Rhodes blog

November 5, 2015MeliaBrent Menke

Rhodes was a very important island in the ancient world. It was strategically located for trade which made it wealthy and brought many crusaders. Huge ramparts were constructed around the city to protect it from invasions from other countries. But that didn’t keep it from being occupied. All throughout the old town there are influences from different cultures.

l’île de Rhodes a tenu un rôle très important depuis dans l’antiquité. Déjà par sa situation géographique, elle était incontournable pour le commerce puis avec l’arrivée des Croisés. D’énormes remparts ont été construits pour la protéger d’invasions d’autres peuplades. A travers la vieille ville, on peut voir les différentes cultures.

To get from Crete to Rhodes we had to go on a ten-hour ferry boat ride. It was very long and boring, but I made it to see another day. When we got off the boat, the lady from the apartment picked us up and drove us to where we were staying. The apartment felt very clean and new and best of all it was centrally located in the middle of Old Town. Living in an apartment again made it easier to get back on top of our studies. The next morning we ate at a special restaurant that had parrots that you could pet and hold. After that we went for a stroll around town. I knew that it was a medieval city, but on that walk I realized that it was fortified. The architecture was incredible, it made you feel like you were living during those times. And in the middle of all of it was a castle, with towers, cannons, everything. We spent our first two days exploring the maze-like streets and walking around the five layers of ramparts.

Depuis la Crète on a pris un ferry et le voyage a duré 10 heures! C’était très très long et très ennuyeux, mais j’ai survécu. A l’arrivée, notre hôte nous attendait et nous à emmener jusqu’à son appartement. L’endroit était très propre, relativement neuf et super bien centralisé dans la vieille ville. Etre dans un appartement nous a aidé pour notre travail scolaire et tous les jours on faisait des devoirs de math et autres. Le lendemain de notre arrivée, on a déjeuné dans un resto qui avait des oiseaux que tu pouvais caresser et mettre sur ton épaule. Puis on s’est promené en ville, je savais que c’était une ville médiévale mais je n’avais pas réalisé que c’était une ville fortifiée. J’étais fascinée par l’architecture, j’avais l’impression de vivre à une autre époque. Au milieu de la ville, il y avait un chateau avec de grandes tours, des canons et des remparts. On a passé nos 2 premiers jours à explorer les petites ruelles et les remparts.

On our third day we rented a car and drove around the island. Our first stop was Lindos, an ancient fortress built up on summit of a cliff by the ocean. Though it was a tough trip to the top, it was well worth it. The outside was protected by a rampart which looked Medieval, but there where the remains of ancient Greek temples inside which shows you that it was used for different purposes. They had recovered many stones and marble slabs with Greek writing and carvings on them. In Lindos I found something that I hadn’t seen in any of the other countries we went to, and that is that they were restoring the temples to their former state. I found that really nice because it helped me see what these temples used to look like. After Lindos, we made our way down to the town. It didn’t look it at first, but it was truly like a maze. Narrow streets wound in every direction which made it easier to get lost. After eating a quick lunch and smoothie, we went to the beach down below. The water was clear blue which made me want to go snorkeling. Even though it was beautiful, that water was cold! The longer I swam, the colder I got, until I couldn’t take it anymore and decided to skedaddle. But not before collecting a few large sea shells. (Only when I got home did I realize that there were hermit crabs living in them)!

Le troisième jour, on a loué une voiture pour faire un tour dans l’île. On est allé d’abord à Lindos, en haut il y a une forteresse qui surplombe la mer. On est monté à pied, il faisait chaud mais la vue est tellement magnifique qu’on oublie vite la difficile montée. Les remparts sont d’époque médiévale mais au sommet il y a un temple grecque dédié à Athena. Ils ont restauré quelques colonnes et cela donne un bel ensemble. Je fais partie des gens qui préfèrent voir quelque chose restoré même si ce n’est pas entièrement refait que de voir seulement des bouts de pierres qui traînaient ici et là. Ca me permet de mieux visualiser comment c’était à l’origine. Après on est descendu dans le village, très typique petites ruelles toutes pavées de galets et les maisons peintes blanches, et un vrai labyrinthe. On a mangé un gyros et un smoothy assez rapide car on voulait aller à la plage. L’eau était claire et d’une belle couleur alors je suis allée nager avec mon masque et tuba. Mais l’eau était froide, plus je nageais et plus j’avais froid. J’ai résisté jusqu’au bout mais j’avais trop froid alors je suis sortie. Il m’a fallu du temps pour me réchauffer. En nageant j’avais ramassé quelques coquillages, grosse surprise de retour à la maison il y avait des bernard-l’ermites dedans! Oups.

On our way back from there we visited a monastery which was also on top of a hill. But it turned out to be much higher than I had anticipated. Jayden and I were about to turn back when my parents started bribing us with crepes. Now that we had both lost our reason to turn back, we had no choice but to continue. I was out of breath by the time I had finished climbing up those 300 or so stairs. I wonder how long it must have taken to build it up so high. But the climb was well worth it. The view from up there was stunning, you could see the entire island from up there!
Rhodes overall was an incredible island, rich with history, sites, and beaches. I would love to return there if I ever go back to Greece of course!

Sur le chemin du retour, mes parents voulaient visiter un monastère en haut d’une colline. Il a fallu garer la voiture et monter à pieds, les marches n’en finissaient pas il y en avaient au moins 300. Pour nous faire avancer mes parents nous ont dit qu’ils feraient des crêpes à la maison. Le monastère était tout petit mais la vue était magnifique.

Rhodes est une île interessante à visiter car elle a une histoire qui s’étend sur des siècles. Il y a aussi de jolies plages. Ca ne me déplairait pas d’y retourner.

Thoughts about Greece

November 5, 2015BenedicteBrent Menke

We did so many things in Greece, we visited quite a few islands to try to give the kids a feel of this country. We did Athens, Hydra, Poros, Aegina, Milos (my favorite), Santorini, Crete and Rhodes. We just didn’t have time to explore the Peloponnese which I bet we will eventually do another time when we go back to France during summer break.

On a beaucoup bougé en Grèce, on voulait que les enfants comprennent que ce pays est très varié. Les îles ne se ressemblent pas toutes mais il y a un fils commun. On a visité Athènes, Hydra, Poros, Aegina, Milos (ma préférée), Santorini, la Crète et Rhodes. On n’a pas eu le temps de visiter la partie du Péloponèse mais je pense pouvoir retourner en Grèce quand je rentre en France pendant les vacances d’été.

One thing that did stand out for me was the hospitality of the people, they are just truly nice and not pushy like some countries can be. Nobody got offended or pushy if you just looked at their menus or just look around their store and didn’t buy anything. It was nice. We always felt safe and it was very easy to start a conversation with people. Also if we got lost in Athens there were always somebody to help you with directions. Or for example our host in Rhodes, Seva took Brent to a supermarket on Sunday with her car because we arrived late the previous night and the supermarkets in town are closed on Sundays. I like Greek food it is very healthy, roasted meats, Greek salads, stuffed tomatoes and peppers, aubergine salads, but I have to say that after nearly 1 month the menus of the restaurants weren’t very varied. So it was nice to have breaks from it with Brent cooking.

Ce que je retiens le plus de ce voyage en Grèce est l’hospitalité des Grecques. Ils sont gentils, accueillants, ne sont pas offensés si tu ne fais que regarder leur menu. Par example à Rhodes, Seva notre hôte est venue nous attendre au port avec sa voiture car il pleuvait, et le lendemain elle est revenue pour mener Brent au supermarché de la banlieue car le dimanche touts les supermarchés sont fermés dans la vieille ville. C’était vraiment très sympa, et on ne s’y attendait pas. On ne peut pas toujours dire la même chose de tous les pays. La crise économique et bien je vais vous apprendre qu’elle n’existe pas en Grèce, ils sont toujours installés en terrasse à boire ou à manger. Ils n’ont pas l’air très concerné s’ils ne payent pas la dette. En fait ils te font payer en liquide presque tout le temps comme ça ils ne payent pas la TVA sur les choses. Le gouvernement n’a pas de rentrée d’argent car ils ne payent pas leurs impôts, ce sont des Grecques qui nous ont expliqué cela. Le gouvernement ne peut pas les forcer, de plus les jeunes reçoivent la retraite de leurs parents surtout les filles et à vie. Donc ils n’ont pas vraiment besoin de travailler. Ceci est général. Je suis sûre que certains payent des impôts, mais les plus riches passent au travers c’est sûr. Après cette petite parenthèse sur la crise économique en Grèce, je reviens au blog.

On ne sait jamais senti en danger de quoique ce soit, c’est un pays très sûr. On pouvait toujours demander à quelqu’un dans la rue des directions. Par contre on n’a pas pris de photos, je me demande pourquoi maintenant mais tous les bâtiments , je répète tous les bâtiments, étaient tagués, des rues entières. Un peu dommage car le soir quand les magasins sont fermés ça fait un peu glauque.

J’ai bien aimé la nourriture grecque ou crétoise car elles sont saines, beaucoup de viandes grillées, des salades comme la grecque ou d’aubergines, les tomates ou poivrons farçis, et surtout le yaourt au miel rien à voir avec ceux qu’on trouve aux US même s’il appelle ça yaourt grecque. Mais au bout d’un mois, la salade grecque te sort un peu des yeux et leurs menus n’est pas des plus varié. C’est bien d’avoir un chef à la maison donc on mangeait d’autres choses.

We met some great people. It started in Athens with Brent getting in touch with his roommate brother from University who is in post at the American Embassy. We spent an evening out with his family. Jeff and Anissa and their 3 kids were fantastic, they treated us to a great real greek meal. And the next day my kids ended up spending 1 day at school with Kaitlyn and Reece who happen to be 1 year younger than my kids. Ally their third kids asked me during dinner why didn’t I have a third child her age because it wasn’t fair for her not to have a kid to play with her.

En Grèce, on a rencontré pas mal de gens ça a commencé à Athènes avec Jeff, Anissa et leurs 3 enfants. En fait Jeff est le frère du colocataire de Brent quand il était à l’université. Il est attaché à l’Ambassade des EU en Grèce. Ils nous ont fait découvrir la vraie cuisine grecque mangée par les grecques pas les touristes. On a passé un super moment avec eux, ils nous ont recommandé des endroits à visiter et le plus surprenant Anissa a organisé une journée à l’école de ses enfants pour les miens. Donc Melia et jayden ont eu la chance de passer une journée à l’école à Athènes. Super cool, on est parti le matin en métro, tout cela fera de bons souvenirs aux enfants. Leurs 2 plus grands enfants sont 1 an plus jeunes que les miens, et au cour du repas Ally m’a demandé comment ça se faisait que je n’avais pas un troisième enfant du même âge qu’elle. Trop marrant ce qui ce passe dans leur tête parfois.Elle trouvait que ce n’était pas juste car elle n’avait pas de compagnons de jeu.

In Milos, when we took the sail cruise with Elias and Dimitris, we ended up having a blast, great food, great people around us. It felt like we were friends at the end of it. Not only the sightseeing was phenomenal but the atmosphere was even better. Can’t wish fo too much more.

Sur l’île de Milos, on a fait une journée de croisière sur un voilier avec Elias et Dimitris. Super, super journée, non seulement les endroits où ils nous ont emmené étaient superbes mais en plus l’ambiance avec les autres passagers et la nourriture étaient parfaits: au moment de l’apéritif Dimitris a grillé une pieuvre. J’avoue que j’étais assez rétissante à l’idée de manger de la pieuvre mais j’ai adoré, les enfants aussi.

We also had a blast at the Blue Marine resort and spa, and it was nice to see the kids being kids running around with friends. Suddenly, we didn’t exist they would eat with us and be gone for few hours, once in a while you would see them passing by or running or swimming. For Brent and I it was nice to have adults conversations not just between us too, we spent time with Ken and Debbie from England, Scott and Emma from Scotland, Daniel and Kerry from England and South Africa, Les and his family from England etc. (I know I am missing some names).

On a aussi passé une super semaine dans un hôtel en Crète, en pension complète sorte de club. Une fois que les enfants se sont fait des copains, on ne les voyait presque plus. Si pour manger avec nous puis ils disparaissaient. C’était bien de les voir être des enfants, de notre côté, on a fait plein de rencontres. Et c’était agréable de parler avec d’autres adultes que ton époux, on s’est bien entendu avec un couple d’anglais qui a vécu pendant 10 ans en Asie Ken et Debbie. On est allé marcher avec Debbie, mais aussi Emma et Scott d’Ecosse, Les et sa famille d’Angleterre, Daniel et Kerry d’Afrique du Sud, Kris et sa femme d’Allemagne etc. Que du bon temps pour tout le monde.

This trip in Greece will stay in my memories because of the people we ended meeting. It made it very different from Italy. I didn’t mentioned all the great places we visited because you all see the pictures of it.

Je dirais que notre mois en Grèce était très différent de celui d’Italie, car on a rencontré des gens très sympathiques. On a beaucoup bougé aussi, je vous laisse admirer les lieux qu’on a visité et je laisse les enfants faire les commentaires avec leurs blogs. J’ai adoré la Grèce, c’était un pays très facile avec les enfants. Maintenant la Turquie.

My visit of Rhodes

November 5, 2015JaydenBrent Menke

When we finally arrived in Rhodes from our 10 hour ferry ride, we were driven to the apartment by our host Seva. It was a very old apartment but it had been restored to a very modern one. It was located in the historic part of Rhodes town. You might have heard about the Rhodes Colossus? The giant statue that was guarding then harbor of the town. Unfortunately it fell in the water and its bronze was sold and melted. The next day we spent the day visiting the town, it was really amazing with all the walls surrounding it. Rhodes is a fortified town, designed to be protected. It was home of the Knights during the Crusade period, they restored it and expanded the fortifications, Crusaders would stop their on their way to the Holy land. It was also a very important sea route for commerce between Europe and Asia and Egypt. The town has plenty of shops.

Après 10H de bateau depuis la Crète, nous sommes arrivés à Rhodes. Notre hôte Seva est venue nous chercher à l’arrivée sur le port. Son appartement était dans un vieux bâtiment mais complètement rénové un peu moderne. Il était super bien placé dans la vieille ville. Je pense que vous avez déjà entendu parler du Colosse de Rhodes cette statue géante qui gardait le port? En fait, elle est tombée dans l’eau et son bronze a été fondu et vendu. Le lendemain nous avons visité la vieille ville, c’était assez surprenant de voir une ville fortifiée avec des remparts dans une île. Rhodes a eu un rôle important au temps des croisades, elle a été acheté par les Chevaliers de l’ordre de Jerusalem, ils ont agrandi les remparts et l’île servait d’escale aux croisés en route pour Jerusalem. Elle était bien située pour le commerce entre l’Europe et l’Asie mais aussi l’Egypte. Maintenant la vieille ville a plein de petits commerces et de restaurants.

The architecture was incredible because of all the other conquerors that have been there like the Romans, the Venetians and the Ottoman Turks. We had breakfast in a restaurant because it was Sunday and the supermarkets for food were closed. The owner loved birds and he put one of his parrot put on my shoulder. There was a cockatoo that made a sound so loud that made your ears ring. We ate an English breakfast with sausages fried eggs weird tasting toast, mushrooms and a strange tasting flabby piece of bacon.

La ville a une architecture très particulière car elle a souvent été conquise par le passé, les Romains y sont passés mais aussi les Vénitiens et les Ottomans.Nous avons pris le petit déj dans un restaurant car c’était dimanche et tous les supermarchés étaient fermés. Nous avons eu ce qu’on appelle petit déj anglais avec un oeuf, des saucisses, un drôle de bacon, des champignons, des toasts. Le propriètaire possédait des oiseaux et il a mis un de ses perroquets sur mon épaule. Il avait aussi un cacatoès qui faisait un boucan du diable.

The next day, we rented a car and visited a temple of Athena in Lindos in the middle of the Island. That was near these cool beaches and we visited both. I was burried from neck to toe by my sister in the sand. On the way home, we climbed 350 steps to see a monastery but it ended up being just a box on the hill. My parent had to bribe me with crepes to get me to go up that hill.
The next day we spent our morning doing homework. Visiting the town is very fun with all the stores and amazing architecture. We ended up visiting the Grand Master Palace, it is the place where the head of the knights lived. There were lost of armies from different countries that would help them to keep the town safe (Provence, Auvergne, Germany, etc) each had to make sure their area was well defended. It consisted mostly of huge rooms with some dark heavy wood furnitures. Our stay in Rhodes was really cool but we had to leave for a new country Turkey!

Le lendemain, nous avons loué une voiture pour aller jusqu’à Lindos. Là nous avons visité la forteresse qui date des Grecques, il y a un temple dédié à Athena. Après nous sommes allés à la plage, ma soeur m’a enterré dans le sable, j’avais que ma tête qui sortait. Sur le chemin du retour, nous nous sommes arrêtés pour visiter un monastère, il a fallu monter 300 marches, mes parents ont dû me promettre des crêpes pour me motiver à monter (en haut je n’ai pas trouvé ça super, une toute petite pièce!). Puis les autres jours, Mélia et moi avons dû faire beaucoup de devoirs. Le dernier jour, avec ma mère nous avons visité le Palais des Grands Maîtres édifié par Hélion de Villeneuve 26ème grand Maître des Hospitaliers de Saint Jean. On visite la reconstruction faite par les Italiens car l’édifice originel fût détruit en 1856 par l’explosion d’une poudrière. A l’époque des Chevaliers, il y avait plusieurs corps d’armée de pays différents comme la Provence, la Castille, la France, l’Auvergne, l’Allemagne etc. Chacune devant protéger la partie des remparts dont ils étaient en charge. Il y avait surtout de grandes pièces avec quelques meubles sombres et gros et des mosaïques sur le sol.

Notre séjour en Grèce s’achève et nous partons pour la Turquie!

Italy. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

October 26, 2015BrentBrent Menke

Italy. In short, we are loving it to death. Tourist hoards are coming in droves to take in the amazing sites of Italy, its food, its wine, and its culture. We love it. From the immense wealth of the Vatican and priceless artwork, to the canals of Venice, the Leaning tower of Pisa, Cinque Terre, the Amalfi Coast, and the culinary heritage of Naples, we all venture forth to take our pictures, videos, and selfies. We love it so much we are starting to destroy what made it beautiful to begin with.

21 years ago I set off on a train from Antibes, France following the coast into Italy to the sleepy terraced villages of Cinque Terre. It was the height of summer and as a young man felling restless and wanting to see more of the world, I happened upon these five delightful villages falling into the sea. Each home painted in Pastel color as if an artist rendered them just for the pleasure of the eye. People going about their daily lives like the generations before them, making a life from the sea and the limited land the villages clung to. A simple pasta transformed my idea of how good pasta could be, resembling nothing of the glutinous mass a noodles piled high with red sauce alla American. Garlic slow cooked in olive oil, tomato, basil, spaghetti and parmesan. 5 simple ingredients on a mission transformed a peasant dish into the representation of what Italy meant to me. A country for the senses.

21 years later I find myself bringing my young family to the very places I adventured to in my youth. Much to my surprise, some things don’t change. The Italian trains are still just as run down, graffiti covered, and still not on time. A fire on the tracks caused us a 6 hour delay on our way to Milan en route to Venice reminding me, yes, I am back in Italy. Seeing Venice again was a bit like seeing a long lost friend. Elegant villas overlooking the Canals bustling with gondoliers and Vaporetos, bridges providing the perfect vantage point for the perfect picture, waiters outside selling the menues of the the restaurants they serve, vendors selling endlessly colorful Merano glass, artists painting in the corners, the occasional musician playing his instrument for spare change to be collected in his hat. The camera loves Venice and everyone has a camera these days.

Our next destination was in the hills of Tuscany near the ancient town of Casole d’elsa set against a backdrop of rolling hills covered in the grape vines of Chianti, Montalcino, and Montepulciano. Our medieval villa made for the ideal location to venture off the discover the neighboring towns, including the fabulous city of Florence. A capital of art and culture as well as food and wine, Florence is a fabulous city to discover the best of Italy. The Central Market is bustling with Florentines buying their daily groceries or enjoying a feast from the myriad of vendors just one floor above. A butcher cleaving off a huge T-Bone of aged and marbled beef, grilled rare right in front of me and presented as the famous Bistecca alla Fiorentina. A 1 Kg slab of rich perfectly grilled beefiness to be shared with my family alongside, tripe, roasted potatoes, grilled eggplant, arancini, and a perfect riserva Chianti. My son opted for a hamburger, still craving his American roots. Visits to the Pitti Palace and the Boboli gardens highlights the rich cultural heritage of the city and height of the power of the Medici family.

Moving onto Rome was more of a shock. For the those not accustomed to driving like a Roman let me give you a bit of a lesson. Just focus on the what is immediately in front of you and not about what is behind you. Count on the people behind you to do the same, Be bold and don’t hesitate. Driving too slow will cause problems and much consternation from other drivers around you. Scooters will be passing you on all sides so don’t make any sudden moves. Signs will let you down from time to time. One sign will says 24 km to your destination and 4 km later it will say 24 km to your destination. Signs will come up on you very fast and may be placed just before the turn, at the turn, or just on the other side of the turn. Sometimes you destination will not be posted at all so your navigator might have to look behind from time to time to see if you missed your turn. Parking is infuriating and designated parking spots give way to a free for all, find a spot if you can mentality. Don’t imagine your vehicle will escape being bumped, scraped or damaged in the urban jungle of Rome. My wife was trying to use Google maps to navigate, but the maps refused to give an accurate location for ourselves and our destination. Navigation to the center of Rome to our rental apartment left Benedicte a screaming hot mess trying to figure out where we were at. Benedicte cursed at the phone and my driving and began acting particularly French for that moment. Getting lost in Rome allows you to take in all the colorful graffiti lining the buildings, roadways, and trains. Some of it quite extraordinary in scope and others more like a dog pissing on its territory. Trash was another issue. Bottles and other detritus thrown from cars littering the streets and sidewalks juxtaposed against the graffiti and absurd traffic makes Rome feel particularly like it no longer belongs in the first world.
Visiting the cultural sites also has its hazards. Lines to get into the Vatican and St Peters Basilica border on the absurd. Hours spent waiting in the sun with your fellow tourists taking selfies, clicking away at anything that looks interesting trying to capture that shot that makes them look more interesting to those on their social media sites. Unfortunately, I am not immune to this, bringing my family, my cameras and my American good looks to the streets of Rome adds a few more bodies to the tourist hoard that has become Rome. Surly waiters, bad expensive food, and slow service add to the unsavory feeling I was having in the cultural center of Rome. Scaffolding in the middle of the Trevi Fountain or the 50 foot tall advertising dropped behind the Spanish steps reinforce my growing discontent with the tourist center. We escape to the less touristed part of town to live like actual Romans live. Clusters of apartment building stretching for blocks in every direction with cafes, restaurants and stores all at street level for the pedestrians of the city to wander in to have their coffee, nibble on snacks and smoke their cigarettes. The food improves, the prices drop, the faces are not as hostile, the pace begins to slack. We stumble into one of the finest gelato shops I have ever visited to enjoy real artisan Gelato made from all natural local ingredients, Gelateria Bartocci. This might have been my favorite gelato/ice cream ever! It was that good.

Leaving Rome we made our way to the Amalfi coast to visit Positano, one of my favorite places in the past to visit when I was working on Motor Yachts. With my family we rented a small apartment in Vietri Sul Mare on the edge of Cinqueterre. This village was a delight and reminiscent of the Amalfi Coast of the past with smiling locals, quaint streets, local life not crushed by modern tourism. The town seemingly dedicated to the production of pottery with small shops everywhere selling its wares making for a colorful display of terra-cotta and locally produced products. Shopping from small vendors for our daily needs adds to the charm of Vietri. Local fishermen bringing their catch to market, a butcher chopping away, the green grocer selling seasonal produce, a shop selling olive based products all add to my culinary curiosity

Suddenly I feel my love for Italy returning until… The bus.
Long my nemesis in many of the countries I visit, the bus is a thing I loath to take. Perhaps I have become too spoiled with luxury motor yachts, private jets, and exotic cars over the years working for those with such means. A billionaire I am not so from time to time one must endure the diesel driven machines of mass transit purgatory, bound to their schedules, destinations, space requirements, availability and cleanliness. Asia is the worst as I barely fit in the space provided, but the Amalfi Coast bus ride pushed my buttons but hard. They are cheap and for a reason. It was late, it was packed, it smelled of body odor, it was harrowing, it was long, and lastly it was numbingly slow. The coast is a winding road of absurdly tight corners not fit for a motor coach and barely wide enough for 2 cars to pass each other with cliff face on one side and and long fall to the sea on the other. I will say I give the bus driver an immense level of respect for his nerves of steel dodging Vespas, cars, tourists, and by a matter of centimeters just missing a scrape across the cliff face. His driving skills were masterful. How this mess of a road operates day in and day out is a mystery to me. An accident feels like it would take a Hercules Helicopter to clear it. Tourists should not be driving on this road by any means, but there they are, clogging up what used to be one of the worlds great driving roads, a vista paradise now looks more like a parking lot at LAX. We finally arrived in Amalfi just 16 km away and 2 hours later to find a town packed with people, stuck in queue trying to walk up the pedestrian street to take in the sites of T shirt vendors and snack shops. Not impressed was got back onto… the bus. #$H&T?!!

Another 1 and a half and 10 km pass with more of the same as before. Good god I am disappointed by what I am seeing. But the bus finally lets us off and we walk the remaining 100 meters to get the overview of Positano. This is what I remember, this is the view I fell in love with 21 years ago and it has barely changed. The vivid colors of the cliff perched village are perfectly weathered with time. The village cascades from high on the cliff down to the beach lined perfectly with colorful umbrellas and tanned sunbathers swimming in the surf washing up on golden sand. Suddenly, as if the drugs kicked in, I feel better, much better like I was 24 again seeing a former lover just as she was. If anything, Positano has become more refined, more discerning, more tasteful, more expensive. It feels luxurious and this seems to keep the tourist throngs away who look for a cheap thrill and a snapshot rather than an experience. Winding cobbled streets make their way through the town and up the cliff face. Art dealers, jewelers, and sellers of couture line the walking streets. On the sea front we make our way to a restaurant I have waited 12 years return to just to have one of my favorite pastas in the world, the squid ink pasta of Chez Black. Chez Black, a seafront alfresco affair whose walls are lined with the photos of a self aggrandizing owner posing with the many celebrities who have frequented this seafood establishment. More photos have been added over the years since my last visit, but otherwise it was unchanged as was the menu including the squid ink pasta. Exactly as I remembered, spaghetti with bits of sautéed squid in a rich sauce of squid ink was deeply black arrives and it is accompanied by simply grilled vegetables, a chilled seafood plate and a Pinot Grigio. Simple fresh ingredients perfectly prepared. I am happy, maybe even giddy that I can share this experience with my family and all was suddenly right.

Choosing not to take… the bus, we chose the ferry this time. Arriving right on time allowed us to catch the setting sun from the sea and take in a final glimpse of Positano from a distance. I have missed you, I will miss you again.
Getting off the beaten path and back to the kids education, we decided to make a trip to the little know Greek ruin site of Paestum. If you have never heard of it, look it up. The ruins of this magnificent site makes the Acropolis in Athens look humble. A parthenon of such scale and grander was an astonishing site to see giving we were in the middle of the countryside without a major town anywhere in site and. Only a handful of tourists were visiting this magnificent site and the accompanying museum filled with treasures of the past mostly exhumed from the Tombs of the long deceased elite. Archeological evidence dates the founding of Paestum somewhere around 600 BC with the oldest of the Temples, dedicated to Hera, dates back to 500 BC and still stands intact today.

Our parting glance was that of Naples, birthplace of the pizza, and a pilgrimage of sorts to find the world best pizza. Pizza is a simple thing. A street food for the masses with international fame concocted in every possible way these days in restaurants everywhere, but it all started in Naples. I have a soft spot for pizza to the point I installed a pizza oven in my restaurant to create an artisan version for my guests. Venturing out into the street by foot in Naples feel a bit dodgy. It is not clean, people drive like mad, graffiti, garbage, and unkind stares make you feel immediately not at home. The best of the pizza restaurants in Naples always have a wait, but I hate feeling as if my very presence to pay for a meal is somehow an inconvenience to them. Surly waiters briskly taking your order, annoyed by our lack of Italian and foreign accents. The chefs can be seen in the back stretching dough and topping each with dizzying speed and accuracy. Wood paddles lightly coated with semolina, gently glide the raw pizza into the wood fired inferno, quarter turned every 40 seconds. Our pizzas arrive quickly as the 700 degree wood burning oven makes quick work of the pies. They smell amazing and the anticipation of eating one of the world great pizzas was now going to be satiated alongside a bottle of Campagna. We dig in and take that first bite. Hmmm. It is good, but not the mind blowing creation one reads about in travel blogs. The puffy outer crust has a nice amount of char, good chew, no crunch, an maybe just a bit bland. Bland? Bitting into the center gets no better. Overtopped and maybe just a bit undercooked, the center is a wet, flabby mess. The mozzarella has the lactic flavor ones comes to expect from good mozzarella created from buffalo milk, the sauce is a simple crushed tomato sauce with little or no seasoning, the basil, oddly, was the star of the Naples famous Margherita Pizza. Chef do have their off days and dough can change in nature from batch to batch, but I think I got what they serve everyday. I just did not feel the love in the food, very much the same way I felt in Rome. And I wanted to love it. I wanted a transcendent experience and a opportunity to bring something back in my culinary bag of tricks and that did not happen. As a matter of fact, most of the pizza we had in Italy was exactly this. A problem where the legend does not live up to real life. The world has started to speed past it in terms of excellence, creativity and affordability. Now am I talking about Pizza or Italy?

Leaving Italy was bittersweet. Seeing Italy again after so many years brought back so many memories, but it reminds me the world is changing, and sometimes not for the better. Magnificent history and culture now being commoditized and destroyed by those who only seek to profit from its existence. Lack of care and pride in the community manifests itself in the vast amounts of graffiti and garbage present in the streets and sidewalks of the largest cities. Lack of vision and investment is evident in the crumbling structures and endless traffic congestion show a world living in its past and not looking forward. Maybe a lesson for us all.

The Blue Marine Resort

October 26, 2015Jaydenbenedicte

We stayed at the Blue Marine Resort and Spa in Agios Nikolaos. There were lots of activities to do. I played darts I wasn’t very good at it, but I was much better at playing ping pong. The food was alright, it was an all you can eat buffet. You could choose what to eat, the desserts weren’t my favorite. I especially enjoyed the 4:00 waffle time, every day I would top them with ice cream and chocolate sauce.

Pour une fois mes parents avaient choisi un hôtel style club tout inclus. Il y avait plein d’activités à faire. Comme jouer aux fléchettes (je n’étais pas très bon), j’étais bien meilleur au ping pong. Pour manger, c’était un self service, un grand buffet pour tous les repas, je choisissais ce que je voulais manger, les desserts n’étaient ce qu’ils faisaient de meilleur. Mon moment préféré était le 4 heures, avec les gaufres sur lesquelle je rajoutais toujours de la sauce au chocolat et de la glace.

We also played tennis, the court was really beaten up. The balls were terrible one had holes, and the rackets were awful one had no grip and the others were also really bad. But we ended up having a lot of fun playing. There were lots of other kids at the resort, more less my age. I met some, I wouldn’t have met them if I didn’t go to the dart game. We hung out together. One evening, we went on the second floor, we were exploring a dark hallway that had things inside of it. There was a faint light that was flashing and things looked like they were moving on the floor. There was someone peering from a door then they went back in. The next time we went in that hallway there were legs at the same room and hand’s on the sides of the wall like they were ready to come out. My friends and I were so freaked out that we ran all the way to far end of the Resort.

On a aussi joué au tennis, ils nous ont prêté des raquettes, mais elles étaient assez pourries par rapport aux nôtres, et les balles devaient être les même qu’il y a 10 ans. Mais on s’est bien amusé. Il y avait beaucoup d’autres enfants à l’hôtel plus ou moins mon âge. Si je n’étais pas allé jouer aux fléchettes peut être que je n’aurais pas joué avec eux après. Un soir, notre petit groupe était allé se promener dans les couloirs du deuxième étage, il faisait noir mais on devinait des choses à l’intérieur. On voyait une petite lumière et on avait l’impression qu’il y avait quelqu’un qui nous surveillait, on a cru apercevoir des jambes et des bras. On est parti en prenant nos jambes à notre cou! Après on a bien rigolé.

In the evening they put on a show, it was games that the guests of the resort could participate in and they were a lot of fun. My dad was a captain for a team in the music quiz, I was on the same team. Our team was called the Ex Patriots. We demolished the other. They had a comedy show that was one of the funniest I had ever seen. They had an animation member named Andrea dress like an Irish guy to make Irish coffee, he made it in his mouth and not in a cup because he pretended he couldn’t find a cup before Davide was telling us the recipe. Plus the chocolate was mistaken for the coffee and the coffee was mistaken for the chocolate. The next part of the comedy show was a circus act. When Davide dressed as clown walked on a rope that was on the floor then he asked 2 people to hold the rope up so he could walk on it, then he asked for 4 more but it was just for a drying rack for his clothes. Then came my favorite of the acts. It was two of the workers that only spoke to each other by saying lalala, and the other spoke like LALALA! The one that spoke loudly was kind of fat he drew a 🙁 on his stomach and drew x’s on the side of his face he acted all tough but I don’t think he was that tough). Andrea will come with something and Davide will want it and bully/shouting to get it. They fought over toys, a ball, hula hoop. He twirled it around his arm then he broke which made me really laugh. To get the hula-hoop the loud one was fake spitting to get him to drop the hula-hoop, and run away since he was fat he had trouble getting it around him. Then Andrea had a pool noodle that he poked the other one with. Davide grabbed it then use it as a machine gun which was really funny. Andrea had cake and when Davide found he begged for it since he liked cake. The audience said to give it to him so Andrea told him to close his eyes and open his mouth. Then he smashed it into Davide’s face.

Le soir, l’équipe d’animation menée par Davide proposait des jeux. Mon père a été selectionné pour être le capitaine le soir du quiz (où il fallait retrouver le nom de l’artiste et le titre des chansons). Il est très bon à cela, j’étais content car j’ai trouvé la réponse à 2 chansons. Un autre soir ils ont fait des sketchs super rigolo, j’ai beaucoup ri, notamment quand Andrea et Davide ne parlaient qu’en faisant Lalala, et ils arrivaient à exprimer des émotions (en fait Andrea arrivait avec quelque chose et Davide finissait toujours par le lui prendre, le dernier truc était un gateau au chocolat et comme Davide disait à Andrea qu’il le voulait Andrea le lui a écrasait sur le visage, j’ai beaucoup beaucoup rigolé).

The kids I befriended were Jay, Shaun, Fin, Ricky, and Calum. We found something weird about the hotel like as if people were trying to hide something. There was a small entrance that went through the mountain, a cave that could have something hidden inside of it. Plus there was also a fence that had flowers put on it like they were hiding something. On an archery day Davide a member of the animation crew let us fire one arrow I had the best shot on the target.

We were running around, swimming, playing, we would hang out with no adults. All in all I’ll have a hard time topping my experience at The Blue Marine Resort, because I had so much fun.

Mes nouveaux amis sont Ecossais, Anglais etc, ils s’appellent Jay, Shaun, Fin, Ricky and Calum. En arpentant l’hôtel en groupe, on pense que les gens de l’hôtel essayer de cacher quelque chose. Il y avait une petite entrée qui continuait comme un tunnel sous la montagne et peut être que c’était une cachette. Il y avait aussi une clôture avec des fleurs pour cacher l’entrée. Le jour où Davide organisait le tir à l’arc pour les adultes, il nous a laissé tirer sur la cible car il n’y avait as beaucoup de monde, mon tir était en plein dans le mille.

Ce qui m’a plu dans cet hôtel, était le fait que je joue avec des garçons de mon âge a des jeux d’enfants. De plus mes parents nous laisser beaucoup de liberté. Je ne sais pas si on ira dans un autre endroit aussi bien.

Living the life in Crete

October 25, 2015Jaydenbenedicte

When we arrived we got our bags and headed for a taxi when we arrived at the Atrion hotel we got to our room and dropped of our bags and found a Restaurant for dinner. We had grilled Dorado, fava bean soup, a salad with a honey mustard vinaigrette, with apples. We also had grilled peppers, for dessert we had a sort of cake that was made of couscous, and honey. The next morning we ate breakfast at the hotel, I had a waffle with lots of chocolate sauce, toast with chocolate spread, bacon, and a croissant.

Après avoir récupéré nos sacs dans le ferry, nous avons pris un taxi pour l’hôtel Atrion où nous avons passé la nuit. Comme il était tard, nous sommes allés à un restaurant tout prêt de l’hôtel. Nous avons pris une dorade cuite sur les braises, une spécialité Crétoise la soupe de haricots secs, une salade avec une vinaigrette moutarde miel et des pommes. En plus, il y avait des poivrons grillés, et pour le dessert ils nous ont apporté une sorte de gateau à la semoule avec beaucoup de miel. Le lendemain matin au petit déj, c’était un buffet, j’en ai profité pour manger: des gaufres avec beaucoup de chocolat, des toasts avec du nutella, du bacon et un croissant.

After breakfast we visited the archeological museum of Heraklion, it was really amazing it was like the Vatican museums. I learned a lot about the history of the Minoans and the others that live on Crete through the artifact’s that were displayed. There was a replica of the palace of Knossos. You’ve probably heard of it if you have read the legend of the Minotaur, it’s where the maze of the Minotaur was but it’s just a legend, the maze is real but not the Minotaur. There were lots of double axes (called Labrys) because the axe was the highest religious symbol to Minoans, they would put sculptures of the horns of the Minotaur then put an axe in between. There were ancient weapons. Egyptians buried their dead in coffins, the Minoans buried theirs in giant urns. There displayed helmets made of wild boars tusks. We saw Roman sculptures, because the Romans once conquered Crete. There were lots of heads of bull’s artifacts because of the Minotaur and for the popular bull leaping games. There were lots of jewelry exhibits that my mom really liked. Their collection was very amazing. It was a museum about the riches of the Minoans and other Minoan artifacts.

Nous avons visité le Musée Archéologique d’Héraklion, je l’ai trouvé aussi bien que le musée du Vatican. C’était un bon moyen pour apprendre des détails sur la culture Minoenne et les autres civilisations qui ont peuplé l’île de Crète. J’ai particulièrement aimé la réplique en bois du Palais de Cnossos. Vous avez du entendre parler de la légende du Minotaure, le labyrinthe était vrai mais pas le Minotaure. J’ai admiré les casques des guerriers faits avec des défenses de sangliers, leurs épées et leurs boucliers. Dans le Musée, il y avait beaucoup de haches doubles appelées Labrys, c’était des symboles religieux extrèmement importants pour la civilisation Minoenne. Elles pouvaient servir pour des sacrifices rituels professés par des femmes. Nous avons aussi vu des statues Romaines, car les Romains ont envahi la Crète. Les têtes de taureau étaient très présentes à cause du Minotaure mais aussi parce qu’ils faisaient partis des jeux. Ma mère a beaucoup aimé les bijoux retrouvés dans les tombes car ils étaient bien conservés.

Balos Beach

When we first arrived at Balos beach we had to hike down to get to it. When we reached the bottom tried to find a good place to sit. When we found one my sister and I made a trench with a wall to keep the water from flooding our area but it just ended up by the water making it fall apart. After it did I covered my legs in sand. There was an area where water flowed really fast I went in it and it was like you were in shallow rapids. My dad and I went snorkeling in an area that had lots of fish, we’ve been trying to find sea urchin skeletons and my dad finally found a green one. My mom was really happy when we came back and showed her the urchin skeleton. We had lunch at the beach I had sausages with French fries, that was mostly the best thing. We walked on rocks where I found a really cool piece of drift wood (drift wood is wood that has drifted in water when it comes on land the sun bleaches it and it becomes white. Sadly I couldn’t bring it around the world. To get back up we had to hike up to the cars. When we got back up, there was a goat that went to a dumpster diner. Literally it was eating from the trash can. Our visit to Balos beach was nice but I wished there was more sun.

La Crète a des très belles plages, mais les plus belles sont plus dures d’accés comme Balos. Pour y arriver il faut marcher pendant 40 minutes de l’autre côté d’une montagne. Une fois sur place, nous avons cherché un bon endroit pour s’installer. Avec ma soeur, nous avons travaillé dur pour empêcher la marée montante de nous repousser. La mer montait très vite et tu avais l’impression d’être englouti. Nous avons perdu, donc après je me suis amusé. J’ai fait du tuba avec mon père, et il a trouvé un squelette d’oursin vert.Ma mère était super contente qu’on ait ramené quelque chose. Nous avons mangé dans une paillote j’ai pris des saucisses avec des frites, c’était le meilleur. Après nous nous sommes promenés sur les pierres, et là j’ai trouvé un gros morceau de bois blanchi par le soleil et la mer. Il était super cool mais je savais que je ne pouvais pas le ramener. Au retour, il a fallu remonter la montagne que j’avais descendu pour venir. En haut, il y avait une chèvre qui mangeait son dîner dans la poubelle. Nous avons passé une bonne journée mais il n’a pas fait trop soleil.

Elafonisi

Elafonisi was another beach that was twice as amazing as Balos beach. I had no trouble jumping in the water because it was very warm. There was this very shallow lagoon where my sister and I had a sand fight. A little farther from the lagoon there were kite surfers, if you’ve never heard of kite surfing it’s where you stand on a board and a kite propelled by the wind drives you in all directions. We went snorkeling I saw a big group of fish that had a triangle shaped noses. I found a partial sea urchin skeleton that was green. It’s strange every partial urchin skeleton we’ve found has been green and even the whole urchin skeleton was green. Although you can’t really see it in the pictures but the sand was pink not entirely but were the waves hit it was pink. To go back home we got stuck behind a bus and it also happened when we were going to Elafonisi. The roads are small and very windy because of the mountains.

Nous sommes allés à Elafonisi le lendemain et cette plage était 2 fois plus belle encore que Balos. Je n’ai eu aucun problème pour me jeter à l’eau car elle était bonne. Il y avait un endroit où ce n’était pas profond, et avec ma sournois avons fait une bataille de sable. Il y avait aussi des kite surfers, c’est faire du surf avec une voile. En nageant avec le tuba, j’ai vu un groupe de poissons avec un long nez en forme de triangle. J’ai aussi trouvé un morceau de squelette d’oursin vert. Même si ça ne se voit pas bien sur les photos cette plage a du sable rose. Ce sont de petites routes dans la montagne et à l’aller comme au retour on est resté coincé derrière un bus!!!

Minotaur legend and the Knossos Palace

October 25, 2015Jaydenbenedicte

Knossos is an ancient Minoan palace with a surrounding city located in Crete. It was ruled by the 9 year old king Minos the son of Zeus. Minos was one of three gods that judged the underworld. The settlement of the city was established well before 2000 B.C.E and ended in 1700B.C.E by fire but some suspect it could have been a tsunami. King Minos hired an architect, mathematician, and an inventor called Daedalus to build his castle so if any one entered they would never come out without a guide. It was also home to, the Minotaur half man half bull creature that eats humans. King Minos’s wife, Pasiphae slept with a bull sent by Zeus and gave birth to Minotaur. King Minos was embarrassed but didn’t want to kill it so he hid it. It was put in a maze that he could never get out of. Legend said that King Minos would put his ennemies inside the labyrinth and Minotaur would eat them.

Le Palais de Cnossos est le plus bel exemple de la civilisation minoenne en référence au roi Minos, fils de Zeus. Minos faisait parti des 3 rois qui régnaient sur le monde des ténébres. La ville date d’au moins 2000 avant J.C et la fin de vers 1700 après J.C. On suppose le feu ou même un tsunami aurait mis fin à cette civilisation. Le roi Minos engagea un architecte mathématicien et aussi inventeur du nom de Dédale pour lui construire son palais. Il voulait en effet que personne ne puisse en ressortir. Sa femme Pasiphae avait mis au monde Minotaure en s’accouplant avec un taureau envoyé par Zeus. Le roi Minos était embarrassé mais ne put pas le tuer alors il décida de cacher ce monstre moitié home moitié taureau. Minotaure fût mis dans le labyrinthe et ne devait pas en sortir. La légende veut que le roi mettait ses ennemies dedans et ils devenaient le manger du monstre.

One year one of the sons of Minos, Androgeus was killed in the Panathenaic games by the bull that impregnated his mom. King Minos was furious and demanded King of Athens Aegeus, to offer 7 men and women has sacrifice every year. They would be sent into the maze and never come out. The third year, Theseus the son of the king of Athens decided to be one of the 7 men that would go to Crete in order to kill the Minautor and end the sacrifices. Theseus met Ariadne daughter of King Minos and fell madly in love with her. She decided to help him. She gave him yarn so he could find his path back and he would not get lost. He defeated the Minautor and escaped with Ariadne. He had promise his father that upon returning to Athens he would put up white sails if he was victorious or leave the black sails if he lost. On the way back to Athens they stopped on the island of Naxos and celebrated too much. They forgot to change the sails to white and when his father saw the black sails he committed suicide and fell in the sea, since this sea is called the Aegean Sea.

Une année, Androgée fût assassiné lors de jeux par le même taureau qui avait engrossé sa mère. Fou de rage, le Roi Minos demanda réparation au Roi d’Athènes Egée, et de lui offrir 7 hommes et 7 femmes comme sacrifice chaque année. Quand la troisième année arriva, Thésée le fils d’Egée se porta volontaire parmi les 7 hommes. Il voulait tuer le Minotaure. Il rencontra le princesse Ariane fille de Minos dont il tomba éperdument amoureux. Elle décida de l’aider, elle lui donna une pelote de laine qu’il devrait dérouler et rembobiner après avoir tuer le Minotaure pour ressortir du labyrinthe. Il le tua et en sorti. Il repartit pour Athènes en emmenant Ariane avec lui. Il avait dit à son père qu’il hisserait des voiles blanches en cas de victoires ou elles resteraient noires s’il mourrait. Après une halte sur Naxos et ayant fêtait sa victoire, Thésée repris la mer vers Athènes mais ne changea pas les voiles. Son père croyant son fils mort, se jeta dans la mer donnant ainsi le nom à la mer Egée.

After the end of the construction of Knossos place and the labyrinth Daedalus and his son Icarus were locked up in the high tower because they knew the secrets of the maze. To escape, they made wings of wood, wax and feathers. They flew out but Icarus flew to close to the sun and his wings melted and he plummeted to his death.

Quand Dédale eut fini la construction du labyrinthe, il fût enfermé dans la grande tour avec son fils Icare, car ils étaient les 2 seuls à connaitre le chemin pour sortir de ce dédale de rues. Pour s’échapper, ils se firent des ailes avec ce qu’ils avaient autour d’eux : de la cire de bougies, des plumes et du bois. Ils s’envolèrent, mais Icare s’approcha trop près du soleil, cela fit fondre la cire des ailes et il tomba et mourut.

Crete

October 25, 2015Meliabenedicte

I heard a local Greek say that Crete was paradise on earth, I want to know if paradise on earth really exists, and if so, is it in Crete?

Un jour un Grecque nous a dit que la Crète était le paradis sur terre! Il fallait que je vois ça de mes propres yeux.

When we first arrived in Heraklion, which is the biggest city in Crete, I was a little sea sick from the ferry boat ride. But I was rejoiced when I found out that we would be staying in our first hotel of this trip. A decent one too. It had a diverse breakfast and good Wi-Fi so that was all I needed. The next morning my mom, my brother and I went to an archeological museum while my dad went to get a rental car. That museum was so impressive, all of the artifacts were from the palace of Knossos, which was where the legend of the Minotaur was born. The museum had all sorts of urns and stamps and jewelry from ancient Greece. I learned that they used to put the deceased in huge urns instead of coffins. The jewelry they recovered was in perfect condition, I could have easily worn most of it! And the pots! There were all so different. Some had spikes and others were tall, whilst one was made entirely out of crystal. The artwork they had was just as stunning as the rest. The way that the people were depicted and the gestures they made was very Egyptian-like I thought. That was a very interesting museum and probably one of the best collections I have ever seen.

J‘étais un peu barbouillée après le voyage en ferry depuis Santorini. Mes parents avaient réservés un chambre d’hotel! Nous allions rester dans notre premier hotel depuis le début de notre voyage, j’étais super contente. Il est très bien. Au petit déjeûner, le lendemain matin il y avait un grand buffet et je me suis régalée. Pendant que mon père restait pour s’occuper de notre location de voiture, avec mon frère et ma mère nous avons visité le Musée Archéologique d’Heraklion, un vraie merveille. Il y avait les objets trouvés dans le Palais de Knossos (la légende du Minotaure). Ca allait des premières figurines jusqu’à l’époque de l’occupation Romaine. Les objets étaient de grande qualité, et très variés comme de grandes jarres pour conserver huiles et vins, les bijoux portés par de riches femmes, des têtes de Minotaure, des cercueuils, j’ai appris qu’à une période ils mettaient leurs morts dans des urnes. Mon objet préféré était un petit pichet tout en crystal. Les fresques retrouvaient à Knossos reflétaient l’influence Egyptienne, même position de profile. Ils faisaient beaucoup de commerce avec l’Egypte qui n’est pas loin. Ce Musée vaut le détour pour mieux comprendre les Minoans, les peuplades qui ont construit le palais de Knossos.

We were staying in a city called Chania, which is on the west coast of Crete. It is an average town with apartment buildings and small super markets. It was nicer at the port though. Whole streets of clothing stores and jewelry stores and pottery. We had a traditional Cretan meal at a small restaurant in the middle of all the streets. They cooked in clay pots, we tried their rabbit and pork stifado sorts of tomato stewed meats. It was all very tasty. The island of Crete is a long island, with Mountains throughout all the inside. They can get snow in the winter. The landscape was lusher in the east part than the west. The beaches we visited in the west part were gorgeous. Clear turquoise water, pink sand, but still not many fish. On Balos beach, I made an amazing discovery while digging a barricade to keep the lounge chairs from submerging under the water. I had found a tiny sandollar that fit on roughly half of my pinky nail. At that same beach, my dad found a green sea urchin skeleton while snorkeling with my brother. That made two incredible finds in one day! Another beach we went to was called Elefonisi, the pink-sanded beach. I preferred this one to the previous beach we went to because it was sunnier and the water was much warmer too.

Après nous avons continué notre chemin vers l’ouest dans la ville de Chania (prononcé Hania). La ville en elle même n’est pas très charmante sauf le vieux port avec ses petites échoppes et ses restaurants. Nous allions y faire un tour tous les soirs. Nous avons mangé la cuisine Crétoise traditionnelle cuite dans des pots en terre sur des feux de bois. Je dois dire qu’on s’est régalé avec le lapin stifado entre autre. L’île de Crête est tout en longueur pas très large mais très longue et au milieu il y a de vraies montagnes qui peuvent avoir de la neige en hiver. La végétation est plus luxuriante à l’ouest qu’à l’est. Nous sommes allés sur des plages magnifiques à l’ouest. D’abord Balos, une plage accessible uniquement par bateau ou une marche, le spectacle était magnifique quand on arrive de l’autre côté de la montagne avec ses eaux turquoises comme un lagon. La marée montait alors pour nous protéger j’essayais de faire un barrage de sable, malheureusement j’ai perdu ma bataille. En creusant j’ai trouvé un minuscule sand dollar, j’étais contente de ma trouvaille, mais plus tard dans la journée mon père a trouvé le squelette d’un oursin. Deux super trouvailles la même journée ! Le lendemain nous sommes allés à la plage d’Elafonisi. C’était magnifique, elle est appelée la plage de sable rose car le corail qui s’est effrité donne une couleur un peu rose au sable. Je l’ai adoré car il faisait plus soleil et l’eau était plus chaude.

Now we leave the west to go to the eastern part of Crete. Immediately I realized while we were driving that it was more arid and rocky than in Chania. The beaches too were not as nice as in the west. My parents decided that since Jayden and I have been so good on this trip, we could sacrifice a little money to stay in a five star resort. It had an all-you-can-eat-buffet, a nice pool, a game room, a tennis court, and a private beach. The food was all right, but the Wi-Fi was non-existent, you had to pay to go in the hot tub, and it had probably been 50 years since the tennis court was last refurbished. But other than that, the resort was great! In that resort, I had a lot of freedom (which I will probably never get again during this trip). I could get drinks and my 4:00 waffles, and roam around the hotel with the other children without my parents. I made many new friends including a little 8 year old German girl named Sasha. She really took onto me as if I were her big sister, and we played with each other almost every day. I also made friends with 2 French girls about my age. But in the last few days, I became friends with the English and Scottish kids that were staying at the resort. We all had fun venturing through the dark corridors of the hotel at night and playing table tennis, swimming. Had I been less shy in the beginning of our stay and gone to them, I wouldn’t be here regretting it. Though I am still happy I befriended them. Every night that we stayed at the resort, there would be a show, and my dad volunteered himself every time which embarrassed me a lot. But these shows made everyone laugh and were very fun and entertaining. One of them was a music trivia show on American 80s music. My dad was a pro at it and our team won. Another one was a comedy, where a member of the animation crew dressed like a baby and acted that way too. On one of the last shows, my dad and three other men were chosen to go on stage and do crazy things like imitating an animal and being spun around after drinking a beer. My dad won, which embarrassed me even further. After this week of freedom, it is going to be hard to go back to reality, there will be no buffet, or mini burgers, or even table tennis or friends. But there will be those great memories, and that is what matters most.

Nous avons quitté l’ouest pour l’est, pendant le trajet en voiture on se rend bien compte de la différence de végétation et les plages ne sont plus aussi belles. Parce que nos parents étaient contents de nous depuis le début du voyage, ils ont choisi un hôtel tout inclus pendant une semaine de catégorie 5 étoiles. La wifi ne fonctionnait pas très bien dommage! Il était bien même s’il fallait payé pour aller dans le jacuzzi (réservé à la section Spa de l’hôtel) et que le terrain de tennis avait vu de meilleurs jours. On a joué un matin, ils nous ont prêté des raquettes et des balles, on s’est bien amusé quand même. Il y avait tout le temps quelque chose à manger en plus des buffets pour les repas. Je pouvais faire plus ou moins ce que je voulais, me chercher des cocktails et bouger où et quand je voulais sans avoir besoin d’avoir mes parents à mes côté, super! Je me suis faite plein d’amis, notamment une petite fille allemande du nom de Sasha, elle me suivait partout elle était trop mignonne, mais aussi des françaises de mon âge, Angélina et Lilou. Vers la fin de mon séjour je me suis faite amie avec des écossais et des anglais qui étaient là depuis le début. On s’est bien amusé, entre autre avec le ping-pong, nager, et le soir à courir dans les couloirs noirs de l’hôtel et à se faire peur. Je regrette d’avoir mis tant de temps à les rencontrer car je me suis vraiment bien amusée après avoir fait leur connaissance. Tous les soirs, l’animation de l’hôtel faisait un show et des jeux pour les adultes, il a fallu que mon père se porte volontaire, j’ai trouvé ça assez embarrassant. Un des jeux était de reconnaitre le titre et l’auteur d’une chanson qui était jouée, il est très bon à ce genre de jeux, du coup son équipe en avait fait leur capitaine et bien sûr ils ont gagné. Le lendemain soir, ils ont élu Mr Blue Marine, mon père a fait parti des 4 hommes qui ont fait des jeux sur scène, et devinez! Il a gagné, moment encore plus embarrassant!!! Après cette semaine de quasi liberté, ça va être dur de revenir à la réalité, plus de buffet, de gaufres pour 4H, d’amis avec qui ont fait les 400 coups. Mais bon il est temps de passer à un autre endroit.

My Stay in Santorini

October 17, 2015JaydenBrent Menke

Santorini is a Greek island located on a volcano crater that has sunk into the sea. We stayed in a hotel called Rena’s suites, it was ok. My mom and dad slept in a different bedroom. When we put all our bags down and got settled in, we decided to go into town, Thira. It was just 12 minutes away, we had to go up hill and take a lot of turns the town is like a labyrinth, but after the third day I memorized the path.

Nous voilà sur l’ile de Santorini, nous séjournerons dans la ville de Thira dans l’hôtel Rena’s suites. Nous avons deux chambres séparées, je dors dans un grand lit. C’est une île volcanique et les villes sont situées sur le cratère du volcan qui est submergé par la mer. Les villes sont construites à flan du cratère. Après avoir défait nos bagages, nous sommes allés faire un tour en ville. Il a fallu marcher pendant 12 minutes à peu près, tout en montée et des petites rues comme des labyrinthes, il m’a fallu 3 jours pour me repérer et pouvoir retrouver le chemin tout seul.

There were lots of little shops and tons jewelry stores, my mom really liked the jewelry they made. We went into a store called Art of the loom it had really interesting things like Venetian glass animals that were on logs liked the lobster. For lunch we ate gyros, its pork or chicken, French fries, tomatoes, wrapped in pita bread. There was a shop I forgot its name but it had really cool things like glass that had metal fish in them they were put in different layers to be 3d. For dinner we had one of the best tables in Santorini to watch the sun set. We had a platter of Greek appetizers: we ate deep fried tomato balls stuffed with Greek cheese, deep fried cheese, and other stuff. We also order a block of feta cheese that had another kind of cheese that was melted on top of the feta. For dessert my sister and I had Viennese hot chocolate because the temperature had dropped and it was getting chilly. It was really good. But I forgot to tell you about the amazing sunset we saw. It was probably in the top 3 best sunsets I’ve seen, the best was probably in Arizona.

La ville est composée de petits magasins, souvent des bijouteries, ma mère était très contente car ils ont de beaux bijoux. Moi, j’ai aimé certaines magasins comme un qui s’appelait Art of the loom, il y avait des objets en verre un peu comme à Venise. Pour le déjeûner nous avons manger des gyros (sandwich greek servi dans une pita avec de la viande et une sauce au yaourt) c’était très bon. Ensuite nous avons continué notre tour de la ville. Pour le dinner, nous avons mangé dans un restaurant super bien placé pour admirer le coucher du soleil. Mon père avait commandé des assortiments d’entrée grecque, comme des feuilles de vignes farcies avec du riz, des croquettes de tomates, du taramosalata, du tatziki, et aussi de la feta rôtie au four avec un autre fromage fondu dessus. Pour dessert, avec ma soeur on a eu droit à un chocolat viennois car il commençait à faire frais. J’ai oublié de vous parler du coucher du soleil! Il était très beau, je dirais qu’il fait parti des 3 meilleurs que j’ai jamais vu. Ceux d’Arizona sont mes préférés.

The next day we went on a long hike to Oia a village on the other side of Santorini. The walk was really about 6 miles. About half way there we sat down in a restaurant, I was really surprised when my mom said we could have a soda because it was really hot and we wouldn’t get dehydrated. When we arrived in Oia which took 3 hours, you have to go downed uphill. We walked around town it had lots of little shops and jewelry stores like Thira. We wanted to stay for the sunset but we decided to go back because we would have had to wait 2 hours instead we watched the sunset from Firostefani it was alright not as nice as the first one.

Le jour suivant nous avons marché de Thira à Oia, un petit village au bout de l’île. On a marché pendant 3 h, et fait à peu près 13 km. C’était joli, mais il faisait très chaud. A mis chemin, nous avons fait une halte dans une petite échoppe et j’ai été super surpris quand ma mère nous a dit qu’on avait droit de boire un soda. Elle avait peur qu’on se déshydrate, on a pris un Fanta, ça n’arrive jamais. C’était plus facile après pour finir la marche. Oia est un autre petit village comme Thira avec des petits magasins. Les gens y viennent pur admirer le coucher du soleil sur les moulins. Il fallait attendre 2 heures de plus alors on est rentrer par bus et on a vu le cocher du soleil depuis Firostefani.

The day after we spent the whole day doing homework, after we were finished I went for a swim in the pool. After dinner, we did a stroll in town.
Our stay was finally over, we packed our bags. We did some homework while waiting for the ferry at 5h30. We took a taxi to go to the ferry, it was late to pick us up and then the driver went to get more people, and we had to wait because they were late. We were afraid to miss the ferry. Fortunately it did not happen. The ferry was really big, it took us about 2h to get to Crete. The biggest island of Greece.

Nos deux derniers jours nous avons fait des devoirs, mathématiques, grammaire et orthographe. On allait manger en ville pour couper un peu. Nous avons pris le ferry de 17h30, notre taxi était en retard et en plus il est allé prendre d’autres gens qui n’étaient pas prêts. Nous avons eu peur de rater le ferry, heureusement ce n’est pas arrivé. Nous somme en route pour la Crête.

My stay in Milos

October 7, 2015JaydenBrent Menke

I will first tell you about the ferry we had to take to get to Milos. The waves were really big and I got seasick fortunately I only ate Greek yogurt for breakfast. When we arrived in Milos the owner of the apartment was waiting for us with his car. The apartment wasn’t the biggest but it was the cleanest and very pretty. The beds my sister and I slept in were on the sides of the of the kitchen walls. When we got settled in we decided to go visit the town when my mom realized that she forgot her purse on the ferry. It had all her credit cards and other important stuff. So we went to the port police and explained that she lost her purse, they called the boat and it was found, they said they would bring it back at 4:00p.m.

Mon premier voyage en ferry dans les îles grecques ne s’est pas très bien passé, en effet il y avait du vent et la mer n’était pas plate et j’ai été malade. J’ai vomi mon petit déj dans le couloir du ferry, heureusement ce n’était que du yaourt. Le trajet a duré 3h30, un peu long quand on ne se sent pas bien. A Milos, le propriétaire de l’hôtel nous attendait sur le quai, du coup c’était plus facile avec les valises. L’appart n’était pas très grand, mais il était tout neuf et charmant. Je dormais dans la cuisine avec Mélia chacun dans un lit de chaque côté du mur. Après s’être installé, on est parti en ville pour manger, c’est à ce moment que ma mère s’est aperçue qu’elle avait laissé son sac à main dans le ferry. Un peu panique à bord car il y avait ses cartes de crédit dedans et un peu d’argent quand même. Elle est allée au port et là ils ont contacté le ferry et ils lui ont dit que son sac avait été retrouvé, ils le déposeraient quand le ferry repasse vers 16h.

We rented a tiny and crappy car to go around the island. Milos is a volcanic island. The first site we visited was Sarakiniko a beach that was made of white rocks that you could climb and explore. It was all made from when a lava flow came and made the rock formation. There was a place where the lava made a sort of tiny maze, there parts that made perfect sitting areas. We discovered shell fish that were fossilized in the rocks. Farther from that area there was a ship wreck that was really cool. We visited some cave’s that were dark. I enjoyed our visit.

On a loué une voiture toute petite et toute cabossée pour faire le tour de l’île. On est allé à Sarakiniko, une plage faite de roches volcaniques blanches, j’ai ben aimé explorer cet endroit. Parfois ça ressemblait à un labyrinthe, parfois des pierres formées des bancs parfaits pour s’asseoir. On a trouvé des coquillages fossilisés, c’était cool. Un peu plus loin, il y avait l’épave d’un grand bateau échouée près des côtes, et aussi des grottes très très grandes qui faisaient des galeries.

We went to Pollonia a small village where we had lunch. We had mussels prepared style saganaki (feta with tomato sauce) with a mountain of crispy fries that were really good with the saganaki sauce, octopus, fried sardines, and a Greek salad. There was a cat that wouldn’t stop meowing, and begging for food. We splashed him with water, and I really freaked him out twice so he stopped.

Pour le lunch, on est allé à Pollonia un petit village sympa. On a pris des moules façon saganaki (sauce tomates et feta) et une montagne de frites qui étaient très bonnes, mais aussi une salade de pieuvre, des sardines grillées et une salade grecque. Les îles grecques sont pleines de chats, il y en a de partout ils viennent vers nous quand on mange, là il y en avait un qui n’arrêtait pas de miauler, alors de temps en temps je lui éclaboussais un peu d’eau (je lui ai donné les arêtes de sardines quand même!).

After we had lunch we went to a beach called Palaiochori that had really cool snorkeling. Near big rocks I saw fish that had a green body, a black head with a blue design that looked like an atom and it had blue stripes on its body. While snorkeling I discovered a place that had volcanic activity, like an underwater geyser that was spitting bubbles. When we arrived we had hot dogs, rice and vegetables for dinner.

On a passé l’après midi sur la plage de Palaiochori, elle était protégée du vent du nord. J’ai fait du masque et tuba. Et j’ai vu sous l’eau un poisson dont le corps était vert, sa tête noire avec un dessin bleu comme un atome et il avait aussi des rayures bleues sur le corps. J’ai découvert un endroit où il y avait de l’activité volcanique, sous l’eau comme des petits geysers qui crachaient des bulles. Je suis retourné explorer tout cela avec mon père. Pour le dinner, on a mangé des hot dogs avec du riz aux petits légumes, la cuisine n’est pas grande.

The next day we sailed around Milos, when we first arrived we were asked to take off our shoes to not get the boat dirty. We saw a rock that looked like it had the lion of Venice on it, one that looked exactly like a rabbit, and one was like bear’s head. We snorkeled in a sea cave that had colors, blue was for iron, red was copper and yellow was sulfur. The water was warm and very clear. We sailed for a while before arriving at Kleftiko, a place where pirates hid like the famous pirate Red Beard. There were tons of little sea caves that were interesting. We ate lunch onboard the boat, we were we had a meal of spaghetti shrimp and mussels, with a Greek salad. After we finished eating the shrimp, we tossed the head to the fish. The fish started to school around the food we gave them. We spotted some Garr fish, they were skinny and had spikes like swordfish. The spikes had a red tip, not like the alligator Garr that is huge and extremely deadly but I’ve never heard anybody being attack from these. Then we swam in an area that had very shallow water that was really warm. There wasn’t much to see but I had a great time trying to throw my sister in the water. After we had ouzo time its where the adults have ouzo, it’s a drink that smells and tastes like a lot of black liquorish. They also served grilled octopus and lots of appetizers, it was all very tasty. On the way back we saw a fishing village Klima, each house had a different color, the Captain explained that they started painting their doors with the left over paint that the cargo ships would get rid of, that is why nobody has the same color. After we didn’t see much but rocks. Our tour around Milos was great, I would say it definitely made me☺.

Le lendemain, on a fait une ballade en voilier,on a enlevé nos chaussures pour monter à bord pour ne pas salir le bateau. En partant, le captaine nous a montré des rochers spéciaux, l’un comme un lapin et un autre comme une tête d’ours en colère. On a nagé avec nos masques et tubas, on a vu des couleurs, bleu pour le fer, rouge pour le cuivre et jaune pour le soufre, l’eau était claire et bonne. On a mis les voiles pour la baie de Kleftiko, l’endroit où les pirates se cachaient, notamment le célèbre pirate Barbe Rousse. Il y avait beaucoup de grottes, j’ai trouvé ça intéressant. On a mangé le lunch à bord du bateau, salade grecque puis spaghetti avec des moules et des crevettes. On a lancé les têtes des crevettes dans l’eau et des poissons sont venus les manger. On a vu des poissons Garr (pas sûr du nom en français). Puis on a nagé dans un endroit pas profond et l’eau était chaude, il n’y avait pas grand chose à voir alors je me suis amusé avec ma soeur, j’essayais de la faire tomber dans l’eau. Avant le départ, le capitaine a dit que c’était l’heure de l’ouzo, en fait les adultes boivent de l’ouzo, une boisson avec de l’acohol qui a un goût d’anis. On a aussi mangé plein de petits trucs apéro, pieuvre grillée etc c’était tout très bon. Sur le chemin du retour on s’est arrêté pour admirer le village de pêcheurs Klima. Le capitaine nous a expliqué que les pêcheurs avaient commencer à peindre leurs portes avec les peintures restantes des grands navires de frêt, c’était pour cela que personne n’avait la même couleur. Après il n’y avait rien à voir que des falaises. J’ai passé une bonne journée.