Day 1: March 10/11, 2019

After 24 hours of travel, I’m exhausted, and we just went out for a big meal of a lot of food of fish, salad, sausage and hamburger. It was very, very, very, very good. I noticed that the drivers go faster here than in Ottawa, there’s more seafood, and there are more cats. We are staying right across the street from a big park and the restaurant we went to, where we can pet cats.

Day 2: March 12, 2019

Today we woke up and went to the Agora. The Agora was the ancient market and bouleuterion (which was a government building). The gate between the Agora and the Acropolis was closed, so we had to take the metro over to the Acropolis. At the top of the Acropolis we saw the Parthenon and a lot of other temples. After we finished looking at the Acropolis we went to the Areopagus and played with one more cat and jumped on the rocks. After the Areopagus we went down and searched for the restaurant Mum had picked. It was closed so we had to search for another one that was decent. Dad spied a Bulgarian restaurant. It was very, very, very, very filling and good. After eating we got some popsicles and went to the park to play and then went home to sleep.

Day 3: March 13, 2019

Today I went with Mum to a folk art museum and then went shopping. I bought some slippers and an evil eye charm. After shopping a bit we met up with Dad and David at 3 so we could go to the restaurant that Mum picked yesterday that was closed. We ate fried fish, chickpeas, noodles and soup. After lunch we went shopping with the others and I bought a hoodie with Greece printed on it. We looked around the Plaka and then took the metro home and went to bed.

Day 4: March 14, 2019

Today I woke up and went with my brother and Dad to go see the Agora for about an hour. After that we hiked over the Acropolis to go meet my Mum at the Acropolis Museum. There we figured out what to do for the rest of the day. I again split up with my brother and Dad to go to the national gardens to chop up thousands of oranges with David’s new camping knife he bought earlier. We took the metro home to meet my Mum. At home we decided where to eat and had to go to another neighbourhood to a restaurant but it was closed. We had to go to another restaurant but it had had a fire in it so they had no kitchen. After that we went to another restaurant with a very friendly waiter where I ate pastitsio, which was layers of noodles with tomato sauce and meat and white sauce. We then walked home to bed.

Day 5: March 15, 2019

Today we woke up early to go to Delphi. Dad and I went to get the car while Mum fetched her shoes from the shoe repair shop. David stayed home to watch the house. Apparently the car shop we were looking for, called Apollo Rental Car, wasn’t at the right address that we went to, so we had to go back and call the place. Then we went to get our car and then we drove out of town to Delphi, which is up in the mountains. When we arrived at our apartment it was about 4:30 pm. When we got there we were exhausted so we just kind of chilled and played in the backyard with the cats and then we went out to a restaurant after looking around the neighbourhood. We then came home to go to sleep. I think it’s different here because the town is on a side of a mountain so even the basements have porches and good views. We are staying two floors below the main level and we still have a view.


Day 6: March 16, 2019

Today we went to an archaeology site where we looked at temples and a theatre. Delphi used to be a religious centre where they together built treasuries to show off their richness to other Greek city-states. After the site we went out for lunch at a Greek restaurant in Arachova. After lunch we went back to the archaeological museum where we checked out the things that were found in Delphi that were too breakable to be outside. After the museum we went to the little fountain near the museum. It had clean water and it looked cool. David and I went to search for firecrackers - called in Greek skordakia - because we saw little kids playing with them today. Then we came home to relax and I played checkers with Dad in the backyard outside. We had supper at home for the first time. Then we went to bed…

Day 7: March 17 2019

Today we got up and drove to arkitsa where we boarded our ferry to loutra Edipsou. There we automatically went to the hot pools and warmed up. After a while we found another place that had little waterfalls of hot water and it also had a big rock that had boiling hot water in it. After we got a little to hot we went to our Airbnb to check in - the kids got there own room - and then we went to a hotel that had a spa and we just went to the spa.

After the spa we went back to the Airbnb to chill for a bit until we went to get some food I had a burger with homemade fries and then we went back to our Airbnb to watch a little bit of a soccer game and then we went to bed.

Day 8: March 18 2019

Today we got up early to go to the heated pools. David and I got to hot so we went to climb on the rocks. After we didn’t get to the place we were going we just took the stairs to the big heated rock with water coming out of it. We played like we did yesterday and then we went back to the Airbnb to get all our stuff for the big ride to Athens. In Athens we dropped off our rental car and we went to the port to get on our 5 hour ferry to Paros. When we got here we were picked up by our Airbnb hostess and she gave us a little tour of our new Airbnb. After the tour I fell asleep watching a bit of soccer.

Day 9: March 19 2019

Today we woke up, collected eggs, explored and had breakfast. We then went for a little hike up the hill and then our parents left so we explored the chickens a bit more and i then fed the cats a bit of eggs. After our parents got back we learned some greek on duolingo and i cooked a meal of (salad, meatballs, carrots and broccoli). after food we all calmed down and went to bed.

Day 10: March 20 2019

We woke up, had breakfast, bought pastries, drove around the island and visited 2 beaches. After collecting cool rocks and throwing rocks into the water - the water was too cold to swim in - and found our town to have a quick lunch of (chicken souvlaki, souvlaki pita, meatballs and salad) and then went driving around the old town and checked out a cool fort. On our way home we stopped for drinking water and my mom came out with skordakia!!!!!! - garlic shaped firecrackers -we’ve been looking for them all trip and we finally found them. We sped home to use them up quickly - throwing 5 at a time -!!!. After playing with chickens and saying bye to dad we kind of chilled until he came back. When he came back i helped make eggs and preheat meatballs. After dinner we looked up videos about our next island were staying on and went to bed reading harry potter…

Day 11: March 21 2019

We woke up, packed, said bye to the cats and drove to town. In town we explored a church with 100 doors!!! And dropped off our rental car. After exploring the town we bought some pastries and waited for our ferry. After boarding i dug in to harry potter #4 and then got off the ship to go to our new apartment to read more harry potter. After reading a bit we searched for a restaurant and david and i bought some sunglasses. We found a restaurant and ate a meal of (fresh calamari, sardines potatoes, sausage, moussaka and eggplant with feta and meat. After dinner we went home to read and sleep.

Day 12: March 22 2019

Today we woke up, ate breakfast, packed up, bought pastries and sat down to wait for dad getting the tickets for tonight's ferry but it was delayed so we had to find another airbnb to stay in for the next two nights. We had some time before getting the keys so we bought groceries and read at the top of the hill. When we arrived at our apartment to drop our luggage and put food in the fridge it was pretty late so we cooked sausages and had to them on our balcony for supper. After dinner i fell asleep finishing harry potter.

Day 13: March 23 2019

Today we went to rent a car so we could drive around the island because we had the whole day to waste. We went up to the mountain villages where we went to an archaeological site up in the mountains and i ate a big pizza all to myself and the others had (noodles with 4 cheeses, eggplant dish, salad and beef with fries and meat sauce. After lunch we went to a temple and went back to town. In town we went out to an unfinished temple out on a peninsula where we had to go on a little bridge where the waves were crashing on us but we made it over with out getting wet. David and i got bored on the peninsula so we went to go get sprayed on the bridge. We got soaked through to the skin so we begged our parents to bring us back but they had to stay until sunset uuuuuuuurrrrrggggggggggghhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. After leaving we got some groceries and went home to shower and eat a delicious meal of sausages, veggies and tomato salad.

We woke up, rented a car and planned where to go for the day. We started at the marble quarry’s were we looked at the unfinished statues, played with a cat that followed us everywhere and drove to a small town were I got a big pizza all for myself. After lunch we went to a church and then went to the temple of Demeter to snap some pictures of it. On our way home we visited the unfinished temple of Apollo were David and I got bored quickly so we played in the crashing waves until we got soaked. Since we were soaked we begged to go home but mum and dad had to stay longer for(groooooan). On our way back David and I bought some doughnuts for dessert. We had leftovers for dinner and the doughnuts for dessert. After dessert we watched some tv and went to bef reading some new books we bought the day before.

Day 14: March 24 2019

We got dressed had breakfast and gave our key to the Airbnb host. After returning our car we boarded our ferry to Piraeus. It took 5 hours to get there and then we had another 5 hours to burn. We tried to burn time at a restaurant were we got (fish, seafood, dips, bread, wine and salad) after eating we had about one hour to do stuff in Piraeus but we couldn’t find out what to do so we just took a cab to the port but we couldn’t find our gate. We finally found it just on time. After finding our cabin and exploring the ship i dozed of finishing a book...

Day 15: March 25 2019

We woke up at around 3:00 am and got of the ship at 3:30 am. In Chios we got on a bus that was 2 hours long and arrived in Chios the town to get tea and breakfast. David just fell asleep in the cafe while I got a sandwich and my parents got tea. After drinking lemonade and waking up David we got our key from the Airbnb host. We then went to find a car rental place but all of them said we needed a international license to rent a car. We thought about taking a taxi or a bus to our Airbnb but they were all cancelled so dad and I went to another car rental place and they said ok so we took the smallest car and drove of to our Airbnb. At the Airbnb we dropped our stuff and went to a cafe for some crepes and coffee. After exploring a cool ghost town and going around the mountains we stopped in a little town for lunch. After lunch we went to a beach with volcanic rock were we just dipped our feet in the water because it was cold. After driving to our Airbnb we made a fire to heat up and made oatmeal for supper because mum was sick. After setting up the screen around the fireplace we went to bed.

Day 16: March 26 2019

We woke up early, went out for breakfast and went to Nea Moni which is an old monastery with mosaics with gold and colourful rocks. The big thing about it is that the emperor at the time payed for the construction in return for a profecy which later came true. We then went to Kampo and other towns to look for a restaurant but we couldn’t find any so we had to go to Chios were we split up so dad could be alone while David, Mum and I explored on our own. We went to a restaurant were I got pasta. Then we went to shop for a bit, David and I bought some worry beads, while mom bought a lot of mastic. We went to the square for a bit and played with a fat dog we named Chad until dad came and picked us up to buy a cow bell and get some drinks in a little cafe. We drove straight to a restaurant that was closed so we had to go to another restaurant that was in the square. After eating we went home and packed up and went to bed.

Day 17: March 27 2019

Today we woke up, went to Chios and took a short ferry to Cesme turkey. At the bus station we had chai, took the bus to Izmir were there was a giant bus station and took a minibus to selcuk. In Selçuk we
had lupper then walked around the market area and had tea with a friendly shop owner before finding our hotel, chilling and going to bed.

Day 18: March 28 2019 am

Today we woke up had some Breakfast and took a cab to Ephesus and had a long visit in the ruins. After looking at the museum shop we dropped mum and David of while dad and I went to the museum for about an hour and then asked who wanted to come with us to the mosque but no one wanted to come with us so we went alone. We went out, sprinted to the hotel and fell asleep

Day 19: March 29 2019

Today we woke up, packed up and had chai with the old men in the cafe. We took a 3 hour train ride to Denizli to shop and have a lunch of pide. After the long bus to Pamukkale we went to our hotel to settle in and swim in the hotel pool. After drying off we played with the dog we went to a spa were David and I only got to go to a weird indoor hot tub that had brown water and algae so went back to the hotel alone after watching dad and mum get covered in bubbles! In the hotel we cuddled with jerry the dog and watched some tv when our parents came back we had some supper in the hotel restaurant and went to bed.

Day 20: March 30 2019

Today we had breakfast in the hotel restaurant and took a minibus to the site. There we hiked up to the theatre, church and the temple of hades. David kept finding snails so he had an army of them until he dropped them. We went down to the outdoor heated swimming pool with ruins. On the way to the travertine we stopped in the museum for a quick peek. On the travertine there was hot water to wade in but I had a bathing suit on so I could lie in it and wait for the others. We had pide for lupper. After lupper we bought ice cream and on the way to the hotel we got free bread and pudding???. At home we chilled out until I got hot so I jumped in the cold outside pool. After cooling off we pet the dog and went to bed.

Day 21: March 31 2019

Today we woke up and took a minibus to Denizli to shop for snacks and neck pillows for a while. We took our 3 hour bus to Antalya just to take the metro to downtown to Antalya were we got some Turkish fast food and ice cream. We took the metro back and shopped for better neck pillows and hats. We boarded our overnight bus to Goreme Cappadocia.

Day 22: April 1 2019

Today our host picked us up and gave us a tour of the hotel. We thought it was just one or two rooms… but there was a kitchen, a balcony, a giant living room and 3 washrooms which each had a shower. We pet the friendly dogs and dad and i got some groceries for lunch. After lunch we drove our car out to the underground city of Kaymaklı were we tunneled through to the end. After drinking pomegranate juice and shopping for a bit. We bought 2 carpets but came out of the store with 4??? because the man selling the rugs gave us tea and 2 free machine made rugs. After shopping we searched for a restaurant to eat at. We picked a nice modern restaurant for a change from pide and souvlaki pitas. I had Turkish ravioli stuffed with beef and dressed with yoghurt and burnt butter. After a quick peek at the castle in Uçhisar we went to bed at our hotel.


Day 23: April 2 2019

Today we woke up and went to the Goreme open air museum where we looked at all the churches, monasteries and nunneries. Then we went to eat noodles our neighbour recommended. The noodles were cool because they made them in front of us by hand. We then drove to see some fairy chimneys from up high and had a snack and tea. Then we went to Avanos to see pottery shops and saw a weird hair museum. We bought ice cream, 4 tiles and groceries for supper. We had a meal of spaghetti and then went to bed.

Day 24: April 3 2019

Today dad and I went on a hike with the neighbors and their dogs. We hiked around the valley and then checked out a “incity” farm to look at a 1 day old goat !!! It was adorable! After petting the kid we went back home for lunch. After lunch we went to zelve open air museum were we could climb on the rocks. I thought it was cool because we could climb on the rocks and walk around in all the caves. After zelve we went to Uchisar to find food. We found a place with a cheesy name “the house of memories” but we sat down on a couch to eat wich made it better. Normally you have to order ahead to get pottery kebab but they were already cooked so we automatically got one to split. It was one of my favourite restaurants. After shopping for a bit we went to Goreme to get a pillow cover from the same guy we got the rugs from. He took us to another town just to show us a pillow cover. We picked one quickly and then went back to Goreme to have tea at 10 o’clock. He has a brother that went to France for 5 years so we talked to him in French. After tea we went home to play with slingshot thingies and then went to bed.

Day 25: April 4 2019

Today we woke up and went for a walk with one of the neighbors dogs around the valley that dad and I went to yesterday morning. After packing up and taking a ride to the bus station we found the bus to Ankara and waited for the bus. After getting off in Ankara we took a cab to our hotel. There we checked in and went out for supper. We had a big meal and went back to eat macaroons and chocolate. After food and dessert we went down to the spa area were David and I enjoyed dumping bubbles on our parents. After the spa we went up to bed. I like Ankara because it is a big city so I can’t wait for Istanbul which is bigger.

Day 26: April 5 2019

Today we woke up and had a breakfast of pastries before going back to the spa while dad went to the ataturk museum. We went to the bus station to get tickets and lunch. We got on the bus after munching down some ice cream and going to the washroom. We are now going to Istanbul and I’m about to fall asleep before supper.we arrived and took a cab to our apartment. We fell asleep after eating a healthy supper of chips and a hotdog.

Day 27: April 6 2019

Today we woke up and got dressed to go to taksim station to take the metro to the blue mosque. On the way we bought bag of candy for each of us at the blue mosque we snapped some pictures before finding lunch. I got spaghetti and my dad got chicken doner. After lunch we went to the grand bazaar. Were i bought a ataturk t-shirt and a cool top. After taking the tram and the tunnel to the hammam to warm up before supper. We had a big meal and managed to eat most of it before going home to watch two episodes of a 1 hour show. David and i fell asleep on the couch

Day 28: April 7 2019

Today we woke up and went to the Hagia Sophia on the metro and tramway. We explored the giant building and then went to shop for more gifts. Dad arrived after us because he stayed inside longer before picking gifts to give to our family. After shopping we went to the hippodrome were the romans raced chariots there. Remember when we went to Delfoi we saw a statue without its horn, because we saw it at the hippodrome !!! I thought it was cool to know that the romans stole the horn to take to Constantinople (now Istanbul ). we went to the hammam we were thinking about but we didn’t go so we just took the tram home to eat a meal of roasted chicken and salad. We FaceTimed Adrian and Mason and watched some tv before going to bed.

Day 29: April 8 2019

Today we woke up, ate some breakfast, pet the kitties and decided to go for a ferry trip to the marmaras sea to explore the islands. We got off at the final stop to eat lunch and rent bikes to explore. They don't really have cars so that was cool to see horses and tiny scooters. We did the horse loop just before it started pouring rain. We had some desert before coming back for leftovers. After supper we went to bed.

Day 30: April 9 2019

Today is our last day in istanbul so we had a quick breakfast before going to the grand bazaar. We enjoyed free turkish delight before shopping through the streets on the way to the spice bazaar. We had a snack before finding dad to find a t-shirt of ataturk and going to a hammam. We did the hamam and then went to get some food before going home to pack and go to bed.

Day 31: April 10 2019

Today we woke up at 3:30 to take an uber to the world's biggest airport to fly to germany. It was about three hours and we just played cards and read our books. In frankfurt airport we switched planes to go to london heathrow. It took about 1 or 2 hours to get there. Mum had some tea at the airport before boarding our direct flight to ottawa. This flight was my favourite because i watched 5 movies and at the end i got to sit in the pilot's seat with a hat on for a picture!!! We took an uber home to give gifts to our family before going out for thai food and going to bed.

The end