Bobbe's trip to Santorini

Bobbe tells us about her second Greek island adventure:

The second Greek island that I visited was Santorini (also known as Thira). Santorini is particularly famous because it is built on the remnants of a volcano. After a volcano erupts, it sometimes leaves a big valley where it has collapsed after the eruption. This kind of valley is called a "caldera." The houses on Santorini were built up and down the sides of the caldera, which are very steep.

Most of the houses on Santorini are whitewashed and topped with a blue roof. This white-and-blue color scheme makes Santorini particularly picturesque. As you might know, the Greek flag is made of white and blue stripes with a white cross. Back in the early 19th century, when Greece was under the control of the Ottoman Empire, the Greek people of Santorini were forbidden to fly the Greek flag. In order to get around this law, they simply painted their houses to match the flag.

Bobbe's trip to Mykonos

Bobbe continues her report from her Mediterranean adventure:

From Athens, I headed on a visit to two Greek islands. Greece has a over a thousand islands, some of which are very small. All of them are very beautiful. Can you find Greece's islands on a map of Europe? What is the largest Greek island? What is the name of the sea that lies north of most of the islands and separates Greece from Turkey?

The first Greek island that I visited was Mykonos. It is a beautiful island that is very popular with tourists. Here is a picture of me posing by the sea:

Bobbe's trip to Athens, part 2: the Olympic Stadium

Here is Bobbe's second post about her visit to Athens, Greece:

In Athens, I had the exciting opportunity to visit the stadium where the first modern Olympics were held in 1896.

Hopefully, you have read Benny's post about how he went to the 2012 Summer Olympics in London to watch a basketball game beween France and Russia. One of the interesting things that Benny noticed while watching the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics on television this summer was that the Greek team got to march into the stadium first, ahead of the teams from all of the other countries. The reason for this special status is that the Olympics started in Greece -- and the Greek people take the Olympics very, very seriously.

I am going to school tomorrow

I am back in the Seattle area once again! It has been barely over a year since I started traveling. In that time, I blogged about 14 countries on three continents. I went to the early-morning fish market in Tokyo, saw the Northern Lights in Finland, visited one of the world’s oldest golf courses in Scotland, ate figs in a garden in Amman, rode a bike along the Amstel River in Amsterdam, celebrated Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee, and even saw a basketball game at the Summer Olympics in London!

Tomorrow, I will be going back to school to meet some new students and tell them about my adventures. These students are third graders at West Woodland Elementary School. I hope that they will be interested in my adventures and will enjoy hearing about the places I visit.

This year, I am planning to make lots of exciting trips all over the world. I'm getting ready right now for a trip to Singapore. After that, I will go wherever I have the opportunity to travel -- please check back to my blog periodically to find out about my adventures.

As always, I welcome questions and comments about all of my posts. If you would like to learn more about the places I have visited or to offer suggestions for things I might do or places I might visit, please ask a parent or teacher to help you go to my blog and leave a comment.

--Benny

Bobbe's trip to Athens, part 1: the Acropolis

Bobbe continues her report from her Mediterranean adventure:

My next stop on my Mediterranean adventure was Athens, the capital of Greece. Can you look on a map and figure out the route that I traveled to go by ship from Naples to Athens? What direction was I traveling? What bodies of water did I pass through?

Athens was one of my favorite stops on my trip. As many of you know, Greece was once home to a vibrant ancient civilization. The ancient Greeks started many traditions that are still important to us today, including drama, democracy, and geometry. The Greeks today are very proud of this ancient heritage.

Bobbe's trip through the Strait of Messina

Bobbe continues her report from her Mediterranean adventure:

I want to show you some photos that I took on my ship during my Mediterranean cruise. Once my ship left Naples, it sailed south through the Strait of Messina. Can you find the Strait of Messina on a map? I will help you find it. Italy is shaped like a boot, with the toe kicking an island. That island is Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The Strait of Messina is a very narrow passage between Sicily and the toe of the boot. It was early in the morning when I passed through the strait. The sun was shining and the water was beautiful.