Turnovo

On our way to Turnovo we visited Koprivshtitsa - a Bulgarian town with history. The buildings were unique, because they were colorful. We visited some museums of old houses that were important. We went to an old school that had a sand box the little children to write in and quills for the older students who helped teach them.

After that we went to the Russian church that was built because the Russian army helped free the Bulgarians from the Ottoman Empire. 

 

On our way to Turnovo we went to an important monument. On our way up there were about 1000 steps. The Bulgarians and Russian fought a battle with the Turks and won. There is a Bulgarian flag there. 

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In Turnovo we stayed in a nice hotel that was named Royal. The view was terrific. 

We walked around the old town and went in the ethnographic museum. In there it had all sorts of objects they would have in the old houses. They had special shaped breads for different occasions. 

Finally we climbed to the medieval fortress of Turnovo where Bulgarian kings used to live. We explored around the place and went into the church. The church had amazing pictures. 

P.S. Balancing on a street pole. 

Amalfi Coast

After the trip to Rome we drove to the Amalfi Coast. It was a windy road up, but we eventually made it to a parking lot high in the mountain. It was dark by the time we got there so I couldn't see what it looked like. There were many stairs in the little village until we got to our place. In the morning me and my mom woke up early and went to a mini market - the only one. We saw that the village Nocelle looked over the sea. It was a clear morning. We went up and down stairs to get to the tiny store to get Italian bread and cheese.

We went to Positano by bus. There they had great lemon chocolates, soaps and perfume. Once we got to the beach we went into the water. It was cold.

I met new friends in Nocelle. At the place we stayed there was a dog and a cat that constantly came. They were very friendly. Also one day when we were at the pizza place, that was built in a cave, there was an orange cat I named Chubs. Since that day he would come to our table and want lots of attention. 

During our last day we visited Amalfi town. We saw St. Andrew's church there and walked around the old city. I had my last big mozzarella pizza.

Rome

In October after Plovdiv we spent a week in Italy.  On our first day we went to Saint Peter's square and were surprised that there were so many people. We figured out that Pope Francis was there. He had a speech, although we could not understand, because he was speaking in Italian. 

The same day we went to the Angels' Bridge. On the bridge there were statues of angels. 

These are my favorite things about Rome. 

        The Piazza Navona fountain

        The Colosseum 

The Colosseum was massive and on the inside we could see the arena where gladiators fought and where the spectators sat. Prisoners of war were forced to fight sometimes to the death. Also if they won enough battles they could become citizens of Rome. 

        The Capitoline Museums of Rome

Me and dad went together. Inside we saw ancient statues. From the statue of Constantine there was only the head, foot and one hand left. We also saw Medusa's head, Poseidon - the God of Sea, and Mercury. 

I LOVED Rome and the tasty food there - pizza, pasta, and gelato. What was frustrating was all the walking, no car, and it was intensely hot.