Sand and castles

With a late night listening to fado music, we set off on tuesday later than planned to go to the thieves market. We caught a tram around the city and ended up in the right place to see the markets! They were pretty big, but soon became repetitive. Infact Imogen and I said how lucky we are to have Salamanca markets at home, selling good produce and local wares! 

We then caught a bus down to the train station to make our way along the waterfront to Cascais. It's a little beach area, quite a popular place for tourists. The water was freezing! And I mean freezing!!! Got some rays after I put sunscreen on, but can now feel my face burning... 

The thieves market

Cascais

Imogen at the beach! :D

There were lots of fish too, kinda freaked me out

Today we got to Sintra! A beautiful little historic town tucked in between hills and more cobblestone streets. By train we arrived to walk along and treat ourselves at a cute little cafe. Fresh orange juice and lush Portuguese tarts it was! Seriously they are amazing! We then walked into the town to see the gorgeous views on the hills and the amazing romantic architecture. Catching the bus up the bigger hills we arrived at Castelo did Mouris. A castle which was basically made up of a wall, but we went for a nice walk under the canopy of trees. We then went up to the Palacio Nacional da Pena. A palace from around the 1800's. it looked like a Disney castle! It was pretty cool, sitting on top of this point with a surrounding garden which was more like a forest. The photo opps and views were pretty incredible, but got most of them on my camera, not my phone :( but here are a few! 

The lush tarts! 

Historic town

The palace

Living a Disney dream! Ha not yet, but I actually will be soon! 

Tomorrow we head to Aveiro, which has been said to be the Venice of Portugal. I'm pretty excited!! 

Molly xx

Sunscreen was applied!

So I arrived in Lisbon, Portugal at around 7.40 pm last night to then catch a bus into town to meet immi! Luckily she had arrived earlier and found her way around so she knew exactly where to head for our hostel! The streets are all layed with individual rocks so they are all literally cobblestones, the building are tall and old and there are even more, and I mean lots more hills than Hobart!! 

Immi and I wandered and talked and eventually found a little restaurant to sit and eat tea at ten o'clock, which we found out today was the first cafe in Lisbon to sell coffee! I think...

In a dorm of eight there were bound to be snorers right? Correct! Going to bed at around 12 meant I would then lie awake for the next three hours purely because there was alot of noise and light! 

Today we went for a little walk up and down the hundreds of stairs to then come back and go on a walking tour. This walking tour went for around 4-5 hours, literally walking around the whole city! We saw art, photography, churches, fake monuments and much more! It was possibly the best way to see everything, and it was free! The heat however was hot, and yes mother I did apply sunscreen and will continue to do so as I wish to tan safely :D 

Back at the hostel now, feet are sore and a shower is well due for. We need to head out soon again to get to a train station to reserve seats for our trains and activate my eurail pass! 

Tonight the hostel is having a little walking thing again but this time to local bars where traditional Portuguese music, fado, is being played, which we might pop along to! After Imogen has cooked us dinner :D 

We are in Lisbon for another three nights, hoping to head to the beach soon and there is a big market held tomorrow! 

Be aware that I'm writing this off my phone, so any grammatical mistakes I make I give up on trying to go back and fix them all! 

Bread is so good!! 

Stairs everywhere 

Hope everyone is well! 

Talk soon

Molly xx

Summer has arrived!

 

Hello hello everyone!

The sun has arrived! Just thought i should mention that to you all as it seems to have taken forever for the sun to come out! This past week has probably been my best week here so far. With summer term coming to an end there were multiple functions held in a big marquee out on the lawn with wine, champagne and Pimm’s! ( which i haven’t really taken a fancy to). The summer concert was held on Thursday night which held a fantastic display of the musical talent in the school. I was very impressed and in awe of the talent here at such a young age.

 

I love this photo! Alexa, Kylie and i with two of the girls

(credit to Kylie for the photo!)

We got our own reserved signs!

Inside the marquee

Thursday night ended up with a lot of music, singing and dancing outside which evidently kept the kids up all night, so they say… but all was fine come Friday morning ready for our final school day. We had two assemblies to farewell staff members, children leaving and give out awards. There are heaps of talented kids here at All Hallows, wether it be musical, academic or sports everyone seems to be at everything! Friday night we had the leavers reception, for all of the year 8’s and their parents, gave them time to feel like the leavers of the school, like i had at home when leaving Ogilvie.

Friday night was our last night at the Pub as a group as Will and Emilio have now finished here! Things will be very different come September with new people coming in and others leaving, but hopefully it will be as good as the last five months have been. Can you believe I've been here for 170 days already! Time goes so quickly when your working and having fun!

Saturday we had our Prize giving day where all kids form year 3-8 and their parents attend the service in the marquee. But first i had to attend mass, which was highly embarrassing as i had no clue as to what to do,which is how the year 8’s say they will now remember me, apparently it was funny? Anyway straight after Mass we headed out to prize giving for 2 hours or so to see the main prizes handed out. Saturday was fun and rather warm, i managed to get pretty sunburnt on my chest! which hurt a lot… Saturday night we had to look after a group of Spanish kids who weren’t leaving until Sunday afternoon, which turned out to be an interesting night. Involving kids running outside and around the school as well as an air horn being blown at around midnight, But it was all good and fun!

2013 gaps!

 

Thankyou Kylie for all the photos!

Sunday was a pretty relaxed day. Wimbledon finals were on and it was quite a significant occasion for the British as they hadn’t won for 77 years or something, so  basically was like Dad yelling at the footy, but instead it was masses of people yelling at Murray over Tennis. Sunday night involved a bit more music and singing, sitting on the rooftop and cards. Late nights all round this week, i’m quite surprised i’m still alive and haven’t carked it from lack of sleep every night.

Today has been amazing! Went to Thorpe park, which is a theme park similar to Dreamworld, but amazing! Apart from the queues which were to be expected, the adrenaline rushes were incredible. i am still on such a high after it all i literally haven’t shut up since i got home. You all need to look it up on the internet, because yeah, i went there! and now i want to go back, or to Alton Towers which apparently is even better!

Now i need to pack ready for my little Europe tour with Immi, starting on Sunday! getting nervous and excited all at the same time, mainly because we don’t actually have a lot of things booked. But hopefully it will all work out in the end!

Hopefully this has given you a little insight into the last week, as it have been amazing! i look forward to more great weeks like this to come!

Ta Ta for now!

Molly xx

Oh the joys of England

So yet again it has been quite a while since i posted. Cant even remember what has even happened since i went to France. i have been busy lately booking and organising summer holidays. I’m meeting up with a friend, Imogen in Portugal on the 14th of July, where we will then do the ‘Europe tour’. From Portugal to Spain, then Paris to go to Disneyland!! so excited, all my childhood dreams will finally come true. Then we will head to Belgium, Netherland, Germany, Czech Republic, Hungry and we will Finish in Croatia where i will then fly back to London and head back to school. Mum arrives on the 17th of August, where she will then come meet me out in Somerset, stay at school a couple of sights before heading into London!! Go to a show, do the sights and i have finally convinced mum to go on the London Eye, which is something you cant not do when you come to London.

We are coming to the end of our summer term, only two weeks left until we are free for 2 months. Half term was a few weeks ago, yet again another holiday break. This time i went to Henley again with the Hannah’s, and went on a lovely little river boat ride down the Thames, where we stopped off to have a cute little picnic on the boat. The Henley regatta is coming up in a couple of weeks and preparations for it were being set up already. The tents, stands, marquees and all bits and pieces were coming together for the huge event! I also found out that Imogen was in the country so i went and met up with her in Brighton for a day! Basically we talked, and talked and talked. i had to catch up on all of the goss of course! but we managed to have fish and chips for lunch along the beach of rocks, because of course there is no sand in England!! Anyway, that was a great day and i got home on such a buzz, it was great seeing someone familiar and could just talk for hours without the problem of dodgy internet connections or having to be quiet around kids!

Setting up for the regatta  

Brighton pier and beach of rocks

Imogen et moi

 

Last weekend i got up to London to see a few people. Stayed at a hostel overnight and went out to Fabric, a club that has been voted one of the best in the world, apparently. Headed home as the crows came up to have a few hours sleep before finding my way to Camden markets. I managed to buy a few bits and pieces for the fam, before i was dead on my feet! caught the tube by myself and got to Paddington to get my train back to school. 

I have booked my flights home, ( actually mum did it) but anyway, I'm leaving school on the 14th of December, where i will fly to Rome to for 5 nights, have a look around Italy, the head home on the 19th flying Qatar airlines. Apparently they are the best in the world, so we will see :)

SO school and work is very busy at the moment, coming to the end of the school year we have things going on everywhere. We have sports day tomorrow, if the rain holds off, fingers crossed!

Anyway, hopefully shall talk to you all soon. Getting excited for Christmas already! and to be back in my home country, it will be great. Missing everyone at home

Molly xx

France

NB, this was written five weeks ago after i had just gotten back from France, however i havent published it yet due to comuptor issues! For more photos look at my facebook!

So i have just gotten back late last night from a full on experience in France! I flew out from Bristol the morning of the tenth to arrive in Geneva, Switzerland! The sun was shining, and the mountains looked absolutely beautfiful. Very picturesque, as if it was all just a big painting. I was staying with Hamish, who you could say is a relative of mine though i dont think we had ever met. Chamonix is where he lives with his partner and son, which is in France, about an hour or so from Geneva. It  is a very popular ski destination, where slopes everywhere it seems to be the place to go. A gorgeous little cobblestreet town was right next to the house so everything is in walking distance. I had to attempt to remember my french from all those years ago, and soon found i started thinking to myself in french, although it would not have been gramatuically correct what so ever! oh and get this, apparently One Driection were there only weeks before me? so yeah i thought i could torment Tess with that one for a while, haha..

Hamish and i went for a walk in the snow with snow shoe things that help you from sinking which was beautiful and sunny but hard... i managed to get my shoe wedged backwards in the snow so i was stuck, as you will soon see in the photos.

Snow walk

snow shoe walking

 

where i got stuck...

 

 

Chamonix town

 

 

 

 I also tried out skiing for the first time! two hour lesson and 122 euros later i was able to slowly move down a slope, but not to a great standard at all. You can pick out the experienced kids at ski school, the five year olds that come down zooming past you with no worries, really makes you feel great. We attempted to go skiing in Italy too one day, however their blue slopes arent quite the same as the rest of ours, and it was too steep for me so i had to get taken back down on the chairlift with an Italian man carrying my ski's and poles, not the highlight of my trip. I managed to gain a bit more confidence with my skiing at the beginners slope in Chamonix which was good, i think i ended up getting my moneys worth, how ever the pain i went through with the boots and my legs was horrendous! i have never felt anything like it, thought i was going to need to get my legs amputated.

 

Pro skiier

 

 

 

 

 

Monday resulted in me being spolit by Grandpa John and Neccy as they paid for me to go up the Aguille du Midi. The particular attraction took you up 3842 m where the view was incredibly amazing. I've never seen anything like it, France one way, Italy the next and then Switzerland. The sun was shining and the mountains just kept going. Looking down below you could see the swerving valley and i even managed to pick out the house i was staying at. Very spoilt, so Thankyou Grandpa and Neecy!

the amazing view, you can see the skiiers heading down

 

 

On tuesday i headed up to Paris by train to see the sights. Got in at about 1.30pm and took a taxi to my hotel. Chucked my bags upstairs and headed out for a wonder. I was in a fantastic location, right in the heart of Paris. A short walk and i arrived at the Galeries laFayette, a huge shopping destination with shops like Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Burberry and everything else! I felt rather underdressed walking through with my jeans  and a cardi on. The next day, wednesday, I was up nice and early to jump on one of the tour buses, it was fantastic! a day two pass in hand, got on the bus and set off on the 'Grand tour' of Paris! this took me to all the main tourist attractions, drove past everything! highly reccomend it if you got to Paris. Just a few of the sights included the Lourve, Notre Dame, Musee d'Orsay, the concorde, Champs Elysees, Arc de Triomphe and of course the Eiffel Tower! i got off at many stops to take advantage of the photo opportunities, that was until my camera died just after the Eiffel tower and i then had to go back to my hotel before heading out on another journey. After a very long day on Wednesday i was up nice and early again on thursday to take more advantage off my bus pass. Checking out at nine in the morning to see some more, took me to the Champs Elysees where i entered the disney shop! i must say it was pretty cool, i wanted to buy every toy they had, but i was very strong and managed to just buy a present for little Tilly, as i know she would love it! but then i was stuck carrying around a bright pink disney princess bag all day through Paris. So that bag has done well, seen all of Paris from on top of the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower! The views were amazing and breathtaking, nothing like you could imagine. The whole time i was in Paris it still felt like a dream, i couldnt quite grasp the  experience of  being on the other side of the world by myself but and travelling around one of the most gorgeous cities. The photos dont do the city justice, but gives you a slight indication of its beauty.

 

 

The lourve

 

 

The Seine and the lovers bridge

 

 

Notre Dame

 

along the river

 

 

 

 The concorde

 

Disney shop on the Champs Elysees

 

Arc de Triomphe

 

and the Eiffel tower

 

 

 

 

Back at school now ready to start work again on sunday. Summer term has been promised to be nice to me, after i got super sunburnt in Paris i need to get rid of my farmers tan!

 ill try talk to you all soon!

Molly xx