For cost of this tour please send an email to AIST or contact us by phone at 816.256.3828.

Tomorrow the group will have a guided tour of the city and some free time to expore before playing the Uruguay National team selection.

On New Year’s Eve, we traveled on the bus to Mar del Plata far longer than we anticipated because all of Buenos Aires wanted to celebrate New Year’s at the beach to bring in the new year.  After finally arriving, several of us went to put our toes in the sand and to test out the temperature of the water. After our team dinner, we ventured down to the beach.  The coaches broke out the champagne, many pictures were taken, and we counted down to the New Year. Fireworks were exploding; people were cheering and yelling “Ya Hop!”  There was no better way to celebrate New Years than with your whole team, it was a wonderful experience!   It seems that New Years a lot of times is built up to be better than it usually is but not this time, as we were in a foreign place and just got to enjoy our time together.  After the toast everyone somehow went separate ways and by the end of the night most people had to walk several blocks because the cabs were nowhere to be found.  Anyone in heels immediately regretted wearing them.

                We woke up on New Years day to find rain and overcast skies; this was clearly no way to enjoy a beach day.  Several of us rode on the bus to see if we could find something of interest.  They took us to these cliffs along the beach, which were absolutely beautiful.  After taking several photos, venturing out on the rocks and enjoying the views, we made our way home to relax.  There was quite a bit of walking involved, and everything was closed until late in the afternoon.  The sun came out for a while and some people got to enjoy the beach.  After a while, the clouds came in, and we were unexpectedly met with a torrential downpour.  We booked it back to the hotel to stay happy and dry.  That night, we went to a disco called Coyote Ugly.  We had dinner there and were serenaded by a mariachi band.  My birthday is coming up on the 6^th, so when the mariachi band asked if anyone had a birthday you can imagine whose name everyone was chanting.  I don’t speak Spanish but I was able to figure out they wanted me to go up on stage, wear a sombrero, and dance as they sang a song to me.  After the show, a group of us stayed and went to the disco area. It was the coolest place!  There were many different bars and clubs located around a jungle-themed common outdoor area.  Each bar and club played different types of music.  We danced up a storm and caught the attention of some of the locals with our moves.

                On January 2^nd, we were finally able to travel to the beach and there wasn’t a single cloud in the sky!  We took a bus to a nicer beach which they said would get crowded by the end of the day, and they were certainly right about that.  After slathering on sunscreen, several of us laid around to tan, read, and relax.  If we were in the states we would be in cold weather and several layers; it was a blast that we were able to actually be in swim suits and sun and no longer have to be pale and ghostly looking.  About six of us decided to take a surf lesson in the afternoon.   Lessons were very inexpensive, and it was definitely one of the best parts of the trip!!  We had 2 cute instructors who first made us do a warm up lap by running up and down the beach and then we had to stretch.  After learning the proper technique on the sand, we were able to finally get out in the water.  The instructors pushed us to help us catch a wave.  Everyone was able to stand, if not on the first try, then at least by the third.  A few of us were able to do it without their help!  Coach and a few others got some great pictures of us both surfing and wiping out.  It was so much fun and such an adrenaline rush!!  By the end of the day, several people took themselves home because many of us had pretty bad sunburns. The sun down here It didn’t feel that bad when we were out there.  The rest of us stayed and enjoyed a live reggae show while sitting on the beach.  The coaches and Chad made a crocodile in the sand and in seashells we wrote “JHU FH.”  After all this we went home and a lot of us took long naps to attempt to forget about our burns.  After going out to dinner, we went to a disco on one of the most popular streets where the nightlife is happening.  We got in relatively early and enjoyed hanging out and some dancing.  By the end of the night, there was not a line to get in but a huge mob to get it.  There were people everywhere, both inside the disco and outside on the streets!  We caught a taxi home and called it a night at about 3:30.  I had to sprint ahead of some people to get a taxi!  People were still arriving at this point to go to the bars as we were going home.  The late nightlife here is unreal and this is coming from me, a night owl.  People do not go to bed until the sunrises!

It has been a great adventure so far.  Everyday seems so long because we put so much into the days.  I am going to sleep very, very well when I get home.  It has been so much fun to be with the team and enjoying this experience and culture!

Saturday, January 2nd, 2010:

Today, we took the ferry out to Manly Beach. Many of the girls paid for surf boards and attempted to surf the waves. A few were able to stand up, but most of us ended up wiping out and looking ridiculous because the current and waves were so rough. We also shopped, laid out, swam, and walked along the board walk the entire day. Then, a group of girls went out to a nice dinner of pasta and pizza before heading out for the night. We spent the entire night at a pub called the Three Wise Monkeys, where they played a combination of live music and recorded music. Needless to say, it was a great day!

Sunday, January 3rd, 2010:
On this leisure day, the team split up into several groups so that everyone was able to do what they wanted. A few people went to St. Mary’s Cathedral of Sydney for church in the early morning before heading to Paddy’s Market in Chinatown for great bargains and shopping. We then headed through Darling Harbour to visit the Sydney Wildlife World, where we were able to take photos with and pet the koalas! It was awesome!!!!  Others on the team headed out to explore the Olympic complex and stadiums. As for the rest of the evening, some girls will be attending the evening Broadway showing of Wicked while a separate group will be heading down to the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge to see each of these attractions lit up. We all accomplished a lot today and we are all feeling it in our feet (since we all generally walk everywhere in Sydney). I know that everyone on the team has LOVED our stay in Sydney and we cannot believe how quickly our time here has flown by!

New Years Eve dinner was held at a local restaurant within walking distance of the hotel.  After dinner we boarded the bus and headed to the beach for a New Years toast and fireworks to bring in the New Year at Midnight. 

The  team took a trip on the bus down to the south beaches of Mar Del Plata to have a look at some of the cliffs along the shores of the Argentina cost.  Since the weather wasn’t permitting for a good day at the beach the group took some time to explore the cliffs and enjoy the views.  Then the sun brok out for a bit in the afternoon so they could enjoy the beach or some rest before the dinner.  Dinner was at a Tex Mex restuarant which included a Mariachi show which all of the group enjoyed.

Today the group is enjoying the 89 degree weather and sun at the beach.  At 5 pm they will see a live Reggae Concert on the beach.   Tomorrow the group will return to Buenos Aires for a live Tango Show and dinner.

Blog by Erica Aten:

We arrived in Sydney December 31th around dinner time and quickly got ready for the New Year’s Eve festivities here.  There were fireworks showing at 9:30 and midnight, some girls went to both showings but the majority of us went to the midnight show.  We watched them from Darling Harbor and the show was pretty impressive.  We couldn’t see everything because there were some buildings in the way but we did see a lot of them.  My personal favorite was the fireworks going off of the end of the bridge that shot straight up like fountains.  The streets were incredibly crowded and it was probably a half hour walk to the fireworks.  On the walk home sometimes traffic was completely stopped (people traffic), it was incredible how busy the streets were.

On New Year’s Day, a bunch of us got up early and explored the city, we all did a variety of things.  Some groups went to the Wildlife Park, some took ferries, and some went shopping and walked around town.  The girls who went to the wildlife park and zoo really enjoyed it.  The zoo was really big and had lots of animals we have never seen before in the US and the park was very similar except they saw koalas at the park and not at the zoo.  My group went shopping and walked to the Sydney Opera House and the outdoor botanical garden.  We went to the opera house first which I found breathtakingly beautiful.  It really is a work of art and the way it overlooks the harbor was cool to us.  The bridge was huge and we could barely see some specks of people walking up it from where we were standing.  Looking across the water to the land on the other side was unlike anything I’ve seen before.  The houses were all built into a huge hill and there were so many houses it looked amazing.  There were also a lot of pretty sailboats in the water that looked like they came from a painting. 

After the opera house, my group decided to walk around Sydney and do some shopping.  By the harbor there was an outdoor botanical garden with pretty flowers and HUGE trees and birds.  The trees had huge branches that were so low to the ground we could sit on them.  We all grabbed some pretty flowers and put them in our hair because they were so pretty.  We saw Lorikeets and Cockatoos up in the trees and eating on the ground.  They let us get close enough to touch them practically so we took a lot of close up pictures.  After the garden, we did a LOT of shopping.  We purchased some UGG boots since they are made in Australia and they are cheaper than they are at home.  We went to a lot of souvenir shops because they had things we could get for family members and friends.  My favorite thing we saw was the aboriginal art that was on plates and other terracotta pieces.  They were all beautifully hand painted.  Most of us bought at least one of the pieces.  We were done shopping we walked home because we were exhausted from the night before.  We went to a little pizza place for dinner where you can pay by the slice.  After dinner most of us just hung around the hotel all night.  Some girls went to a bar and saw a band play that they enjoyed a lot.  Today we are headed to Manly Beach and we are learning how to surf…It should be an exciting day!

Blog By Andrea Vandersall

12/29
Today we were scheduled to have a double header against the Queensland Woman’s Team. Unfortunately, about two minutes after arriving to the field, the game was called off due to a sudden downpour. But instead of just going our separate ways, our coaches organized a barbeque for both teams to get together and mingle. After a shared meal of hamburgers and hot dogs, we took the coach around downtown Brisbane for some sightseeing along the river. Exhausted, we returned home, and hit the hay early.

12/30
Today we had an early start with a hearty breakfast and a long bus ride to a 9:00 am ferry to Stradbroke Island where we had scheduled a day filled with snorkeling and sea kayaking. We were divided up, one group participating in the former first and then switched after lunch to the latter. Kayaking was a fun experience, especially if you were lucky enough to have your kayak tip. Upon returning to the shore, we walked to lunch at a restaurant called Seashells for a delicious meal. Next was snorkeling along the shore line, during which some very interesting fish and coral fixtures were observed. Once we were finished, we all decided to test our bravery and jump off the various levels of the dock into the ocean below. Finally we all made our way back to the bus for the returning ferry ride back to the main land, and the drive back to the Gold Coast.