TRIP ABROAD: Killarney Community College senior students visited the famous Sagrada Familia Church in Gaudis as part of their school tour to Barcelona.

By Rebecca O’Callaghan

Students and teachers took a break from the Killarney rain and cloudy skies – and instead opted for a trip to sunny Barcelona.

35 students and four teachers from Killarney Community College flew from Shannon last week for four days of culture and of course sunshine!

The group, who were greeted with blues skies, sunshine and a temperature of 23 degrees, headed straight to Porto Ventura, where they rode rollercoasters, had fun and made memories.

When they weren’t sleeping, they were out and about having fun taking in sightseeing trips, bike tours, Nou Camp and even an impromptu swim in the Mediterranean sea.

With the Catalan protests going on one would think they would stay in the hotel all day on the Monday, but in fact it seemed they managed to do even more, explained teacher Brian O’Reilly.

“After deciding not to get involved in the Catalan protests we got a spectacular cable car ride to the top of Montserrat where we ambled around the monastery and enjoyed breathtaking views that would almost rival Ladies View,” he said.

“Afterwards it was off Gaudi's Park Guell and we managed to spend time at the world famous Sagrada Familia Church. It truly was an awesome sight. Two hours of retail therapy later and we headed back to the hotel to pack, go bowling and somehow managed to dance the evening away at the hotel disco.”

They finished off their tour with two hours at a high ropes park filled with obstacles and zip wires. Their bus trip from Shannon to Killarney was said to be the quietest journey where they reflected on all the fun they had and all the things they learnt, he added.

“Our students’ behaviour and attitude towards a different culture, history, language and city was a credit to the school and their parents. Their enthusiasm and good humour was infectious and made our lives very easy.”