Finally to London, England

    I am here in London, England. In London there are a lot of cool places to visit. One that I am going to visit is the London eye. The London eye is a ferriswheel. each ride is 30 mins long and cost around 17 dollars. the london eye weigh around 2100 tons and is 443 ft. every year the london eye get around 3.5 million people a year. 

http://newspaper.li/static/97f4b299a0e2bb9d0583698f652c81e5.jpg 

http://uh.edu/engines/londoneyetop.jpg

Cool fact: The next place in going over to London bridge. the london bridge is 456 ft and about 1000 elephants stacked up on top of each other. London is 51 degrees and 31’29. 26” North, 7 degrees and 40’32. There main resources Coal, petroleum, natural gas - found in the British sector of the North Sea, zinc, tin, limestone, iron ore, salt, slate, clay, chalk, gypsum, lead, silica, and arable land. Goodbye for now see you back home. 

 

Then to Rome, Italy

                        I’m so excited to be here! I’m in Rome Italy having fun visiting the coliseum.

Did you know that the coliseum was built in 72 AD and finished in 80 AD? When the Coliseum opened in 80 AD they had a celebration for 100 days of gladiatorial combat. In one day more then 5,000 people died. Also the coliseum is one of the biggest buildings in Italy, it also holds over 50,000 people. The coliseum is 679 feet long, 512 feet wide, and 160 feet tall at highest point. In the coliseum there were many things going on at all points in time there were gladiator fights (they would fight till someone died), there would be plays, animal hunts, executions, and re-enactments of famous battles. It has 80 entrances and 32 elevators made by counterweights. These elevators would lift the animals in cages and appear at a floor in the arena trough trapped doors. In the center of the arena the Romans would use counterweight systems to lift larger items into the arena such as, elephants or large pieces of scenery. The exiting of the coliseum was very efficient. It took only 12 minutes for 50,000 people to evacuate. I think that is just amazing for DCD it takes about a minute or two for only around 300 people to evacuate. The coliseum was used for about 500 years until a fire broke out in 217 AD and melted much of the limestone. The damage took TWENTY YEARS to fully repair. Earthquakes also caused damage to the building while in use. In 1349 AD there was an earthquake that collapsed much of the south side of the building. There was also another earthquake in 1826 AD that did a little more damage just not as much.

 http://my.firedoglake.com/ruthcalvo/files/2010/11/Coliseum.jpg

This picture is of the cages and passages ways that kept animals and gladiators in it.

http://www.hat.net/album/europe/italy/012_rome_coliseum.jpg

Italy has a ton of natural resources here they are, coal mercury, zine, patash, marble, barite asbestos, pumice, fluorspar, feldspar, pyrite (sulfur), natural gas, crude oil, reserves, fish, and arable land. The location is exactly 41 degrees 53’25. 87” North and 12 degrees 29’39. 30” East. It is surrounded by: Tyrrhenian Sea, Adriatic Sea, and Ionian Sea. The population in Rome is around 3.2 – 3.7 million people. Cant wait to blog again la revedere(means goodbye in Romanian) 

             http://mappery.com/maps/Rome-Tourist-Map.mediumthumb.jpg

Next stop Paris, France

Adios to Madrid, Spain and bonjour to Paris, France!  In Paris there is a lot of history, which I could see by all of the palaces and palace-like architecture. This one below is a palace called the Louxembourg Palace.

  

image from:  http://www.e-vlad.net/photos/France/Paris-2005/images/Paris-Louxembourg_Palace_exterior.jpg

image from: http://www.eiffel-tower.us/Eiffel-Tower-Images/Eiffel-Tower-Night-lights.jpg

Another amazing architectural structure in Paris is the Eiffel Tower.  On March 31, 2012, 123 years ago the Eiffel Tower was finished being built, and officially presented for its completion.  I had wait in a long line for a ride to a romantic restaurant high up in the Eiffel Tower.  It’s a good thing I’m not scared of heights.

http://www.controleradar.org/data/map_france2.gif

 France is located next to Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Italy, and Germany. France’s natural boundaries are the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea and the other side of the Pyranees.  France is about a little less then two times the size of Colorado to show you how big it is. Paris is located at 48 degrees 51’23.81’N and 2 degrees, 21’08.00” East. France’s natural resources are coal, iron ore, bauxite, zinc, uranium, antimony, arsenic, potash, feldspar, fluorspar, gypsum, timber, and fish.

Everywhere I look in Paris I see fashion and fabulous architecture.  Every corner there are pushcarts selling fresh bread, cheese, fruit, or crepes with nutella.  I see artists out and painting beautiful paintings of the Seine river, which runs through the heart of Paris.

I was surprised to see the Statue of Liberty in the Jardin de Louxembourg.  I thought the Statue of Liberty only existed in New York.  The smaller statue that I saw in Paris was a model for the bigger gift that France gave to the United States back in the 1886. I was looking at the original model for the Statue of Liberty.

As I bid adieu to Paris I will miss how good and fresh the bread is, but I also can’t wait to start on a new journey to Rome, Italy. 

Beginning my journey

Hello again or shall I say hola! I'm in Madrid, Spain where there are a lot of big, beautiful buildings (such as the one below). This building is The Prado Museum, which has a lot of famous works of art by artists like Picasso and Miro.  

             
Image from: http://www.bestourism.com/img/items/big/430/Museo-del-Prado-in-Madrid-Spain_


 Spain's culture and many of these big building are a direct result of the dictatorship of Francisco Franco.  His dictator lasted from 1936-1975, which resulted in him preserving Spanish culture, limiting outside influences on the culture.  The unique culture of Spain is what makes it such an amazing place to visit.

General-view_1825.jpghttp://desmotivaciones.es/demots/201101/francisco_franco_1.jpg

 

While I am looking at this map I can see that Spain is located next to France, Portugal, and Africa. Spain is the second largest country in Western Europe.  Spain's natural borders are the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, as well as the Pyranees.  Spain also shares borders with Portugal.
Spain's natural resources are coal, lignite, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, uranium, tungsten, mercury, pyrites, magnesite, fluorspar, gypsum, sepiolite, kaolin, potash, hydropower, arable land.  When looking out the window from the train I was travelling on, there were a lot of olive trees planted in perfect rows.  Fantastic olives at every restaurant I went to!  Madrid is Spain's capital city and is right in the middle of the country at 40 degrees 25'00.09"North and 3 degrees 42' 01.24"West.


 For the past couple of days Madrid seems to be having some nice weather. Right now it is summer here so the temperature hovers in the 80's. I have heard that the winter weather is cold, and the fall mild, similar to New England. 


Since Easter is near, everyone here is preparing for the Holy week, Semana Santa, which they celebrate during the ten days leading up to Easter. Below are some of the interesting scenes to the religious parades that go on during Semana Santa. 

http://capegazette.villagesoup.com/column/columnpost/it-s-easter-weekend-here-and-semana-santa-in-spain/805003

At first when I  saw these men in hoods parading down the street, I was shocked because in the United States these men look like they're from the Klu Klux Klan, but in Spain, these men are part of holy procession which recognizes their faith.

http://semanasanta2012.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/semana-santa-2012-españa.jpg

One thing that I noticed in Madrid is that it's a party city.  People really know how to have a good time.  There’s flamenco music and dancing in the streets at almost any time of the year.

Now that I am leaving I have a much better understanding of how important religion can be in some cultures. I really like how the Spanish people know how to have fun and enjoy life, but also follow their faith. 

    Introduction to my trip to Europe

Welcome to my blog! Over the past four weeks I will be visiting some of the most loved places in the world. I will have a lot of fun and post blogs every time I travel to a new place.

Now I’m going to introduce myself. I am a 6^th grader at Dedham Country Day School and I’ve been there for 8 years. I also like playing sports, and hanging out with my cousins. For sports I play hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and field hockey. I also like to swim and play tennis. I have a dog, two cats and two guinea pigs. I have three other siblings other than me. 

In this trip I am going to go to Madrid, Spain; Paris, France; Rome, Italy; and London, England. One thing in Paris, France, I will see the Eiffel Tower. One thing in Rome, Italy I will see is the Coliseum. That is a couple of things I will see during my trip to Europe.