Rainy season

The weather was not so good, for it was October. The weather in Belgium in October is not the best, I can tell you that. Tori and I thought it was very chilly there. I was walking back to the apartment when it really hit me. I was starting to wish we had heavier jackets.

The apartment was not on ground floor, so we had to climb up the high, narrow, stairs to get there. The apartment was really nice. There were three bedrooms, that could fit 6 comfortably all together. We watched “Back to the Future” and “Back to the Future 2” in Belgium. The space was truly wonderful except for the set of stairs to the loft which are really small and steep; they made my feed hurt!

Ghent, Belgium was a really popular trading point. They used to produce cloth. By the 15th century, however, the cloth production began to wane. The city of Ghent suffered under the rule of Charles V, when they refused to pay higher war taxes.

The old buildings are very impressive here. Not only are they well maintained, but they are everywhere. The style between buildings is extremely similar, yet they are so different at the same time. Low roofs and high roofs. Skinny buildings and fat buildings. They are truly amazing.

Belgium is amazing so far. Our first meal was more of a snack where we had cheese, salami and olives. We went here because Da wanted to have a beer in one of the few remaining brown houses.

We had an amazing meal at a restaurant named Neptune. I had applesauce and steak. The applesauce was made from candied apples; this was a first for me.

Later we ate real Belgian waffles! They were better than almost anything sweet that I have ever had before. With sugar clumps in the dough and the delicious dough themselves we had about ten perfect bites in less than one minute.

Paris time!

After a not so bad 9 hour car ride, we finally got from San Sebastian to Paris. Paris,the town of wholesale jewelry stores and traffic, here we come! If you ever come to Paris, I would advise you to buy online tickets to the Louvre if you go there. The line is the longest ever to buy tickets if you don't buy them online.The Louvre is the most famous tourist attraction in the world! It holds the real Mona Lisa!If you go to Paris, the Louvre is your number one place to go. The Mona Lisa is truly amazing.

In the Louvre, I picked out three sections I wanted to see a lot and one painting. The sections were, Islamic arts, Greek and Ecruston and Roman, and finally, the Egyptian section. Also, the painting I wanted to see was the Mona Lisa. I loved seeing the painted sarcophagi, paintings, tile work, etc. It was all so amazing. At the end we saw a darth vader head!

The apartment was very small apartment, and it reminded me of the apartment in Stockholm.Tori’s bed was a couch bed in our living room. If you can call it that. I think that the walls and ceiling must be very thin, because we can hear extremely loud tapping sounds in the morning. It’s quite cozy, actually in the apartment. The stairs are awfully hard to climb up, though.

The Eiffel Tower seemed so tall at a distance but that view has got nothing on up close. When I saw the line, I thought I would have a heart attack. The lines were so long! The scaffolding must have been really high because the Eiffel tower seemed to go up forever. Mr.Eiffel’s office is up there.

We slowly went to the catacombs after deciding the lines were too long for the Eiffel Tower. That was a big mistake! It’s not like we could have made the subway go any faster. We missed the Catacombs entry right as we were almost there in line. But we had good sushi afterwards, so I am happy.

From Konstanz to Seville

Oktoberfest

We went to the Oktoberfest. I saw colorful game tents, mini rides, food huts, and dressed up people. The first ride that I went on was a ride that went up in the air. While I was in the air I got startled. I got startled because the safety bar to my car raised up while I was in the air. Zoe, who was in my car, immediately pushed it back down. The other ride I went on was the bumper cars.

The Long Car Ride

It took 4 days to get from Konstanz to Seville. 4 days! 25 hours in all. 4 hours = Konstanz to Milan. 2 hours = Milan to Cuneo. 9 hours = Cuneo to Barcelona. 10 hours = Barcelona to Seville. But Seville is awesome, so it's worth it. The house in Seville has a pool.

Food

I've had some wonderful food so far on this trip. Sausage, sauerkraut, and orange juice in Germany, pasta and ice cream in Italy, and tapas and grilled cheese sandwiches in Spain. Amazing food, as always. Germany is famous for its sausage and sauerkraut. Italy is famous for its Gelato and pasta. Spain is famous for its tapas and dulces. What I don't know is what the U.S.A. is famous for.

Turning Eleven

I turned eleven on October 4th, 2015. I feel great. We were in the car on my birthday driving from Milan to Cuneo. My birthday was amazing. We walked down the small streets of Cuneo, Italy. I got to spend my birthday in my great grandmother's home town.

Anime

I have to make an Anime comic story. I haven't got very far in it. It's about a futuristic girl, who falls through a portal, into the magical world of Eredas. She makes friends with elves, dwarves, fairies, a dragon. She makes enemies with elves, dwarves, fairies, and a dragon. Will she stop the hated evil elf, find her mother, get home, and survive... or is one too much.

The main character's name is Zoe. Every page I finish, I tell myself "one step closer, one step closer". I take breaks, but I don't always want to. This project is so fun.