My first family trip

It was maybe five years ago, my family and I went to Iquitos in Peru. This is the jungle region of my country, where the Amazon river passes trough. The only way you can get to the capital of Iquitos is by plane, since it's in the middle of huge rivers, Amazon's tributaries. What can i say, there are so many beautiful landscapes (of course you have to go away from the crowded city), the changing colours of the amazon river that reflex the sunshine, surrounded by colossal trees, birds. And don't forget about the little fishing boats (maximum capacity: 1 person), with these traditional fishers that fish not with a net or a conventional fishing rod. They make their own rod with a long thin wooden stick, that looks quite funny, but it works! Also, there's a town called Belen, just outside the city. It's a floating town, that goes with the river tide. All the houses are made of wood, and they're tied up to the land, so they don't float away. Actually, it really is a poor town, but people from there are just resolutely cheerful. Because of this issue, this town is not a very common tourist attraction, but i'm telling you: it's worth it. So, as i was supposed to talk about my first "family" trip, I am going to finish saying that we had a wonderful time.

A TOUR THROUGH ROUTE 66

There is no better way to visit the West Coast of US than driving through Route 66. This was my perfect holiday in the summer of 2012. Arriving in San Francisco and going on Yosemite Park until Las Vegas, then Colorado Canyon and finishing in Los Angeles…. I drove these deserted roads around 3 states: California, Nevada and Arizona, unspoilt places! And added bonus was that I overflied Colorado Canyon by helicopter. It was bliss seeing that breathtakingly beautiful landscape, eroded by the time. An unbelievable experience, hard to overcome.

my best holdiy

I still remember the details of my first hold in Syria, It was amazing, I travelled with my family( 6 boys, 2 girls, and mam).I was only 11 years old, we lived in a farm in small town set in the mountain where you can see trees everywhere in the house, and the food and everything was  fresh, also the weather was very nice in a summer time. it's was a new experience for me, We were doing everything spontaneously, and innocently.

 

My first holiday abroad I enjoyed my first holiday abroad in Italy. My sister, me and two other girls booked a guided tour by bus to Rome for one week. We stayed in a little hotel outside of Rome, so, it was not so expensive. Every day, the bus took us to Rome and on a few days we had guided tours to Rome`s most famous sightseeings. But the most impressive event for me was an excursion to the Villa D`Este in the Albanian Mountains. This villa was surrounded by a park you had an amazing view over the valley below from. In the park you could not only find a pool surrounded by statues and archs but also a vast number of fountains. Most of them not easily to discover because placed in a stonewall and hidden by plants or at a tiny edge at a staircase. Many of the fountains were made by stone and depicted the face of a mythological figure. Cheers Eve

My worst holidays

In retrospect, nowadays I don't think those days were all that bad. But as I was not in the mood, my ten days in Porto Seguro, at the Brazilian northeast, in 2006, were some of the most boring that I ever lived. First of all, it was very hot, more than 30ºC at night. Second: my hotel was far from any urban centre and internet was an unimaginable concept in there. And third: there was no one from my age. In the end I survived, but I fell very sorry for my parents. I cant't imagine how they didn't killed me for being such a pain in the neck. On the other hand, those were some very inspiring days: I had nothing else to do, so I read about five books in less than two weeks.

My first, my best, my worst

I'm really looking forward to reading about your first/best/worst holidays on our blog......and I'll tell you about mine too! It's our last lesson together tomorrow, so I really hope you can all come :)

Should western museums (such as the British Museum) return their artefacts to the countries they came from?

History and culture identify all human kind. The link between a man and his history is unique and undeniable. Traditions and memories are transferred from generation to generation, building up the culture, which unifies people. The evidence of this evolution, the creation of a society trough time, is shown in many ancient sculptures, paintings, etc.; now exhibited in museums all around the world.

Having said that, it might be no alternatives: western museum should definitely return foreign exhibits. It’s true that most of these museums have legally acquired these artefacts, and are maintained in perfect conditions (expending quite a lot of money). However, these artefacts can´t be bought, because they’re not a one-man’s property, they’re the property of a society and all its generations. These objects identify one culture, one place, one community. You cannot sell the identity of a country.

On the other hand, I don’t see the problem in lending artefacts to foreign nations, as long as these governments recognize the property of the artefacts’ country.

A nation is made by its culture and history, which are captured in ancient artefacts that are priceless not only to one nation, but to the world. Can´t be sold, but they’re worthy of admiration. 

LOVING PAINTINGS

Some years ago, I started to love art and specially paintings. As everybody know London has wonderful museums and art galleries where you can see pieces of the universal art history.

These days I have visited National Gallery and Tate Modern, both with a really interesting collection. The first, wich is located in Trafalgar Square, is one of the most important museums in the city. I could stand in front of La Venus del espejo by Velázquez all the afternoon, actually you can do it every afternoon if you fancy because admission is free (as usual in London´s museums)

In Tate Modern, which its industrial building is amazing, you can find two temporary exhibitions: Paul Klee and Richard Hamilton. As well as all artwork, you can enjoy the beautiful view of  the city from the bar on the 7th floor. You can´t miss it!

London's museums and art galleries

We're very fortunate to have so many amazing museums and art galleries here in London, especially as many of them are free! Have you visited any of them yet? Which ones are your favourites? Last weekend I went to a new exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery which celebrates the work of David Bailey, a British photographer, who many people believe defined the "Swinging Sixties" in London, and he has been photographing celebrities ever since.

I adore the British Museum. I must have visited it dozens of times but there is always something new to see. Apart from marvelling at the artefacts on display, I also love the architecture - next time you are there, look up at the glass ceiling designed by Lord Norman Foster, who also designed the famous "Gherkin".

If you haven't had time to visit any of London's galleries or museums, which ones do you hope to visit while you are here?

Valentine for Niles

You can find the clip we watched on Friday  here


Do you have any "dates" or Valentines experiences which didn't go as well as you had hoped?

Ludovica- My grandparents' summer house

When I was a child my grandparents owned a summer house in the South of Italy. I spent all my childhood there, but one day they decided to sell it because was too far from Rome. It took six hours by car. If they had not sold the house, I would have kept in touch with my friends. Unfortunately, I remember everything with sadness, but at the same time I spent the best moment of my childhood there. I used to go to the beach, have lunch there and sunbathe until the sun went down. The country where we had the house was amazing, with vibrant atmosphere and a lot of attractions. I remember how beautiful the graffiti made by talented artists were. I think it was a refreshing and quirky kind of art. I used to stare at them for hours.

About my Guitar

My guitar is special to me, not because it is too old, but because it reminds me of my father playing it in my childhood. The sound is divine! The history of my guitar starts back in the 1920's, when my great grandfather bought it from a Mexican guy, who he met after the First Great War. Then, my great "Gramps" created a Country Music's band. but, unfortunatelly, it didn't work. So, after that, my grandfather inherited the guitar and he used to say that guitar saved his life and helped him to find romance.

My Lovely...

My treasured posssesion is an old piano that my mother bought me when I was a child. It was made of wood in antique brown style. The lovely piano gave me wonderful memories. When I was in trouble, I used to play the piano singing a song. It made me relieve the stress and feel more comfortable. It was a good friend when I had some difficulty in my childhood. If I will give a birth, the lovely piano will be bequeathed to my baby. And I will teach how to play the piano to him or her.

Precious bowls and dishes

Before I was born, our family used bowls which are made of some special materials to be used in family rituals. My great grand father thought that his offspring should consider these bowls precious, so he inherited these bowls to my grand father. My grandfather kept this in mind and when the Korean war broke out, he took these bowls with him when escaping the city. He left other things in his house because he couldn't pack all the things. During the war period, we had to do our family rituals and had to use these bowls to put food in them to pay respect to our ancestors. Korean
war finally ended and my father inherited these bowl from my grandfather and still he is using these bowls when we do family rituals. My little brother will bequeath this bowls and he will cherish them, too.

A precious heirloom

Talking about an heirloom is a really exiting topic because one gets to know many different descriptions of things and events directly connected with other people and their experiences. My story focuses on an antique Russian icon that belonged to my father-in-law and then my husband. This icon was made of oak wood by Russian monks in the 1890s. Small in size but gorgeously decorated with different colours like a bright brown, red and gold. The painting shows the portrait of the adult Jesus. My father/in/law got this icon in Russia during WWII. On his way home he met an injured Russian man. He brought the injured man to a hospital where his sister worked as a nurse. The Russian man promised thankfully not to forget him as long as he will live. After he had recovered he gave the icon that belonged to his family so far to his sister as a present for my father-in-law. When my father-in-law died the icon was bequeathed to my husband. We will always treasure it.

My aunt’s house

My aunt owns a house, which is not particularly old, neither has it been in my family for lots of generations, but even though, this house is a treasure for me, due to the range of good memories that it brings.

When my grandmother died, several years ago, she bequeathed the house to all her 8 children, and the amazing thing is that it was a consensus between the brothers and sisters that the house would stay in the possession of the person who would use it to always bring the family together.

Since them, my aunt has been living in that house, but it is always open to the whole family, and on special occasions such as Christmas, New Year, anniversaries and carnival, all the family celebrates together in her house, and those who live in other cities, stay in her house, and are very welcomed.

All of those lovely moments of the whole family together are in my memory, and to visit my aunt`s house is to visit the set of my family’s movie; while I’m walking through it, the best pictures of this movie come to my mind, and I feel participating of something special.

                                                                                           Elisa Lisboa 

OUR SUMMER HOUSE

My mom and dad own a summer house that belonged to my grandfather and then my mother. It was built in Norway in 1960’s as a vacation house, so my family had a place to go to when they wanted to get away from it all. The summer house reminds me of my childhood, we went there each summer and stayed there from the start June to the end of August. Trough the whole summer I and my brother and sister played with our friends, swimming in the sea, driving boats and fishing for crabs on the pier. I will never forget when we were sitting on the veranda and watching the sunset going down behind the sea while we was playing cards with my grandparents. Like my father says, when he dies me and my siblings will have it, and then our children, so it will always be in the family.

My great-great-grandfather's glasses

I lived at my parents house for 23 years, so I can`t remember any other place with so many good memories for me. I could spend hours talking about how every corner of that house if full of good stories and feelings related to all this time living there. But inside one of my boxes situated on the top shelf of my wardobre, there is one of my most treasured possessions: my great-great-grandfather's glasses. He was wearing them when he arrived in Brazil, from Portugal, at the end of the 19th century. It is a very small and fragile object: both lenses are very thin and it has no arms. To use it, the glasses must be stucked on the nose. It is not a family treasure, but I really appreciate its history. It is also a present from my grandfather, he handed down to me before receiving it from his father. One day, I hope, I will give it to one of my sons or to their children.

A family heirloom or a special place

This morning we talked about why particular places may be important to people and their families, and we also heard someone talking about a carpet that had been handed down through generations of her family. For homework, I'd like you to write about a place that is important to you and your family, or maybe you have a family heirloom that you'd like to write about. Tomorrow I will look at what you have written and we'll put them up on the blog. Tomorrow's tube strike has been cancelled (according to TFL this afternoon), so it would great if everyone could come! If you don't come, then please put your posting on the blog tomorrow morning so we can read it, and then you can read what everyone else has written!

Welcome to our blog!

I'll show you in class how to post on the blog, and I'll invite you all to be authors, so you can post here and make comments. With this week's tube strike, it will also mean that if you can't make it on Wednesday or Thursday, you can still participate in what we are doing.
Do any of you have a personal blog, or do any of your friends have a blog? Or have you used a blog at school, university or at work? I'd love to hear from you, here on the blog :)