Today we had fun. First we had breakfast and did art. Then, we left the house and saw where the president lives. Then we walked around for a while and saw the Roman Coliseum.

The Coliseum

Next, we had lunch and tried to go to an ancient senator’s house (turned into a museum) but it was closed. Then we took a taxi to a church-turned-museum and waited for 30 minutes. Then we went inside and saw a cool mural on the ceiling. There were two earlier built churches under the one we were in, so we went in those. The oldest one was from the First Century! Thats 1 AD to 100 AD! That’s old! Then we went home and did music practice and wrote this.

In the deepest layers under the church – built sometime in the first century A.D.

Yours very-truly,

Fin

Todaaaaaaaay we went to Belém and had lots of fun. But first, we played instruments, And Dad came back from his hotel. Then, we had lunch and called an Uber (a company that runs taxis) to take us to Belém. There, we went and visited a monastery/museum.

Us by the wall

Us on the second floor of the courtyard

After that, we saw the Monument to the Discoveries, a giant statue of a ship with Prince Henry the Navigator (a famous explorer) on the prow.

Us by the Monument to the Discoveries

Then we got gelato.

Us with gelato

Gelato by the sea

After that, we walked to the castle by the sea (aka the Belém tower).

Over the castle on the sea!

And then we went home.

bye

Today we went to a museum. It was really cool. We saw lots of awesome stuff, Like the taxidermy room. It included jars with dead stuff in them, frogs that were cut open, an actual two-headed snake, sketches of a two headed turtle (that was real), and more!

Dead things in jars

Bird models

Dolphin skeleton!

Two headed snake!

Cut-open frog! Blech!

Sketches of a two-headed turtle

We also saw cool geodes.

And the dinosaur exhibit!

Our nanny getting eaten by a T-rex

Allosourus foot!

Then, we went to the pool at the hotel that my dad was staying at.

Anyways, that’s about it for today. Fin out!

Today was fun. First, after breakfast, we went to the aquarium. It was really cool. On the walkway to the aquarium, me and Fisher pretended we were ingredients in a giant taco.

Us in a giant metal taco shell

Then, right by the entrance, we saw a giant head floating in the water. We took a picture with it.

See if you can spot the head

After that, we went inside. We saw a sunfish, and penguins!

Sunfish, Dead center.

Penguins, nuff said

Then, we took pictures with animal posters.

We combined our limbs to make an octopus

Then we saw the most Beyootiful fish in the world.

Then we saw sea snakes.

Then we had lunch at the aquarium restaurant and went to the apartment. After that, we made forts and played a game called Kingdoms. Then we went to the beach and caught crabs and went grocery shopping and had dinner and I know this is a run-on sentence but I just cant Stopppppppppppp. . . . . Okay then, After that, we had dessert and came home and played video games.

Today was not very exciting. We did not visit any cool monuments or anything like that, but we did have some fun. In the morning, Fisher, my dad, and I walked around a bit. Then we got croissants, but they had nuts, so my throat started hurting. We had to go home and lay down for a nap. After that, we did music practice and our nanny arrived after being out for a while. Then my dad left for two days, and Fisher Ms. Emily and I played a game. Then we went out again and got Fro-yo. After that, we went to the beach and caught some crabs.

Then we got subway sandwiches. After that we came home, played video games, and I wrote this blog.

BYYYYEEEEEEE

PORTUGALLLLLL!!!

Yesterday we got off of the plane after 15 hours of travel – where all we did was play video games (not interesting). After the plane we were too tired to do much except walk to the apartment and go to the grocery store. We got Jello and sandwich materials, among other things. Today though, on our first day in Lisbon, Portugal, we had lots of fun.

We went to the castle of São Jorge (St George). We toured the courtyard and Dad, my brother Fisher, and our au pair, Emily went onto the inner walls. I sat in the sun and read.

Us by the outer wall

Peacocks in the castle

My brother looking over the castle wall

See if you can spot me (hint: orange sweatshirt)

Then we walked around and saw a building that looked like the Notre Dame. Portugal copies like, every famous monument that I know of. I.e., there was a Portuguese Golden Gate Bridge, Christ The Redeemer, Arc of triumph, etc. etc. Aaaaaanyways, There was a Notre Dame copy that looked very similar.

The Notre Dame copy 

This is kinda what it looked like. Oh wait, this is exactly what it looked like. It’s a photo. And there are trams in front.

We also saw lots of Tuk Tuks. I have mentioned those before:

Bangkok, Thailand, Day 1

Anyway. . . This is us standing in the main square of Lisbon.

This is Fisher elbowing me in the stomach in the main square of Lisbon.

Then we saw the Arc of Triumph (copycats!). It had some cool carvings. you can see a corner of it in the picture above.

The Arc of triumph. Not much to say except the guy on the right looks like Ben Franklin.

Then we saw a Living Mozart Statue (a street performer).

Gimme five, Mozie!

And then we came back to the apartment and now i’m writing this post. Thank you, and good afternoon.

Mesopotamia was a country in modern day Iran. The Mesopotamians had many interesting talents and religions. If you would like to see some Mesopotamian art, the Louvre has a large collection.

The Mesopotamians made lots of art, furniture, and  jewelry.  They used clay to make sculptures and pottery. The Mesopotamians made jewelry using  gold and jade. Mesopotamian Metalsmiths made copper and iron sculptures.

Mesopotamians had lots of mythology and religion. They believed in Shedus (human-headed five-legged winged bulls).Mesopotamian priests build ziggurats (complex pyramids) to honor their gods.Each city had it’s own god.

The Mesopotamians had lots of interesting technology. The oldest wheel ever found was found in Mesopotamia. The Mesopotamians also had a simple number system that they used for measuring and tracking the stars and planets.

Mesopotamians used a letter system similar to hyreoghrighics. The letters were represented by pictures. The Mesopotamians wrote on clay tablets. They marked belongings with personal seals. Their form of writing is very interesting and perplexing.

The Mesopotamians were an ancient civilization. Like all civilizations, they eventually faded away until all that was left was some ancient relics.

    The home of kings during the fifteenth century, the Alcazar is truly grand. The gardens are home to fountains, fish, and a hedge maze. Squirrels frisk among the trees, while lizards linger in the shadows. The building’s many courtyards and rooms take your breath away. Sure, the Alcazar isn’t as famous as the Eiffel Tower or the Louvre, but it is still an imposing building. The orange room, the courtyard of dolls, and the hall of ambassadors are truly spectacular!

The fountain of the hill is the most beautiful fountain in the garden. Surprisingly, it is the only fountain that is never on. The fountain looks like it has fallen asleep. Forever. In the middle of the fountain, there is a hill with four arches, one on each side. If you look through one of the arches, you can see two women, back to back (statues, of course). On the top are statues of beasts that have eroded so much they are now unrecognizable. These same statues once spit water into the fountain.

The orange room is the grand throne room of the king. On the top, there is a huge dome that gives the room it’s name. The king stayed there long hours during the day and night, talking with court members, dealing with peasant problems, and eating and drinking. This is my favorite room in the palace. The crisscrossing patterns of the dome has drawn wows from many throats.

All the paintings in the museum were either about God or Chegall.  There was the Garden of Eden, Moses receiving the stone tablets, The Last Judgement, David and Goliath, I don’t think Chegall missed a single scene from the bible, a 1000-3000 page book(depending on which version you read). One of the paintings I liked was Moses and the burning bush. On the right side, Moses was on his knees in front of the burning bush. On the other, Moses’s glowing head led the Israelites across the Red sea while a wall of water crashed down on Pharaoh’s men.

Today we went to a site where Vincent Van Gogh painted. The city or Arles set up copies of his paintings on stands in front of the sites where they were painted.