#ionasadventures
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LA Adventure- Day 2! (Part 2)
We got to briefly stop and see around a real live sound stage! We weren’t allowed to take any photos of the inside as the show was still filming (they’d stopped for lunch!) but it was so fascinating seeing how they make these 3 camera sitcoms. The set was made up for “Bob <3 Abishola” (spelt with a heart symbol I’m not just being lazy haha) which is a typical sitcom like Big Bang Theory or Young Sheldon or Friends. They’re called 3 camera sitcoms because typically they only use 3 camera angles! One on the character speaking, one on whomever they’re speaking to, and then one for the wide shots with everything in it. The sound stage is laid out in a grid fashion, with 4 sets on each side of a narrow passageway. This passageway is referred to as camera alley because this is where the cameras will be! As with before, the sets don’t have ceilings on them to allow for lighting and the cameras are in a fixed position so as to not see the lights. It takes about 5 days to film one episode, and the sets are left as they are throughout the whole filming season as most of that time is dedicated to set up! After this the tour of the backlot continued, we drove past a few more famous locations! They have a massive jungle area with real plants from the jungle (as the climate will allow for it!). This was ESPECIALLY of interest to me as this was the area where they filmed the iconic T-Rex chase scene from Jurassic Park!! Warner Bros. let’s other studios use their facilities too, which is why some of the locations seem above are used in things like Breaking Bad, Jurassic Park and Spider-Man. They also have a big pit which can be filled with water to create a lagoon, or with dirt to create a graveyard. Versatile! After the outside lots - which were MASSIVE - we navigated to a warehouse area of the tour which had costumes and props on display. It was very cool to see! Costumes from Interview with the Vampire, Batman, Crazy Rich Asians, Space Jam, and of course a whole host of DC superheroes. They even had some from Game of Thrones/House of the Dragon. The costumers were intricately made, the detail was outstanding! For example on Aquaman’s suit there’s tiny iridescent scales all over. The props were cool too as they were primarily the Batmobile and other Bat-items from across the Batman movies. They had this cool area from The Hobbit which showed how they did the forced perspective trickery to make the Hobbits look small and Gandalf look big! The studio tour really made a point to showcase every aspect of the filmmaking process, detailing how costumes and props and sets were made. The amount of afford put in to each and every part of filmmaking is insane, no wonder it takes so long to make because so much detail is included, things you may not even see or notice unless you’re looking really close! Sam Warner (one of the Warner Brothers) advocated for the use of Vitaphone, the process of using sound in cinema, and it was fascinating to see how they would make the sounds for shows. For example, in the Spider-Man kiss scene, to prevent the fake rainwater from going up Tobey McGuire’s nose, they used a combination of cotton wool and Vaseline to plug up his nose! However this meant that he couldn’t speak properly, so he re-recorded his lines using the sound system to make himself sound clearer over the rain. If you go back and watch the film, you’ll notice that Kirsten Dunst as Mary-Jane only lifts the mask up to below Spider-Man’s nose, to prevent the cameras from picking up on the cotton wool! They also had things such as wooden boards and fake shoes to amplify the sound of actors walking on set, as typically the sets would have plastic floors to prevent the actors’ footsteps from drowning out their lines. Thus by dubbing over the footsteps, the sound department can control how loud they are and change the volume depending on the scene. Such cool stuff!! From storyboards to green screens to motion capture to physical makeup, it was incredibly to see behind the scenes and had given me an even greater appreciation for all those involved!
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Iceland - Day 6 Today we went to the Flea Market, which was really boring?? Everything was sooooo expensive, and it was literally just like a massive car boot sale. I thought it would be full of loads of cool Icelandic stuff but it's not. However, we went to rhe Zoo as well which was fun! It was a domestic kind of zoo, but you could pet the animals and it was good fun. There was loads of cows and pigs, foxes and minx, seals and lizard! Also the chickens got to roam free and all ganged up on this girl who fed them. The botanical gardens were pretty too, but they're all imported plants as there are not many native plants to Iceland.
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We managed to reset our sleeping scheduled to conquer the jet lag today so weren’t asleep for tooooo much of it! Didn’t wake up till midday though. We had planned for today to be a rest day anyway so didn’t really have much planned. Our hotel was within walking distance to the Warner Bros.‘ Studio Tour so we decided to check that out! After like…. 2 minutes outside my hair was completely dry from the shower I took. Safe to say it was HOT. About 30C which was interesting! Luckily most places in the US have AC so when we arrived at the studios the temperature was nice. There was a Starbucks there lmao and also a LOT of security. Like airport level security but I guess that’s for safety purposes as a lot of stuff is filmed here. Upon entry you’re guided to a introductory room explaining about the Warner Brothers themselves - Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack - who founded the studio in 1923. This means that this year (2023) is the 100th anniversary of the studio founding! They were the children of Polish-Jewish immigrants. After this information area you are ushered to a movie theatre-esq room which plays an introductory showcase of all the films made and some of the things you will see. Then you’re split into groups and taken on a shuttle ride. Our guide (Jenny I think?) was SO good, really kind and helpful and can constantly walk backwards without looking, like Mater in cars lmao which was a little uncanny but very impressive! She really knew her stuff and made sure to point out most of the things that locations were used for, not just the more popular shows. Which was good cause honestly the tour primarily was banking on Friends, Gilmore Girls, and The Big Bang Theory, none of which I’ve seen! However one thing I HAVE seen that was filmed almost ENTIRELY on this set is Pretty Little Liars. It’s an ….. interesting show? Shall we say? I wouldn’t say it’s terrible and I wouldn’t say it’s good. Like Glee. A LOT of the houses on the tour we saw were used in PLL and it was so cool to see them and recognise them! Fun fact - each of the houses have multiple façades, so they can act as the exterior of different places depending on which angle the camera is at! The interior is empty completely to allow for multiple uses, and there’s no ceiling on the inside! This is to allow the lighting, cameras, and AC to be moved and positioned to accommodate different things. We went into what was Emily’s house in PLL and everything looks so realistic, but is actually made with other materials to allow for complete remodelling if the shoot calls for it. Fun fact 2 - if any changes are made at ALL, at the end of filming the crew MUST return the set to what it originally looked like. So in PLL, Spencer’s barn is white and has fancier doors and foliage than the red barn originally has. The windows are also all made out of sugar glass so no one gets hurt when doing stunts. In an episode of PLL, a car gets driven into Emily’s living room - this was actually done here, on this set! The stunt driver drove a car straight through the walls and windows, and because of the material the house is made from, it could smash into it without posing much danger to the driver. It’s absolutely fascinating to see and hear how the behind the scenes work! I’ve tried to include in the pictures screenshots from the shows so you can see how they were used and how they were changed, but I took most from a moving golf shuttle (like a golf cart but longer and can fit 12 people) and i shake like there’s no tomorrow so they won’t be the clearest 😅 the sets were also used for films like Batman, Citizen Cane, and they were currently all set up to look like the streets of Texas for Young Sheldon, which was currently filming as we were driving around! Luckily all the film stages are soundproof to accommodate things like this.
#ionasadventures#day2#burbank#california#LA#los angeles#warner bros studio tour#LA2023#Pretty Little Liars
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Los Angeles Adventure - Day 1
Off on another adventure ! Technically my third since I last updates this blog (sorry!) but I’m off to LA with my sibling to (amongst other things) go to the Five Nights at Freddy’s Blumhouse showcase at Universal Studios horror nights 😬 it was a looong day of travelling but honestly we were very lucky and it went very smoothly. I left Dundee at 08:00 UK time to fly first from Glasgow to Heathrow, then Heathrow to Los Angeles. Before security at Glasgow Airport there’s an IRN BRU shop and I had to restrain myself from buying EVERYTHING but I did get some socks lmao. Heathrow was busy and trying to find the underground station that takes you to the terminals was confusing (turns out the underground trains that go to London ALSO go to the terminals but the signage made it seem like they were separate. Same with the lifts to the lower levels but we figured it out eventually!). The Virgin Atlantic flight was incredibly comfortable! Not sponsored but there was a decent amount of feet space, there was regular snacks and meals and drinks offered, plus inflight TVs and the cabin temperature was very well regulated. I was worried about being cold on the flight cause Dundee/Glasgow was about 8C and LA was 26C so I didn’t reeeeallly want to cart about jumpers. Plus the flight staff were so lovely. The flight was nearly 11 hours and unfortunately I struggle to sleep on flights but there was plenty of entertainment so it was gucci. Hopped off the plane at LAX WITHOUT a dream in our cardigans because even at 20:00 LA time (which is approx. 04:00 UK time) nighttime it was 20C still. The traffic outside was INSANE like I’m SO glad we opted to use the bus to the designated outside taxi point because honestly it was SO busy. Couldn’t imagine trying to drive and there was just layers upon layers of roads spanning across 14 lanes and up over each other! Madness! Got to the hotel, we’re staying in the Burbank area and are literally 5 minutes from the Warner Brothers Studios. Earlier in the week (Monday so literally two days before lmao) our original hotel cancelled so this one was a LOT more expensive but it’s in an ideal location so at least there’s that. We were exhausted when we arrived so essentially collapsed into bed! Was super lucky that there was no travel issues (and that we missed both the storm in the uk and the earthquake in California oops)
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American Adventure- Day 3
Today was spent just cutting about campus and chilling in this heat! Went on a squad trip to Costco to pick up bulk groceries (like water - tap water here is SHITE tastes disgusting and is technically “drinkable” but honestly it’s nasty 0/10 do not recommend) and then headed back to the halls to just chill. I sat outside and played minecraft in the sun and saw some neat bugs! A teeny tiny little red one which looks like a spider but is actually a mite of some kind, and some other …. Thing?? Idk seemed ok but didn’t want to think about it too much seeing as there’s a whole host of venomous bugs here 🙃 in addition to the Goose Squadron™️ there are deers just cutting about on campus! One of my flatmates with a MUCH better camera than mine took that amazing picture of one of the deer outside the classrooms when we walked around a bit, they’re so tame and so chill they just do their own thing without bothering too much about people. They’re still wary like they won’t let you get too close before running away but if you’re a safe distance away they don’t mind. Also they scream. Really loudly. At night whilst running across campus. Which is great for sleeping (terrifying). Plus the train at the station across the road honks it’s horn about every hour till like 4am but it’s all stuff that I’ll adjust to! Monday tomorrow but there’s no classes cause it’s Memorial Day weekend so there’s that at least.
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American Adventure - Day 2
Today was a rather chill day spent getting some groceries and recovering from the flight! Myself and my flatmates went to ACME which is a real chain brand but ye gads is it expensive 😅 I’m getting the vibes that Montclair is a rich area - or at least the part we’re staying in is cause the houses were massive and the stores were expensive. Going into a real American supermarket was WILD they had everything and more (eureka! Sophie found the cheese balls <yes that’s from Alvin and the chipmunks sue me>). We explored a bit and then bought the bare essentials, hopefully heading to a cheaper supermarket soon! There is a lot of wildlife on campus, including these rad birds and a caterpillar! In the evening we discovered that we didn’t have a microwave in the flat, and none of the hobs or the ovens worked in any of the flats. So a group of us decided to walk to a place called Alexus’ Tavern - one of the only places serving food that was still open! The walk through Montclair to the tavern was beautiful but absolutely confirmed that this area is made for cars - despite barley being a 15 minute walk away from the halls, the pavements just ….. stopped?? Like 5 minutes in to the walk so we had to continue on the road. From the campus to the edge of town it wasn’t much of an issue as the roads are quiet and generally only used by students, so there were no cars. But when we approached the main road and tried to cross, well let’s just say the New Jersey drivers weren’t dismantling any stereotypes 🤬 lesson learned, just because it is within walking distance doesn’t mean it is walkable! We all had a nice meal and hung out a bit at the tavern before ordering taxis home. I was out like a light cause we left at 08:30am to get the groceries. My flatmates were EXHAUSTED as their flight had been delayed for a few hours in London, then was diverted from Newark to Hartford, Connecticut which is a 3 hour drive away! THEN they were stranded there for hours before eventually flying in to Newark and getting abandoned by the people meant to be picking them up cause they couldn’t wait 10 more minutes apparently 🙄 a bit of a shite start for them but luckily they’re here now and in one piece at least!
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American Adventure - Day 1 part 2
<continued from part 1> We eventually found our ride and went outside where we immediately were hit with this ungodly wall of heat. It was 28C and I really thought I was going to melt. Thank GOD for AC. It was roughly a 40 minute drive from Newark Airport to Montclair and along the way we saw the NYC skyline which was cool!! But we seemed to have brought the good old Scottish weather with us as it started chucking it down with rain as we drove along. We arrived at the halls in one piece and checked in. We’re staying at Williams Hall - named after William Carlos Williams, a Latino poet who was from New Jersey. Originally he studied medicine and became a doctor, before pursuing poetry for which he received countless awards. The halls are named after many notable people from New Jersey, including Abbott and Costello and Frank Sinatra. The halls themselves are pretty standard, nothing special (but they are absolutely taking the piss with charging £900 per month for it). I’ve noticed that the area I’m in is designed for cars. The campus halls are right by a main road but there’s no pavement to walk along. The shops are only about a 20 minute walk away but due to the lack of pavements you can’t get there without driving. There IS a bus but you have to walk 20 mins in the opposite direction or take the campus shuttle to get to the bus stop, to then get on the bus and get to the shops. The day we arrived was the beginning of Memorial Day Weekend so most things were closed so it meant that we couldn’t have anything to eat (planning ahead is another weak point of this faculty). The storm started thundering down and the lightning was INTENSE. Overall a hectic first day of the trip and it was safe to say I was exhausted as I slept through the thunder ! Oh also there’s a platoon of approximately 9 geese that roam the campus and it’s terrifying.
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American Adventure - Day 1! (Part 1)
Back streets back ALRIGHT. Back at it again with a new adventure after not being able to travel for roughly 3 years! I’m very lucky to have been chosen to take part in the Turing Project (replacement for Erasmus except with way less funding) exchange with Montclair State University in New Jersey! I’ll be away for a whole month and hopefully will be able to get out and explore a bit when I’m not in class! My flight left at 09:40 which means I had to be at the airport by 07:40, so an early start. I was luckily able to get a direct flight from Edinburgh to Newark airport without it costing extortionate amounts. It was about 7 1/2 hours in total? The flight itself was super turbulent at take off and landing, but apart from that it was fine. But I’ve clearly been spoiled by Europe based long haul flights cause United airlines was the bare basic minimum. They did have TVs to watch but they didn’t provide headphones so you had to use your own, which wouldn’t be too much of an issue except that my headphones were Bluetooth so I couldn’t connect them to the entertainment system 😅 luckily I brought loads to do with me. The couple sat next to me were from Indiana and had just gone on a Presbyterian tour of Scotland, so we chatted about that intermittently as they visited St Andrews and Falkland. Lovely people and were very helpful with giving me tips as one of them used to live in New Jersey! They’d managed to get some nice weather and seemed to enjoy their trip despite the rain and wind 🤭. The air conditioning on the flight wasn’t working, which actually worked out a little better because usually with the AC blasting it’s absolutely Baltic on the plane. Did mean I looked a little silly with my 2 jumpers but I’d rather have them and not need them than freeze! I landed at Newark Airport at roughly lunchtime. There was 4 out of the 23 Scottish students on my flight, so we all met up and tried to navigate border control. American border control is INTENSE. You get interrogated and the officers were incredibly aggressive. Unfortunately one of the students tried to have a bit of banter with one of the guards and got hauled off to be actually full on interrogated for 30mins before luckily they let him enter the states. This also happened to someone on one of the other flights for being “too chatty” we think - we’ve actually no idea but it wasn’t a randomly selected for further questioning thing it was defo a display of aggression. My flight was incredibly lucky as we were the only flight not delayed (there was a massive storm brewing - you can see the lightning in the video I posted!) and also despite the border agents being super aggro, the border control itself was empty and took us about 5 mins to get through it and get baggage? (With the exception of those who were dragged away for interrogation - we had to wait 30 mins for them). In light of full honestly, and in light of the fact I doubt my lecturers will ever read this (if you do sorry) I will admit communication has been dreadful. We didn’t even know what we were doing until a few days before we left when we finally got a schedule only to have that completely ignored later on. The issue once in the states was getting to the halls from the airport. I’d like to think I’m quite a capable person - there’s a bus to the train station and then a direct line to where we are staying. However the faculty had decided they were going to pick us up (they decided this whilst we were in the air so we couldn’t see it until we landed and connected to the shitty airport WiFi). They also decided to use a messenger app that uses your phone number, which of course we cannot use in the US without incurring large fees. Ultimately I decided to get a US SIM card to communicate. The assumption that we would all know exactly where the lecturer picking us up meant was apparent, as we struggled to group up. When we did there as a lot of “OH you didn’t know there was multiple levels to the airport?” which was incredibly irritating because no we didn’t.
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Japan Day 6
Another day spent pissin aboot Tokyo!! We went to the Pokémon Centre and oh Lordy lord it was AMAZING! It had a wall where it showed you all the different games, plus a sneaky peek of the newest game in action! Once through, it’s an absolute plethora of capitalism that I very much partook in - it had so much Pokémon stuff!! From plushies to chopsticks to Switches, it had it all! ((As you can see from the last picture, I bought a snorlax plushie boi. The Attack on Titan folder is A4 so he’s not massive but still a chongus)). Afterwards, we headed off to Sensō-ji Temple. An active Buddhist temple, we were even able to hear the monks chanting inside (I didn’t take any pictures of that as I felt it would be insensitive but it truly was a ... humbling?? Experience?? I’m not sure, I’m not religious but it still felt important to me.). The temple is dedicated to Kannon Bosatsu, a Bodhisattva of compassion. Japanese Buddhism differs from Western Buddhism, as they actively worship the Buddha as a diety, and believe that there are these minor dietys (Bodhisattvas) as well. ((This is a terribly basic definition and I apologise for it)). The legend of the temple goes that a statue of Kannon was found in the nearby river in 628 CE. By 645, a temple had been built to allow those to properly worship Kannon (previously the chief of the village had turned his own house into a shrine whilst building the temple). Unfortunately most of the temple is not original - again showing the devastation caused by the bombings of World War II. Next to the temple is a five tiered pagoda, as well as the Asakusa Shinto shrine (“shrine of the three gods”) which honours the three men who founded Sensō-ji (the two brothers who found the statue whilst fishing, and the chief who commissioned the shrine and consequently converted everyone to Buddhism). The Asakusa Shrine is one of the only original pieces in japan from the Edo period, as miraculously it survived the bombings. In order to get to the temple, you must pass under the “Thunder Gate” - Kaminarimon- and walk through a traditional style shopping district - Nakamise-Dori. The shops are all styled in the traditional Edo period style, but sell modern things. It’s essentially a massive tourist trap, but there’s a few nice and interesting pieces in there. After all this, we were quite tired and decided to head back. The sky was dark and ominous looking, and it was incredibly hot and humid. The Typhoon is due to hit tomorrow, and the SkyTree looked like some kind of foreboding omen. ((Really hope I’ve not jinxed us now!!)). The area we are in is meant to get rainy and windy, but generally speaking it’s not meant to be that bad. But I doubt we’ll be up to much tomorrow!
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Japan Day 10
Today has been a long ass day and YE GADS I. AM. TIRED. The 12 hour flight from Tokyo to Paris was ... long, but not as bad as last time. The person sitting behind me was super super tall, and their feet stuck out under my seat (not their fault! But every time they moved I shat masel 😂). We arrived at Paris Charles de Gaulle at 4:00am Paris time, and had a whopping 11 hours to wait till the flight to Edinburgh. Yikes. We debated going in to Paris, but it was going to be £90 in total return so heck no son. We decided to just sit at the gate for hours and hours and hours and try to amuse ourselves. At the gate there was some PS4’s set up with demos of games (I played Octodad), plus a whole load of old arcade games, set up so as to be free to play. That killed some time, but you can only play the opening level of octodad for so many hours before you wish death upon all those who defy you, you know? Also we were all exhausted, but trying to sleep at the airport was not an option ((idk if we’d just accumulated more to Tokyo’s weather, but suddenly it was very cold in France ? Even though it was 17 degrees!)). So after what seemed like the longest 11 hours of my life, FINALLY we boarded our plane to Edinburgh. In what seemed like a blink of an eye, we had taken off and landed. We immediately bee-lined for the IRN BRU, and all was well in the world. I love going to and experienceing other countries but I hate the actual travelling part haha, so this fairly wiped me out. Japan was such good fun though, I do highly recommend it !
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Japan Day 9 - home time!
Today we spent our last day in Tokyo! Scrubs and I went back to Akihabara and spent all of our money ((I’m not even kidding I have NOTHING left but NO regrets)). We went into the SEGA arcade store, and played a few of the games ((terribly)) and marveled at the VR arena they had! It was essentially like a laser tag arena, with things to jump over and hide behind BUT you were wearing a VR helmet and it looked so cool! They even had these motorbike like VR stations so you could actually feel like you were running from a monster on a bike or something. It looked amazing but was also very expensive rip. Tokyo is such a beautiful and clean city?? There’s so much interesting things to look at, plus there’s NO rubbish on the street. One thing I noticed also is that there isn’t many bins on the street either, thus encouraging people to take their rubbish home with them. If there IS buns, they’re usually next to the vending machines and they are recycling bins. It’s amazing!! Our flight wasn’t until 22:55 so we had a decent bit of time to saunter around and look at things. The airport was relatively quiet, but then it was late on a Sunday evening. In the airport they had these Pokémon vending machines that were so so cute, Pikachu dances around and helps you make a selection ((I had no money by this point but OTHERWISE I definetly would’ve bought one)). Whilst boarding, turned out we were accompanying the Italian Rugby team on the flight. They played really well, they must be disappointed to be going home but they all were very nice and seemed to be in decent moods. Also they were so massive my LORD. They were flying like business economy and I think 90% of that is because they physically cannot fit into regular seats! It’s a 12 hour flight to Paris, so a looooong one but hopefully I’ll not break out in hives this time 🙃
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Japan Day 8
In the aftermath of a Typhoon that killed 56, and forced millions to evacuate their homes, you could barley tell it had happened. Tokyo was immediately up and running the next day with minimal delays and damage. A few metro lines, and the bullet trains, were out of action due to landslides, but the way the announcers on the subway spoke of it made it seem more like THEYD made a mistake. They were very apologetic about some lines running later than usual, and for any delays. Bruh there’s just been a Category 5 typhoon, it’s amazing the subway is still open! We bravely ventured to WeebTown today - Akihabara, an electronics district known for its video game and anime/manga related goods. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a more cursed place in my life. The most disturbing part was definitely the maid cafes - places for people to go and eat and spend the company in an over sexualised maid or “”Lolita”” type fashion wearing woman. ((Not that I’m shaming the workers for doing it!! Sex work is real work, it was just a little bit gross that they were trying to make them look so young, and that it gratley played into the sexualisation of maids and school uniforms that (unfortunately) have real life consequences on the young girls in japan especially)). A lot of places were actually open, or at least opened later in the day than usual ((we’re talking opening at 12pm instead of 9am, again the apologies offered by the staff made it seem like a huge inconvenience on their part - there was a goddamn hurricane!!)). Afterwards, we headed to the Tokyo Skytree. The Skytree, as I’ve said previously, is 364metres high and is the world’s tallest broadcasting tower! The view from the first viewing platform was amazing! You could easily see all of Tokyo, even all the way to Mount Fuji! But it was also very very popular - there was a LOT of people. There is a further up platform that takes you nearly to the top of the tower, but it was a 30min wait in the queue to get up and a 40min wait to get back down again. We decided against that, as we wanted to be back in time to watch Scotland take on Japan! ((In hindsight, perhaps we wouldn’t have been so hasty had we known the result)). The match was a good game, both teams played well and I wish Japan all the best in the rest of the World Cup!! Here’s hoping they win!! We HAD hoped to watch the game from the massive fanzone in Tokyo, but by the time we arrived (bearing in mind this was nearly 3 hours before kick off) the zone was full, with 1,000 people waiting outside to get in (unlikely they would unfortunately). However, there were plenty of other places in Tokyo showing the match, so we did get to see it and the Japanese were so kind! They were humble and not at all in your face about winning. At the Russia game some of the people there were offering us snacks and telling us we played well. It was a very nice atmosphere, absolutely gutted for Scotland though. Can’t believe our trip is almost over, we leave tomorrow! It’s defo been an amazing experience, I’ve loved every second of it and definitely would love to come back!!
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Japan Day 7
Typhoon Hagibis hit today in full force! We got many emergency alerts - which was terrifying in itself! - advising us to stay inside and not go out. Hagibis started off as a Category 5 Hurricane/Typhoon (they’re the same thing) and then decreased to a Category 2 one when it made landfall over Shizuoka (which was where we were for the rugby match the other day!). It was windy and rainy as heck, but luckily the area we were in was not hit too badly - at its worst it was like a thunderstorm in Scotland, so nothing we weren’t used to except it was SO. HOT. it was 26 degrees but the wind didn’t make it any cooler. The eye of the storm passed over us at about 9pm, and then the rain kicked up again. Timing is ever on our side, and we felt the shakes of an Earthquake that also happened off the coast of Chiba ((which my sibling so kindly thought was me cutting about the apartment - thanks!)). We stayed up quite late listening to the announcements, but fortunately we didn’t need to evacuate. Hopefully the Scotland vs Japan match will still go ahead tomorrow!
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Japan Day 5
Took the most cursed train from Tokyo to Mount Fuji today. It was Naruto themed and it lasted 2 hours. BUT the views from the train were breathtaking. Japan’s countryside is amazing! There was some confusion once outside Tokyo on how exactly to get to Mount Fuji and surrounding area, meaning it took a while to get it all figured out but we eventually managed! During these Typhoon months, the hiking trail to Mount Fuji is closed (not that I’d be climbing it anyway - it’s 3,776.4m <12,389ft> tall - Ben Nevis is only 1,345m <4,411ft>! Plus it’s an actual active volcano. Didn’t erupt, sad times). When we arrived, it turns out that there are no actual bus tours or tourist routes to follow, it’s pretty much get on a bus and get off when you see something interesting, or walk. But the buses don’t run very late at all, and by the time we got there (13:00-ish, not too late really) there was only two buses left that day. After waiting a while and ordering something called “green soda” (that’s it, that’s the name we were given - it tasted like an off brand IRN BRU though!!) we decided to go to the Chureito Pagoda - a five-tiered building that’s part of the Arakura Sengen Shrine. This seemed like a good idea, but it’s 400 steps up to the damned thing, and they’re at least 3-4 inches high per step. The Pagoda was built as a memorial to all those who had died in World War One. The Arakura Sengen Shrine was built in 705, as a way to worship the local diety, and Mount Fuji. It is dedicated to Princess Konohanasakuya-hime, whose worship prevents disaster, brings household happiness, and safe child birth. Whilst walking around the Pagoda, there was large warning signs saying that bears had been spotted in the area recently, so to watch out. Equally we were to watch out for snakes, monkeys, and wild boar. We didn’t see any but we DID see plenty of those massive spiders! They’re everywhere! Due to our lack of speaking Japanese, and to this area being relatively rural, we ended up on the wrong bus, but luckily managed to get one that went by a train station a few stops down the line from where we needed to go. The trains back to Tokyo were completely full, and we ended up standing for the best part of 2 hours there! Whilst back in Tokyo, the rain had started and it’s getting a little windy. Methinks this is the beginning of the typhoon weather! It isn’t meant to be too awful in the area we are in, and indeed in central Tokyo, it’s meant to just be rainy and windy (nothing new for us Scots!). Praying they don’t cancel the Scotland vs Japan match, as that would scupper Scotland’s chances of getting through to the quarter final of the World Cup ((obvs if it’s too dangerous then I don’t want them to play I love wee Greig too much to endanger him)). It was a long day of travelling today, so we are all suitably exhausted and plan on having a chilled out day tomorrow. Here’s looking forward to it!
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Interrail Day 17
Today we had a good ole explore of Bern! First stop - the Bear Pit! It’s literally a pit with a family of bears in it in the middle of Bern. There was only one beat out today and they were slomberin in the sun, but it was kinda cool! ((They were fixing the actual pit part, hence why the bear is in more of an enclosure but it is an actual pit!)). Next, we headed off to Einstein’s House! He lived in Bern for a few years, but it was here he wrote his Theory of Relativity! He lived in Bern with his first wife, Mileva Marity (Maric), from 1903 to 1905. His house was kinda small, and it must’ve been super crowded with him, his wife, and his child ((his oldest son was born whilst they lived here)). After we had Lunch, and we headed to the History Museum of Bern. That was creepy as HECK man. In the basement, they had all the original statues from the Bern Minster, and the lightning was quite minimal so as to avoid damaging the artefacts even more. Very very creepy. Like straight out of a weeping angels doctor who episode. As it was quite late in the day, we were the only people there too which made it more terrifying as it was SO quiet. Unfortunately the translation of the information from German-English wasn’t as good, so we got a basic description of what it was, however not much background information about it. Although, you may notice some of the statues do not have noses, and that in some cases the heads have been removed from their bodies - this was a deliberate desecration of these statues. Unfortunately there was no reason given as to why. Upstairs, there was a section on Bern up until present day. It was equally interesting. For example, Lenin himself lived in Bern whilst he was in exile. Also, the Bond Girl from Dr. No, Ursula Andress, was from Bern, as was the String Quartet from the movie “Titanic” ((you know, the ones who play as the ship is sinking...)). It also highlighted a lot of interesting facts about Switzerland’s neutrality during the war. As they were neutral, they traded equally ((or certainly were willing to trade equally)) to both “sides” of the war. During World War Two, this meant that they bought and sold a lot of stolen Jewish artefacts, particularly gold, which they then either melted down or sold for profit. Equally, it meant that they turned away a lot of refugees from invaded countries. It seems that whilst they did not want to take in refugees, particularly Jewish ones, so as not to appear to be taking sides, they were more than happy to take money and stolen goods. The main money making from the war did come from artefacts the Nazi’s stole as they surrounded Switzerland on all sides during the war, but they equally made money off of the artefacts stolen by the Allies too. Kind of grim when you see the truth, as Switzerland being neutral always seemed, certainly when I learned about the war waaaay back in school, that they had nothing to do with anyone on either side. But that’s not true at all. Quite interesting and harrowing at the same time, however I am appreciating (certainly central) Europe’s dedication to remembering and talking about the bad things they did in the past. They don’t glorify it, they retell it to make sure they remember what they did and to learn from it. There’s no point in only mentioning the good parts of history - how else are we to learn from our mistakes, and grow?
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Interrail Day 14
Two weeks already??? Oh Lordy! Today was a relaxed day, although we did have to get an early train from Florence ((where it was already 25 degrees at 9am!)). A quick change at Milan, which has a beautifully ornate station (picture 1), and then it was off to Switzerland! The scenery change from city to alpine was amazing, and it was absolutely beautiful. You get this tiny little bus-like train from Brig to Zermatt, and it has these massive, wide windows so that you can see the beautiful Matterhorn Valley on the way up the mountain. It was breathtaking, rounding the corner and being able to see for miles down this beautiful mountain range. Zermatt is 1km (1000m) above sea level, so the altitude is quite high! Zermatt itself is basically a stereotypical alpine chalet town times a million. There’s SO MANY hotels and chalets all over the place. Luckily, we’re in their off season so it’s not too busy ((not empty though!)). It was a little difficult to find our accommodation, as they seemed to be doing construction work on every street leading to it. But we managed! It was actually a relief to get off the train and it only (only!) be 16/17 degrees and raining. Hopefully it won’t rain too much tomorrow so we can go on a walk around! But now, sleep!
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