Paris and London + district conference + Spain!

PARIS AND LONDON.

First off, my trip to France and England. It was soo good to see Brit again! I left my house at 3am, to catch a train, then jump on the plane, and got to Paris around 9am. I met Brit, had lots of hugs, and then we made out way into paris, with a few bumps along the way (broken town trains, bomb threats, crazy taxi drivers). eventually we got there, and it was soo good to see Brits Family too. Lots of hugs there. That night we headed to The Louvre and did some shopping. Our next day in Paris, We went to DisneyLand!!!! That was A LOT of fun! The rides had lines up to 1hour long, so we only went on a few. That night, we stayed home and ate 2minute noodles. Brit and i were soo excited to eat them after 7months! Our next day, we jumped on a bus and did a city tour of Paris. It was really bad weather, so we stayed on the bus most of the time. That night, we went and saw the Moulin Rouge, and then went out for dinner.

The next morning, we hopped in the high speed train to London!! Going through the security was scarier then an airport! The lady who checked my passport asked LOTS of questions, and even though i had nothing to hide, i was still very nervous. When the question "What do you do in school?" was asked, the first thing that came to my head was "nothing". i knew that wasnt the right answer though. After getting to London, we explored a little, and headed to the London Eye. The view was AMAZING! i loved it. After this, we headed back to our Hotel, and had a quiet night. The next day, we did a bus tour of London. It was amazing. We saw lots of famous sites, including Big Ben, Trafalgar Square, Westminster Abbey, got photos in red telephone boxes! We went to a pub for lunch, and it was SOOO great to be in a pub again. I had a meat pie, with chips and gravy! I had missed it soo much. After this, we headed to Madame Tussauds, the celebrity wax museum. It was really cool! For tea, we went to a small cafe, and i got all my stuff ready to catch the plane in the morning. It was very sad saying goodbye, but i knew it wouldnt be long until i saw them again!

I loved London very much, and i think i could even move there!

DISTRICT CONFERENCE.
There was 8 exchange students, including me, 2 Australians, 1 Argentinian, 4 Americans and 1 Brazilian. It was held in my town, so i was in charge of the tour. We walked around town, did some shopping, then headed to the Train Museum. It was pretty interesting to see the old trains. After lunch, we did a presentation about ourselves, and answered any questions they had. We then had a banquet that night, and we all dressed up very nicely. The food was really good, and after, a group of 12yr old girls sang for us. I can honestly say, they had the most amazing voices i have EVER heard. everyone was in shock. they were amazing. The next day, we had a tour of the old prison, had some lunch, and then everyone went back to their towns.

SPAIN.

My class and i went to Mallorca for 1 week on a school exchange program. It was 30degree weather!! We stayed with host families, and mine was very lovely. After the 'long' flight there, we drove to the town we were staying in, and got picked up my our host families. We went back to out new houses and had lunch. After this, my host sister and i headed to the beach and met up with some other people from our class. Monday, was our first day of school. We had a welcoming assembly and then had a tour of the school. We had lunch with everyone, which the swedes though was so strange, bringing our own food to school. That night, we headed to another beach, and went swimming. It was so good to swim in the ocean again. Next day, was at school again, working on our projects. We also had a tour of the town, which was beautiful. That night, we headed to another beach, and again went swimming. Wednesday, we spent the day in Palma. It was very beautiful. we had some lunch and went shopping, and was a lovely day. Thursday at school, we worked on our projects and had a cooking lesson and P.E lesson. After school, we went to a hidden beach. it was beautiful. We jumped of the rocks (i just closes my eyes and screamed). On Friday, we presented the projects we had been working on. My groups was on Family and Welfare, and we did a good job. That afternoon, i went horse riding with my host sister, and then we got ready and headed out for dinner for our last night. We went went to a disco and headed home around 4am. Saturday, we said goodbye to everyone, which was SUUUUPER sad, and then left back for cold, rainy Sweden.

EURO TOUR; part 7. Brussels & Remscheild

Next day we had a day trip to Brussels. Brussels was an amazing city, and I wish I had more time there. We got to eat Belgian Waffles, mine with banana and chocolate, and they were delicious! And then there was a crazy amount of chocolate stores for of BELGIAN CHOCOLATE! The architecture was also beautiful, and I saw the famous statue of Mannequin Pis.

our final night, which we spent in Germany, singing, performing skits, dances and laughing and crying together. The boys dressed up in drag, which was hilarious! It was so sad to be saying goodbye. Over those 3 weeks, i extended my family by 78 people. it was the most amazing trip of my life, and i would do it again in a heart-beat.

EURO TOUR; part 6. Chambery & Paris.

next stop, Chambery. This was just a pit stop on our was to Paris. We had the nicest hotel here!! with a double bed each, a real shower. ooh it was sonice to have a nice long shower and good night sleep. in the morning, it was on to PARISS! Our hotel wasnt in the middle of town, but was close to Metropolitan train line, so there was no big trouble there. Our first evening, we had dinner at a hotel, then s short bus tour down past Galeries Lafayette before heading onto the Place de la Concorde, saw the Ancient Egyptian Obelisk. From Place de la Concorde, we turned onto the most famous street in the world, the incredible Camps Ellyses, and at the end of this straight, long and sloping upwards street, was the Arc de Triumph. It was amazing! the round-a-bout at the end of the street was CRAZY. there is an accident, on average, every 12 minutes. Our bus then dropped us off at the base of the Eiffle Tower, and it was beautiful, although much bigger then i thought. A few girls and i decided not to go up the tower, and instead went fo

r a big wander along the Seine River, back to the Champs Ellyses, and then took the Metro to the Moulin Rouge. The Moulin Rouge is both spectacular and daunting. Spectacular, because it is the Moulin Rouge, and at night is lit up in bright lights, and it sparkles. Daunting, because it is located right beside on of the seediest parts of Paris, filled with sex shops, strip clubs and of course the clientele those particular businesses attract. But we all just stuck together in groups to be safe. Here we were surprising Caitlin’s (from New Zealand) parents, who also happened to be in Paris at the time we were there. When they met, after 6 months, there were of course tears! not only from Caitlin, but also us other girls. We then got a much needed "mothers hug" off Caitlins mum. I was not homesick at the time, but of course it makes you miss your parents when you see your friend reunited with hers.

In the morning, we had a short tour again, seeing The Old Paris Opera House, the Luxembourg Gardens, the Latin Quarter, Les Invalides and the Louvre. When this tour ended, we all went our separate ways. and the group i was with, went to McDonalds. We then went to a small carnival thing, with a few rides, and it ended up being super fun. That night we had a fancy dinner, and then found an Australia Bar, so of course, we headed there for the night.

The next morning, a few other girls and i wondered around the city. We went to the Lourve, saw the Mona Lisa and many other paintings and sculptures, then headed out to do some souvenir shopping. After lunch, we walked around some more, then another girl and i headed back to the hotel, and got ready to go out . Our final evening in Paris (the night of Bastille Day) i spent at the police station. one of my friend had her wallet stolen while on the metro. we got out of the station around 11, and got to the Arc de Triomphe just in time to see the fireworks from the Eiffle Tower. it was beautiful. we then headed back to the hotel for the night.

EURO TOUR; part 5. Lido di Jesolo & Venice

next, it was on to ITALY!! i was most excited about this, as i wanted to go to Italy on exchange, but i couldn't. im so glad i had the chance to go there though! we were staying in a beachside town called Lido di Jesolo. This town is very famous for its beaches, although most of it was covered by yellow chairs. there was about 4 metres between the last chair and the water. Our "4 star" hotel was terrible. I do not believe that it was 4 star (4 out of 100, maybe). Some of us had to wait two hours for our rooms to be ready. The owner was grumpy, and quite scary and itwas a pretty crappy hotel too, some people had toilets quite literally in their showers, the 100% necessary air-con sounded like a jumbo jet andour dinner that night was the worst of the whole trip. out first afternoon, we had free time to explore, so most people headed down to the beach, but jacqui and i decided to hit up the (cheap) italian shops. That night, we went out to celebrate one of the girls birthdays. we went to a beachside club, and it was a really fun night.

Our first full day in Italy we had entirely free to do with what we pleased. We were in Italy, with gelato, pizza and beaches, and what did we do? we washed our clothes. most of us were running low on clean undies, so we all put in and did some washing. Jacqui and i went and bought inflatable things for the beach. After we had finally finished with that, then we headed straight for the beach. I have not been to the beach that much, as i do not live near it, but it was good to be swimming in the ocean again. The water was the perfect temperature, and sparkling blue and we swam for a good few hours! We then headed out to get some lunch. oh my gosh, the food was sooo good. i had some pasta, filled with mushroom and bacon. it was delicious! after lunch, 2 other australians and i decided to look at some more shops, before heading back to the beach again. We then went out for tea, and this time i ordered a pizza. Cheese, tomato, sausgage, and chips. Yes that right, i had a pizza with hot chips on it. it was soooo good. The next day, we were off to Venice!!!

we headed off to Venice quite early. Ive always wanted to go to Venice, its very pretty and interesting. we began with a gondola ride through the canals of Venice, with a striped shirt wearing gondola driver and everything. Sadly he wouldn’t sing for us, and when i asked why, his reply "we only sing when we are drunk!" I said back "can we get you drunk?" to which i got a foul look, so i stopped asking him to sing. The buildings, bridges, the crumbling steps were amazing. it was all like i had imagined! Our Gondola ride finished, and Jacqui and I headed off to explore the city. We walked around, had a bite to eat, and then met up with some others. We wondered around a bit more, before meeting everyone and heading back to the hotel. We got ready, and headed out for dinner. The last night was just a quiet one at the hotel. tomorrow, FRANCE!!!

EURO TOUR; part 4. Salzburg & Zell Am See

Next morning, bright and early, we set off for Austria!(480km) Driving through the Austrian Alps is quite an experience, it was beautiful! We watched The Sound of Music, which everyone was singing along to! We stopped for a few hours in Salzburg, the city from the movie, and also the birthplace of one Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. We got to have free time to explore the city, so a few other and i decided to visit the castle on top of a gigantic hill! it was quite a hike up there (and then we found out we had to pay to get in) so we just admired the AMAZING view. We then headed back down, and got on the bus to travel to a small town called Zell Am See. The first night was a lazy one, with not much happening, but with 78 exchange students, we still had a lot of fun.

the next morning we were up bright an early to go on a hike up the alps. it tooks us about 3 hours up. it was very hard work, and the last hill to the top was VERRY steep. i tried to run up, and got 3/4 of the way before someone jumped out in front of me. i was pretty proud of myself though. the view at the top was amazing! we were 2000m up (i think). we ate lunch and took some photos, and then headed back down. some of us then went to swim in the lake. i think this could have been the highlight of my trip. swimming in a lake surrounded by the austrian alps, it was beautiful. i want to go back there some day. we then headed back to the hotel, and it was an early night.

EURO TOUR; part 3. Prague

The next morning we headed off to Prague, Czech Republic. It was the most beautiful city i had ever seen! The first night we had dinner at the hotel, then had our own celebration for the 4th of July.

our first day started with a three hour guided walking tour, which was probably the best way to start exploring this incredible city. Beginning up on the hill of Hradcany, where Prague Castle is located and slowly walking our way down through the town. Prague Castle is one of the biggest castles in all of Europe, and it filled with architecture from many different eras, it was amazing! And from the castle, you could see the most spectacular view of the whole city. The view was amazing, all the different coloured roof tops, and the beautiful scenery. We continued our tour through the city, with our truly wonderful guide eventually making it to the Charles Bridge. The entire bridge is covered in statues, the most famous being the statue of St. John, who was murdered right on this very bridge. The statue also has a touch of magic about it, as you can make a wish on the spot where he was killed. The bridge also had romantic history, as the entire bridge is covered with padlocks, on which couples have engraved their initials, locked their love and thrown the key into the Vltava River. We finished our walking tour at the famous astronomical clock, which is a wonderful piece of very old engineering, and watching it ring. After our guide left us, we had free time to go eat and explore the city of our own accord. We had a wonderful time eating lunch and exploring the city, watching street performers, and just generally enjoying Prague. That night in Prague we ate dinner on a boat on the river! It was a really wonderful to eat dinner and watch Prague pass us by. Of course there was a lot of singing and dancing going on, and we even did the Haka, with the help of the New Zealand exchange students. After our beautiful evening on the river, we had the night to head into the city and explore the nightlife Prague is most famous for. I and many others headed to Karlzony Lazne, the biggest music nightclub in central Europe. This club had five stories, each with a different theme of music. We danced up a storm all night, singing at the top of our lungs.

EURO TOUR; part 2. Cracow

very very early next morning we set off for Cracow, Poland. I had never really thought of going to Poland, but it ended being one of the nicest places. We arrived after a long bus ride, (600km) and after quickly dumping our things in our hotel rooms, we headed out for a traditional Jewish dinner in a restaurant situated in the former bathhouse of the historic Jewish quarters.The dinner was absolutely delicious, and what made it such a memorable experience were three musicians playing traditional Jewish music as we ate.After, we got to explore the city on our own, and being exchange students, we headed out to a bar. Then, we caught a taxi back to our hotel. After dinner we had the option of returning to the hotel, or remaining in the city and making our own way home.

The next morning, although it was cold and rainy, we headed off for our guided city tour. We saw many wonderful things, beginning back at the Jewish Quarters, which I learnt was the birthplace of Roman Polanski, among others, and heading then up to Cracow Castle. This castle was built in an Italian style, and was incredibly beautiful. We eventually made our way down in the main square of the city, which was when we came into the truly beautiful part of Cracow. The main square is one of the biggest and oldest in all of Europe, and contains many amazing buildings with beautiful architecture. This church was by far the most ornate and colourful which we saw in all of Europe. We also then had a lunch of traditional Polish dumplings before spending a little more time out exploring the city. That afternoon we left Cracow to visit the concentration camp Auschwitz. I cant even explain what i felt going there. Its so hard to imagine, that all these terrible things happened, right where you are standing. The weather was terrible, which i think made the experience more real. We were walking through mud, freezing, and complaining, but what the people who lived here went through, was so much worse. Hearing peoples stories, and what had happened to them, everyone was very emotional. The bus trip back, no body spoke. I think we all are a little different after visiting Auschwitz.