9/3/19
Hello. Today I left my France home in Cannes. I left to go to Italy!!! We had to go on three trains to get to Santa Margherita. Santa Margherita is on the coast just like Cannes, except it is further to the east or to the right on the map. If you find Cannes, keep going east along the coast past Nice (our first train change) out of France and into Italy, then go past Genoa (that’s where our 2nd train connection was and where Christopher Colombus was born) and you’ll find the little town.
8/21-8/31
When we flew to France we went to a city called Aix-en-Provence in the region of Provence. It is pronounced like this . That was our home for almost 2 weeks. The city has been here since the Roman times which was a very long time ago, 123 BC. And everytime they dig for a new building here, they find more Roman ruins, old buildings or structures from way back then. It has natural springs too, which are like fountains that come out of the earth that were built by nature. There are also a lot of churches there and a lot of old fountains that still work very well. There is a lot of castle-like buildings here. Most of the streets here in the historic center are made of cobblestone and they are narrow. Only a couple are wide like the Cours Mirabeau street. Thats where a lot of old famous writers and artists used to hang out like Paul Cezanne and Emile Zola. At the end of the Cours Mirabeau is a big historic fountain called the Fontaine de la Rotonde and it was built in 1840. It’s in the middle of a roundabout. Which reminds me that you should never talk to your parents when they are driving in a roundabout or you might crash or miss your turn or you might get stuck in the roundabout for a long time.
8/18 PORTO!!!
Arriving in Porto was FUN!!!!!!! We took a train there!! When we got to the train station in Lisbon we couldn’t find our train car number 25. We found out that it was broken and was taken off of the the train! So we had no where to go. The boss working on the train said we could go on the first class train. The seats had tables and were big and cozy. It also had air conditioning and a private bathroom!!! When we got to Porto, we took another train to the city center station!!! When we got to the right station it was beautiful! Everything was beautiful!! The Porto Sao Bento train station was soooooooo amazing. The walls were painted tiles and a grand ceiling. The whole city, the old historical part, is a UNESCO world heritage site.
There are some unusual things in lisbon. Seeing everything smaller in lisbon is wierd. It is a lot harder living here because I have to be independent and we have to work and live in a tighter place. But, it is really fun eating a lot of pastries and stuff!! And we play a lot of games and with our Legos. The exercise swing thing at the park is unusual too because mostly only kids use it!!!
Living in lisbon is different than living in hermosa beach. I love both of them. This is how they are different, everything is smaller! This is how it is the same, we have a park right next to our house!!! Every Tuesday and Saturday in our neighborhood in Lisbon there is a street market. They sell, books, clothes, old toys, paintings, pins, tiles, tea sets, and more!!! In Hermosa we have a farmers market two times each week, too. In Lisbon THERE IS EVEN A ITALIAN RESTAURANT RIGHT NEXT TO OUR HOUSE!!!!!!!!! Just like Bottle Inn in Hermosa Beach!! It even smells like fresh garlic too!!
Lisbon, Portugal 8/5/19
WOW this view is AWESOME!!!!!!!! IT looks like a gigantic dome!!!!!!!!! It is soooooooo COOL!! I love it!! It is called the Panteao Nacional. It is a 17th century monument in the Alfama neighborhood where I am staying in an apartment. It is the coolest dome I have ever seen!!! It took 30 years to build!!!!!
Today I went on a very long walk to a place called Time Out Market. It was worth that long walk. It is a huge food court. I had very good octopus. For desert, I had ice cream.
7/31-8/4 London, UK
Hello again. Today I am in London! Yesterday I flew here (on the plane) there were tablets on the seat in front!! The next day I had 2 cookies for breakfast!! After that we went on lots of trains!!!!!! Then we saw a double decker bus!!!!! Then we finally made it to the hotel.
Oak Brook, Illinois
Today I had to pack my hole backpack!!!!! It was fun! We packed clothing, school stuff, fun things and more!! The easiest part was checking the things off. The hardest part was wearing my backpack at the end. It was hard because it was heavy, 12 pounds!
Oak Brook, Illinios
My name is Anna Shah and I am from Hermosa Beach, CA. We are leaving to go around the world for 5 months. I am 7 years old and in 2nd grade. I am going to 8 countries. I am excited to see Big Ben in London and eat sushi in Japan.
I am going to miss all my friends. This trip will be soooooooooooooooooooooooooo FUN!!!!!