Just a quick update on our traveling around Italy. We have been having a great time, staying in the homes of wonderful people and eating the best food in the world. Here is a short summary of what we have been up to lately.
From Venice we then went to Padova where we saw the amazing Scovengni Chapel and the fine art work of Giotto. Next we went to Ferara where we walked along the ancient Roman walls and cruised through a castle with a moat and draw bridge. Then off to Modena where we saw many old churches and buildings. A short trip to Bologna where we saw the two towers and amazing Plazza Maggiore. From there we took a train to Forli and got a private tour of all the city sights. The next day we traveled to a new country, San Marino. In San Marino, a tiny country on a mountain top surrounded by Italy, we explored two cool castles. Then on the way back we checked out Rimini and saw another great castle and a Roman bridge dating back to 100 B.C. Next we took another train to Florence through the Tuscany countryside. In Florence we saw some of the best art work in the world. We visited the Galleria Dell Academia where we saw Michaelangelo's famous sculpture of "David," and the Galleria Delgi Uffizi where we saw works of many of the best painters in history, such as: Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, Raphael, Michaelangelo, Titan, Bellini, Giotto, Rubens and Rembrant's. We also saw other amazing things in Florence like the Ponte Vecchio and the Duomo. We went from Florence to Pisa to see if the tower was really leaning. It was great to see that the Leaning Tower of Pisa had not fallen. We made a trip to Lucca and had a picnic on the Roman walls after exploring the city. Next we headed to Rapallo to hang out on the amazing beaches, hike along the famous Cinque Terre, and kick back in the resort for the rich and famous: Portofino. It has all been amazing.
We are leaving this morning for Genova where Christopher Columbus was born. We will only be in Italy for a few more days before heading onto France, Monaco, Spain, Gibralter, Morroco(in Africa), and Portugal. Then we catch a plane from Spain to Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
I just turned 11 years old in Venice, Italy
I am now 11 years old. Sorry I have not updated my blog for so long. We have been very busy traveling around the world since I last updated you about my adventure. I will try to tell you a little bit about what we have done and seen, but I might not remember everything. Good thing I am writing in my journal every day. I am also keeping a scrap book of all the cool places we are traveling.
We had a great time in Goa, India, and ended up hanging out there for a whole month. It was great and we got to hang out at the beach and jump in the ocean everyday. We also volunteered at the AIDS orphanage. It was sad because they have no parents, but it was also a great experience to spend time there. I got to help a seven year old kid named Mahesh. He could not go to school with the other kids because the sun would irritate his skin. So everyday I got to help him with his homework. It was really cool to be his friend and help him out. When I showed up every morning his eyes would light up which made me feel very good.
Christmas in Goa was very different than at home. I did get a stocking and opened presents before breakfast and went to church, but everything else was different. We went to the AIDS orphange and brought them presents. We watched them play with their toys. They were really happy and were bragging to each other about what they got for Christmas. It was one of my favorite things about our whole trip. We then hung out at the beach all day and jumped in the ocean and body surfed. We had dinner right on the beach and had a feast. After dinner we jumped in the ocean again. We watched the sunset from the ocean.
The day after Christmas we headed to Bombay and then back to Dehli. We had to take trains. The first was 16 hours and then the second was 23 hours. It was like torture. We then got to Dehli and it was freezing cold. Which was better than when we were first in Dehli in September and it was over 100 degrees.
We flew to Hong Kong and had a 9 hour layover. I love the Hong Kong airport. We then caught a plane to the U.K. We landed in London, England, and it was a lot different than India. We hung out with some great people in England for 4 days and celebrated New Year's Eve. I was glad to be in London because it was more like home than anywhere we had been in over 6 months. We explored all the sights in London. I really enjoyed the National Gallary, the Tower Bridge and Big Ben. We spent the night at the airport so we could catch our early morning flight to Iceland. I slept great. It was like camping.
Iceland was cold. We met some nice people who took us on a tour. We saw puffins swimming in the harbor. We went swimming and watersliding at night. The best thing was going to the Blue Lagoon. The Blue Lagoon is a bunch of geothermal pools that you can swim in. It is very hot, but feels great. When we got out I fainted in the shower. The last thing I remember was telling my dad I had to get out because I was hot. The next thing I knew I was lying on a bench and they were giving me Poweraid and chocolate bars. It was cool. I was glad my dad was there to catch me when I fainted. We left Iceland and went back to London. We had a 17 hour layover so we got sleep in the airport again. Lucky us.
We flew to Istanbul, Turkey. It was even colder than Iceland. We exlpored the very old city and saw the Blue Mosque which was great. We also went to the Grand Bazzar. We took a boat and went to the other side of Istanbul. It was a cool old city. From there we caught a bus to Edirne, Turkey, and then onto Bulgaria.
At the border between Bulgaria and Turkey we nearly froze to death as we walked through the snow for over a mile. We caught a bus to Plovdiv, Bulgaria. We saw some cool stuff and got to eat great pizza. We then headed to Sofia, Bulgaria, the capital of the country. It was even colder than Turkey and there was frozen fog that turned everything white. It looked like Narnia with everything covered in frost.
We then caught an all night bus to Sarejevo, Bosnia. We had a short lay over in Serbia. It was not a very comfortable ride. The driver and his two friends were smoking the whole way and smuggled cigarettes across the border. We nicknamed them the 3 Stooges. We got off the bus early in the morning and got the heck out Bosnia. We got another bus to Split, Croatia. This was only a 7 hour ride, but we were tired because we had already been on the bus all night.
We got to Split, an old Roman City built between 200-300 A.D. It was cool. We ate pizza, cheese sticks, and 2 ice creams. We bought a bunch of fruit, but we were too full to eat it. The town which was built around an old palace was like a maze. We explored the city for 2 days and then headed to Italy on another all night bus.
I was turning 11 and did not want to travel all day on my birthday, so we caught an all night bus to Triste, Italy. From there it was only 2 hours more to Venice. Yesterday I turned 11. It was really fun to explore the city of Venice. In the morning we had a great breakfast and then caught the train into the city. I then had the best hot chocolate I have ever had. We saw some cool stuff. Explored the city. We crossed the Grand Canal on bridges. We got lost in the small alleys of Venice. We saw great art work and amazing old buildings. We ate ice cream and chocolate. I got to eat the biggest piece of pizza of my entire life. I got a big chocolate cake and it had candles and everything. My parents sang Happy Birthday as we sat on the steps of a church 100's of years old. We then went to some people's and had the best Italian food ever and ate even more cake. It was the best birthday I have ever had.
Being 11 does not not feel any different than when I was 10. Thanks for all the great Birthday e-mails. It made me good. If anyone else wants to send me an e-mail I won't mind. My e-mail address is Kylearoundtheworld@gmail.com.
We had a great time in Goa, India, and ended up hanging out there for a whole month. It was great and we got to hang out at the beach and jump in the ocean everyday. We also volunteered at the AIDS orphanage. It was sad because they have no parents, but it was also a great experience to spend time there. I got to help a seven year old kid named Mahesh. He could not go to school with the other kids because the sun would irritate his skin. So everyday I got to help him with his homework. It was really cool to be his friend and help him out. When I showed up every morning his eyes would light up which made me feel very good.
Christmas in Goa was very different than at home. I did get a stocking and opened presents before breakfast and went to church, but everything else was different. We went to the AIDS orphange and brought them presents. We watched them play with their toys. They were really happy and were bragging to each other about what they got for Christmas. It was one of my favorite things about our whole trip. We then hung out at the beach all day and jumped in the ocean and body surfed. We had dinner right on the beach and had a feast. After dinner we jumped in the ocean again. We watched the sunset from the ocean.
The day after Christmas we headed to Bombay and then back to Dehli. We had to take trains. The first was 16 hours and then the second was 23 hours. It was like torture. We then got to Dehli and it was freezing cold. Which was better than when we were first in Dehli in September and it was over 100 degrees.
We flew to Hong Kong and had a 9 hour layover. I love the Hong Kong airport. We then caught a plane to the U.K. We landed in London, England, and it was a lot different than India. We hung out with some great people in England for 4 days and celebrated New Year's Eve. I was glad to be in London because it was more like home than anywhere we had been in over 6 months. We explored all the sights in London. I really enjoyed the National Gallary, the Tower Bridge and Big Ben. We spent the night at the airport so we could catch our early morning flight to Iceland. I slept great. It was like camping.
Iceland was cold. We met some nice people who took us on a tour. We saw puffins swimming in the harbor. We went swimming and watersliding at night. The best thing was going to the Blue Lagoon. The Blue Lagoon is a bunch of geothermal pools that you can swim in. It is very hot, but feels great. When we got out I fainted in the shower. The last thing I remember was telling my dad I had to get out because I was hot. The next thing I knew I was lying on a bench and they were giving me Poweraid and chocolate bars. It was cool. I was glad my dad was there to catch me when I fainted. We left Iceland and went back to London. We had a 17 hour layover so we got sleep in the airport again. Lucky us.
We flew to Istanbul, Turkey. It was even colder than Iceland. We exlpored the very old city and saw the Blue Mosque which was great. We also went to the Grand Bazzar. We took a boat and went to the other side of Istanbul. It was a cool old city. From there we caught a bus to Edirne, Turkey, and then onto Bulgaria.
At the border between Bulgaria and Turkey we nearly froze to death as we walked through the snow for over a mile. We caught a bus to Plovdiv, Bulgaria. We saw some cool stuff and got to eat great pizza. We then headed to Sofia, Bulgaria, the capital of the country. It was even colder than Turkey and there was frozen fog that turned everything white. It looked like Narnia with everything covered in frost.
We then caught an all night bus to Sarejevo, Bosnia. We had a short lay over in Serbia. It was not a very comfortable ride. The driver and his two friends were smoking the whole way and smuggled cigarettes across the border. We nicknamed them the 3 Stooges. We got off the bus early in the morning and got the heck out Bosnia. We got another bus to Split, Croatia. This was only a 7 hour ride, but we were tired because we had already been on the bus all night.
We got to Split, an old Roman City built between 200-300 A.D. It was cool. We ate pizza, cheese sticks, and 2 ice creams. We bought a bunch of fruit, but we were too full to eat it. The town which was built around an old palace was like a maze. We explored the city for 2 days and then headed to Italy on another all night bus.
I was turning 11 and did not want to travel all day on my birthday, so we caught an all night bus to Triste, Italy. From there it was only 2 hours more to Venice. Yesterday I turned 11. It was really fun to explore the city of Venice. In the morning we had a great breakfast and then caught the train into the city. I then had the best hot chocolate I have ever had. We saw some cool stuff. Explored the city. We crossed the Grand Canal on bridges. We got lost in the small alleys of Venice. We saw great art work and amazing old buildings. We ate ice cream and chocolate. I got to eat the biggest piece of pizza of my entire life. I got a big chocolate cake and it had candles and everything. My parents sang Happy Birthday as we sat on the steps of a church 100's of years old. We then went to some people's and had the best Italian food ever and ate even more cake. It was the best birthday I have ever had.
Being 11 does not not feel any different than when I was 10. Thanks for all the great Birthday e-mails. It made me good. If anyone else wants to send me an e-mail I won't mind. My e-mail address is Kylearoundtheworld@gmail.com.
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All my belongings
Ready for departure
We're ready
All in the family
My stuff
Room for more in my backpack
