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.