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.