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During October half term, we took a group of 20 teachers out to Madrid to check out what sports tours Club Europe have to offer in central Spain.
It was fantastic to arrive in Madrid to beautiful sunshine and 23 degree heat so as soon as we checked into our rooms at the brand new Generator Hostel, we headed up to the roof terrace for a welcome drink in the sun.
Later that evening, following a delicious dinner of tapas and pizza at the hostel, we all piled onto the bus and travelled to the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium to watch Real Madrid take on FC Viktoria Plzen in the Champions League. Although the media labelled Real Madrid’s performance as ‘unconvincing’, they still managed to scrape a 2-1 win from the Czech’s and it was nonetheless a great experience to tick off the bucket list!
“Being able to watch Real Madrid play at their home stadium was definitely a highlight for most of the group. It was a brilliant experience to kick off our visit to Spain and there was a great family friendly atmosphere about the stadium.” – Danielle, Club Europe.
Our second day saw the group split with half staying in Madrid and half travelling to nearby Valladolid, home to Spanish Rugby Champions VRAC!
The football & hockey leaders staying in Madrid had an action packed day starting with a visit to the impressive Real Madrid City. This highly secure complex really is it’s own City as it spans over 8 acres of space on the outskirts of Madrid, close to the airport. We visited the grounds where various Real Madrid teams train, which lucky students on our football tours will have the chance to experience too whilst spending a day here training like a pro – complete with Real Madrid training kit!
After a morning touring the complex we transferred to the lovely suburb of Boadilla where our groups can have exclusive access to a 14 acre country club that boasts 8 outdoor swimming pools, 14 tennis courts, an ice rink, horse riding and a canoeing lake as well as being home to the Madrid Dribbling academy. This impressive club will provide any group with multiple sporting options for a day or more and has an amazing feeling of space and tranquillity.
The rugby leaders started their second day by travelling the 2 hour bus journey to Valladolid to experience our rugby tours – should your group wish to cut down on travelling however there is a high speed train which will get you there in half the time! Once we arrived we spent the day visiting various activities and sports facilities around the city to see what groups could get up to on their trip here.
One particularly enjoyable activity that not many people had tried before was Rugby Golf. Everyone’s competitive natures came out during this activity as they battled against each other to kick and pass the ball into the hole.
After a day of activities we went to visit Pepe Rojo where Valladolid RAC play and train. There was a real family atmosphere about the club and it is very apparent that they are extremely proud of the club’s achievements. I mean who wouldn’t be after winning the league 6 times in the last 7 years as well as 3 Copa del Rey, 6 Supercopa de España and 2 Copa Ibérica de Rugby titles in as many years!
We finished the day off with a meal with some of VRAC’s players as well as the President of the club at Valladolid’s famous restaurant, Vino Tinto, where we were treated to some of the best steak we have ever tasted!
“It was both a privilege and a great day spent with several representatives from Club Europe and schools from across the greater London area. We had invited them all to Valladolid for a bespoke taster tour around the city and club on the promise of welcoming their teams to play the Spanish champions at all levels in the future. We closed the curtains on the trip with an exchanging of traditions, souvenirs and words, while enjoying a world class chulaton (steak) dinner. Both the president of the club and the mayor of the city extended welcomes and promises of full commitment to all visiting tours and teams, and pledged full support to all from the city and club. We look forward to receiving your teams very soon.” – Steve Barnes, VRAC Player, & José Mª Valentín-Gamazo (Chema ), VRAC President.
The final morning for the football & hockey leaders was spent visiting Club de Campo hockey facilities which boasts 8 outdoor swimming pools, unrivalled 4g water hockey pitches and 12 state-of-the-art clay tennis courts. Impressive given its location less than 3kms from our central hostel.
Meanwhile, the rugby leaders travelled back to Madrid by coach which was a welcomed nap opportunity for some! However, once we arrived back at the Bernabeu stadium and met up with the rest of the group, everybody soon perked up in time to see behind the scenes of Real Madrid’s home ground!
A final lunch together followed the stadium tour before we returned to the airport and went our separate ways after a brilliant trip making new friendships and exploring future sports tour destinations!
“All in all, the tour was brilliant! From seeing Real Madrid play at the Bernabeu to eating steak in Valladolid, it was action packed throughout, sampling many potential future opportunities for our pupils. Tim and Danielle were great hosts, extremely helpful in answering all my questions and very understanding to each individual schools’ needs. We will definitely be going with them for our future sports tours. Spain here we come!” – James, St Josephs College.
Find out more about our exclusive Valladolid RAC and Madrid sports tours by getting in touch with the team via email on travel@club-europe.co.uk.
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