Caroline Byatt, Rayburn Tours Courier, tells us about her latest concert tour to the Costa Brava, showing just how much you can pack into a three day trip!
Monday 7th July 2014
I had an early start, arriving at Manchester airport at 5am. The group were there already, being in the process of attaching their Rayburn Tours luggage tags, making them easy to spot!
We boarded our flight to Barcelona and, after landing safely, collected our luggage and boarded the waiting coach. First up was Barcelona’s Hard Rock Café at Plaza Catalunya, where the group had time to explore Las Ramblas and the Boqueria Market.
After an enjoyable few hours in Barcelona, it was time to head to our hostel, the Alberg Pere Tarres. Arriving right on schedule, we unloaded the coach and checked in. Ever the professionals, the group went for a rehearsal in a private room before enjoying their first evening meal together.
Following dinner, the we all met in the bar area for a short Barcelona themed quiz, with the winner – scoring a respectable 8 out of 10 – winning a fridge magnet from Las Ramblas!
Tuesday 8th July 2014
After a good breakfast, the group loaded up the coach and we headed off to Poble Espanyol. We arrived within a record 10 minutes, giving the group some welcome extra rehearsal time before exploring the picturesque surroundings.
The concert began at 11am sharp and attracted a small but enthusiastic crowd, with both performers and spectators taking great enjoyment from the performance. Afterwards, we arrived as per schedule at Casa Mila, the famous modernist building and UNESCO World Heritage Site, for our tour. Here, the group was split into three and this interesting experience was enjoyed by all.
Next up on the sightseeing agenda was the stunning Roman Catholic Church, Sagrada Familia. Luckily, the coach was able to drop us off very near to the building and we appreciated a longer than scheduled stay, admiring the view and having some light refreshments.
We had some free time before the evening meal, so decided on a walking trip from our hostel to the ‘Camp Nou’ stadium. There was also a park opposite, so we took a football and a frisbee and enjoyed team games, burning off some excess energy!
After dinner, the group chose to settle in the hostel’s bar area with the other guests, ready to watch the World Cup football match between Brazil and Germany.
Wednesday 9th July 2014
A visit to Marine land was first on today’s list, much to the excitement of the group. Unfortunately it had started to rain, though this naturally did nothing to deter the excitement of the students!
After having some watery fun at Marine land, irrespective of the rain showers, we left promptly at 16.00pm for the second concert at Pineda de Mar. We met our friendly representative, Alaitz, in the square and the group set up the equipment and had a quick rehearsal.
Looking up into the sky you could see the angry clouds looking back down at us, so it was decided to start the concert early. The group were lucky and the weather held, but seeing as they were almost finished, they decided not to push their luck any further and thanked the crowd for their support – packing away before the clouds burst into heavy rainfall! This just goes to show that you can’t count on the weather, not even in the Costa Brava, in July!
After our final dinner, we held the highly anticipated end of tour awards ceremony. This proved to be great fun, as both students and staff had been making notes of humorous ‘incidents’ and had written these into a song, which was duly performed to mark the end of a very successful and enjoyable tour!
Thursday 10th July 2014
Sadly it was time to head back to the UK. We had an early departure and, impressively, everyone had packed, eaten breakfast, and was assembled in reception by 8:15am!
Our flight home took off on time and we landed safely at Manchester airport at around 13.25pm, sad to be home but full of memories from a successful concert tour.
What Loreto Sixth Form said about their tour:
If I were to identify the best moment of our tour it would be…
“It’s very difficult to decide on just one, but probably the smiles on the students’ faces throughout.”
On Caroline:
“As our Tour Courier, Caroline was professional and helpful. She was brilliant with the students and flexible and organised, squeezing every minute out of the tour.”
– Danny Price, Loreto Sixth Form College, Costa Brava, 2014.