From Deb
First day in Istanbul spent at the Basilica Cistern, the Grand Bazaar, the Hagia Sophia, and the Blue Mosque. Record-breaking city touring. We are pros.
The bummer is that, although we have good internet here, our main computer has frozen up on us. It's the only thing we've got for downloading our photos from our camera. So, no new pics for the blog. Just imagine us on a Turkish adventure.
One more day here and then we fly to Paris, hang out there for a day, and leave for S. Africa for the month of November.
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Monday, October 21, 2013
BEST FOOD EVER!
By Jonathan
My favorite food in Italy (or the whole world) are these three foods in order: Ravioli, Gnocchi, and Spicy Salami Pizza!
Spicy Salami Pizza is really good everywhere but my favorite Spicy Salami Pizza was at the very first restaurant we went to in Italy. We had just arrived in Rome from Barcelona, Spain and we were all tired and hungry, so we ate at this random restaurant close to our apartment that turned out to have insane pizza! The bread and crust literally tasted like sweet pastry and the cheese was amazing!
Gnocchi was always really tasty and I could trust it because they always made it the same, with tomato and meat sauce (which I didn't mind at all). I love dumplings too and gnocchi is basically mini dumplings with tomatoes and meat sauce. The best gnocchi I have ever had was right next to the Duomo (Big white church) in Milan. I liked it so much because they gave me a ton of gnocchi and some places didn't give me much. It was also really chewy and the tomato and meat sauce was really good.
My all time favorite food is Ravioli! I like it so much because every place serves ravioli with different insides or fillings. Sometimes it's meat, sometimes mushrooms, sometimes spinach and cheese with tomato sauce on top. There are all kinds of different ravioli so it makes it really fun. The only thing I don't like about ravioli is that at some fancy restaurants they give you like four pieces of big fancy ravioli and they think it will fill you up - but it doesn't fill up a 13-year old boy growing like a weed. My favorite ravioli (or food) ever was at this restaurant in Como, Italy. When the ravioli arrived I was really exited because there were 8-10 pieces on the plate. But after eating about two pieces of ravioli I nicknamed it "Death Ravioli" because it was the most filling ravioli ever! Each piece I cut into thirds and the thirds were about the size of a normal piece, so it was basically like having 24-30 pieces of ravioli. It was easily the best ravioli I have ever had and was a perfect portion for a growing 13 year old boy!
I'm really bummed about leaving Italy and the best food in the world. If I ever come back to Europe I will have to come back to Italy and get fat off of Spicy Salami Pizza, Gnocchi, and Ravioli.
Spicy Salami Pizza is really good everywhere but my favorite Spicy Salami Pizza was at the very first restaurant we went to in Italy. We had just arrived in Rome from Barcelona, Spain and we were all tired and hungry, so we ate at this random restaurant close to our apartment that turned out to have insane pizza! The bread and crust literally tasted like sweet pastry and the cheese was amazing!
Gnocchi was always really tasty and I could trust it because they always made it the same, with tomato and meat sauce (which I didn't mind at all). I love dumplings too and gnocchi is basically mini dumplings with tomatoes and meat sauce. The best gnocchi I have ever had was right next to the Duomo (Big white church) in Milan. I liked it so much because they gave me a ton of gnocchi and some places didn't give me much. It was also really chewy and the tomato and meat sauce was really good.
My all time favorite food is Ravioli! I like it so much because every place serves ravioli with different insides or fillings. Sometimes it's meat, sometimes mushrooms, sometimes spinach and cheese with tomato sauce on top. There are all kinds of different ravioli so it makes it really fun. The only thing I don't like about ravioli is that at some fancy restaurants they give you like four pieces of big fancy ravioli and they think it will fill you up - but it doesn't fill up a 13-year old boy growing like a weed. My favorite ravioli (or food) ever was at this restaurant in Como, Italy. When the ravioli arrived I was really exited because there were 8-10 pieces on the plate. But after eating about two pieces of ravioli I nicknamed it "Death Ravioli" because it was the most filling ravioli ever! Each piece I cut into thirds and the thirds were about the size of a normal piece, so it was basically like having 24-30 pieces of ravioli. It was easily the best ravioli I have ever had and was a perfect portion for a growing 13 year old boy!
I'm really bummed about leaving Italy and the best food in the world. If I ever come back to Europe I will have to come back to Italy and get fat off of Spicy Salami Pizza, Gnocchi, and Ravioli.
Terezin (in the Czech Republic)
by Daniel
We went to Terezin just out
of Prague with my grandparents, the town was used as a concentration camp in
World War 2.
15,000 Jewish children were
sent to Terezin and only 100 survived. When the Red Cross came to inspect the
camp the Nazis fixed it up to make it look good but it really was terrible.
Escape
Terezin has walls all around
it that are 20 feet high. Jonathan and I
were thinking that even without the guards it was basically impossible to
escape. Less than 5 people escaped but many tried.
Cells
We went into a hallway with
tons of cells on the right. There was one cell that was clean and our dad put
us in it and asked us what it was like we said ‘’dark, depressing, small,’’ the
cells were 8 by 5 feet. Sometimes there
were 15 people in a cell and it was so tight that they had to sleep standing
up.
Showers
Probably the saddest thing
was the showers because the Nazis wanted the Jewish people to get used to
taking showers in the open so when they went to Auschwitz they wouldn’t fuss
because they would want a shower. The gas chambers looked like the showers but
when they turned on the water gas came out.
Before we went to the camp we
went to a museum that had kids drawings that they did in the camp and that just
made me feel disgusted. It also made me wonder why Hitler hated Jewish people.
A couple days after seeing the camps I had nightmares.
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Update -- Oct. 21
From Deb
We are at a beach town in southern Turkey for a week, catching up on homework and just relaxing. October has been busy, going from Milan to Prague to Milan to Venice to Milan to Athens and now here.
After our week here in Kas we will spend two full days in Istanbul and then will head to South Africa for a month.
We have good internet here, so expect some new blog updates in the next few days.
We are at a beach town in southern Turkey for a week, catching up on homework and just relaxing. October has been busy, going from Milan to Prague to Milan to Venice to Milan to Athens and now here.
After our week here in Kas we will spend two full days in Istanbul and then will head to South Africa for a month.
We have good internet here, so expect some new blog updates in the next few days.
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
The Bull
By David (from time in Ronda, Spain in September)
The bull charges out into the arena with a ferocity that sends even the bravest matadors cowering behind their blockades. Snorting and stomping as it charges at their paper-thin defenses; the bull is terrible and beautiful at the same time. The matadors step out from behind their wooden armor, but only on the opposite side of the arena, and stay just long enough to infuriate the bull even further. Slowly, ever so slowly, the bull wears down. Finally some matadors even are daring enough to play a game of cat and mouse with the bull, swinging their long pink capes back and forth, coaxing the bull to charge and stabbing short, jagged, and colorful knives into its flank. Only when the bull is worn down to a phantom of its former self, does the real matador come out. With a toy sword and a smaller, brighter cape, he tempts the bull into a beautiful dance that can only lead to death. Sending the bull in circles around himself, the matador is playing with a force too powerful to handle and finally gets struck. The bull throws him into the air and the matador rolls over its back to fall on the ground beside him. Covered in the red blood of the bull, the matador crawls on his back away from the bull as his fellow matadors distract the bull with yet more capes. Gathering his sword and cape from the sand of the arena, he faces the bull again. More twirls of his cape and the bull is back to chasing his impossible prize. With great ceremony, he exchanges his dull toy sword with an actual sword and prepares for the inevitable. He raises his sword and as the bull charges again, he jumps forward and plunges his sword into its collar, sinking to the hilt. The bull runs past the matador and turns around before swaying. Once so ferocious and terrifying, the bull suddenly becomes as weak as an old dog, walking towards the matador but unable to chase him. Slowly, the bull lowers itself to its knees and lies down, too weak to move. Finally more matadors come out and mercifully stab the bull with a short knife in the back of the neck, severing its spinal cord. The bull, who thirty minutes before ran mad about the arena full of life, is now reduced to a shattered husk that has to be pulled out by horses. Only five minutes later, a brand new bull is introduced, and it starts all over.
The bull charges out into the arena with a ferocity that sends even the bravest matadors cowering behind their blockades. Snorting and stomping as it charges at their paper-thin defenses; the bull is terrible and beautiful at the same time. The matadors step out from behind their wooden armor, but only on the opposite side of the arena, and stay just long enough to infuriate the bull even further. Slowly, ever so slowly, the bull wears down. Finally some matadors even are daring enough to play a game of cat and mouse with the bull, swinging their long pink capes back and forth, coaxing the bull to charge and stabbing short, jagged, and colorful knives into its flank. Only when the bull is worn down to a phantom of its former self, does the real matador come out. With a toy sword and a smaller, brighter cape, he tempts the bull into a beautiful dance that can only lead to death. Sending the bull in circles around himself, the matador is playing with a force too powerful to handle and finally gets struck. The bull throws him into the air and the matador rolls over its back to fall on the ground beside him. Covered in the red blood of the bull, the matador crawls on his back away from the bull as his fellow matadors distract the bull with yet more capes. Gathering his sword and cape from the sand of the arena, he faces the bull again. More twirls of his cape and the bull is back to chasing his impossible prize. With great ceremony, he exchanges his dull toy sword with an actual sword and prepares for the inevitable. He raises his sword and as the bull charges again, he jumps forward and plunges his sword into its collar, sinking to the hilt. The bull runs past the matador and turns around before swaying. Once so ferocious and terrifying, the bull suddenly becomes as weak as an old dog, walking towards the matador but unable to chase him. Slowly, the bull lowers itself to its knees and lies down, too weak to move. Finally more matadors come out and mercifully stab the bull with a short knife in the back of the neck, severing its spinal cord. The bull, who thirty minutes before ran mad about the arena full of life, is now reduced to a shattered husk that has to be pulled out by horses. Only five minutes later, a brand new bull is introduced, and it starts all over.
Friday, October 4, 2013
Cars in Milan
From Jonathan
We went to Milan thinking it was the fashion capitol of the world. Little did we know that it was the Capitol of something else. We climbed to the top of the Duomo, a giant Gothic church. We had lunch and coffee and then decided to go window-shopping. As I was looking into the window of a wrist-watch shop I heard a low rumble coming from the street that sounded like a car. I turned around and sure enough there was a red Ferrari driving down the street revving its engine. We all went nuts and took pictures and thought we were incredibly lucky. But almost right away we saw a black Lamborghini. We freaked out all over again, and took more pictures. Soon we’d seen a Porsche then another Ferrari and I started to wonder whether Milan was just a fashion capitol for clothing.
By the end of the day we’d seen 6 Ferrari’s, 10-15 Porsches, a Lamborghini, a Bentley, a Maserati, and a Lotus. We noticed that not only were these guys driving the cars but they were showing them off. We saw the first red Ferrari with the same bald man driving around the same block and making sure he was noticed.
Late in the afternoon we went to a coffee shop. Mom and Dad people-watched while David, Daniel and I could car-watch. When we would see a nice car we would jump out of our seats and chase it down with our IPod touches so we could get pictures. By the end of the day we had seen so many exotic cars that when we saw a Porsche we just said “Hey look, another Porsche.” I have decided that Milan isn’t just a fashion capitol for clothing – it’s also a fashion capitol for exotic cars.
 |
| Ferrari |
 |
| Lotus, Porsche, Ferrari |
 |
| Ferrari |
 |
| Lotus |
 |
| Ferrari |
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Cliff jumping
From Daniel
My dad told me to think about where I would want to live and
I said Cinque Terre.
Cinque Terre means
five towns, and every single one is built on the side of the mountains and
right on the Mediterranean. And I’m going to tell you why I want to live there.
We took a train to the second town then took a boat to the
last town. The boat was really fun
because we passed the two towns before the last one and we could see tons of
cliffs and caves. When we got to the
last town we could see all the towns which was awesome. We had lunch at a
restaurant that was on the beach. The
beach had colored umbrellas that were all the same which was funny if you saw
it from above. It turned out that we had to pay to use the beach so we did and
got nice beach chairs. Then we saw a big rock that was in the water and yelled
‘’Cliff jumping!’’ Jonathan and I jumped in and swam out to the rock and
climbed up. We waited for our dad to
check and see where the bottom was. He
came up and told us it was ok so we jumped off!
Once we got used to it we started doing dives and flips. It
was so fun that we spent our whole afternoon there. When we had to leave the
tide was bringing in jellyfish so we had to avoid them. After we were all ready
to go we decided to go on the hike to the next town. In Seattle I had seen a
cliff jumping video of some guys jumping of a bridge. On the hike to the next
town we saw the place exactly where they jumped off which was cool because you
don’t get to do that every day.
Cinque Terre has beautiful views, great cliff jumping, and
amazing beaches… And that’s why I want to live there.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)