Cochin, India - The water tour

On March 17, 2017, we went to Cochin, India and booked a tour through Norwegian Star. When we got on the bus we sat at the very back and the seats were super bouncy. There are a lot more motorcycles than there are in America. Anyway, Lynn and Julliet (the ladies that play trivia with us) took the tour and we got to sit with them. They are French Canadian.



After the really long ride on the bus, we went on a boat and we saw people doing their laundry and whacking it to make it dry. We also saw a coconut tree with a cage under it so that they would not have to worry about any coconut falling on peoples heads.





I bought a beautiful fan when we were getting on the boat that was made out of peacock feathers.

  

We also saw a bunch of people on their house boats. Did you know why people from Cochin have so many house boats? It is because they used to use it to move rice to other places but then roads got invented and they could deliver it by truck. People bought the rice boats and turned them into houses.

They also had mango trees but they were little tiny green mangos,




We saw rice fields, men making stone walls, an old man fishing, and we got to eat little tiny bananas from the branch and they were really yummy.

There was a big water tower with a very spirally staircase. We also saw a temple.





After 2 peaceful hours on the boat we got eat (YAY!). I had lamb stew, cream of mushroom soup, tandoori chicken, naan bread, peas palak, dal thaduka, green peas in parsley and carrot and pea sauce with spices, We also had watermelon juice that was delicious.

After lunch, we got back the boat and then the bus and saw Chinese fishing nets. We just made it back to the ship before it left.

Germany

On June 12th we went to Germany to meet my German relatives. They live in a small town called Duhren (by Sinsheim). We went to Treina and Michael's house first to meet up with Ursula. Ursula is my Oma's cousin. Michael and Treina have a daughter, Emily, who is 8. Emily and I had lots of fun playing on the trampoline. 

When we first arrived, Ursula took us for a walk to show us where she grew up.

After our walk we went to my Cousin Susanne's house for Caffe. Emily came with us. Caffe is a German meal that is a bunch of desserts (that are always refilled when they run low) that you eat with coffee or, in my case ,water.

After visiting with everyone at Susanne's house, we went back to Michael and Treina's for a BBQ.

Me and Ursula at the BBQ

Giving my relatives the honey that we got them from the market in Freiburg.

                                     My cousin Emily and Ursula going to look at the baby ducks

Watching the meat cook.

Chilling out with my family and the cat.

Me and the cat waiting for the food. 

All of the yummy food.

Especially the pork belly!

Me and my Cousin Emily eating. I think the cat wants some.

Selfie!

Yummy food!

I love cats!

The dog sitting at the table with us. 

Me and Ursula playing Piano Tiles after dinner.

We called my Oma from the BBQ so that everyone could say HI! Sadly, it is the last time I will talk to my Oma, because she passed away the next day. But, the good part is, everyone got to talk to her - and I know that made her very happy.

Ursula talking to my Oma (Grandma) on the phone

Interview with a Luthier

 Katarina : What is your name ?

Jurg: My name is Jurg Leibacher

Katarina : Where and when were you born?

Jurg :I was born in  Zurich ,Switzerland on May 11,1958

Katarina: How far is that from Colmar ?

Jurg: It is 1-2 hours away from Colamar

Katarina: Did you have any brothers or sisters ?

Jurg: Yes I have 1 sister

Katarina: What was your favorite thing about school ?

Jurg: I loved Music

Katarina: What was your first job ?

Jurg: Working in an office and bookkeeping. But I did not like it

Katarina: What is your favorite place to visit ?

Jurg: Venice. I love it because it feels like time has just suddenly stopped and your walking through history.

Katarina: How long have you been a luthier

Jurg: I've been a luthier for 30 years

Kataarina: Do you repair violins ?  

Jurg: Yes. I also repair Cellos, Violas and Basses

Katarina: Do you make other instruments besides violins ?

Jurg: Yes. Violas, but just repairs on Cellos

Katarina: How long does it take to make a violin ?

Jurg: 1 1/2 months

Katarina: How much does it cost to make a violin ?

Jurg: 10,000 Euros  ( In U.S dollars it's $11,370.50)

Katarina: What is your favorite thing about your job ?

Jurg: Building an instrument. Or restoring an instrument that is 200 years old. and I can not name all of them because i love my job

Florence - The big steak in the window

One night in Florence, Italy we went to dinner at La Buchetta Firenze. It had a big steak in the middle of the kitchen. So we had to order steak! 

They brought it to the table before they cooked it.

The steak was very good, but the best thing we had was the Mozzarella. It was awesome! The one above the tomatoes was Fior de Latte (cows milk), then continuing too the right -Bufalo (fresh buffalo milk), Burrata, and Stacciatella (from the inside of a great big burrata).

They must have been collecting corks for years because they have them everywhere, even the kitchen. The best part of all is you can write on the wall on little wooden circles.

I drew TOPOLINO which is what they call Mickey Mouse in Italy.



INTERESTING FACT: Mickey Mouse's name was originally Mortimer and Minnie Mouse's name was originally Minerva.

Florence - Cold, Wet Gelato Festival

We went to the Gelato Festival in Florence on a cold and rainy day. The weather was horrible, but the worst part was that the Gelato Festival was closed - not because of the rain, but because the generators weren't working so they couldn't make the gelato.

However, there was a demonstration and it was in a covered area, so we went to watch. The guy spoke all in Italian, so I have no idea what he was saying, but he made the BEST strawberry gelato I have ever tasted.







The generators started working, so we waited another hour until they reopened the Festival. My mom had used Groupon to get the ticket and the ticket didn't work so we had to find someone to help us.My Mom was supposed to go online to activate the Groupon, but since it was written in Italian, she didn't know. Fortunately, they let us in anyway.

There were 14 different kinds of Gelato to taste and 8 were in the competition.

           

My favorite was Buontalenti, but I ate so much of it that I don't like it anymore - boo! Buontalenti wasn't part of the competition because it was last year's winner. My favorite of the flavors in the competition was Sambuco.

At the end of the day we were all so sick of gelato that we didn't think we would ever eat it again. Since it has taken me a while to write this blog post, I can tell you that I definitely still like to eat gelato!