Mykonos Madness

Gapyearing is all about getting out of your comfort zone, doing things you wouldn’t do at home and basically creating all manner of whimsical stories which you will tell the kids and grandkids one day. I can honestly say my four nights in Mykonos yielded some ‘challenging’ experiences and I definitely did numerous things which I would be thought idiotic or ridiculous for doing at home…. However there is no chance my kids or grandkids will ever be hearing about the four days wherein I disregarded any thought of my health to simply party to the best of my ability - that would constitute irresponsible parenting/grand parenting. The Greek islands possess some of the most beautiful sights and opportunities for exploration anywhere in the world, and I am proud to say that I did eventually make my way into the town and managed to dote at the famed windmills of Mykonos, which slightly disappointed me thanks to their inability to actually mill wind. However for me Mykonos rather yielded an opportunity to test my partying pedigree, relax by the pool and make new friends.

Arriving at Paraga Beach Hostel, fresh from a two leg journey via Vienna (or Perth as Haim likes to joke, due to my consistently odd flight paths) I failed to take into account my ability to contact Eli, Ben and Dazz due to a lack of simcards on all our parts. Thus I sat in the designated ‘wifi area,’ (it earns inverted commas due to the lack of actual internet connection it boasts) and attempted to make contact to little avail. However, this was actually a blessing in disguise as I eventually used this as an opportunity to befriend three British staying in my room and further a larger group of people whom I remained friends with my entire stay in Mykonos. I did eventually manage to locate the boys along with a larger group of Emanuel friends most of whom I had not had the pleasure of meeting their acquaintance for upwards of 5 months. It was a beautiful reunion which was followed by predrinks and then arrival at Mykonos’ most famous club Cavo Paradiso, which did not disappoint. The club ships in internationally acclaimed DJs almost every day of the week and even contains a swimming pool and multiple bars, I ended up visiting it three times to witness performances by W & W, Benny Benassi and Alesso, in chronological order.

Days included relaxing by the pool at the hostel, numerous authentic Greek souvlakis, a visit to the ‘day’ party (we attended between 7PM and 11PM) hosted at Tropicana as well as copious amounts of alcohol. It was a beautiful thing how a morning at the pool after a big night out could have you raring to pollute your bloodstream with further alcohol in just hours. Honestly, my body took an absolute beating, however I managed to emerge with just a lost voice, a valiant tale of survival. It really was a fun time and to any of my parents/granparents/family members who may be reading, you were young once too, so try not to judge me too harshly.

One of the most amazing experiences, something which I will never forget, was going tubing with Sam, Eli, Haim and Ben. For a mere 20 euro investment we were hurled around on the waters of Mykonos at ridiculous speeds holding onto pieces of plastic for dear life, needless to say we loved every minute of it. These are the experiences which we will never forget and it was unbelievable to share it with some of my best mates!

Mykonos was an amazing experience which I am exceedingly happy I was able to undertake. On the morning of the 18^th I headed to Athens via ferry, boasting not a single minute of sleep at time of boarding due to a huge night at Cavo. When I arrived I was an absolute wreck, so much so I headed to bed rather than visiting the Acropolis (Sad I know). Following a night at an Athens hotel I made my way to London via Hamburg to begin my 20 day Contiki tour through Europe. I arrived at the airport and made my way to my hotel for the night via the London Underground which was largely halted due to enormous pro-Palestinian demonstrations (Just what I like to hear). I made it to the hotel and that night met the people who I was to spend the next 20 days with, an assortment of people from all over the globe, featuring Canadians, Americans, Brits and Aussies, who I’m sure I will become incredibly close to over the next 3 weeks.

I cannot wait to see what Contiki has in store for me!

40 days till I return to Sydney!

Thanks for reading!

Jake

Barca Boys Bonanza!

Barcelona is one of the world’s most beautiful cities and I am so thankful that I got to experience it with a group of my closest mates! The boys simply tore it up in Barcelona, we were on the go constantly, we saw the sights, sampled the delicacies and most of all created the memories! Barcelona is a city which has an unbelievably lively street culture, and I am loved living a simple 5 minute walk from La Rambla, a promenade which never fails to disappoint with an array of street performers, annoying Indian men attempting to sell you an annoying voice changing device as well as some nice restaurants and shops. The architecture is absolutely out of this world, some of it needs to be seen to be believed, notably the Sagrada Familia which is without doubt the most impressive piece of human architectural construction to which I have ever bore witness. As well as enjoying great times with mates in a wonderful city, I also managed to learn something and feel as though I have come out of my time in Barcelona with an increased knowledge of its social, cultural, economic and political climate.

Arriving in Barcelona in the middle of the world cup is usually something special…. However with Spain’s dismal group stage exit we were privy to only showings of German and Argentian national pride in Catalyunya’s capital. We often headed to various bars to watch the games, and were continually shocked by the results as well as the ability of football to spark a conversation and bring people together. At one point we headed to El Raval (a neaby suburb) with our football to have a kick around and soon found ourselves engaged in a match with some local kids, it is simply amazing what a ball can do!

As a 19 year old in Barcelona I felt an obligation to head out and sample the nightlife, and boy did it not disappoint! I managed to get to Europe’s second biggest club, known as Razmatazz, twice and saw performances by Pendulum and Lil’ Jon both which yielded nights which I will remember for a long time. I also sampled a club known as shoko, a name which harked me back to my favourite Israeli drink. In addition to this, we spent an awesome night in a bar which specialised in various interesting shots, some of which were delicious, some strong and some downright ridiculous. It was one of the most memorable nights I have had since my departure from Australia!

We simply went to too many sights in Barca for me to mention all of them in depth, so I will endeavour to pick a few in order to prevent this blog post from hitting multiple pages. We had one particularly spontaneous and memorable day spent in a country club with a membership fee of 2000 euro which we gained entry to by simply waltzing through the front gate with confidence. It truly was a gapyear triumph, we used the gym, the pool, the football pitch and dined at their magnificent restaurant. It will be a tale written in gapyear folklore forever. We took the cable car up to Montjuic and took in its remarkable views of the rest of the city, the same can be said of the summit of Parc Guell. Guy and myself visited the stunning Palau Guell, another Gaudi masterpiece which yielded even further opportunity to utilise my new camera/phone. We visited the food markets on the Rambla on numerous occasions, with Sam managing to find a new love - one euro fruit juice.

We undertook two different walking tours, the regular introduction to the Gothic Quarter as well as the alternate tour through El Raval which showcased the plethora of street art which can be found all over the city, both were hugely educational and entertaining. I headed out on a Tapas Tour with Aviv girls Lucy and Sarah where we sampled the three different ways tapas is prepared in various parts of Spain. We visited Blai Street twice, the home of our favourite pinchos establishment. There is simply not enough room to document everything we did during our time in Spain’s most famous city.

I wish to apologise to myself as well as anyone who follows my blog closely about the lack of posts as of late but I am simply too flat out! I no longer have the time to blog frequently, but I promise to do everything in my power to keep up my blogging regularity during my time in Europe!

Barcelona was amazing, and I now head to Mykonos via Vienna!

49 days till I return to Sydney!

Thanks for reading,

Jake 

Bittersweet – Goodbye Israel/Hello Barcelona!

I am legitimately lost for words. As I sit here and attempt to summarise my feelings about my 5 months in Israel on Aviv I struggle to find adequate vocabulary to quantify the number of great memories I have accrued, friendships I have made as well as positive changes in my character I have undergone. Israel is a very special place which means a lot of things to a lot of people, to me, the past 5 months have led me to believe that it represents hope for the Jewish people and without it we are significantly less rich as a people. Leaving Israel has brought me seriously mixed feelings; on one hand, I am very ready to move on, have a great time in Europe with new and old friends and eventually return home to Sydney and continue with daily life. On the other hand, Israel has been great to me and I leave behind some of my very best friends and in addition to this, I depart at an exceedingly volatile time following the discovery of the corpses of the 3 Israeli teens who were kidnapped whilst hitchhiking in the West Bank. I sincerely hope the situation does not escalate into yet another war in Israel, where there quite simply will be no victor thanks to mutual loss of life.

Aviv ended rather anti-climactically, after a final few days which included many introspective style programs as well as reflection on various relationships established, culminated in a farewell to the madrichim, a receiving of our Aviv jumpers, a slideshow of our time in Israel and a tear-jerking final goodbye session, I headed off to the airport still without a real comprehension that it had already been 5 months since I headed overseas. I sat at the airport for a full 6 hours waiting to checkin for my flight, which I passed by doing various quizzes online, before I boarded my flight from Tel Aviv to Munich, I flight which I slept the entirety of… including take-off. I then completed the final 2 legs of my poorly planned flight with a few hours spent waiting at each airport, Munich to Berlin and Berlin to Barcelona… yes I did go backwards to go forwards.

I finally arrived in Barca suitably exhausted, I collected my bags after my fears that the typically rude El Al staff had lost were thankfully not confirmed. I then attempted to head off to my accommodation only to be informed that the cab drivers were on strike today, using my newfound independence I hopped on a bus and headed for the city centre, arrived and then headed down to the metro station and hopped on a train, thinking how easy this travelling thing is and how soon I would be reclining in my accommodation. How wrong I was… soon after I realised I had boarded a train going the opposite direction that which I desired, and so promptly hopped off and headed in the correct way before missing my stop, opting to walk and getting lost in the winding labyrinth which are the streets of Barcelona. I did eventually arrive, and was shown to my quarters by the owner of the apartment; I sat down on the bed after over 12 hours in transit, let out a great sigh and thought “what have I gotten myself into?!” I was soon put at ease as I met up with Sam, Eli, Robbie, Robbie, Haim, Stevie, Ari, Jordan and Hannah, all people who I spent the much of my schooling life with, a good ol’ fashion reunion which really overwhelmed me. We soon headed off to the Park Guell, where we marvelled at a beautiful view of the entire city of Barcelona… also a dog slobbered on me. I soon retired home for a much needed rest.

The next day I awoke and ate some breakfast before heading off to the Camp Nou, home ground of the world famous FC Barcelona with Jordan, Eli and Sam. It was a truly wonderful tour, we saw the stadium inside and out, gazed at the museum and history of the club as well as some of its most captivating plays and players. I was truly able to comprehend where I was and I sure loved it! It was the perfect welcome to Europe! We soon headed back to our accommodation.

It truly was a whirlwind end to Israel and beginning to Europe, I sincerely hope I can make as many connections, new memories and cool experiences in Europe as I did in Israel. I am so excited to continue my travels for the next month and I hope that you can live the next two months vicariously through me via this blog!

Love from Barcelona!

Jake