A Snowshill Manor Trip

Today we drove to a manor house called Snowshill Manor which was owned by a man who liked to collect expensive, old, and beautiful things.

There were all sorts of old toys, weapons, armour, ship models, jewellery, Chinese cabinets, model solar systems, and so many more different marvellous things.

Me with samurai helmet

My favourite room was a small room which had very little light and whole suits of samurai armour. There was also creepy low-note music playing a bit like the empire theme tune from Star Wars. 

Felt like putting two heavily loaded
stamp albums over my head

The last time I went there the samurai were lined up and they had red lights in the eye holes that made them look like they were possessed or alien—something like that. This time the same samurai were around a model camp fire and a few standing up at the sides of the room. The samurai had no red eyes. Instead of playing creepy music there was the sound of wind, armour clanking against a body, galloping horses hooves, and someone saying something in Japanese.   

A Mostly Inside Day

Yesterday we stayed inside for most of the day.

We only went out to go shopping at Tesco and to go have a traditional English tea.

For tea I had freshly made apple pie, warm, with custard.

It tasted great.

In the afternoon I played a board game called QUORIDOR with Helen. She took it easy on me and I took advantage and beat her.

Off To England!

Yesterday we had another big buffet breakfast in our hotel in Thessaloniki and then caught a taxi to the airport in Thessaloniki and got a EasyJet flight to England.

To get to the plane we had to get a shuttle bus.

The flight was nice the seats were comfy and the food was all right.

When we got to England we caught a big bus to Oxford.

When we got to Oxford we waited at the station where we got off for Uncle Stuart to pick us up in his old car which smells a bit like a farm yard.

When he picked us up he drove us to Blockley where his house was that we were staying at.

I had a nice big comfy double bed all to my self and I had a pleasant rest.

A Grand Day Out

Today we went to the middle floor of the hotel and had a nice big American buffet breakfast I had a boiled egg, some bacon, a few small sausage pieces, a few small cakes, and some home made apple pie.

We went back to our room and got ready for a trip to the beach. We took two buses to get there.

On the second bus we didn't get any seats and a rude old lady insisted on putting her folded up beach umbrella behind where we were standing. We argued with her and did our crossest looks and she went off.

One person shoved their chest into me. Just my rotten luck.

Finally we reached the beach. We sat on the board walk and I had a mega chocolate milkshake. After that I felt like I had gone to K.F.C. and eaten one of the mega burgers plus a large plate of fries with extra salt and ketchup. 

First I dug a hole with my M&M beaker (which I got for free back in Amersfoort when I went to see Despicable Me 2) to put my feet in.

I got tired of that eventually and tried building a sand castle with my M&M beaker instead but it toppled over so I tried using sand which wasn't as wet but that toppled over, too, so I quit making sand castles.

I decided to go swimming for a bit. I saw a few fish with orange stripes. The fish were about as big as a small Snickers bar [Marathon bar to older Europeans. Ed.]. Also there were some tiny little lizard things that were sand coloured and seemed to teleport whenever you tried to catch one. I think they lived in tiny holes that I saw in the shallow areas on the sandy ocean floor. Also there were small forests of thin slippery weeds. I think that's what the striped fish feed on.  

After a little while I took my beaker and went treasure-hunting for shells and that sort of thing. 

This is Hermit Ville II

At one point I saw one of the shells moving. It turned out to be a hermit crab. I put him back in the water and went swimming a little more, then I decided to make Hermit Ville II (see posts in Los Roques from last year).

I filled the beaker with sea water and a few grains of sand. Soon the bucket was nearly full and the crabs were having an every crab for himself fist fight (or should I say claw fight).

Then we went to the boardwalk and had lunch. We shared fries, fried calamari, fried anchovies, and a salad. I had orange juice and water to drink. The fried things were cooked perfectly and the salad was nice and fresh.

We stayed a bit longer. I built Hermit Ville III and Hermit Ville IV right next to each other. Some crabs got transferred from one settlement to another and the fight was even harder in the III and IV settlements than in the second one. 

Hermit Ville III (left) and IV (right)

Unfortunately all the settlements fell to ruin and it was as important history as the fall of the Roman Empire or the invention of lemon-scented paper napkins.

The second one fell because I had to have lunch. The third one fell because we had to go home and the fourth one fell because of a rather forceful tiny wave.

   

Car Ride To Thessaloniki

Today we got into a car by the front door to go to Thessaloniki. A town in Greece. The car was nice and big. Our driver managed to get us us the borders very quickly. We saw a lot of luscious green valleys which was surprising because we hadn't seen a single cloud. We also saw a lot of old abandoned factories and a solar farm.

We checked into our hotel and went out for lunch.

When lunch was over we had a small rest in the hotel and went out for a walk.

While we were walking we saw a building which had been infested with swallows.

We stopped for a cold drink and found a restaurant shortly afterwards.

Going To See A Monastery

Saint Pantelejmon Monastery

Today we went to see a monastery. We walked a bit of the way and went by taxi for another bit. It was called St. Pantelejmon. It had light blue roof tops. While we were just getting out of the car a herd of goats went out of the door of the courtyard leading to the church.

When we got in we noticed it had lots of frescoes which looked a little faded and not very well looked after.

One fresco at the top showed a person who had no face.

Talk about blank faced.

We went to a restaurant near the monastery and I had a small smoked chicken kebab and some french fries.

We walked a way down the hill and saw all different types of weird fruit trees.

We stopped at some small fountains to rub water on our

selves. It was marvellously refreshing.

Later we brought some sweet orange juice from a small shop about half way down the hill.

When we got to the main road at the bottom of the hill we flagged down a taxi to get home.

Also I saw some bright red painted London-
style double-decker buses apparently made in China! Seriously can you believe that! London style double decker buses made in China!

Déjà Vu Train Ride To Macedonia

Yesterday we had another train ride that was ten hours long train ride. There wasn't much to do and it was a few minutes late.

When we got to Skopje in Macedonia we got a taxi to our apartment.

The apartment was huge it had a fully equipped kitchen, two big bedrooms, a giant living room, and a big balcony.

Afterwards we went to a near by mall and went into a place called The Dish. (There is also a restaurant                    
in Vancouver BC called the same thing.)

A Great Day

Today we went to a hotel and had a big hotel breakfast. I had srambled eggs, salty bacon, a small heart-shaped waffle, a sausage, a small chocolate chip muffin, an orange, a chocolate doughnut, and a small type of cake. 

We went to some fortifications after breakfast and saw some giant tanks and cannons. There was a funny tank which had blue-and-white camouflage.

Attack!

Most of the fortifications I have seen on this trip were made of stone but these fortifications were made of brick.

We went to a nearby zoo and saw birds of prey, brightly coloured budgies, an elephant, a very energetic marten, two or three leopards, a lion, a siberian tiger, a lot of ferocious snakes, a grumpy looking alligator, and lots more animals. 

We had lunch and went home afterwards and had a break.

An All-Day Train Ride

Today we got a all-day train to Belgrade in Serbia. We went through the mountains and through an uncountable amount of tunnels. It was very crowded, there was no aircon, and there was the disgusting smell of people smoking in the aisles between the compartments even though there was no smoking allowed. I think smoking is disgusting and uncivilized. 

The train was covered in graffiti. At one point it was very crowded. 

A long while later the engine broke down and we were delayed for three hours.

Eventually we got off the train tired and hungry. I was a bit cross.

We walked to our apartment and hit the hay almost as soon as we got there.

One Day in Bar

Two days ago we gave the apartment back and got on a bus to a small place called Bar where we had rented a two-star apartment.

We checked into the apartment and went out for lunch. I had a ham-and-cheese sandwich with pita bread instead of regular bread.

After lunch we went back to the apartment and had a rest.

We went to the beach afterwards but it wasn’t very nice because it was just pebbles and the sea was too cold to go in. 

Later after drying off and changing we went out for dinner.

A Day-Trip to Albania

Three days ago we got a rental car and drove into Albania.

It was really hot and sweaty and the sun was scorching.

After a bit of driving we got to the border. It took a long while to cross the border and it was exhausting.

Eventually we got to Albania and had lunch. After lunch was over we drove up a big hill and saw a giant castle. According to the guide book it would close just as we got up. My dad wanted to go up there just to get annoyed. I told him that there was no point in it but we went up and surprisingly we got in. 

A lot of it was in ruins but there were some great veiws.

Afterwards we drove to the old town. Most of the shops were closed, also there was hardly any noise at all. We walked around a bit and then we found a gelateria and I had a double-scoop ice cream cone with banana and chocolate. After the ice cream we went to see a bell tower that was slightly pink.

We drove home after that.

A Church Island Trip

Two days ago we woke up early and got a five-minute-long boat ride in a small white boat to a man-made island with a church on it. The church was small and it had baby-blue-coloured tower tops.

We couldn't go into the nave because there was a service. 

While were waiting we had a look at the exterior of the church and heard the bells ring.

I looked off the island and saw some small fish which swam in big groups called schools. There were some bigger fish as long as a ketchup bottle with the lid off that swam in twos or threes. Also I saw a stone table with the legs made of carved stone figures holding up the table with their backs and their mouths cupped in a sort of oval shape.

After a while we were able to go in the nave. Unfortunately we ended up having more bad luck. There were two big tour groups so it was hard to enjoy it with the tour groups pushing and shoving.

There were lots of faded pictures of people reading books.

Afterwards we caught the boat back to the mainland.

I'm so scared.

When we got back to the mainland we walked around a bit and went to a small museum which had some naval weapons. The most interesting thing in there was a sword which was all wavy and looked like it was for ceremonial purposes instead of for fighting. It had some crazy name like the blazing fire sword of doom.

We went back home after that and had a cold drink.

Later we went out and climbed a bell tower.

While we were buying the tickets a lady said to us, 'Please don't ring the bells.' I thought that was a bit funny because wouldn't ringing them lose me ten good years of hearing or more?

In the tower there were a lot of bird droppings.

After looking in the tower we went out for dinner.

Don't look down.

  

Going to Perast And Seeing Kotor

Yesterday we packed up our things and caught a two-hour bus to Perast. I mainly just sat around on the bus and didn't do much.

After we got off the bus the guy who owned the apartment drove us there.

The destroyer

We put our bags in the apartment and drove us to a small nearby town called Kotor where the buildings are made out of white stone. There we had lunch.

After lunch we walked to the maritime museum of Kotor and saw some model ships and weapons.

Then we walked around Kotor for a bit and did some shopping and caught a bus home. While we were walking around we saw a giant clothes line with giant clothes.

No idea what this was about

We went out to dinner when we got home at a nice little outdoor restaurant overlooking the bay and I had stuffed squid tentacles with smoked ham and cheese. The atmosphere was pleasant, it was nice and cool. There were swallows flying around in the sky. Out of a window of a house overlooking the restaurant we saw a little terrier looking out at the view.

Then when we got home I had a bath in a mega bath tub with jets and flashing colour changing lights.

A great view of Perast and the Bay of Kotor

All that was missing was a cocktail or a bottle of beer.
 

'I'm hungry.'

'See any mosquitoes?'

The Day We Hardly Did Anything

Yesterday
we didn't do much we only went out to go see a fort, reclaim my dad's sales tax, and get some ice cream.

First we went to the fort which wasn't very big but we did get some good views and some cannons to sit on and pretend to fire.

When we had finished looking at the fort we walked round the new town to try to reclaim my dad's sales tax.

After a while we gave up and had lunch in a small restaurant.

After lunch we got a bus back to our apartment.

Then we walked to an ice cream place which gives you huge scoops of ice cream. I had a really delicious After Eight flavoured ice cream. I really liked it a lot.

Then we went home and played the Settlers of Catan (the best board game ever).

Long Car Ride And Great Food

Yesterday we rented a car and drove for a long time to Bosnia-Hercegovina because we were going to Mostar. My dad thought it was a good day to get out of town because there were lots and lots of cruise ships and buses. The scenery consisted of large mountains and trees. Sometimes we saw cows and goats on the road! They weren't wild. The fields didn't have fencing.

A short while later we came into Bosnia-Hercegovina turned right and drove out again. Eventually we drove back into Bosnia-Hercegovina and walked around over an old bridge and had lunch at a small white stone restaurant. One thing I noticed was that was some of roofs were made out of stone instead of clay tiles. We sat on the restaurant terrace. Also half of the people are Muslim and half the people are Christian. 

The Old Bridge

I had a four shish kebabs with french fries and pita bread. Just as I was about to tuck into my first shish kebab there was a deafening splash! What happened was some people got paid to dive off the old bridge into the river. The reason they made money was because of the river was shallow and there were sharp jagged rocks. The shish kebab was tasty and the french fries were good but I think there was a bit too much salt. By the way, want to know who invented the shish kebab? The narwhals did (watch the YouTube video Narwhals Song). 

When we had finished our excellent lunch we walked back to the car and drove back to Dubrovnik stopping in a small town for some apple juice. 

When we got back to Dubrovnik we went out to a pizza restaurant for dinner. Despite having a pretty hefty lunch I still managed to eat four between middle and large-sized pieces of pizza. I still haven't got tired of pizza. The pizza was just as yummy as usual.

For dessert we went to an ice cream shop which had one scoop ice creams that were as big as I three scoop ice cream. I had chocolate ice cream and the chocolate was nice, thick and creamy.    

Fortifications And An Old House

Kaboom!

The day before yesterday we walked to Dubrovnik's fortifications and walked along them and got some great views of the harbour and the town. There were a few cannons and I sat on one and pretended to fire it.

When we had finished looking at the fortifications we went to a small maritime museum. They mainly had model ships, portraits of ship captains, and navigation instruments.

After we saw the maritime museum we went to a small nearby café and had some lemonade.

A handy rail

Next we went to the Rector's palace and I saw two interesting things. The first one was that on one of the hand rails on the stairs leading to the top floor the parts holding the bar were carved stone hands. The second was some chests for holding money which had snake shaped metal parts in complicated locking mechanisms.

I told you so

Next we went to a cathedral which had a room filled with leg bones, arm bones, shoulder bones, and skulls in cases shaped like the body parts they were holding. It was really creepy. One box had (supposedly) Jesus's diaper. I am not making this up.

The holy diaper

After a brief lunch we went to the house of a famous Croatian playwright which I thought wasn't very interesting at all.

Just before we went home we went and saw a monastery with a cloister. In the cloister were a few butterflies.

Later I went with my mum to the beach and swam about a bit. It wasn't that much fun because the sea was freezing cold.

Dubrovnik, Here We Come!

Today we packed our bags and got ready for a bus ride to Dubrovnik.

The bus ride was four hours long. Mainly I just read my books and looked out of the window. 

Three quarters into the journey the bus stopped and we had a break.

When we got off the bus the nice lady who owned the apartment we were staying in picked us up in a car and drove to the apartment. 

The apartment was very big and inviting. It looked very comfy.

When we had finished looking about we went out to pizza place. I think pizza in Italy and Croatia is much better then the pizza at home. The best things about the pizza in Italy is that the crust is much thinner and it is much less salty. The secret to a good pizza is a wood-fired oven. 

When we were done eating the delicious pizza we went to a glasses shop and brought a pair of sunglasses for my dad because his old ones got broken. I advised him on what pairs looked cool and which pairs were lame looking.

After buying the sunglasses we walked around a bit and then had a look at the beach. We decided it was worth going to and went back to the apartment to get our beach things. 

My dad looking cool

When we got to the beach I made a fort of big rocks against the waves. It was good exercise because I had to run and lift weights. After half an hour of doing that I went home.  

Going To Trogir

Yesterday we went to the bus station to see if we could get a bus to Trogir, a small old town reached by a bridge with narrow streets of houses made from white limestone. 

The fort at Trogir

We found out that the there weren't any seats available for an hour. So we went to the local bus station and caught a local bus there instead.

The bus ride took a long time and it was quite boring.

When we got to Trogir we walked around a bit and looked at an old run down fortress and climbed the highest tower and got a great view of the town.

When we were done looking at the fortress we went to a small restaurant and had pizza for lunch. The pizza was a little bit salty but it was ok. 

Then we went to the bus station and and caught a bus home after walking around a bit. 

When we got off the bus we went and had ice cream. 

We went back home after the ice cream and had a rest.

Later in the evening we went out for a stroll and had a small pasta dinner, in a friendly restaurant in a small square with someone around the corner playing guitar atrociously.  

We Go And See Roman Things

Did I really climb this?

Today we went to a palace that had been turned into residence that had been built for the Roman emperor Diocletian who ruled for 26 years.

We saw two people dressed up as Roman legionaries.

We went up the bell tower. It was really difficult to climb the bell tower because the steps were really large and steep. It was a fair bit of a hike to get to the top. It was worth the climb because there was a great view and you could see the whole town.

After the bell tower we went to the cathedral but it was really small.

We went to the cathedral's crypt which was nice and cold. It wasn't very interesting but there was a well full of cash.

Even Lucy made it.

The view made it worthwhile.

When we got out of the crypt we sat down and had a drink of water. Meanwhile the man who was letting people into the crypt caught a small lizard and gave it to me to hold. It was a type of lizard which could regrow its tail. The lizard was fine but a little bit of the tail was gone but the tail will grow back.

No lizards were hurt in the
making of this picture

After we saw some under ground tunnels which was basically a mini tourist market.

When we had finished looking at the palace we walked around a bit and found a place called Chop's Grill and I had some chicken fingers. What was funny was that under the title of the dish in the menu it said better then McDonalds... it was the funniest thing I heard that day.

Then we went to the apartment and had a break and then we went out for ice-cream.

Off To Split!

Today we went to a museum called The Mimara which had a private collection of statues, glasswork, and paintings. We saw a really big Greek statue that had been recovered from the bottom of the ocean and was very well preserved. It had only one finger missing. 

After the museum we went back to the hotel and got our bags and headed off to the train station to get our train from Zargreb to Split. 

When we got to the train station we found out that something was wrong with the train tracks and we had to go part of the way by bus. 

After the bus ride we waited around for the train and had a simple lunch.

Finally we got on the train and I read my comic books and looked out of the window a little (mostly the only things I saw were trees and mountains).

When we finally got to Split we checked into the hotel room and went out to a nearby restaurant and had pizza. The milk in Split tastes horrible by the way so don't have any milk while you are in Split.

A Long Train Journey

Today we caught a train from Ljubljana to Zagreb. The journey was two-and-a-half hours long.

Eventually we got to Zagreb and walked to the hotel. We found out that the hotel room wasn't going to be ready for an hour. We left our bags at the hotel and went walking.

While we were waiting we walked to a restaurant and I had vegetable stew in a bowl with bread. I didn't like that much at all.

The funicular

Then we went to a café and I had a meringue and a whole peeled banana with a thin layer of chocolate over it. It was one of the best desserts I ever had.

When the desserts were over we went to a funicular railway to the upper
town.

We walked around the up town for a bit and went to a museum called the Museum Of Broken Relationships which to me wasn't very interesting.

After the museum we went to a café and I had a lemonade (although it wasn't very good lemonade).

We went to a mall after the museum and got some calzone from a bakery. We went and got some drinks from a juice bar.

Then we went to a park to eat it and fead crumbs to the birds.

  

First (And Last) Whole Day In Ljubljana

A great view

Yesterday we went to a palace in Ljubljana up a funicular railway. When we got to the castle we went up to the viewing tower and there was an excellent view of the whole town.

After the tower we went and saw a video that showed how the castle had changed hands between various powers such as the Romans and the Turks and changed its shape throughout history.

When the video was over we went to see the dungeon, which for a dungeon wasn't that creepy. In fact it was a little boring.

Up with carnivores!

Then went to go see the chapel. On the chapel ceiling were lots of different coats of arms.

After that we walked around a bit and had lunch.

When lunch was over  we walked around a little more and saw lots of historic buildings, fountains, and pigeons.

When we finished looking around we walked back to the hotel and had a rest.

At the sign of the giant sausage

For dinner we went out to a traditional sausage restaurant which served sausages with hot fresh bread, mustard, and horseradish. I thought it tasted fabulous.

Good-Bye Venice

Today we packed and said good-bye to Ren Yuan and got two vaporetti to the bus station.

Then we waited while the bus driver had a rest then we boarded the double decker luxury bus and went off to Villach in Austria. I had some food and then didn't do much for the rest of the bus journey.

Then when we got off the bus and we caught a three hour train to Ljubljana. On the train I looked at the scenery and got bored.

When we got to Ljubljana we walked to our hotel called City Hotel .

Then we had dinner. I had trout with vegetables. The food was okay but it was a little salty.

Then I went to bed.

Lots Of Walking

Add caption

Today we went walking around some familiar parts and some new parts of Venice.

Then we took a vaporetto to an island called the Giudecca and we looked around there for a bit and we went to a church called Redentor and then we had lunch. Then we went to go see another church on San Giorgio Maggiore, and then we went to a café.

After that we took a vaporetto to the Piazza San Marco and my dad and I went to see a Manet art exhibition in the Doge's palace. There weren't many pictures but there were some good ones such as one picture called the bullfight.

Finally we took a vaporetto to our apartment.

In the evening we went out to dinner at a restaurant I had a nice big hot juicy mouth watering slice of pizza. The pizza was delicious and I liked it a lot. The pizza had to be carried on a trolly because it was so big.

After dinner we went to the Alaska gelato place and I had a mint flavoured ice cream.
The mint was a bit stronger then I was used to but it was still okay.

When we finished the ice cream we went to the grand canal and I saw some churches that looked much different then the ones we saw earlier because it was made out of brick and much smaller. We looked at the canal for a while and then we went back home.

Weapons, Old Books, And A Dungeon

Today [now yesterday, Ed] we took a short walk to a museum called The Ca' Pesaro. There we saw various pictures and a section which had samurai armour, flintlock rifles,  wakizashi (short single-edged sword), katana (long single-edged sword),  tachi (swords like katana but for horseback), Japanese arrows, and battle helmets. I really liked it. Even

Image stolen from Panaramio.

the weapons were works of art with beautiful decorations on the sword guards and handles. The arrow quivers also had designs on them.

After the museum we went for a walk around Venice looking at all the magnificent architecture. At one point I saw a funny little pipe poking out of the water that looked like a submarine periscope poking up from above the surface of the water. 

Eventually we stopped walking and we had lunch in a small restaurant and I had some nice big delicious mouth watering slices of mushroom pizza. With it I had a glass of orange juice and some glasses of water.

When lunch was over we went to a book shop which sold very old books and post cards. Some of the books were displayed in old gondolas. The reason was because if Venice flooded the books would safe in the gondola. Also they had some stairs made entirely out of books! I went and brought three postcards.

Then we walked to San Marco to the Doge's palace. We got in and we saw the armoury which had a full suit of knight armour. Also they had funny looking helmets that looked like looking at the front of the ship with your head sticking out of the sea.

Then we went to the prison across the Bridge Of Sighs. It's called that because people sighed when 

they were being taken to prison. (Currently I just think people sigh to keep the name meaningful). When we crossed I didn't sigh. The prison looked very cramped and there was no toilet, only a little light, and not much room. 

After looking in the palace we went and got a vaporetto back home (the ride took twenty minutes). When we finally got off the vaporetto we went to a café nearby our apartment and we had a pleasant conversation over drinks with the people at the table next to us. I had some cold milk and a glass of orange juice. 

Then I went home.

Island Of The Glassblowers

Today we took a vaporetto to a small island called Murano. The island is a bit like Venice but smaller The island is famous for all the things it makes out of glass. Dad's friend Ren Yuan came along, too. The vaporetto ride was long and it was hot, smelly, loud, and packed. Half way there I had some biscuits with chocolate on them and some water.

Eventually we got there and we walked for a while to get the museum. While we were walking I noticed that there were a lot of brick arches in the architecture and almost every shop sold glass ornaments, accessories, vases, and bowls [André originally wrote 'bowels'. Ed.] Another thing that caught my eye was that a lot of the buildings looked run down.

We thought that we were going to see a glass-making demonstration at the museum but we didn't. While we were walking to the museum Ren Yuan walked off to see a church. Still we saw lots of bowls, plates, vases, and even a model garden. Then we went to another glass museum and saw the same type of things as the first one. After the second museum we went to the church and picked up Ren Yuan.

Squid dinner with my sister, Lucy.

After that we went to a sort of run-down café near an area where we could see glassblowing being done. We went in and I was in front and I could feel the heat of the furnaces from even a long way away. The guy who was doing the presentation showed how vases and bowls are made then he showed how statues and sculptures are made and made a glass dolphin. He put the glass on a long metal rod and turned the rod left and right a bit like someone roasting a joint on a campfire. After it was done he put it down on a table to let it cool then he put a small piece of newspaper on the dolphin's back and it burst into flames almost instantly. Then we got a vaporetto home. On the way home we stopped at the Alaska gelato place.

'Save us!'

For dinner we went to an Italian restaurant called Bentigodi. We took a vaporetto one stop to get there For starters we had a perfectly cooked squid pieces with herbs and a bit of lemon juice and a thing made with scampi, red onions, raisins, pine nuts, and balsamic vinegar. Right behind my seat was a type of display case with ice in it and while the waiter  was taking our order another another man opened the display case and put a giant fish into it. It was as long as my arm and half of my chest! For my main I had a four large delicious ravioli pieces filled with cheese. The cheese was very thick, delicious, and gooey. For dessert I had a small (but very rich) chocolate mousse.

Art Museums and Seafood

Gondola

Yesterday we got the vaporetto and took it the Guggenheim Museum. On the way there we saw lots of boats: police boats, speed boats, other vaporetti, cargo boats, and lots of gondolas (which are the taxi boats in Venice with only one paddle). Also we noticed that some of the buildings were slightly tilted. Some buildings the plaster had peeled off and you could see the exposed brick in places.

When we got to the museum we saw some 20th century European and American art. After that we went to the Accademia museum which had religious art. I wasn't very interested my Dad and I did see some funny things here and there. There was one picture of the Last Supper and I thought it was funny that Judas got paid for saying common sense. It was obvious who was Jesus because he had a halo.

At the Accademia. I feel like
I'm being watched.

After another art museum we took a vaporetto back towards home then we went to a gelato place called Alaska which people say is supposed to make the best gelato in Venice. I had a waffle cone with vanilla icecream with chocolate chips. Then we went home.

At home we had a brief rest and then we went out to a fancy restaurant and I had a traditional Venetian dish. It was a platter with deep fried seafood including squid, prawns, and shrimp there was also deep fried vegetables. It was really crunchy with delicious seafood flavours and a little salt. I liked it a lot.

Seafood at Vecio Fritolin.