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.

First Day in Venice

Yesterday on the overnight train (see last post). I heard the train was going to be several hours late. I had breakfast which was some orange juice, a chocolate chip muffin, and some local bread (which I didn't like very much). 

After several hours we got to the station in Venice. We took the vaporetto which means water bus to the area where an apartment we rented was. While we were on the vaporetto I had a look at Venice one thing I noticed was that the plaster on the buildings had peeled away. 

Eventually we reached our stop and we met the lady and she walked us to the apartment. We went to a pizza restaurant for lunch and then we went shopping at a near by store for food. We dropped the food in the apartment and went walking. 

The most interesting thing of the day is that we went to the Natural History Museum. It wasn't very big, but there was one really magnificent dinosaur skeleton. Also they had some skulls and relics of various animals. There wasn't much to see but it was very well presented. Also they had a several creepy rooms full of stuffed dangerous animals. In one case they had several animals standing on top of one another. See picture.

After that we looked in a few churches. They weren't very interesting. After that we went to a nearby restaurant and had a ham sandwiches. 

Then we went home stopping to get some gelato on the way.     

The Last Day In Amersfoort

Two days ago I got up and had a breakfast of cheese, salami, biscuit, and toast. After breakfast we went walking around and found a local café and had a bun. Then we walked a bit more and came back.

When we got back we packed for our trip to Venice and hauled our suitcases to the car. Auntie Els drove us to the train station. The first train was very short and the second train was a lot longer. The third train was second longest I had dinner on it which was something vaguely resembling pizza. The fourth train was the longest because it was overnight. The fourth train had beds I had the top bunk out of three.

As soon as we got on the fourth train I went to bed.

Fries With Toppings, A Movie, And Not Much Else

Yesterday I when I woke up I had toast, ham, biscuits, and cheese for breakfast. Then I went out to the playground with Auntie Els and my sister Lucy and we played frisbee. I had a great time and it was a lot of fun. Then I went home a little earlier then Auntie Els and Lucy.

At the café

When I got home I made myself a nice cold refreshing glass of lemonade with a mint leaf in it. For lunch we went out to a place called Van Gogh Frites which made French fries with toppings such as ketchup, mayo, and peanut butter. I had one with mayo and it was delicious. It was nice and gooey with a bit of salt. Then we went to get  to a nearby cinema to get tickets for Despicable Me 2 (you really should go and see it). 

Since we had a little while before the movie we walked to a café and had some drinks. When we got back we sat down in our seats but something funny happened. The movie was supposed to be in English with Dutch sub-titles but they played it in Dutch with no sub-titles. Eventually the film stopped and someone came and said something in Dutch (I think it was apologizing). Then they offered free drinks and snacks and we got some M&Ms: one bag of the regular kinds and one bag of the peanut ones (I hate the peanut ones). I poured some of the regular kind into a long orange beaker. Then 10 minutes later they started playing the film in English with Dutch sub-titles. 

After the film we went shopping for dinner things at a nearby store. For dinner we had penne pasta with spinach sauce, pork, bacon, and sausages. Then I had a bath and went to bed. 

Seeing Amsterdam

Yesterday I went to Amsterdam with Uncle Rhonald, Auntie Els, my Dad, my Mum, and my little sister Lucy. We took a half an hour train ride to Amsterdam Central. We were going to go to see a Van Gogh exhibition in a museum. We walked a little way and then we brought some pastries from a nearby cafe. I had a pastry with custard cream in it. It tasted delicious.

Art

One thing I noticed was that some of the buildings are bent or tilted. They looked like they were about to collapse any moment. Also there were canals everywhere.

After I finished my pastry we walked a little farther and then we finally got there. We looked at the starting pictures and then we looked at the greatest hits such as the bedroom and Van Gogh's self-portraits.

Then we walked to a Moroccan restaurant. I had a chicken kebab, some fries, some pattie-like things, and chocolate-and-vanilla icecream. Then we went back to the railway station and caught a train back home. On the way to the station we looked at some statues from a famous picture.*

When we got home I played a bit and then I had a ham-and-cheese sandwich for dinner. Then I had a bath and went to bed.  

[* Rembrandt's 'Night Watch'. Ed.]

A Short Day

Eeeeeek!

Yesterday went by very quickly. I'm staying in the town of Amersfoort in Holland. I woke up earlier than Uncle Rhonald and Auntie Els with my dad. I was very hungry and we wanted to sneak something from the kitchen, but unfortunately Barbara was sleeping by the kitchen so we couldn't. Eventually we managed to sneak a few bananas.

Uncle Ronald and Auntie Else finally woke up and we had breakfast. There are a lot of weird things in the living room such as stuffed dead animals, weird statues, and boxes of dead bugs. For breakfast we had biscuits, jam, toast, and eggs. Later we drove out to a grassy field area and we had a picnic lunch of sandwiches, cucumber, and fruit. After lunch we went walking around the grassy field area. When we came back we had dinner. Dinner was chicken, rice, and salad. I had a bath after dinner then I played a board game called The Settlers Of Catan. Then I went to bed.