On Saturday the 21st everyone met at Enforex at 8:30 to go to the Sierra Nevada! It was really early because the bus trip up the mountains went for an hour and the view was amazing. Our guide was one of the teachers at Enforex and he was really nice and funny. We made a stop at a museum/information center for about half an hour and they spoke to us about the wildlife and the history of the Sierra Nevada. When we were arriving at the snowy mountain, it looked amazing and everyone was taking photos from the bus. We then walked around for a while with our guide and visited some shops and had lunch. Afterwards we went up the hill on the snow. It was beautiful and very white but really hard to walk up because our feet would sink into the snow so going up was a workout. I had never been to the snow before, so for me, it was really special and exciting! Everyone bought gloves because just touching the snow hurts your hands. We got little tobogans so we could slide down in the snow and we had a little snowball fight. Everyone’s pants got drenched from the snow but it was totally worth it. We all then sat in a warm café and had some churros after going to some souvenir shops. On the ride back on the bus I fell asleep as the day was so tiring. We got back at about 5 then went home and had dinner later on. Luckily, the weather helped us as it was a sunny day.
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With a week left in Granada we had an early start on Friday morning to go and visit the Alhambra. Alhambra meaning the red one in Arabic, is an ancient city overlooking Granada consisting of palaces, gardens and fortresses. We spent the morning exploring the ancient city learning about the past sultans who lived there. Beginning with the summer palace and the gardens that surrounded it, we learnt about how it was the palace for relaxation for the sultans. With all the water features in the gardens we learnt the significance the pure spring water had to the royals. From here we took a stroll through la Medina, the area where all the servents and employees lived. Although there wasn’t much to see because there were only ruins left it was interesting to see the layout of the houses. This lead us to la Alcazaba where we were able to climb to the highest bell tower and see the views of all of Granda. The bell was very symbolic as it is till this day where all the single women of Granda ring the bell on the 1st of January so they may find a husband in that year. After many photos we descended to the palace of Nazaríes and for the first time that day our group was speechless. We were all astonished by the intricate patterns which decorated the walls of the palace. Coming to Granda without visiting the Alhambra would’ve been like not coming to Granda at all. Luckily the weather was also on our side and we concluded our day with classes at enforex in the afternoon. It is fair to say that everyone was extremely happy with our visit. After 11 days in Salamanca we wake to our first day in Granada. Without a cloud in the sky and the forecast of our warmest day yet, we are taken to Enforex to begin our lessons with different teachers and facilities. After the day’s lessons we split up for free time to explore the city and eat our packed lunches. At 4:00 the group meet up for our tour of the Albaycin. The UNESCO world heritage site is one of the oldest centres of Muslim culture in Granada. The area was truly beautiful with its narrow streets and white buildings. We stopped to view the magnificent site of the Alhambra and snow capped mountains and on the way down the hill went through the gardens of the Carmen de la Victoria. While it was a tiring walk it was worth the view. We all then went home to eat and sleep ready for our next day in this beautiful city.
Our final full day in Salamanca had to be one of my favourites. We had our last lessons in the morning then said a big thank you and goodbye to the wonderful teachers and staff at Enforex for all their amazing work in our daily classes and afternoon adventures. Everyone then split off for their usual lunch, shopping and/or siesta at six we met back up in the Plaza Mayor for one of the most heavily anticipated activities (at least in my books) which was our salsa dance class. We arrived at what looked like a dingy old bar and then went downstairs into a big open room with wooden floors and a big mirrored wall. Our salsa teacher then hopped into the stage and began to explain what we would be doing, which led into us learning our first steps of the dance. As we learnt more and more, everyone was getting into it and having a good laugh. Shane was REALLY good. We all got a turn to dance on our own and with each other and everyone was having a really good time. After it ended, we all salsa-ed outside and down the street to a restaurant where we enjoyed a delicious paella cooked right in front of us. All in all, it was a wonderful way to spend our final night in salamanca together as a group, especially to tire us out for the eight hour bus ride we had ahead.
Started with Breakfast at 8:30, western style with bacon, eggs, salad, sausage and a strawberry 🍓. After breakfast lots of trains and walking to a shrine where we were let loose upon the public. Massive shrine buildings (Sensoji temple) and lots of souvenir shops. About 2 hours later we made the bad decision of splitting up and going to two different places. Half of us went back to akihabara and the other half went to harajuku. Lots of great shops at both (so much walking though). The akihabara group made it safely to Odaiba but the other group got lost. Very lost. The group that made it spent time at even more shops as well as some great tourist attractions (GIANT GUNDAM!Got back about 9 and collapsed. A great day but exhausting.
The weather in Salamanca was excellent today. A nice change to the rain and cold we have been experiencing. As usual, we went to school and studied. After school and siesta, at around 5, we all meet at the Plaza Mayor to begin our treasure hunt around the old city. Each clue revolved around a place or area that we had toured in previous days. The clues were all written in Spanish which made the treasure hunt a little more interesting. At each stop, we would take a picture to prove that we were there. One of Penn and my favourite stops was a beautiful, famous garden :)
Overall I believe everyone had an amazing day! We woke up with hot showers, comfy Yukata's and the pitter patter of soft rain. A traditional breakfast welcomed us to the beauty of tokyo. After the last sip of warm miso soup, we headed off to our first spot: Shibuya. We walked along the quiet streets of tokyo to meet the busy train station in which took us to the heart of Tokyo. We had some free time to explore Shibuya and its many shops and restaurants. After crossing the street many times with, what seemed like, the population of adelaide, we caught another train to TAKESHITA street. We had 2 hours to shop till we dropped (literally) in the bustling street. We then took more trains to the infamous Tokyo Skytree. We travelled hundreds of metres up to the skytree lookout. The view was breathtaking and satisfying to see the busy city of tokyo from high above. After many gasps and photos taken from the students, we headed back to the beloved train station. We arrived to the centre of the technology section of tokyo; Akihabara. We emersed ourselves with anime, arcade games and tempura/burgers for dinner. We eventually headed back to our hotel, our hands were full with shopping bags and our stomachs full of good food. We were exhausted but truly excited for what comes next in the wonderful country of Japan.
Today we travelled from Narita airport to our hotel in Tokyo (the buffet was really good and there were French fries for breakfast). After a relatively long walk we reached a traditional Japanese style hotel so we’re sleeping on the floor, there’s a traditional tea set and slippers for indoors. In the afternoon we walked from our hotel to Tokyo Dome to go on rides, do shopping and go sight seeing. All the people with a death wish went on a massive roller coast, in the rain, that went through a building. Tokyo dome was very different to anything I had ever seen in Adelaide before and there was also a J-pop band with a bunch of screaming fan girls there, it looked like some of them had camped out for the whole day to see them. There was also a basketball game on at the same time (the Tokyo Giants versus someone else) so I bought a t shirt. Tomorrow we’re doing touristy things and walking a lot. We’ve been to a lot of 7/11s and told a lot of puns already.
Day 1
I woke up 3:00 to complete packing and left at 3:45. My parents drove me to the airport and once we arrived we waited until the group was fully together. We bought our boarding passes and dropped off our luggage and went through the international security. Heads up, don’t pack your passport away until your actually waiting to board the plane. I kept on packing away my passport! Finally we boarded the plane for Hong Kong at 6:25 and it took 9 hours. The fight was smooth enough, there was entertainment and free food. Once we landed, our group went for a toilet break and then we boarded at 4:10 for our Tokyo plane, it took 4 hours and a half and was the best flight yet. Once we were minutes away from landing, everyone got really excited! Unfortunately, didn’t get any good photos as I was sitting in the middle of the plane, but it was pitch black anyways. We took the shuttle bus to our airport hotel and it looked very luxurious from the outside! The room Ellie, Vivien and I were staying in was on level 6, room 61. It was nice and cozy and a nice view over the airport, although you can’t see much as it is nighttime. However, the shower was a bit hard to get to function and turning the lights off was troublesome! So far my Japan experience has been fantastic and very exciting, It feels very surreal!.
On the 14th of April we went on an outing to the beautiful UNESCO World Heratige sites of Segovia and Ávila. We spent the two hour bus ride napping and singing terribly!
Once we arrived in Segovia, we toured the historical castle, the Alcázar of Segovia. The tour taught us a myriad of interesting historical information, we even saw a beautiful mural of the wrongful Queen Isabella and her court of blind men. This painting was a social commentry of the time, which illustrated how everyone in her inner-circle turned a blind eye.
Then we chose to climb the seemingly infinite number of stairs of the tower of the Alcázar and were rewarded by the stunning view of the city. The Álcazar is the castle that inspired the one featured in Walt Disey´s Sleeping Beauty. Then there was some free time to enjoy shopping and eat at lovely restaurants before we made our way down to the Roman Aquaduct - a structure designed and built by the Romans to carry water to various parts of the city, which incredibly, still stands today. We then drove to the walled city of Ávila where we climbed the once impenetrable city walls to do a two kilometer walk around the top. The city's doors were once locked everynight and the citizens required the king´s permission to leave. After a quick photo at the panoramic lookout we began the 100km began bus trip back.
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