Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Places I want to go: China

Places I want to go: Russia

Image result for st basil basilicaRussia has always been on my bucket list. I have really wanted to see the St. Basil Basilica. It is so beautiful with all the colors. St. Basil's Basilica is the prettiest church I have seen in my whole entire life. 


Image result for russian fur hat




They supposedly have fur hats, too, that almost everybody wears. 



I had a good friend whose mom was born in Russia. She taught me a some Russian words and she went to Russia last year. My dad went to Russia when he when he was 15 with his family and he loved the art museums in St. Petersburg. 

Image result for hermitage st petersburg

Maybe someday I will get to go to Russia.

Why I love cruising

I love cruising! My favorite part about it are the sea days. Although I do love formal nights.  The cruise that we are going on next year has an ice skating rink. I also love to ice skate. I go to the ice skating rink in our town every December. 

I absolutely love to go swimming! I could spend all day at the pool if I was allowed to. On the last cruise that we went on they had a water slide at the pool and I went on it a lot and a practiced on going really fast.  The pool is where I met most of my friends. 


The great thing about about cruising with our family is my Dad can watch movies in the room and my Mom and I can go out and do activities, like trivia. It is also where you can meet people from around the world like the crew or the passengers. 


This trip they had wii on the cruise and I liked playing wii tennis. But our trivia team liked playing bowling and I got pretty good at that too. We had a guy on our trivia team named Nick and he got really good at strikes. But I beat Nick every time at tennis.  Nick and I also arm wrestled, he beat me, but was surprised at how strong I am



One of the many awesome parts about cruising is that most of the restaurants are free so you have a lot of options. We went to most of the restaurants but our favorite was Cagney's Steakhouse. When we went there I would ask if I could have some Brazillian cheese rolls from Moderno  which is my favorite food on the whole ship. 

My mom likes doing the Martini and Mojito and Magarita tastings and my dad is a light weight so he did not drink much at the tastings. The bartender was very friendly so he made me a Virgin strawberry Mojito and it was really yummy. 

Salalah

When we were in Salalah we took an Arabian Heritage tour. One of the most interesting things that we saw on the tour were the ruins of the city of Samhuram, which was part of the Frankincense Trail. Some people even say that the Queen of Sheba had a Palace in Samhuram. I did some research on the Queen of Sheba and this is my favorite story: The Queen of Sheba was one of the most powerful women in her time. The Queen of Sheba got a letter from King Solomon that commanded her do come to him as his subject. So she sent him all her ships loaded with nice gifts and 6,000 babies born in the same hour that were clothed in purple garments. She said that she would come in 3 years (but the journey usually took 7 years). When she finally arrived she went to King Solomon's palace and she thought his glass floor was a pool of water. So she lifted up the hem of her dress and showed her hairy legs and he told her it a glass floor. My Mom did some research and she can't confirm that the Queen of Sheba had a palace there, but the ruins were still very interesting.







Almost at the end of the tour we saw the grave of Mohamed Bin Ali, a Muslim Scholar. There was a bunch of graves around it because people like to be buried close to him and there was quite a few babies. 





We got coconut's at the end of the tour and they cut them open so when we were done drinking them we could eat all the meat. Man the coconut's meat and the juice was amazing.


 We drove back to the ship and we saw camels walking on the side of the highway!

Fujairah

If I had a million dollars...

If I had a million dollars where would I go? I could do A LOT of travelling with $1,000,000, I could take my friend on a 50 day cruise and go to Paris and London with her too! We could also go to Russia and Australia. I have a couple friends from the cruise that are from Australia. 

But, I have a better idea! I could invest it into Treasury Bonds and I would get $30,000 a year to travel and then I would get my million dollars back after 30 years. I could do a lot of travelling with $30,000. Here is an example of a trip that my friend and I could take with part of the $30,000:

Take a plane from Oakland to London on November 25: $490 dollar (for both) 10 hours and 10 minutes
Stay in Maidstone for 5 nights: $571
Take the Chunnel to Paris: $167
Stay in Paris for 6 nights: $1,229
Fly to Rome: $76
Stay in Rome for 4 nights: $321
Take a train from Rome to Florence: $47
Stay in Florence for 3 nights: $236
Fly to London from Florence: $102
Then take a flight to San Francisco: $3,612

The grand total is $6,749. If you split the costs in half for 2 people it would be: $3,374.50

It took me 3 hours to figure all of it out. This does not include food or going to see plays in London. I really enjoyed doing this and I hope that this trip can really happen with my friend and me.

Big Ben




 The day saw the Tower we thought it was called the Big Ben but we took a boat tour and they said that it was called Elizabeth Tower and that the bell was called Big Ben not the tower. 



Did you know that the bell is called Big Ben and the tower was officially called Elizabeth Tower this year because of the queens 60th year on the throne? 


Did you know that the Elizabeth tower is 315 feet tall (96 meters)?

The sad part is that if you want to look inside of the Elizabeth Tower you have to be a UK citizen. The Big Ben bell is a once repeating 2 notes and it does that 4 times with different notes. We looked at the Elizabeth Tower from a pub while my Mom and Dad had drinks. I had the best view (because no people were walking in my view) I could not see anything else just the tower. It was great for looking at the details like the clock and where the hands were.









Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Comparing Cruise Lines

We have been on 4 different cruise lines since we started cruising in 2014. 


Disney - Magic

We went on the Magic and it was my first cruise.We went from Fort Lauderdale, Florida to Barcelona, Spain. It was a 14 night cruise. We thought that the Disney cruise was spectacular. Everything was perfect and the kids club was really cool. 

passengers 2,700
crew 945
length 984 feet
speed 21.5 knots

Royal Caribbean - Serenade of the Seas 

We enjoyed cruising so much that we went on another cruise later that same year (2014). It was a 7 day cruise that started and ended in New Orleans and went through the Caribbean. The Royal Caribbean ship had a really good basketball court my Dad and I played every night. 

passengers 2,490
crew 891
length 965 feet
speed 25 knots

Holland America - Eurodam

In the Spring of 2016 we went on another Trans-Atlantic cruise from Florida to Barcelona - this time on Holland America. My favorite spot on the Eurodam was the Crow's Nest. There were a bunch of windows and a bunch of seating it was beautiful to look at and it was where we played trivia and other games during the cruise.. 

passengers 2,104
crew 929
length 935 feet
speed 22 knots

Norwegian - Star

In the Spring of 2017 we went around the world. We flew from California to Singapore, then got on the Norwegian Star. We went from Singapore to Venice, through the Suez Canal. We really liked the buffet on the Norwegian Star because they served food from wherever you were visiting so when we were in India we got to eat Indian food in the buffet and when we were in Greece we got to eat Greek food. The people on Norwegian were also really nice.

passengers 2,348
crew 1,100
length 965 feet
speed 24.6 knots

We are already planning our next cruise and it will be on Royal Caribbean again, but this time on the Mariner of the Seas. I can hardly wait!

Jump Shots

We like taking jump shots all around the world. We started taking jump shots in Barcelona 2 years ago. It took my dad forever to take the picture, but it is a really cool picture. 



I did not really like taking the jump shot pictures because it felt like everybody was looking at me and my dad was taking a really long  time.  I have jumped in front of the Queen Elizabeth Tower, also known as "Big Ben", The coliseum and the Eiffel Tower. 


My mom and I did a jump shot when we were walking in Lucca, Italy (between Pisa and Florence). Now the thing is my mom can't really jump so when my dad took the picture it looks like my mom is levitating. She is jumping up probably 1 inch from the grass. 




 I also took a jump shot in Goa, India on the beach. 

My favorite jump shot was when we went to see the musical, School of Rock, in London There was a huge poster at the theater of a guy jumping up with his guitar, so that is what I did with my air guitar. 



Like I told you, when we first started doing jump shots my dad took forever but since we have taken so many he does not take as long. I am very grateful that we do jump shots. They are really fun!

Crazy Foods!

Since we travel a lot I have eaten some amazing foods and very crazy foods too. I will try anything once, but I don't always like it!
 
Duck Tongue
Duck tongue I would not have tried but my dad did not tell me what it was and said that I should try it. I did not really like it at all.

Baby Eel
We had baby eel in Barcelona at a pintxo place. My mom had the whole baby eel but I only had a bite. It was really slimy. 

Vegemite
I had Vegemite today and it was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I looked up how Aussie's have it. They said that you have to have the bread toasted and spread margerine ( we had butter on it) and then spread a thin layer of Vegemite on it. Vegemite is a paste that Aussie's spread on there toast it is very salty but still very good. 

Shark Fin Soup
The shark fin soup was salty. But it was not really memorable

Tripe (cows stomach)
I love tripe! It is cows stomach and we have it at dim sum. When I first had it I described it as gummy bears with soy sauce. The tripe is very chewy but very flavorful and with the soy sauce and some spice it is amazing.

Durian
Technically, I haven't tried this yet. My dad and I really want to try it and we looked all over for it in the markets in Malaysia and Thailand, but it was the wrong season. But a guy on the ship overheard me saying that I wanted to try it and he gave me a piece of chocolate covered durian to try. It was okay, but I still want to try the real durian.


Things To Do On The Road

A part huge part of traveling is being on the road or in the air or the train tracks. People say It's not about the Destination It's About the Journey to get there. So this blog post is going to be about how to make the Journey as good as  the destination. 

1. A great thing to do in the car is read. but if you are feeling a bit queasy then look out the car window. The longest I have been in a car is 6 hours and that is the best way to do it.

2. Snapchat is great for cars, trains or planes. if you don't have it I really recommend it. 

3. For trains I suggest cards it is really good for passing 2-3 hours. My mom and I enjoy playing cards. Our favorite is crazy 8's. 

4. For planes I like watching movies and TV shows. We took a 17 hour plane flight and that is practically all I did for the whole flight.

5. Coloring is good for kind of transportation. Adult coloring books are very popular right now and those are the best because they are usually random designs that you can make into whatever you want.

6. Listening to 80's music in the car, on a train, on the plane. 80's music is great anywhere.

7.  If you have internet or a guidebook, you can read about the place that you are going.

8.  Google Hangouts is almost like Skype, except it is free. You have to have internet and you want to be sure not to disturb the people around you. It won't work in the car because you have to have internet. 

9.  We have this game for when we are traveling by car. You start with the letter A and you say A my name is ( a name that starts with an A) and  you say my husbands name is ( a name that starts with an A). Then you say we live in ( a place that starts with an A) and we sell (something that starts with an A that is a thing). You go all the way to Z and if you have more than 2 people it is super fun!

10. Another fun car game is the license plate game. You look at the license plates around you and look at the state that it comes from and see if you can get all 50! This is also a fun game if you are walking through a really big parking lot.

I don't think I have ever said "Are we there yet?" (except as a joke) I always have something to keep me entertained.

Monday, May 29, 2017

Kid's Reunion

This is the trip that probably had the most kids. 

In Florence we met met Bernardo (9) and Beatrice(6). We met Beatrice and Bernardo a year ago but today we met them at Antica gelatiria. Then we had a picnic at a park we had buffalo mozzerella and tomatoes and of course bread. I gave them each a frisbee and they both loved them.


In Rome I met Isabella 1 year ago.This we went out to dinner with them at the same place we did last time. I brought my phone with me and she loved playing snapchat. Her favorite filter is the dog where if you stick out your tongue it looks like a dog tongue. In London we saw  


After Rome we went to Germany and I had a 2 night sleepover with my cousin, Emily.




Josh who we met 2 years ago in Paris at a park. This year we met him in England. We spent almost the whole weekend with them and we had an awesome time. Josh bought a blue vibrant sweatshirt from Hype his favorite store. We had dinner with them at a Morrocan place. Josh and I have never seen a belly dancer before but we did that night - one word wow. The next morning we had Dim-Sum we got a whole duck it was yummy. we went to these really cool fountains today and yesterday.  They go up and down so when you run through them you don't know if they will go up.


Swimming in a Fjord

In Khasab, Oman we took a boat trip shore excursion to see the fjords. It was raining and the seat cushions were all wet. When we were on the boat we saw dolphins! They were pretty small glimpses, but we saw them.  On the boat there was lots of yummy fruit I ate a lot of banana's! They also had a really good sweet Omani tea.

 Once we got to the fjord, I went swimming with  my friends Craig and Kathleen and we had a lot of fun. The fjord was surprisingly warm. Kathleen and Craig swam all the way to the end, but I did not have shoes on and I did not want to get poked by a sea urchin so i did not go. 



After swimming in the fjord we headed back to the Cruise ship. It was raining really, really, really hard and the boat ride got really rocky so I just curled up in my dad's lap and fell asleep. Then I got woken up by him and we had to get off the boat. We went on the morning boat tour and it was really raining. So the afternoon one got canceled. 





Communicating with People Around the World

When we travel and I meet other kids, I like to keep in touch. I used to ask for their address, but it always took so long to send and receive a letter. Now I keep in touch electronically. Here are some of the things that I use (or know of) to keep in touch...

Gmail - email is the best way to keep in touch. I have learned the hard way that you don't want to wait until the last day to get an email address. I am writing emails to friends in Australia, England, Germany, and across the United States.

Google Hangouts -  it is like texting, but free and you can video chat. Google Hangouts is connected to Gmail.

Facebook - I do not have a Facebook account but my mom and dad do and they have friends all around the world. Sometimes they also become Facebook friends with the parents of my friends.

Facetime - I don't really use it but I have heard that people really like it. It is very similar to Google Hangouts.

Snapchat  - is a really fun way to communicate. You just have to get their username and you can send funny pictures.

Whatsapp - I know a lot of people who use it but I have not tried it yet  When we are travelling, a lot of people ask us if we use Whatsapp so my parents are researching it as an option.



L'AS du FALLAFEL




L'AS du FALLAFELl has the best fallafels in Paris and maybe even the world. In case you don't know, a fallafel is a Middle Eastern dish made of spiced, mashed chickpeas that is deep fried.  




L'AS dy FALLAFEL is really popular and they have a really long line when you walk up, but it goes really fast. It is almost like fast food but better quality. You can get it to go or you can sit down in their restaurant, which is what we always do. In the restaurant, there are a bunch of tv's that have a demo on how they make their fallafels. They make tons of fallafels in a big batch and they show you how they fry them. The video is super cool. 



I also had mango juice which was very refreshing! We got a lamb shwarma and a side of 10 fallafels. We also got some hummus and pita. Everything was  so yummy.