I DEDICATE THIS BLOG TO THE JELLY BEANS After a tour of a young cave we drove for a long time until we arrived at our destination, a campground. The campground had lots of things to do, but we were there for one reason, soccer golf. Soccer golf has the same rules as golf but […]
Gotland has a fascinating geological history. The bedrock of the ancient “Baltica” plate that forms Scandinavia was located close to the equator and covered by ocean. During the Silurian age great coral reefs grew in this area and it was teeming with sealife. Clay washed down from nearby land and shells formed limestone, resulting in […]
Four days ago, my family left the Viking village and headed to a beach for FOSSIL HUNTING! We pulled up to the nice sandy beach…and walked in the opposite direction. After 5 minutes and some not-very-nice views, and smells, of small rivers we came to a stretch of rocks. The rocks were small and about […]
We had decided to skip lunch and go to an early supper at one of the island’s best restaurants. We arrived shortly after 6:00 pm when dinner service began. As we approached the entrance, I straightened the collar of Carter’s shirt; it was Friday night in high season and we had no reservation. We entered. […]
The weather in Scandinavia was cool and damp but the cuisine proved to be an entirely unexpected bright spot. Against a backdrop of grey skies and goosebumps, we sat down in a classic Copenhagen café to experience our first official smørrebrød, the famous open-faced sandwich. We were served thick slices of dense, dark bread studded […]
Today my family went to a re-created Viking village! My parents gave each child two silver coins that we could use to do paid-for activities. We entered the village and looked around. There was a big fire on a low altar of sorts, a dozen or so shacks, a long house, and a training ground. […]
Send me your guess by email! P.S. Our friend Jerry Rubin told us to go here. Thanks it was great!
We came through Copenhagen for a few days of transition from Turkey to Sweden. The first day was all about sleeping late after a post-midnight arrival. When we found out the hotel ran a great breakfast until 11am, we found ourselves liking Denmark pretty well. The streets were clean, the trains ran on time, most […]
We were walking towards Tivoli; the oldest and possibly greatest amusement park. The main reason we came to Denmark was to go to Tivoli. Carter and I were franticly looking around for it. The huge sign saying “TIVOLI” and the golden gate really gave it away. It was Friday in the early afternoon; everyone who […]
After a 90 minute tarmac flight delay in Munich and an endless wait for baggage handling, we finally made it out of the Copenhagen airport late in the night (so late it was dark even in summer when they get 19 hours of sunlight!). Our bleary eyes could not miss this sign though. It seems […]
We had a whirlwind 24-hour stop in this southwest coastal part of Turkey. We arrived in time for a gourmet dinner at a tiny inn up in the mountains. After the meal we slept in an authentic hillside dwelling while listening to the village goat’s bell as he ambled past our door. We woke, packed and indulged […]
“Ouch!” I yelled. The cowboy/horse guide had pricked me with the buckle of the leather chaps he was putting on my legs. We were at a ranch, ready to go horse-back riding for 2 hours. We all got chaps and helmets. We walked to where the horses were and something hit me. No it was […]
A few days ago my family went to a 2,000 year old underground city that could supposedly hold 15,000 people. This city, though not used as a permanent residence, was able to hold early Christians who were being persecuted for their beliefs and were hiding from the Romans. The city was comprised of small chambers […]
I love accomplishing something before breakfast, but this morning was early even for me. We woke at 4:00 am in order to be on time for the 4:45 pick-up. We were going ballooning and the best flight time was just after sunrise when the air was cool and calm. We weren’t alone: more than 30 […]
One of the topics in Road School is comparative religion. We wanted to study this because religion has such a great influence on history and culture. Although the book we are using starts with Judaism and Christianity before getting to Islam (and then five more religions), we started with Islam so the kids could have […]
We spent seven days in Istanbul, a city both modern and ancient. Our hotel, the Empress Zoe, was a converted 15th century bathhouse in the heart of old Istanbul which is called Sultanahmet. The hotel was filled with period style objects and the rooms open into a central courtyard where breakfast and WiFi are served, […]
We left at 7:00 pm. We walked the long way, and got to the bath. We were in the great city of Istanbul. As you know Istanbul is in Turkey, and you also probably know if you are going to bother to fly 5000 miles to Turkey, you might as well get a Turkish bath. […]
Here is a presentation I made on PowerPoint about what a Greek soldier needs for battle. Most of the pictures come from Delfi. Thanks to Antony for helping me find some of these artifacts. Right-click here and download it!
Here is my Powerpoint presentation on Greek myths, my sources are books, Mrs. Altcheck and Mrs. McEnany, and Antony Sofianos. We learned many stories from Antony and here are the three I remember the most. There are also cool pictures of all the gods from the Internet by searching their names. Click here and save.
Last week Piggy was at the Olympic Stadium. Congratulations to Sam and Rachel they guessed right! Where is Piggy this week? Send your guess to me by email.
Turkey is a feast for all the senses but my taste buds were on overdrive as we sampled street fare, sweets, and dishes fit for a Sultan. In lieu of chips or packaged snacks we found lots of little stands selling all sorts of nuts, dried fruits, and—of course—Turkish delight. The latter is a sort […]
They say that there are more than 4,000 stores within the maze of covered streets that comprise Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar. They also say that the stores are now filled with nothing but “authentic imitations” and pickpockets. We weren’t sure what to expect but we knew that we would be in capable hands with Marilyn, a […]
Today was our first true day in Istanbul. Upon waking up, we had breakfast and returned to our room to get ready for a scavenger hunt! Dad went to the front desk and came back with two envelopes. The first envelope had a strange puzzle, a map and a cell phone. In the second envelope […]
Limited in their expansion by dry climates and mountainous terrain, the Greeks left their homelands to colonize other regions and originated many of today’s port cities in the Mediterranean. However their population was soon dwarfed by larger nations and they have been under foreign rule for much of their history. After resisting the Persians in […]
The picture is a hint and the video below is the clue. You can hear a lot of cicadas – they brush their wings when it gets hot outside to fan off their backs. If you have a guess, don’t post it because other people might want to guess too, so email it to me!
Olympia is on the west coast of Greece favored by plentiful water and flat land. The rocky east side was so inhospitable that the major cities there such as Athens, Sparta, Corinth, and Argos quickly developed seamanship and trade and exchange of knowledge with the advanced Eastern civilizations. The green western part was quiet farming […]
Driving three hours west into mountain terrain (see pictures at the bottom of post), we arrived at Delfi – the Mecca of Ancient Greece. Here, crouched under limestone cliffs and built over springs and fissures that release psychotropic gases, the Greeks found a land that hissed and quaked. This was significant because going back even […]
Food is one of the very best ways to discover a new place and we had the finest introduction imaginable on our first day in Athens as guests of our guide Antony and his wife Sam. The morning began with a trip to the local produce market where we saw fruits and vegetables of […]
Focusing on the sites of Greek antiquity, we visited four locations while in Greece: Athens, Delfi, Olympia, and Nafplio. In Athens we kicked off with a hands-on cooking lesson in the home of our guide Antony and his wife Sam as described in Gina’s post. We then drove down the coast until we reached the […]
Off we went to the airport. Air Italia helpfully provided us the weights of all the baggage. The biggest bag weighs 23kg, just a hair below the limit where they start to charge a fee. This is the bag the contains electronics and tour books! The other three roller bags weigh 19kg. Carry-ons weigh 7kg for […]
What? July 1 is the first day of school? Well, yes, if you attend Road School. Road School is designed to replace 4th and 7th grade for the kids. It is based on the Massachusetts standards, although we don’t have any MCAS. And then it goes a bit beyond. Since getting out and seeing the […]
© 2024 365saturdays.org. All Rights Reserved.
Powered by Wordpress. Designed by 
