The tour visited Hiroshima and found it a very moving experience.  

Hiroshima Peace Park

The second day in Hiroshima began at Kintai Bridge, a beautiful part of the world - river, forest, castle.  The sun was shining and the weather was perfect, not too hot and not too cold.

A unique structure that has been rebuilt over the years in the same style following each flood.

The view from the top of the bridge to the river and town below.

This monument stands testament to a young girl who survived the initial radiation effects of Hiroshima but who later died of leukemia.  In memory of her, friends made a number of paper cranes.  This continues to this day with paper cranes surrounding this statue as a symbol of the need for peace in the world.

Some of the girls at the Peace Statue

Dinner - Okonomiyaki.  A wonderful concoction of noodles, egg, pork, cabbage, bean sprouts on a pancake bed which was delicious.

Iwakuni  Castle.
A sky car trip to the girls to the top of the hill and the magnificent Iwakuni Castle.  Ms Hill had Mrs Pawsey worried when she said they were using a rope bridge to get there (having visions of teetering over the river coming to mind).  They all made it safely!

Ice Cream!  (Green Tea Ice cream for the adventurous)

Visiting the Mazda Factory.

Miyajima Island.
One ferry ride later the Island of Miyajima.  Mrs Aitchison, Mrs Pawsey & Ms Hill standing in front of the Gateway to the Itsukushima Shrine.  The island is popular with tourists and on this very warm day they visited in large numbers.

Jessie and Ruby

The island is also a deer haven.  This can be hazardous to visitors as they are very interested in everyone's bags!

Although it did rain at one stage today it was not going to stop the group from catching yet another train and sorting out what stop they needed to get off.  The girls are getting very good at working out the route and making sure the whole group knows when to get off.  They are also now getting used to working in groups of 5 in readiness for the huge crowds expected in Tokyo.

More luck and happiness.  Mrs Aitchison models the correct way to ring the bell.
Three rings and two claps of the hands.

Laura and Shiane ring the bell.

The group with the Maiko.

The girls had a glimpse of the life of a traditional Japanese Geisha with a meeting with a young woman who has decided to become what we would describe an a apprentice Geisha.  She is called a Maiko.  The girls participated in a tea ceremony and the Maiko performed a traditional dance.

Tea ceremony.

The Maiko performing a dance.

This was a very interesting experience especially for the girls.

Meeting a girl not much older than themselves that has decided to give up the freedoms of a normal teenage girl's life to commit to training as a traditional Geisha.

A life where she only sees her family once or twice a year and spends her days studying dance, art and traditional Japanese ceremonies.

A life that expects a girl to leave school at 15.

They were surprised to meet a confident, intelligent, personable and amusing young woman who had all the attributes of being anything she wanted to be and yet decided to commit for the time being to train as a Geisha.

Ms Hill, the Maiko, Mrs Aitchison & Mrs Pawsey

We visited one of the Life Cycles of St Ursula today it looked a lot like a comic strip as it was used to educate the people about St Ursula which increased her popularity. In the pictures she is always depicted as a princess with a crown and also often with an arrow. There were some art works depicting her as well. 

Then off to Venice for an amazing ride by boat to our convent accommodation. No televisions and some rooms have double doors just to keep in you in. 

Universal Studios

Mrs Aitchison with R&B singers in an American Diner (Back to the Future)

Ruby & Jessie - Enjoying some Harry Potter "Butter Beer" 

Mrs Aitchison & Ms Hill surviving the rain outside the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Rain cleared - waiting for the parade at Universal Studios

The girls were enthralled as Elmo was followed by Aladdin and were all transported back to childhood with the Grand Finale  and the arrival of Cinderella.

Walking in the Steps of Angela - Mrs Kay Gleeson (Deputy Principal)

15th September 2015

Today we visited the Cologne Cathedral where we were introduced to the legend of St Ursula in art work and statue and saw the place where the 3 wise men bones are said to be. Then off to the church of St Ursula to complete the Pilgrim Walk by walking under the place where St Ursula's bones were and saw some art work of the boats that may have been used. We also visited the Corsery where the bones of the legend are said to be. I will leave it up to you all to decide if the bones are truly from the legend and also up to you to decide if there were 11 or 11000 martyrs....... 

Day 1 - The group enjoyed a beautiful day with a bus tour of the major sites of Kyoto.  Pictured here a the world heritage Kiyomizu-dera Temple.

The tour guide for the day was fantastic and had a great sense of humour - she was a hit with the girls!  Everyone is travelling well so far with all the girls being co-operative and helpful.

Good Fortune!
The girls ensuring they have good health and good fortune.
(From top left Maddyson & Saloni, Abigail & Emma, Jessie & Ruby, Michaela)

(From left Rusty & Ms Hill, Mrs Pawsey & Mrs Aitchison)

A highlight of the day was the many beautiful gardens that surround the temples and castles.  Saloni and Maddyson are pictured in front of one of the many ponds.

Stepping Stones!

Nijo Castle was built in 1603 as the Kyoto residence of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Edo Period.  After the Tokugawa Shogunate fell in 1867, Nijo Castle was used as an imperial palace for a while before being donated to the city and opened up to the public as a historic site.  The entire castle grounds and the Honmaru are surrounded by stone walls and moats.

After the group enjoyed a wonderful Italian lunch (yes you read that correctly - Italian) the group visited Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion).  Jessie & Ruby (above) pictured with the temple in the background.  Kinkakuji is a Zen temple in northern Kyoto whose top two floors are completely covered in gold leaf.

Ms Hill, Mrs Aitchison & Mrs Pawsey

A perfect end the the first day in Kyoto.  Mrs Aitchison & Mrs Pawsey make new friends with Japanese Primary School students who took the opportunity to practice their English skills.