Switzerland Views.

This post will be quite large as i have not posted for a while and well i think you want an information overload, no?

This post contains the last views from surval windows and the lake geneva paddle boats..

^^Here is the mountain that retains snow throughout the year, I don't know if you are able to see it, but the cloud has a red tinge.

^^ This is the moon reflecting through the clouds. BEAUTIFUL.

^^ Two rainbows over lake geneva, switzerland MUST mean good luck right?
I was considering chasing it to the end to see if i could get some gold... :D

^^ Lake Geneva and the swell old town of Montreux, busy at night.
Actually, Switzerland has a strict "no noise after 10pm."

^^ Just before the sunset hits.

LAKE GENEVA. Lake Geneva is the second largest fresh water lake in all of Europe. 60% belonging to Switzerland and 40% to France . It is now considered safe to swim in the lake, however in the 1960's it was unsafe, with the poulution levels so high nearly wiping out all the fish and having zero sight while in the submarine.

^^ Louise and I (in the grey) with QUEEN star, Freddy Mercury.

^^ Swimming in the lake. They say a picture tells a thousand words.
This picture says that the water is freezing and i am swimming as fast as humanly possible back to the paddle boat.

^^ With the View.

^^ Agian, with the View.

INSTITUT VILLA PIERREFEU.
"With more than 50 years of experience, Institut Villa Pierrefeu is a traditional Finishing School of the type the world expects from Switzerland. Elegant, exclusive and charming, it will prepare you for a role in the business world and society , aiming to help you become more effective in multicultural environments and dealings."

Okay, So here i am at a new start. Institut Villa Pierrefeu... Although i have attended the past six months here, now its different. Living somewhere, Living with somebody is always different to being with them. New Girls, New Rules, New System.

So far, My room is good. It has an open study area for the five girls that are split into two rooms. Helen (England) Canda (Turkey) Ana Cecilia (Mexico) Shanelle (USA) and Me (Australia). So not only do we all come from different regions of the world, our cultures are different.

I have become friends with Helen and Shanelle the most, they are both amazing girls however, only here for three weeks, leaving tomorrow, shame really.

It has been two weeks, I have had my hostess exam.

What is a hostess Exam? A Hostess exam is were one (in this case, moi) makes flower decorations, makes napkins, sets out menu cards and placement cards and holds a conversation. She is based on her table conversation skills to uphold a conversation, avoid taboo subjects and also on the way she presents herself. Sounds like a Piece of Cake, No?

Well, I hope this was enough information for you all.

I miss you all terribly.

Sending my love from Montreux,

xx. S

cruise, last. EGYPT.

Here is the last post from the cruise, FINALLY.

We arrived in the port of Alexandria and then had about an 7 hour drive to the out skirts of Cairo (the largest city in Africa and the capital of Egypt). It is these sort of times when an iPod and book comes in handy. It also helps if you can sleep on transport.

Sorry, I mentioned in Rhodes, that we didnt see one of the Ancient wonders, i must of been delusional or something as the Great Pyramid of Giza is the last of the Seven wonders of the Ancient World in tact.

^^Here we are walking in front of one of the giza pyramids. (i am in the blue)

^^I thought of this, here we are making the word E G Y P T.

^^Here i am in front of one of the Pyramids.

^^The girls and I in front of the Three Great Pyramids. They were seriously AMAZING.

^^Ivana, Me and Mariana in front of the three great pyramids.

^^The Three Pyramids: (Right to Left) Great Pyramid of Khufu, Pyramid of Khafre and the Pyramid of Menkaure.

^^Being egyptian infront of the Sphinx. The Sphinx is now missing a nose and a beard, however early drawings show the Sphinx without a nose and fragments of the beard are held in museums.

^^The girls in front of the Pyramids. I dont know why, but i feel this photograph looks so fake. The colour has been edited for one and also it just seems so, "sureal".

^^How Ironic, a human pyramid at the pyramids. I am middle row second from left.

^^ I dont remember the name of this tomb, i tried looking on Wikipedia for a while, but there are quite a few. This wasn't in one of the "greats" but they are structures "associated with the Pyramid of Menkaure" (the smallest one.)
However, i was quite the rebel and photos were forbidden. So when i was in a spot by myself i took a quick photo, but dont worry, i made sure that the flash was off as that can damage the insides.

^^Another quick picture taken from the inside of the tomb.

^^This was just taken from the bus, a quick shot of the locals going to markets, selling fruits ect.

^^This girl charged people to take photos of her. But i thought it was quite cute how she was taking the goat around. Although it was just another form of begging.

Thats all of the Easter trip photos now. The photos will now continue to be of Switzerland and things i am up to. In all, the cruise was an amazing experience and i was glad to see the pyramids, however i thought that a day in Egypt was fine. You may of noticed that the girls were wearing long skirts, jeans and tshirts. This was because it was out of respect for the muslims.

xx. S

Turkey

Turkey, Izmir.

^^ Here is the "House of the Virgin Mary" and the sign that was outside.

^^ This here is a "prayer" wall. People write their prayers on peices of tissue, paper, whatever they have handy and tie it to this wall.

^^some ruins at Agora of Smyrna


^^some of the ruins at Agora of Smyrna. I thought the detail on this was amazing.

^^some more ruins from Agora of Smyrna

^^ a "TAKSI".

^^We went to a carpet store and the owners gave us apple tea. While drinking he explained the process of carpet making.
What they do is the silk worm eggs are collected and then put into a large wooden container of boiling water. They then grab the eggs with this brush and attach it to the wheel. (see below)

xx. S

CRUISE P2, Rhodes, Cyprus.

Rhodes is a greek island, It is known for its the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. However, Our tour did not take us to see one of these wonders. Rhodes still was a beautiful island.

^^ a mosaic in the Palace of the Grand Master.

^^ The view of the sea and the Palace of the Grand Master.

^^ The view of one of the buildings.

^^ a dome. I am not sure actually what this is.

Cyprus is the Mediterranean's third largest island, and one of its most popular tourist destinations, attracting over 2.4 million tourists per year. It is located near Greece, Turkey and Egypt.

^^ amazing views.

^^ there was orange trees everywhere.


^^ the ruins.

^^ a mosaic in one of the churches.

There are only two more posts left of the cruise, turkey and then egypt.

xx. S

CRUISE P1. Olympia, Athens.

Sorry for such a late post, i just really have not had much time.

Anyways, the cruise was amazing, the food, the places. it was excellent.

^^ the glass elevators and the view down.

^^the view of the ship.

^^ the "main area" i guess this would be called.

Olympia, Greece is known for having been the site of the Olympic Games in ancient times, It has the ruins of the Temple of Zeus (the god of Greek Gods.)

^^ The temple of Zeus.

^^ The first running track of the Ancient Olympics. (i am 2nd from the left.)

^^ another view of the olympic running track.

^^ there were SO many of these beautiful pink trees around, they really stood out against the ruins.

^^ the temple of Zeus.

Athens, We drove through the "Naval Harbour of Zea" built in the 5th centuryBC by Themistoclos. Went to Acropolis 5th C BC. Most famous building is Parthenon, Built as a temple for Athena (godess of Wisdom). Panathenaic Staduim, the only Major staduim build in the world, made fullyof white marble.

^^ the city of Athens.

^^ sitting with the "wind in my hair" in athens on an ancient stone wall.
As you can see, the day was beautiful.

^^ I actually did not realise a photo was being taken. This is one of the Temples. Unsure if it is to Athena or not.

^^ This was a building seen from the Bus, lucky shot.

^^ the staduim.

Miss You.

xx. S

NEXT POST: HOPEFULLY OVER THE WEEKEND.