My First Time Camping In A Tent!

Today I drove to the Great Smoky Mts with my family. The GPS says it takes three hours to get there. but that's not what happen it took four and a half hours.  That's our family crazy and slow in car drives.

We arrived mid afternoon hungry and excited. First, we went around the campground. Next, we put up our 8 person tent and got cozy. Up here in the mountains was very cold and crisp. Then we helped our mom make beans and rice. Yum! It was so delicious, then came dessert! We roasted marshmallows. Were they good? What question is that it was the most yummy super duper marsh mallow I have ever tasted.  We were having a great time so far to make it even better a park ranger came and he told us about the evening program about the people who lived here in Cade's Cove. Cades Cove is the area we were staying at in the Smokies.

When it was 8PM my sister, dad and I went to the program, it was so fascinating how people lived in those Olden days. And how fortunate we are to be close  to schools, stores, also  inventions that we use today. After the program we came back and had some chips with the rest of our family and then we got ready for bed. And let me tell you it was cold! 

We woke up in five layers, that's how cold it was. We got dressed, and then we went to the ranger station. While we were there asked what  the weather would be like. It was going to be close to the freezing point at night time. So we decided we better leave and go home. Before we left we heard there was going to be a tour of a cabin that was mentioned in the program. So we packed up and we drove to where the tour would meet. We also brought sandwiches for lunch. The tour was two hours. We had this nice tour guide named Lisa. She talked to us about how the people lived in the old days and what they needed to survive, which we knew a lot of the answers to her questions.  On our tour the trees were so nice and pretty. The red leaves crisp and hanging on the branches. We finally made it to the cabin and we rested while we learned about the Oliver's, who lived in this house. When the person was done telling us we thanked him, then we left to go and eat our lunch. 

We decided it was time to go so we left and headed to our car. We ate more of our lunch and had chips.  For a treat we got hot chocolate and we left. We knew we would be back very soon! 

Patara - Turkey

Today we woke up early and left for the airport. We had pastries and water for breakfast. Next, we went to check in our bags and then made a pit stop to the bathroom. When we got to the gate we waited to board. It was different from the other gates because you had to take a bus to the airplane. In the airplane I got to sit next to Ilayda and Kaija. The ride was only an hour, but I caught  up on some rest before we landed.

When we landed we went to get our luggage, and then head to a taxi bus to drive us to Patara.

It took quite a bit to get there and we all were hot and hungry for brunch. So, we stopped at a restaurant and ate so much of the yummy food. Next, my Dad and my Aunt went to the grocery store and got sunscreen  and water bottles. Then it was time to hit the rode to Patara. Patara is a beach place with a little town and shops. When we got to Patara we went swimming. Then we all  went to our hotel and we rested until we went out to eat. 

We've been spending a week in Patara going to the beach, swimming at the pool at the hotel, meeting new people, and experiencing new things. I learned about the the earthquake that hit Patara years ago and it damaged many of the Acient Greek burial temples and amphitheater. Eventhough these Acient temples and theaters were damaged you could still see them in person and discover the history behind them. It is very important to know all about other countries and your country's history. 

One afternoon my Aunt and I got to go around Pataras' Ancient burial grounds and temples on the Lycian way. I saw where people where buried in the mountain.  The hole had a single room with the body buried on the side of the hole. When they finished buried the person they would cover it with a boulder.  Then, we walked on and we saw where the ocean used to be after a earthquake that hit Patara badly. Next, we went to this burial temple that had some pieces of the columns that stood in front of the temple. On the back side you  could see the inside of the temple. It was really cool,  I got to identify each column's design ( Doric,Ionic, Caritheum,). Also I got to learn a fact about Muslim religion and how they reacted when someone died. I learned  that its traditional in Muslim religion that someone is to stay with the dead body so the evil spirit doesn't tamper with the soul. 

After, Patara we flew back to Istanbul. We were going to stay a week, while our cousins flew back to the states. Stay tuned for our journey through Istanbul! 

A burial ground in the mountain 

Another burial ground on our hike.

A burial temple built in the 3rd century that I saw on my  hike. 

The side view of the burial temple.

 Me with the temple.

A piece from the burial temple laid on the ground.

The side view of the burial temple.

 A sign of information telling about the burial temple. 

Up close to the sign about the burial temple 

A picture of what the burial temple would of looked like. 

Me on the steps to the burial temple.

Me again on the steps. 

My Aunt in the steps.

My aunt again

The sundown of Patara on our hike.

The entrance to our hotel in Patara.

The view from our hotel room. 

Up: Okan, Chayton and left Is my dad and right is Babonne, there my Turkish family.

They are the hotels ping pong table.

The POOL!!!!!!

Istanbul Turkey

Today, we took a plane from Athens Greece to Istanbul Turkey to meet our cousins and family. 

 At the airport we had to wait to check in our luggage. Finally,  it was time to check in. Then, we walked to gate 14 and we waited until it was time to board. Yeah, we are about  to board the plane! The plane ride would be an hour, in the mean time I played on my iPad until we landed in Istanbul Turkey!

 

After  landing we went through customs. It was really fast. Next, we walked to retrieve our luggage to meet our cousins and family at the airport. To retrieve our luggage took so long. Finally, we all got our luggage and we headed to the exit. There  after the doors from the exit we saw our friends and family.  We got to meet a new family, they were really sweet and very helpful. We all hugged and they welcomed us to Turkey. Next, we split up and the boys went in one car and the girls in the other. We then drove to Seda- Halas apartment. The car ride from the airport to the apartment was a half an hour. When we got their we were welcomed by our other friends and family. We then caught up everyone on our travels. 

Then, there was a knock on the door and it was our cousins( Ilayda, Selda, Okan). We all hugged, we missed each other greatly. Finally it was time to eat dinner. There were all types of Turkish dishes. I ate until I had a full stomach and a smile plastered on my face. Now it was getting really late so my cousins, siblings, and I went and washed up for bed. ( It was well after midnight). We all talked for a little bit and then we fell asleep. 

We then spent two days in Istanbul learning about the history, historical sights and trying lots of yummy food. One of the days we went on an awesome boat ride that had fantastic views and fascinating history behind it.  One of the interesting facts about  Turkey is that one part is Europe and the other is Asia. When I learned that I was pretty amazed. The next day we went to the famous Egyptian Bazaar. It had all kinds of things from food to jewelry and clothing. It was very neat to see the amazing but inexpensive jewelry.  This is the place to go shopping and get all your dried fruit for the winter.  My cousin, sister and I all got a bag that says Istanbul with the evil eye on it. We had crazy fun! Tomorrow we are flying to Patara with our cousins and some of our cousins family members.

 

 

The Beach

Today we went to the beach. To get to the beach we had to walk to the shuttle station.  It was really difficult to get our tickets because it would only take exact change and no bills. Luckily a very nice gentleman gave us his two tickets so we now only had to get the kids ticket. After we got our tickets, my mom looked at the map and she found the beach we wanted to go to. So when the next shuttle came we got on.  Before the stop we were originally going to get off there was a beach even closer, so we got off. Yeah! We walked along the path to the beach.  After we got situated we went in the ocean. The ocean was very cool but not very salty. There were fishes so we had to move so they wouldn't nibble at our feet. Then, we all just swam in the ocean until we all wanted to get out and lay down and take a break. 

The sun was beaming, and it was very hot. The air was very warm and soothing. Next,  it was getting very hot and we all were getting tired so we swam a little longer and then we left. We stopped by the showers to clean our feet. Then, after we cleaned our feet we walked to the shuttle station and we waited for our shuttle to come. At last it came.  Instead of going home we went to a greek restaurant named Smile! It was the best restaurant ever. There was wifi, tv to watch and rocks you could draw on. The food was absolutely mouth watering. I had greek sausages with a greek salad and fries. Yum! For a drink I got Sprite. We all didn't finish our meal so we asked to get a to go box. When we were all done eating we ordered loukumades ( a doughnut with sugar and honey) and baklava. It was all delectable.   After we payed we walked home with a full stomach and yummy leftovers for a night snack. 

Our waiter, the food is not the food we ordered.

Adventuring around Greece

Hi! Today it was all around Greece. The first thing we did was go to the famous flea market, where  I got a my name in greek on a necklace for six euros. After, we went around the cool shops, cafes and saw neat artwork. Then we walked  to Hadrian's Library, it was wasn't really a library it was a cultural center where people could do poetry readings and study. Hadrian's Library was named after the Emperor Hadrian, it was built in  132 AD. We got to take pictures  and even touch the columns, I really enjoyed the experience. Next, we walked around to the where one mans junk is another mans treasure ( flea market). There were a lot of people selling very old stuff that was sometimes junk. Then, after the walking around the main square we headed to the Ancient Angora. We walked and gave our ticket for the site and we headed off. It was a very hot day and we had a very light lunch so we ate our bars in the shade. 

After that, we walked to the nearest building it was the Stoa of Attalos. We went in and enjoyed the shade. Then, when we  were all done we walked to the temple that was ahead of us.  On the hill by the temple there was a magnificent and breathtaking view, you could see the whole Acropolis. AWESOME! Lastly, we were getting tired so we walked for what felt like hours until my parents decided we could take a break at a cafe and have a snack. We ordered a large plate that had mozzarella sticks, spring rolls, chicken pieces, and sausages, hamburger meat. On the side we had sweet chili sauce and barbecue sauce. Yum!  That great meal washed down with ice water. After, we paid and we went walking until we went into this park and we found a wallet with someone's ID  Uh Oh! We returned it to the entrance booth on the way back. Lastly, we walked on the main pedestrian walk to our apartment, while we walked we stopped and bought post cards and mailed postcards. Finally,  it was time to go home so we walked back home happy, tired and excited for what lies ahead tomorrow!