Italy

Yummy Italian gelato treat

We went to Italy!!


Italy is located in southern Europe right in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. It’s bordering countries are France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia. It’s population is 60.48 million people. It’s capital city is Rome.

It’s flag is just like France’s but different colours and different meanings. The red part of the flag means charity the green means hope and the white is for faith.

We went to the Trevi fountain.

Trevi fountain is one of the oldest water sources in Rome. Also, in the late 19th century, people used to think that any drop of water from the fountain that touched them or anyone else it was magic so they drank the water. Now, you can’t drink the water because it is too dangerous.The fountain was beautiful and all the statues looked like 1 million bucks.

making a wish in the fountain

We went to the Colosseum.

The Colosseum is a huge arena that used to host gladiator fights. It was built in 70AD and could hold 50,000 spectators.

A gladiator were a bunch of people (mostly men) that fought against things like animals or even other humans for entertainment. The emperor would love to go and watch the fights and  so would thousands of other people.  

Here are the types of gladiators.

1. Andabatae these gladiators fought blindfolded funny for the addince.
   
2. Dimacheri these gladiators fought with two swords.
   
3. Retiarii these gladiators fought with a trident and nets.
   
4. Hoplomachi these gladiators fought in armor and got one sword.
   
5. Laqueatores these gladiators fought with a rope and a spear.
   
6. Secutores these gladiators fought with a sword and a shield.
   
7. Sagittarii these gladiators fought with bows and arrows.
   
8. Finally we have the Bestarii they fought with anything against wild animals.
   

Did you know only 2% of the gladiators survived and retired.
When we were in the Colosseum we saw lots of rocks, and you could see the where the old spectators area used to be.   You could go up and touch the walls, seats and other things too ( you couldn't do that in Greece) You could also see the underground chambers where they kept the gladiators and animals.  


Vatican City is the smallest country in the world. It is surrounded by Rome. Only priests and
people that work for Swiss Guard live in the Vatican city. The  population is 1000. It’s bordering country is Italy.It is around 4 blocks long (this is my guess it's that small.) 

The flag is just two stripes one is yellow and the other is white. On one side of the flag in a
coat of arms on it is the silver key which means worldly power and the gold key which means spiritual power. They are also known as the keys to heaven they were given to St.Peter from Jesus.

We saw the Sistine Chapel . The Sistine Chapel is a famous chapel because of the artwork Michelangelo painted for Pope Sixtus 4th. The room has a painting called Judgement day and it was beautiful. Michelangelo also painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. It was spectacular.  Sadly, there were no pictures allowed. To get to the Sistine Chapel, we had to go through the Vatican museum. It was huge.  There were mummies, roman and greek status, famous paintings.  There was so much to look at.

Judgement day

ceiling of the Sistine Chapel

Outside of the Vatican museum

Well, that is it for me. Talk to you soon and read my brother's blog if you have a chance. Just message me or my mom and we will give you the link.


Sam

Morocco

We are in Morocco.


Morocco is a country located in North Africa. It’s capital city is Rabat.The population is 35.74 million people. It is bordered by Spain, Algeria, and Western Sahara. The bordering oceans are the Atlantic and the Mediterranean sea.

It’s flag looks like this.

The red part of the flag means hardiness, bravery, strength, and valour. The green means love, joy, peace, hope, and wisdom.


We went to Marrakech.

Marrakech is a city. It is located in the south of Morocco. It is the fourth largest town in Morocco. It has an old part of the city from the 12 century and a new part that was recently built.

When we were there we saw this big market called Jemaa el fnaa.

It was so big and we needed a guide to show us around and not get us lost. In the market square were snake charmers , monkeys on leashes (it was so sad to see the monkeys on leashes...I didn't take a picture of the monkeys), fruit shops and much more.

The inside of the market there were a bunch of shops full of spice, clothes, leather, carpets and way more.

 When our guide took us on the tour he showed us Bahia palace. Bahia palace was made in the 19th century for the sultans grand adviser. Where he lived with his four wives and twenty girlfriends all at the same time!! The palace has amazing walls with tile and some of the walls doorways and carved. It was beautiful but I was not a fan of it because there were only two bathrooms for all the women. ( man that would be cramped)

I also went and got a henna done on my hand.It is a temporary tattoo made of henna plant.  They are symbols of luck, joy and beauty.  

this is the finished look

We went on a day trip to the Atlas mountains.

The first thing we did was ride dromedary or a one humped camel. It felt like a horse but when you get on the dromedary it is lying down so when it gets up you lurch forward. My dromedary was named Shakira! We rode on the dromedary for 30 min (not enough time) and left. I liked riding on them it was fun.

Next we went to learn how argan oil was made. What is argan oil you may ask. It is an oil that is only made in Morocco it’s made from the argan fruit from the argan tree. It can be used for cooking and cosmetic uses.
How you make the cosmetic oil.
1. The goats climb up the argan tree and the fruits fall off. They let the goats do this because the tree is to prickly for humans so when the goats climb up the tree the fruits fall down.
2. People pick up the fruit and take out the nuts.
3. They take the nuts and crack them open and toast the nuts
4. They put them is a grinder and makes argan oil.
For the oil used for cooking it is the same but with no toasting the nuts.

After that, we had lunch at our guide's house.  The lunch was delicious. His mom, sister and sister in law made it. It was a lot of food and we couldn't finish it :(. They made us tangine and some other Moroccan dishes.

Then, we went to the desert. It was beautiful but it was different than the other desert we have seen when we were in Namibia.  It was a rock and sand desert. Nate and I ran up and down the dunes. We raced and had a bunch of fun. But, sadly we had to go back to Marrakech because our tour was over.


We went to Casablanca.  Casablanca is a big city in Morocco. It is located in the northwestern part of Morocco.

When we were there, we went to see Jim Gaffigan!!  For those of you who are thinking who is Jim Gaffigan? Well, he is a stand up comedian and he is super funny. Right now he is on his "Pale Tourist tour" and is touring around the world if you want to to see him.   

 Look him up or watch him on youtube or netflix. He is super funny. When we were there he did jokes about cats in morocco, different countries, and children of course because he has 5!! He was so funny. I really enjoyed watching him. 

We also went and saw this beautiful mosque in Casablanca.  It was very pretty and right by the ocean.

That is it for me this time. 

bye,
Sammy