San Diego Zoo

After breakfast we headed to the San Diego Zoo, which is supposed to be one of the best attractions in the USA. First we walked around and looked at all kinds of different snakes and then we took the skyfari to the “Arctics”. From there we saw the real animals, like tigers, elephants, camels, turtles, and donkeys. They were all really cool, but kinda sleepy, but it was still really awesome to see them. After we decided that we wanted to see the pandas, and on our way there we also saw some koalas, kangaroos, giraffes, and some monkeys. There were some bears on the way too, but all of them were sleeping, so you couldn't really see them. We also got some snacks on the way cause all of us were a little hungry.

Baby Giraffe at San Diego Zoo, June 2015

When we finally arrived to the pandas, we realized that there was a line to see them, so we were just in line for like 10 minutes, but then we got to see the panda, and it was really cute. She was sitting and eating, and we were really happy that she wasn't sleeping or not showing herself. Then we walked around a little more, we were going to do the skyfari again, and we thought we were going the right way, but as it turned out we weren't. At the end we ended up at the entrance, and on the way there we saw a hippo, some turtles, birds, more kinds of tigers and flamingos. All of the animals were so pretty, and it was really nice to see them.

Meerkat at San Diego Zoo, June 2015

After the zoo, we met up with everyone, and went to have lunch together. We went to a buffet place, so we could have all different kinds of food, and also some delicious dessert. It was good. After that we drove a little more, and went to an outlet mall, where we had some time to shop, and it was really good, because there was so many different stores and the deals were great too! Right now, we are on our way to L.A.. We never thought we would ever be sad to go to LA, but right now we are, because it means that the tour will end tomorrow. This trip truly has been an amazing experience, we got to meet so many amazing people, and we'll never forget the places we got to visit.

Catrine Faurby from Denmark

 Orsi Nagy from Hungary

 

Sea World

Shamu show at Sea World, June 2015

First morning in San Diego, we woke up a little bit later than usual, which felt good since everybody was tired! Once in the bus, we drove about 10 minutes to Sea World. At first, it was not very crowded but it got really busy later in the afternoon. This was a very unique experience since we could touch animals like sea stars, baby sharks, or rays. There were some shows at specific times during the day. 

Cirque de la mer show at Sea World, June 2015

We started by the dolphins and we can tell, now, that they are not lying when they say that you're gonna get soaked and 100% wet if you were seated in the first three rows. Then, we tried a bunch of roller coasters and our favorite was the “Manta”, we enjoyed it so much that we did it three times in a row! We also went to the Sea Lions show which was really entertaining and well done. After lunch was one of the most famous shows offered at Sea World, Shamus (the killer whale).  We also had the chance to see the San Diego bay by taking the skyline bay-ride which was really night

Downtown San Diego, June 2015

At 4pm, we drove downtown San Diego where we had some spare time to do some shopping or explore around. Thanks to our driver Antonio for having this great idea! Then, we went back to the hotel and ate dinner at Denny's, the closest restaurant to the hotel. We had a great day, with a lot of sunburnt people at the end, but a lot of fun anyway!

Pedicab ride, June 2015

Variety Show

Today we had a long bus ride from the Grand Canyon to San Diego.  We crossed the state border of Arizona and entered California.  The bus journey was full of beautiful mountain sights and we also spend our time watching the movie, "Forest Gump".  Then we stopped at the shopping complex for an hour.  Finally, we made it to San Diego around six in the evening.  We had a talent show tonight where each one of us had to perform and show our hidden talents.  But before that we had a pizza party.  It was a lot of fun spending quality time all together.  Then ultimately the talent show was commenced on by the hosts of the show, Ron and Corinne.

Woahhh..... I was amazed to see the hidden talents everybody had and some of the talents had the capacity to turn the ambiance of the room into fun.  We got to listen to the Danish, Canadian, French, and Czech National Anthems and this gave way to the purpose of the Rotary Youth Exchange which is the culture exchange.  There were some graceful dance performances that the entire room applauded for them.  The "Chilly Girls" performed belly dancing, the "Tango Girls" amazed everybody with their breathtaking performance.  Some of them also included the audience and therefore everybody got to participate in other cultures and this led to developing the sense of universal unity and brotherhood.

Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon, June 2015

Today we woke up early to go see the Grand Canyon. We started out going to the visitors center to learn more about the canyon. It was really cool. Then we began our hike to see it's wonders from above. We walked around the path and we took a lot of pictures. We walked for around 2 hours. After that everyone was very tired and hungry. Our super bus driver came to pick us up and we went to eat lunch.

At the IMAX theatre, June 2015

After lunch we went and watched an IMAX movie about the Grand Canyon. When the movie was over, we drove back to the hotel, where we had free time until dinner. A lot of us were hanging out by the pool, some were playing charades, and the rest were taking naps because it was a long but exciting day. Later on, we went to Williams to have dinner. There was a cowboy show in the street, with a shoot out. It was funny! Other people went and tried the zip-line. The restaurant where we ate was old fashioned. There were a lot of old Route 66 signs on the wall, gas pumps, and a jukebox. We had cheeseburgers for dinner. We love burgers!!!! After dinner, we came back to the hotel and choose the new banana queen, who was Clara from Brazil. After that we hung out until curfew. We're thankful for all the fantastic places we have visited and people we have met.

Route 66

Today we got in the bus for an adventure towards the Grand Canyon. Our road trip started at 8:15. After a couple of hours of driving we stopped at Walmart to buy some dinner for the night because we were going to have a picnic. After we got our food, we jumped back in the bus to continue our journey.

Our next stop was Seligman, Arizona, the beginning of the historic Route 66. After taking some pictures, getting some souvenirs, and enjoying some free time, we got back on the road. Still a long drive towards our destination! After two more hours we stopped for lunch in Williams also famous for being along Route 66. We ate lunch together in a lovely place. Then we got some free time in the town to visit the place and some souvenir shops. We even got to see a large Route 55 sign! This was our last stop before our hotel. Everybody was very excited to finally arrive after the long drive.

With this really hot weather most of us went to the pool. The picnic was to celebrate the five birthdays that we had during the trip. So one more time, Happy Birthday to Gabi, Kate, Sarah, Ana, and Nabila! We shared a great picnic together. We even had the happy birthday singer Yudai, sing to our birthday girls. What a talent! After the picnic party, we got a later curfew so we got to spend more time together in the pool and outside until 11:30. We are having an amazing trip together so far! Thank you so much to the amazing coordinators and chaperons!!!

Vegas!

Almost all day long we were on the bus today. The first stop was at a fruit market where we were able to buy some fruit or snacks for our long drive. Then we stopped for lunch. We had different choices such as Panera, Chipotle, or Burger King.

On our way to the Hard Rock Cafe Las Vegas, June 2015

We arrived to Vegas around 5pm and checked in the hotel. We went to the largest gift shop in the world to buy some souvenirs and then we went to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. It was awesome. After dinner we walked a little bit along the strip and we watched a fountain show at the Bellagio. We took some group pictures and we had lots of fun.

In-front of the fountains at the Bellagio, June 2015

It has been a long day. So we came back to the hotel around 11pm and went to sleep.

Lorenzo Vacca from Italy
Laura Polo from Spain

Yosemite National Park

Group photo at the lower falls view point, June 2015

Today we left for Yosemite National Park which was almost four hours away from the hotel we were staying in. We had a picnic for the lunch with the groceries that we bought at walmart the night before. The moment we witnessed the incomparable beauty of nature we were awestruck and overwhelmed. This breathtaking scenery made our trip. The Yosemite fall is the highest fall in the United States and the fifth highest in the world. Some of us got to swim in the beautiful river, which was surrounded by the majestic and mighty granite mountains and with the falls in the background it was the best view so far to capture some unforgettable moments. Then we took the bus to the tunnel view point where we had a greater perspective of the mountains and took a group picture. Then, we went to the world renowned Californian In-N-Out to have burgers, fries, and shakes for dinner Thereafter we went to the motel where we stayed for the night. It was the best time of our trip and we all had lots of fun together. We thank the Terra North America and our wonderful coordinators and chaperons for arranging our trip.

Group photo at tunnel view point, June 2015

Thank you,

Shivani Rai from India
Trine Pedersen from Denmark