kirstysan

Including her adventures... Getting acquainted with the city Eating pizza from a cone Hanging out with famous sportsmen during a Nike commercial shoot Taking a walking tour of Medieval Madrid Visiting the Prado Museum Watching old book printing techniques Marvelling at the Royal Palace Wandering through the streets of Toledo & hanging out with some new friends at Bull's Hostel ...among others After a fairly short plane ride, I was again in a country where I could understand (much of!) the language, ready to test out my skills after 2 years of university Spanish. It started off well, and I managed to buy a weekly pass for the Madrid transport network and find my way to Bull's Hostel, even getting some compliments on my language skills along the way! After checking in, I decided to go ... read more

Including her experiences... Wandering through the Paris streets by night Visiting her friend Laurence in Rennes Attending a photography exhibition Checking out the Christmas markets Disguising herself as a French university student Indulging in crepes and wine Hanging out with some Kinoites Catching some French bands Following in Amelie's footsteps through Montmartre & experiencing the beauty of the Sacre Couer ...among others I arrived in Paris after dark and caught the airport bus into town because there was a strike on the train from the airport. I was dropped off right next to the Arc de Triomphe, which was gorgeous, all lit up for nighttime, and there were hundreds of people walking around town. When I was a Rotary exchange student in Colorado in 2002, I became good friends with many of the other students from ... read more

Including her adventures... Strolling through Hyde Park Checking out the "bargains" at Harrods Lunching in Leicester Square Hitting the markets on Portobello Road Coming incredibly close to seeing Ewan McGregor Watching the Changing of the Guards & seeing some of London's history ... among others I arrived in London in the early evening of December 9th and made my way to Dean's Court Hostel, where I was given a room with two other Australian girls, both working in London and living at the hostel long-term. The entire place was full of Aussies, and when I say full, I mean that not a single person from another country was there, including the workers. There was one old English guy hanging about the place who would sit down next to people at breakfast and make random comments like ... read more

Including the following adventures: Reacquainting herself with Japan An evening with some expats An extravagant pasta lunch A quick tour of the town Hanging out with the Harajuku girls Visiting a temple & Shopping... & more shopping Among others... My time in Japan started slowly, with a long bus ride from Narita Airport to the centre of Tokyo, about the same distance as travelling from Murray Bridge to Adelaide. Although I haven´t been to Tokyo since I was 6, it initially seemed fairly similar to Okayama (where I lived for 6 months when I was 15), and it was good to be back in a country where I felt comfortable with the way everything worked and knew how to get around. I even surprised myself during the bus ride by half-listening to the announcement being made, ... read more

Including her experiences: Dragging her bag through the streets of Beijing Catching her first glimpse of Tiananmen Square Visiting a Fine Art exhibition Checking out the Night Markets Walking through the Forbidden City Hanging out with Hostelers Hiking the Great Wall Being chauffered around town & sleeping in style, Among others... I left the hotel in Shanghai early, after saying goodbye to Mum and Dad, and headed in a taxi to the airport to catch my flight to Beijing. After checking in, I had some time up my sleeve, so I had some toast and a glass of (hot!) milk in the only open restaurant before getting on the plane. The flight was fairly short and I didn't have to clear customs, so the next thing I knew, I was on the airport bus heading into ... read more