Bobbe's trip to Naples

Bobbe continues telling us about her trip around the Mediterranean:

After I finished seeing the sights in Rome, I moved on to another Italian city: Naples. Naples is the third largest city in Italy, after Rome and Milan. Historically, it has been the most important city in southern Italy. It would be great if you could get out a map of Italy and try to find Naples. Do you see how Italy is shaped kind of like a long boot with a toe and a heel? If you look at it this way, Naples is down not quite as far as the ankle.

Bobbe's trip to Rome, part 3: fountains, piazzas, and pasta

Here is Bobbe's third post from Rome:

As much as I enjoyed learning about ancient Rome and visiting Vatican City, I think my favorite part of Rome was just getting the chance to sit down and enjoy the city. Rome is full of squares called "piazzas." My favorite one was the Piazza Navona, where I spent a long time hanging out and watching all the Romans go by. The Piazza Navona is famous because it contains three really big fountains. Isn't it cool that one piazza would have three fountains?

Bobbe's trip to Rome, part 2: the Vatican

Bobbe continues telling Benny about her trip to Rome:

After I finished exploring the ruins of ancient Rome, I decided it was time to learn about the important religious sites in Rome. Rome has long been the center of the Catholic Church, which is the largest branch of Christianity. The "Bishop of Rome" is known as the Pope, and the Pope is the leader of the Catholic Church. Ever since St. Peter became the first Pope almost 2,000 years ago, Rome has been at the forefront of Catholic life.

Bobbe's trip to Rome, part 1: the ruins of Ancient Rome

Bobbe wrote to me to tell me about her trip to Rome and to share some great pictures of her enjoying her first adventure. Here's what she had to say:

Introducing Bobbe

I'd like to introduce you all to my new friend Bobbe, who is going to help me with this blog. I travel a lot, but I can't go everywhere. Bobbe likes to travel as well, so now she and I will be able to go lots more places and write many more interesting posts. Bobbe's first adventure is a trip to Rome; from there, she will head on toward Greece and Turkey. I'm actually going to meet up with her in Istanbul, so expect a post from both of us about the Topkapi Palace!

My trip to Paris

After my trip to Amsterdam, I took the train down to Paris to spend a few days seeing the sights. Paris is the capital of France. It is full of lots of exciting places to see. I got to visit many of the famous landmarks in the city.

My trip to Amsterdam, part 2: I learn about dikes and polders

Since the weather in Amsterdam remained so sunny, I decided it would be a good idea to take another bike trip. This time, I went with my friends Kyle, Annie, and Timo. Timo grew up in Amsterdam, so he knows his way around very well. He suggested that I would enjoy biking along the dike on the west side of a big lake.

Do you remember in my last post how I told you that, for many centuries, the Dutch have used windmills to pump water in order to reclaim land from the sea? In fact, the Dutch have reclaimed lots and lots of land that naturally lies below sea level. One of the ways that they do this is by building long mounds of earth called "dikes." The dikes prevent the water from going over and flooding the land. The land that the dike protects from the water is called a "polder." Isn't it cool to look at farmland and realize that this area was once entirely underwater?

My trip to Amsterdam, part 1: bike trip on the Amstel

I'm writing this post from Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands, where I am enjoying fantastic weather and great company. The Netherlands is a country in Europe that borders Belgium and Germany, two countries that I have already visited. My little map on this blog is starting to fill up with blue, especially in Western Europe. I have now added an inset on my map of visited countries so that it will be easier for you to see where the Netherlands is. Do you see what body of water the Netherlands is on? That's right -- it's the North Sea again, the same sea that I saw in Scotland and in Antwerp.

My trip to Lebanon

After I left Jordan, I visited another Arab country in the Middle East: Lebanon. Lebanon is a very small country located right on the Mediterranean between Israel and Syria. It is a truly beautiful country. I had a fantastic time visiting it.

My trip to Jordan, part 3: I experience Ramadan

My trip to Jordan was particularly exciting because I was there during the month of Ramadan, which is an important time for Muslims. As you will remember, I have previously visited three other countries where the majority of the people are Muslims: Pakistan, Tunisia, and Turkey. Like those countries, most of the people in Jordan practice Islam. Ramadan is a month that occurs every year on the Islamic calendar. It begins with a new moon and lasts either 29 or 30 days until the next new moon. During that entire month, Muslims devote themselves to their religion by "fasting" while the sun is up. From sunrise to sunset, pious Muslims do not eat any food or drink any water.

My trip to Jordan, part 2: I eat the food

I ate so much good food during my trip to Jordan that I have decided to make an entire post about the things I ate. There is nothing more fun when you go traveling than eating the cuisine of the place you are visiting. I would really encourage you to go to an Arab restaurant or supermarket near your house if you want to try some of the things I talk about. I'm mostly going to talk about things you can eat for dessert (naturally!), but Jordanians, like other Arabs, also have a lot of great food that you can eat before dessert.

My trip to Jordan, part 1: I see the sights

I recently took a wonderful trip to Jordan with my friends Kyle and Arbella. Jordan is a country in the Middle East that borders Israel, the West Bank, Syria, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. Can you find it on a map? It might be difficult to find, since it isn't a very big country. It's in a very dry place, and much of the country is covered by desert.

Jordan is an Arab country in which people speak Arabic. Do you remember which other Arab country I have visited before? That country was Tunisia, where I went with my friend Aisha. The people of Jordan and the people of Tunisia share a common language (Arabic) and a common majority religion (Islam). Even so, because these two countries are quite far apart, there are a lot of differences between them.

I attend the 2012 Summer Olympics

It's a great time to be in England right now because everybody is so excited about the 2012 Summer Olympics. The Olympics have been going on in London for the past two weeks. I have been excited about the Olympics ever since I went to see the torch relay, which I told you about last month. Two days ago, I finally got the opportunity to see some Olympic action for myself!

I celebrate the 150th anniversary of the first telling of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

In my last post, I pointed out a gargoyle that kind of looks like a cat and told you that some people think it might have inspired the Cheshire Cat from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. I think that particular story isn't true, but it is true that Oxford has a very close connection with that book. Lewis Carroll, the author, taught math in Christ Church (do you remember when I showed you pictures of Christ Church's dining hall a few months ago?). One day in 1862, he went on a boat ride in the Thames with the daughters of the dean of Christ Church. One of those girls was Alice Liddell, a 10-year-old who inspired the character of Alice. A few weeks ago, I attended a celebration in Christ Church Meadow to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the first time Lewis Carroll told the story he had invented to entertain little Alice.

I climb Magdalen Tower

Those of you who read my posts from Oxford will know that one of Oxford's colleges, Magdalen College, has a particularly tall tower. A few days ago, I finally got the chance to climb to the top of the tower. It was a very sunny day, so I got a great view. I have lots of pictures from my climb to share with you.

My trip to Berlin, part 3: I learn about Jewish Berlin

As promised, here is my third and final post about my recent trip to Berlin. In this post, I'm going to tell you about some of the things I learned about the history of Berlin's Jewish community.

I told you before that sometimes history can be difficult to learn about because bad things have happened, but that it's important to talk about them nonetheless. That warning definitely applies to this post. Therefore, I would encourage you to read this post with a teacher, a parent, or an adult you trust. I'm not trying to scare you, but I do want to share with you some difficult things that I learned on my trip.

My trip to Berlin, part 2: I visit the relics of communism

As I promised yesterday, here is my second of three posts about Berlin. This post is about my visits to historical sites around Berlin that date from the time when part of the city was under communist rule. This meant that Berlin was under the control of the communist regime of the Soviet Union.

My trip to Berlin, part 1: I visit a lot of museums

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to go with my new friend Maris on a trip to Berlin. Berlin is the capital of Germany. It is located in the eastern part of the country not all that far from Poland. Because Berlin has been an important city for many centuries, it has a lot of fun museums full of cool things for visitors like me to go and see. This is the first of three posts I'm going to make about my trip to Berlin, and in it I'm going to focus on my trip to Museum Island.

I watch the Olympic Torch Relay

It's a very exciting time to be in England right now! Everybody in this country is getting ready for the 2012 Summer Olympics, which will begin on Friday. The Summer Olympics are held every four years. Four years ago, in 2008, the Olympics were in Beijing, China.

It's tradition at the Olympics that a flame is lit before the games begin. Even during the original Olympics in Ancient Greece, a flame was kept burning the entire time that the games lasted. For the modern Olympics, the flame is lit in Greece and then carried by a relay of thousands of people to reach the place where the games will be held.

My trip to Belgium, part 2: Antwerp

The day after we went to Bruges, we headed on toward Antwerp. Can you find Antwerp on a map of Belgium? Like Bruges, Antwerp was a big commercial centre. Here, merchants traded everything from American sugar to South American diamonds. In fact, Antwerp is still a major port today. Ships can sail to Antwerp up the Scheldt River. Can you find on a map what sea the Scheldt flows into? Hint: it's the same sea I told you about when I took my trip to Scotland many months ago.

Here are some photos of me scouting out some of Antwerp's old buildings.

My trip to Belgium, part 1: Bruges

I just returned from a wonderful trip to Belgium with my new friends Alison and Duncan. We traveled to Belgium by train. When we got on the train in London, I was surprised by how big it was: there were eighteen carriages on this train! Can you find on a map how you would take the train from London to Belgium? You actually have to go underwater in order to get to the European continent from here. The train went south to Dover, then through a tunnel which goes under the sea. (Unfortunately, there was not much to see under the sea because the tunnel was very dark.) When we emerged on the other side, the sun was shining and the landscape was very flat, occasionally dotted with tall, thin houses.

My trip to Tunisia

A few weeks ago, I went with my friend Aisha on a trip to Tunisia. Aisha is an American of Egyptian heritage who is studying at Oxford in England. She went to Tunis, which is the capital of Tunisia. Tunisia is located on the Mediterranean Sea in the central part of the northern coast of Africa. Can you find which two African countries border Tunisia? Which European country is the closest to Tunisia across the Mediterranean?

My trip to Turkey

I'm writing this post from Turkey, where I have had a fun day swimming in the sea. I tagged along with Kyle on a trip to see the wedding of two of his friends from college. I am staying in the town of Dalyan, which is located on the Mediterranean Sea in the southwestern part of Turkey. Can you find Turkey on a map? Can you find Dalyan? Dalyan is quite possibly the most difficult place I have asked you to find on a map; you'll have to get a very detailed map in order to find it.

I celebrate the Diamond Jubilee

This has been a very exciting week here in the United Kingdom. Monday and Tuesday were holidays so that everybody could celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. A "jubilee" is a celebration of an anniversary, and diamonds are the particular gift associated with sixtieth anniversaries. The Queen is celebrating her Diamond Jubilee because she became Queen in 1952 – sixty years ago. It is remarkable to think how much the world has changed in the past sixty years, but during all that time the United Kingdom has only had one monarch.

My trip to Islamabad

During Oxford's long Easter vacation, I accepted an invitation from my friend Mohammad to go with him on a trip to his home country of Pakistan. I was delighted to get to travel to a part of the world I had never visited before. I grabbed my passport and my camera, and the next thing I knew I was on a plane headed toward Pakistan.

The weather was cloudy when we landed, and by the time we reached home it was raining. I felt a bit cold and regretted on not bringing my scarf. This oversight was Kyle's fault because he naively thought Pakistan would be hot and thus didn't pack it for me in my backpack.

My trip to Scotland

Recently, I traveled north and spent some time in Scotland. Scotland is part of the same country as England -- called the United Kingdom -- but it is its own region with a distinct history and culture. I stayed in the Scottish county of Fife, which is just north of the capital, Edinburgh. Fife is home to the University of St Andrews, which is the oldest university in Scotland.

To my friends in Ms. Kelly's class: can you use a map to figure out what sea St Andrews is located on? It's the same sea that touches Norway, Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands. It's fun to look out at the sea and wonder when I will get to visit the countries on the other side of it! In the meantime, here are some great pictures of me at the harbor and pier in St Andrews.

My trip to Arctic Finland

I just got back from a wonderful trip to the northern part of Finland. Can you use a map to find the spot where Finland, Norway, and Russia meet? That's where I was! That part of Finland is so far north that it is beyond the Arctic Circle.

I went to Arctic Finland to see the Northern Lights. The Northern Lights, also called the Aurora Borealis, is a beautiful display of colored lights that you can see in the night sky only in the northernmost parts of the globe. The lights are caused by tiny charged particles way up in the atmosphere interacting with the Earth's magnetic field. You can't always see them, and at particular times they are brighter. When I went, there were a few clouds in the sky, but I still got a pretty good look. Here's a picture I found on the Internet of what the Northern Lights look like:

My visit to the Sheldonian Theatre

As you know, I have been interested in the works of the architect Christopher Wren ever since my visit to St Paul's Cathedral in London. Wren is best known for St Paul's, but he also designed many other buildings. One of those buildings is right here in Oxford: the Sheldonian Theatre.

Wren started working on the Sheldonian in 1664, two years before the Great Fire of London set the stage for him to design St Paul's. The Sheldonian is part of the University of Oxford. It is used for concerts and, periodically, for graduation ceremonies. Here is a picture of me standing in front of it:

My trip to London, part 3: commercial London

This will be my last post from London for a little while because I am headed off on a new adventure later today, but I'm sure I'll go back to London in the future.

After my walk along the Thames, I went to see the highlights of capitalist London. So far I have focused on taking pictures of myself in front of old buildings, but London is also a very modern city and one of the centers of the global economy.

My trip to London, part 2: an evening walk along the Thames

Here is my second post about my trip to London. After I left St Paul's Cathedral, I went for a long walk along the River Thames. Readers of my blog who know a lot about English geography will know that the Thames is the same river that flows through Oxford. In London, it is crossed by many bridges.

Here is a picture of me on the south side of the Thames looking back at St Paul's Cathedral. Behind me is the Millennium Bridge, a footbridge that was first opened in 2000. (Those of you are Harry Potter fans and enjoyed my pictures of Christ Church dining hall might recognize Millennium Bridge from the opening scenes of the film version of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, in which it was torn down)

My trip to London, part 1: St Paul's Cathedral

I recently traveled to London and walked all around the city. I'm going to share my photos from London with you in three parts, starting with a post about St Paul's Cathedral.

St Paul's is the main cathedral in London, right in the center of the city. It was built after the Great Fire of London destroyed the previous cathedral in 1666. The huge new cathedral took until 1708 to finish building. It was designed by a famous architect named Christopher Wren, who had to work very hard to support such a big dome so that it would stand up. The dome is so perfectly round on the inside that two people who stand at exactly the right places on opposite sides of it can hear each other whisper. Wren designed a lot of other great buildings, but St Paul's was his masterpiece. When he died, he was buried in the crypt of the cathedral with the epitaph "If you seek his monument - look around you."

Here are some pictures of me outside the cathedral:

Snow in Oxford

It snowed in Oxford today! I think the snow makes the old stone colleges look even more beautiful. Here are some pictures of me out for a walk in the snow.

--Benny

I Got Closer to the Deer

The deer were standing closer to the fence one day, so I snuck up close to them. Unfortunately, deer have evolved to be afraid of bears, so they all ran away and stood under a tree. These were the best pictures of them that I could get.

--Benny

My dinner in Christ Church

Well, I'm still in Oxford. But even though I haven't been traveling, I have been having some adventures. Last night, I had dinner in Christ Church. Christ Church is one of Oxford's colleges. It is also the site of Oxford's cathedral. I went to a formal dinner in the dining hall there, which is where I had my friends take these pictures. I know it's dark, but those of you who have been to the movies recently might recognize Christ Church dining hall -- the Hogwarts Great Hall scenes from all eight Harry Potter movies were filmed there. Obviously, the actual dining hall doesn't have a ceiling that reflects the weather outside, so there was a lot of CGI. But perhaps you can still see the resemblance!

My trip to Oxford

Hi, everybody! I have made it all the way to Europe. I will be based in Oxford, England, for the foreseeable future. From here, I'll have the opportunity to travel all over Europe -- and beyond!

Oxford is home to the University of Oxford, the oldest university in the English-speaking world. Oxford's first colleges were founded way back in the 13th century, and teaching has been taking place here since several hundred years before that. It's a lot of fun for me to be in a city with so many students.

Here is a picture of me in front of the Radcliffe Camera, which is one of Oxford's most recognizable buildings. Today, it is part of the university's library system. Isn't it a funny shape for a library?