Noelle

=**How I Got Here!** = **Yes! This one of the best days of my life! This is how it all started I was having a bad day and it was just getting worse from the first problem being there was no Lucky Charms left to having a pop quiz in writing that I think I failed and then the last problem being that I dropped my lunch when I took it out of the microwave and I had to have hot lunch, but then my day started going back up hill.** **I had entered to win a contest for a million dollar trip to Europe and I figured I would not win and if I did there would be so many strings attached, but I entered just for fun. Then when I was at school a guy came and told me I won he had a news crew and everything. Of course this was the best thing I had heard all day. So I said “Yeah, what is the catch” he replied with absolutely nothing you can go whenever with whoever and wherever you would like” I was so excited I immediately looked over at my friend Grace and asked if she would like to join me she of course said yes. I had so many plans running through my head and was so astonished I passed out.**

**Day 1- Barcelona, Spain**
(**2 months later) I just boarded the airplane and I am finally leaving for Spain with Grace, Natalie, Emily, Aunt Kim, Uncle Minnow, Mom, and Dad. We were split up in rows by three the first row was Grace, Aunt Kim, and me the second row was Mom, dad, and Uncle Minnow, the last row was my two sisters. We will be on this plane for six hours so I will probably watch some movies or take a nap. Talk to you when we get there.**

**Man, it is warm in Spain; we just got to our hotel and it is eighty-five degrees Fahrenheit outside. Now we are just checking in to our hotel and putting our stuff away. When we leave the hotel we will go shopping in Barcelona(which is where the hotel is). ** ** We are back at the hotel for the night! We went shopping and saw all the cool buildings and architecture of old time Barcelona. ** =It is so colorful and beautiful in Spain!The one thing that I did find different than I thought it would be is that the people wore common everyday popular styles of clothes. I expected to see old traditional clothes like dresses that are puffy and colorful and men it regular clothes. The people are very generous and there are a lot of stores and not a lot of many unemployed, since the economy has been getting better ever since the Civil War in 1939 when their economy was destroyed. I right now am helping their economy since tourism is one of their biggest sources of income. = ** After we shopped we went to dinner at a very good Spanish restaurant called  Passadís del Pep it was delicious traditional food. I got the Spanish cuisine and common dish which is part of their culture. No we are off to bed what a long day! **

**Day 2- Toledo, Spain**
**Good Morning! We are off to Toledo, a seven hour car trip awaits. Let's Go! We rented two Chevy SUVs and hit the road. We have fun car games planned we can also watch movies so this will be the best car trip ever.**

**Right now I am on a train in Toledo it takes you through so many pretty sites and we stop at different land marks to take photos and we also stop at different little towns. So far we have seen the Pyrenees Mountains and the exotic gecko called the La Gomera. ** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;"><span style="background-color: #ffff00; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">**T** **<span style="background-color: #ffff00; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">his creature was climbing all over the place when I held this Gecko it felt as if there were sticky suction cups being stuck and unstuck on my hands. It was a brown and gray color. Later today we will also see the beautiful and peaceful <span style="background-color: #ffff00; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Mediterranean Sea. I also hope to see the <span style="background-color: #ffff00; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">spergularia marina a little purple flower with a bright yellow and green center. We are at our next stop right under the Pyrenees!**

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">**It is now 3:45 we just got off the train and we are going to Galicia! This time we are taking a helicopter therefore it should only take us about two to three hours.**

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">**We are landed at the moment and having lunch "Thank Goodness", I have not eaten since this morning when we left for the train. At the restaurant I had a fresh garden salad with grilled chicken, it was the best one I had ever had. When we got back in the chopper we went only forty-five more minutes and we arrived in Galicia. After we checked into the hotel, we immediately left and went to aquarium Finisterrae in Corunna, Spain. At the aquarium I saw my favorite animal a dolphin, we also saw a shark, blow fish, sting ray, walrus, start fish, sword fish, seal, and much more. All the sea creatures were very colorful and bright each had a different personality to. There were so many exotic creatures I had never seen before or heard of.**

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">**Now that it is ten o'clock I am wiped out, we did and saw so much today. I crashed as soon as we got back to the hotel. I am looking forward to fun and adventure packed day tomorrow.**

**Day 3- Galiacia, Spain**
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">**Feel the sand between your feet! We are at the beach today. We are water skiing, parasailing, tubing, and jet skiing! This will be awesome!**

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">**Oh! What a long day it was the most fun day yet also the most tiring. I am definitely ready for bed between racing on the jet skies to flipping over the tube and falling out of it and wiping out while water skiing until you got the hang of it. I tried so many new techniques today and I even got to go parasailing. Overall Spain was amazing it was beautiful and colorful. I did and saw so many new things in just three days. I would totally recommend Spain to anyone who is looking to go on a vacation!**

*Current Event! Flaming-horned bull fatally gores man in Spain* Click Here [|Current Event]
= Ireland =

Day 1: Kerry, Ireland
=== Just got off my plane in Ireland, Kerry. It is so beautiful, natural and definitely green here. Today I am going on a nature walk and am excited to see all the pretty site and green. We are now walking to our house. We rented a home from home-away.com. This house is really big and pretty and even includes a pool table and hot tub! Well we are putting our stuff away so bye for now! === === On our nature walk we saw so much. From waterfall streams to arches over the paths from over grown trees. It was very much like walking through a magical green forest. The beach we walked on was sandy and the water was so blue and sparkled in the sun, it was a gorgeous site! In the Atlantic Ocean we saw a pod of dolphins, which is my favorite animal! On our way home we stopped at the market to get some snacks and food for breakfast (We will have to make our breakfast instead of going out to eat, because the hours of most places in Ireland are from 10 am to 8pm ). Anyways, when we were at the market we stopped to get eggs and discovered that they do not refrigerate their eggs. At first we were reluctant to buy them, and we tried to look it up on our phone if they were ok to eat, be we could not because this store did not have Internet, which we found most stores do not. Anyways we got the eggs and headed to the pop section, there we found that they have about four choices of pop. They have Coke, Pepsi, Sprite and Orange Squirt. Lastly, we got some candy. This is where we found out that t heir skittles have different colors and flavors. The Kit-Kat packaging was different and had a circle on it and the M&M's tasted better than what we have in America. So we picked up some other groceries and checked out. Talk to you when we **get back to the hotel.** === === **Oh, man! When we pulled back the comforter on the bed we discovered that in Ireland they do not use a top sheet so your only blanket is the comforter. That stinks I just might be a little cold to night! Well you learn something new everyday! Talk to you in the morning!** ===

**Day 2: Dublin, Ireland**
=== **Today we are driving to Dublin; there we will be going to all the different castles. So I decided that since we will be will be going to fancy castles I should wear my hair down and when I plugged in my flat iron I came to the discovery that it does not work, because their electricity/energy even with a converter did not work with my flat iron. Therefore I put it in my favorite hairstyle a ponytail. So we all finished getting ready and left for Dublin, Ireland. We are taking the Kia soul to Dublin; I really like this car because the commercial is awesome. Well off we go; talk to you later!media type="youtube" key="4zJWA3Vo6TU" height="315" width="560"** === === **Wow! We just arrived; there are castles everywhere here, they are so big and amazing. We rented a house again, so after we go check out the house we will go see all the amazing castles. We right now are driving to the house, it looks hard to drive because the car is a stick shift so therefore you have to operate the stick shift with your left hand since everything is on the opposite side. As we are driving we see that there are sheep everywhere roaming around and when you come up on them they run and hide in the ditch, so they never get run over. Well we have finally arrived.** === === **MmmmmmHmmmmm! What a good dinner we had a very traditional Irish meal, corn beef, cabbage, and potatoes. The corn beef was delicious and tender, I did not try the cabbage (I am not a fan of it), lastly the potatoes were some of the best I have ever had. We saw a total of three castles today. They were all very big and unique; none of them looked exactly the same. One in particular was very unique and this was the Malahide castle. ** ===

[[image:http://image.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/221230/221230,1282984324,1/stock-photo-malahide-castle-in-dublin-ireland-59889112.jpg width="288" height="215" align="left"]]
**The landscape around it really made the whole castle a beautiful scene it just shaped it very well. The inside was royal and elegant, but nothing to over the top extraordinary. Overall today was full of beauty and new experiences. Bye for Now!**

**Day 3: Wexford, Ireland**
=== **We are at a restaurant right now for brunch. All of us are really tired from yesterday so most of the grown ups order a coffee. Another different thing in Ireland, when you get a coffee they make it like hot chocolate. They just boil hot water and then dump a packet into it, I am not sure how it tasted but it looked good. We just got our food so talk to you later!** === === **This is the Hook lighthouse, it is the oldest lighthouse still in use today. The lighthouse is located in Wexford, Ireland. It is a very cool looking lighthouse. I have only ever seen a couple of lighthouses, so it was really cool to see this one. We are taking tour about the lighthouse they teach you about its history and how it works.** ===

**Back to our house! This was our last day in Ireland I learned a ton!**
=== Such as their economy is a lot like ours, it is not doing very well right now, and that one of my new favorite wild flowers is the foxglove (which is found all other Ireland). I enjoyed Ireland and the weather was great it was warm to them but 65 degrees felt pretty good to me, I had an amazing trip and saw so many beautiful scenes, even if I am not Irish I had a gorgeous trip! ===

= Estonia = =Day 1: A lonely Coast= =<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We just landed in Estonia, we were on a private jet, it was so amazing and what phenomenal views of nature there were.<span style="background-color: #ffff00; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> You can definetly tell that their climate here is maritim, and cool summer, it is also very wet. I originally wanted to go mountain climbing or canoeing by a mountain, I came to the discovery that Estonia does not have very many mountains. We are at the <span style="background-color: #ffff00; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">lonely coast in Estonia these are some of the prettiest sites I have ever seen. The water is great and such good temperature I love swimming! The beach is sandy and rocky, it is such a pretty coastline. There was so much to see we spent the whole day here! = =<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Day 2: Tallinn = =<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Today we are in Tallinn and I am taking Kirsten to prison, we all know this is where she truly belongs on Earth. We are going to the Tallinn prison, it is a very historical site and I am super excited. We are going to learn a ton today, and see many sites. Here are a few…. = =<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">   = = = =<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> We saw so many gross and dirty things in that prison, it would have been a pretty hard place to live in. <span style="background-color: #ffff00; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This prison is a very old building and is on the verge of collapsing, therefore it was very cool to see this historical! = = = =<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Next in the day we went to the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. Kirsten split up from us at this point and went somewhere different. <span style="background-color: #ffff00; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This is a very historical site and was a Russian Orthodox Church, it was completed in 1900 when Estonia was still part of the Czarist Empire. Tallinn's most powerful church bells are located in this church tower. It contains eleven bells and also holds Tallinn's largest bells which weighs fifteen tons. We returned to the hotel after dinner and a waited another long day! = =<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> = =<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Day 3: Tallinn = =<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We are just arriving in the Coca-Cola Plaza drive way! = =<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> It is all Coke here..... Grace and I love Coke! Red and white are the only colors you can see. We had Coke and learned how the Coke-Cola institution started. This year was their <span style="background-color: #ffff00; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">125th anniversary and Coke was originally made in Atlanta, Georgia. It is a little different than you would think it was a cinema, so it was cool and a little different. = = = =<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Next in the day we went to the Tallinn town wall, this is a fort that they used for protection. = =<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It was some of the coolest things I saw. = =<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> = =<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Lastly in the day we went out to dinner, = =<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> I ordered a common Estonian meal which included = =<span style="background-color: #ffff00; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">everything we ate in America there modern food is just like ours. = =<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Overall I saw so many beautiful natural sites and really enjoyed myself. = =<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Talk to you in Poland! = = = = =

= Day 1: Auschwitz =

== Today I am going to the Auschwitz extermination camp! Grace and I are going with Kirsten and we are super excited. When we arrive we find so many sites but we start at looking at the gas chambers, these killed so many Jews, Gypsies, and homosexual people. The gas chambers were rooms where they would put prisioners and let them breath poisiones gases and die. While we were over here we also saw a == ==** crematorium, these machines killed so many people. It is sad to think about it, that hitler had so much power and how many people followed him and joined up together in a group called the Nazis. Well here are some pictures!**== THis was the original entrance to this camp fjkjl;gggfhgjbgfn Crematorium hthtyjyujukykukk Some prisioners before exicutation, ggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg they were starved and had just enough food ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; to be able to work for the Nazis.

=Day 2: Warsaw=

Today I woke-up to find that Kirsten was not there, I immediatley woke up Grace and we clould not find her.
===The window was open and I got scared that she had been carried away or anything could have happened. Well I asked the hotel and they did not see here leave, so we were at plan C... Call the police! They came and searched the whole hotel and surronding area. Then we discovered that Kirsten had left for her next site. Man, was I embarrsed and so was she, becuase she did noy thunk that we would ever call the police. Well the day went on and we were then last to Warsaw, therefore we had limited time and could only go to old time.===

===Here we are in Old Town! This is an old town(hence the name old towm) the Nazis left it and then it was leveled out and is a very historical site today. We saw churches, stores, and much more. We also heard traditonal fast pace folk music, which the Polish love. Take a look!===

One condition to another! Just yesterday we were in Polands maritime climate and the humid air from the Atlantic, Ocean and today I am at the top of Tarta Mountain getting ready to ski down. We stayed at the Zakopane lodge. Today we are skiing and well I got to go! " Race you to the bottom" I shout to Grace and we were off!

=== ===

Italy

Day 1: Leaning Tower of Pisa and Venice

Today Grace and I are at the leaning tower of Pisa and it is pretty awesome I feel like it is going to fall, but I know I am safe! The leaning tower of Pisa was originally built to stand straight, but during construction it started to lean. Here are some beautiful pictures! The tower is so unique and looks so delicate and would not be something I would ant to work on! Unfortunately we can not go up in tower anymore, because they want to save it. Well talk to you in Venice!

WOW!!! This is one of the most beautiful places in the world I have ever been! From the buildings to the water and all the boats. I love it here. The only bad factor about Venice is the climate is very humid especially this time of year (July and August). Well after we walked around the town and got some of the coolest souvenirs we got in a gondola and had dinner. We ate a popular and traditional Italian meal, venetian lasagna with some very good fresh bread. While we ate dinner we also got to enjoy a traditional Italian instrument the tambourine.

Day 2 and 3: Rome

Today I am in Rome, Italys capital and I love the unique architecture here. We are going to the Coliseum, Pantheon, Vatican, and the squares and fountains. Here is a little information about each site.

** Coliseum: ** Here is where they use to have glaiator fights, I really like it here and the buliding is so cool and the architecture is the best, most uninque, delicate,and old I have ever seen. ** Pantheon: ** The temple was originally for pagan gods, then in 609 this templle was made into a church. Now the Pantheon holds several Italian kings and a famous atrist. Also the Pantheon still has the original Roman deisgn.

** Vatican: ** This museum shows many gods and godesses and shows just how talented these artist were! Some Roman gods and godesses include Jupiter, Juno, Mars, Venus, Nepton, Vulcan, Ceres, Minerva, and Diana.

** Squares and Fountains: ** Here it is just founatins, but they are very in intricate. These are the places that Grace and I visited these last two days! I saw so much and really enjoyed it, Rome and Venice were really pretty and just gorgeous. I love the way that it is so old and original, overall it is a place that when you get a chance take it and go to Italy. Works Cited Britannica. "Encyclopedia - Britannica Online Encyclopedia." Encyclopedia - Britannica Online Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2012. <http://www.britannica.com>.

Time and Date. "timeandate.com: The Best Search Links on the Net." timeandate.com: The Best Search Links on the Net. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2012. <http://timeandate.com>.

allcountries.eu. "AllCountries.eu." AllCountries.eu. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2012. <http://www.allcountries.eu>.

erundles. "Hotels, Travel and Holiday Reviews - TripAdvisor." Hotels, Travel and Holiday Reviews - TripAdvisor. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2012. <http://www.tripadvisor.in/>.

information please. "factmonsters.com." factmonsters.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2012. <http://www.factmonsters.com>.