up again in May when we go over there. All the Spanish visitors have said that they were all very well looked after and really enjoyed their experience in English homes. |
