Barcelona, Espanya

¡Hola! (Hello in Spanish.) I was just in Barcelona, Spain. We flew (on a plane, duh. I don't have wings) to the most horribly laid out airport in the history of the world. You have to walk about 10 minutes through empty halls in one direction, then back through other empty halls just to get from the gate to the door.

Barcelona is the city of....of....of... OK, it isn't the city of anything. But it is nice! It is on the Mediterranean Ocean and has a population of about 1.6 million people. It has a lot of palm trees. (like this.)

For you Canadian people, Palm trees are trees that grow near the hot ocean. (A hot ocean is a ocean that is warm. Just a heads up.) There were Orange trees to, but I need to save room for the writing. So when we arrived, we went to our hotel, Splendom Suites. The hotel was nice! (Hey! I see you not paying attention. Listen up!) After that, we went to a huuuuuge Roman Catholic church called The Sagrada Familia. (Sacred family.) It was this huge church that this Spanish architect built. The church pillars were styled after trees (or what they wrote in English, "threes". We looked at the French and translated.) So then we- alright, alright. The architect was named Gaudi. (GAU-de). Can we move on? So then we went back to the hotel and found a pub-restaurant and ate dinner. Then we went back to the hotel.

* * *

In the morn we went to the aquarium. There was sharks, sting rays, fish, sunfish, and coral plants, bivalves, gastropods, porifera, and who knows what. Here is a video. The big fat one is the sunfish.

Tell me if it does not work. After that we saw the ocean and wanted to jump in (a first-of-the-lifetime urge for me.) Then we went to a giant pillar with a statue of the person who discovered America on top (guess who!) We took an elevator up the column to a viewing deck. It was old and wobbly and it was high up. We went down soon after we went up. After that we went to the main tourist street, La Rambla. We then had lunch (we had Spanish tapas) and went to the cathedral. It was mostly chapels dedicated to saints.(boring. Hey! It's an opinion.) Then we went up to the roof. We saw sights of Barcelona. Here is a picture.

After we had dinner, the morning came and we went on the flight home.

Bye!!!

Snow day!

Back in December, there was this nice day. 2 millimeters of snow. But that means (for English people) SNOW DAY! The buses were canceled, Schools closed, everyone was piling layers of clothing, commenting "this weather is horrible," and everywhere people were shivering and keeping out of the snow. When we went out we were amazed that people where doing all that for a little amount of snow! I commented"If they went to Canada, they would get a heart attack!" Well, thats all for today. See you next time! Bye!

Pointer

This is a blog pointing to my mom's blog about Bletchley Park. Bletchley Park was the home of the code breakers in WW2. They where the people who received the German's messages and decoded them. Read all about it in my mom's blog!

http://residentalienintheuk.blogspot.com

Happy Christmas!(English people say happy, not merry.)

This is a blog posting saying MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I bet you all are on Christmas break by now(well, you should be anyway.) Anyway,how are you? What did you get for Christmas? I had a pretty regular Christmas. We did the tree thing(you know what I am talking about. Do you?I hope you do.) We got small presents because we did not want to lug big presents back to Canada. I got paper clips(I wanted them) and dominoes, fishing tackle, chocolate, and a Switchfoot* CD. So MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Switchfoot is a band. if you want to know more about them, click here. www.switchfoot.com

Science Museum

On Monday my mom and I went to the science museum in London. We first drove to Milton Keynes,(big city in the area) and then took a train to London Euston. (Big train station in London.) From there we took the subway to a subway station called Green Park. Then we switched lines and went to a station called South Kensington. From there we just had to walk a long way in this tunnel to get to our museum*. When we got in we went to a cafe called the Revolution Cafe and had lunch. THEN we saw the museum. The first exhibit we saw was a one about flight. It showed the earliest flight attempts. Some even dated back to the mid 1800s! Then we saw the mini models of the Wright brothers planes. Then the next little bit was about the First World War and the planes that were in it. It was really cool seeing them. Here is a picture.

This is a picture of Amy Johnson's plane, the Gypsy Moth” Jason”. She (Amy Johnson) flew from the UK to Australia in this plane. Wow. We also saw WWII planes. Here is a picture of a RAF Hurricane(plane).

There was another thing about the making of the jet engine. We saw a jet's cockpit and also a big jet engine. These are pics of them.

The next exhibit was on Ships. We spent some time looking at model ships, and then we went to Exploring Space. It was this exhibit on space and spaceships. We saw some satellites and I put my hands into space gloves. I then put a nut into a bolt. It was hard! But I did it! I also did this computer game where you make a landing pod and you have to land it on a planet. I failed twice. When we went home we had to go to lots of places. If you want to know, go to the beginning and read it backwards from the star.

Bye!!

What homeschooling is like.

I suppose you are wondering what it is like to be home schooled. Well I will tell you. I usually start school with math or/and grammar. Then I either have science or if I started with grammar, math. I then have break and then I have Socials or Bible. When I am done I have a 2 hour lunch, then I do the dishes. After I am done, I do home work my dad assigns. I usually finish at 4:30. Homeschooling is fun, but I miss the noisiness of the class. Homeschooling is more relaxed though. (And to tell you the truth, I sometimes only do 1 subject a day, excluding homework). Over all, I miss all you guys.

This is what my classroom looks like!

PLEASE comment!

-Graham

Contact me at:

Email: gmcracker5@gmail.com

Blog:Followers: Graham. Leave me a message.

Graham, Blogger.

Brussels and Paris

On Tuesday we went to Brussels, in Belgium. We went by train. I have a riddle for all of you. How did I get over the English Channel? Did I go over it, on it, or under it? This is a picture to give you a clue. You can put your guesses in the comments.

When we queued(lined) up for a taxi in Brussels, something surprising showed up. A taxi steward! What they do is guide the people and taxis so that everyone will get the right taxis and stuff like that.

In the morning I went to my dads talk about global warming at the EU parliament. (EU stands for European Union). The EU is a sort of government for all of Europe. To get in the parliament, you evidently have to know your way because when we went, we tried all 5 entrances and we kept getting sent somewhere else. Then we had to go through airport-like security to get in. It was a hassle.

Later that day we got on the train and went to Paris. Paris was beautiful. The next day we decided to go to the Louvre. When we were getting on the Metro(Underground)((Subway)) I caught my shoe on the edge of the train and it fell off!! I lost it on the tracks! We were in chaos for a few minutes and then we just hopped(I am not kidding, I was shoeless) aboard the train. We stopped a couple of stops later and decided to go back. I am probably the only 10 year old boy from Guelph, ON, Canada, to EVER walk in the streets of Paris with one shoe on. We eventually found a shoe store and bought a pair of shoes for 70 euros which is 112$. Expensive? Yes. Talking about expensive... we went to the Eiffel Tower and when we were walking there we saw at least 30 people walking around with Eiffel tower trinkets for 1 Euro. They were selling them illegally and some were VERY pushy. One came up to my dad and said, "You buy?" My dad said "When we get back." But then he said,"No no, you buy you buy!" And my Dad kept saying later, and he kept saying, "You do want to buy, only 1 euro!" In the end he left. The funny thing is, when we went up the tower there were a lot of those people. But when we got down we saw military police with automatic rifles. It turns out the salesmen can disappear really fast. We did get some trinkets(legally) and a Mona Lisa fridge magnet. The view from the Eiffel Tower was great!! Here is a picture. You can see the shape of the tower from the shadow.

When we got down, we went farther away to take a picture. While we were doing that, a West African teen came up to us and tied a string bracelet on to me then asked my dad "Now you give, you give. 5 Euros." My dad said he would give him 50 Cents. The man was kind of shocked. So then my dad gave him 50 Cents then we walked away.

That is an account of our time in Belgium and Paris. Please Comment!!!

-Graham

Contact me at:

Email: gmcracker5@gmail.com

Blog:Followers: Graham. Leave me a message.

Graham, Blogger.

You!!!!!

PLEASE tell me how(and what) you are doing! I know you love to hear from me, But I want to know about what YOU are doing. So please comment on what you are doing or email me at gmcracker5@gmail.com. Soooooo........... what are you doing? How are you? How is Mr.Stam? What is your favourite subject? Please comment!!!

Torre Abbey

On Thursday we went to a city in southwest of England called Exeter. On the second day we were there, we went to a little town on the coast called Torquay. We went to the most famous place in the city. It was an abbey called Torre Abbey. This picture is the Abbey from the outside.

This is part of the old ruined church.

Inside the Abbey there are artifacts about the family who used to live inside. The Abbey used to be a Catholic monastery (for monks). In the 1500s King Henry VIII said the Catholic monasteries had to go, so he threw out the monks, burned down the church and gave the Abbey to a Lord and Lady. It was the Cary family. The Cary family lived there for 400 years and then sold the Abbey to the city of Torquay. There was a lot of paintings inside. I do not like paintings very much so Mom, Dad, Madeleine, please comment about the paintings and such. If you want to know more about the Abbey, go to http://www.torre-abbey.org.uk/about.php.Bye!!!!!!!!!!

Science Class

For science class when we finished reading Chapter 1 we made a poster of all the names we learned. This way we could see how all the groups fit together. Click on the picture so you can see it enlarged.

Each group's name is on an index card. When you turn the card up it lists the species in that group. You can see the cards turned up in the next picture.

We made it into a board game. One player is the Chordate and one is the Invertebrate. Each line has a number on it. On your turn you roll the die and try to get enough points to go to one of the groups. When you are there you have to list the species in that group. You get to look at the answer. If you are wrong then you try again next turn. When you get the names right you roll the dice and go back to the start then go to another group. The first player to get all the cards in that Phylum turned up wins.

Please Comment!!

Answering comments

Thanks for all the comments! Keep giving me comments. If you ask me a question in the comments, that is where I will answer it, so don't forget to check back for my answers.

Guitar Jam

In my church, there is a program called Guitar Jam. It is a program for all ages for anyone who wants to play guitar. It is not necessary to bring your own guitar, but it is best to so that you will have a wider choice of guitar. I have learned( a little) how to play A,B,C,D,E,F, and G on the Acoustic Guitar. I have also learned how to play Let it Be, (which we played in the service) Yellow Submarine, And (almost) Hey Jude by The Beatles.* If any of you play guitar, Could you email me at gmcracker5@gmail.com some chord charts? Thanks.

How are you guys doing? You get to hear from me, but I want to hear from YOU. So if you want to keep in touch with me, Email me to the address above. Thanks!!

*All rights Reserved(kidding)

Sports

In England they play a lot of sports. The most popular is football(soccer) and I have played it with my neighbors already. The other popular sport here is Rugby! When I heard about that, I could not believe it! And they are VERY good at it to! They know how to tackle at 9 years old! Here is a picture.

The under 9's do whats called "tag Rugby" which is they have a tag and when they have the ball, the opponent tries to pull of their tag. If they do that, they have to give the ball to the opponent.

If you want to now more a bout the game of Rugby, Click http://www.creekrugby.com/rulesdetails-the_rules_of_the_game.htm

Bannockburn

When we were in Scotland we went to see BannockBurn. BannockBurn was the site of an essential battle in 1314 for Scotland's freedom. The Scottish Army was led by Robert the Bruce. The English King Edward II invaded Scotland. He was trying to regain kingship over Scotland. He had 40,000 men in his army. The Scots had about 15,000. The two armies met at Bannockburn. Despite being outnumbered, the Scots battled bravely and fiercely and won!!!

If you want to now more go to www.braveheart.co.uk. The picture below shows the Robert the Bruce memorial.

The surprising thing about BannockBurn is that they make it VERY hard to get there. And when you do get there, the entrance is on the back. So you finally get in and there is this dumpy display that costs 15 Pounds ($26) for something I could make. So instead we toured outside.

Edinburgh Photos

Above is the view of Edinburgh castle from the street leading up to it.

This is a picture of the view from Edinburgh Castle.

It is standing on a rock that has been there for 70 million years.

People have been living there since the Bronze Age(850 B.C). The oldest part of the castle is St. Margaret's Chapel (below). It is about 900 years old.

There are two statues at the front entrance to the castle. Above is the William Wallace* statue.

This is the Robert the Bruce* statue.

*I will tell you more about them in the BannockBurn blog.

Edinburgh, Scotland

On Tuesday October 13 we went to Edinburgh, Scotland. This is a picture of my mom, me, and my sister, Madeleine. Edinburgh has been the capital city of Scotland for 1000 years.The first day we were there we found a Scottish shop that had the Douglas clan history book. The McKitricks were part of the Douglas clan. And in the book I found my last name in it! My last name is McKitrick, but sometimes it's spelled McKittrick. The second name was in the book. Then me and my dad went looking for a kilt with the Douglas tartan on it. This is his kilt. The Douglas Tartan is mainly navy green and blue with white stripes on it.

I am also going to post blogs about Bannockburn and Aberdeen.

Pics in London

This is a picture of Westminster Abbey.

The pictures below are all from the Tower of London. The guards are standing in front of the Jewel Tower. The Jewel Tower has the Crown Jewels in it.

London #2

Yesterday we went to London. I did not get sick this time. Yay!! The picture bellow is 1 of the oldest castles in England!! The....Tower of London! This castle is very old. When was it built? Take a guess and post a comment about it. Give me your email and I will tell you if it's right. Hint: William the Conqueror. We saw Henry The VIII's armour and his weapons. Also we went to one of the BIGGEST churches in the world, Westminster Abbey. It was so old and amazing!! We saw the tombs of very old and famous people like Charles Dickiens, the famous poet. Some of it was made in the 10TH century!!! Very old and fragile tombs lie there. On the next blog I will just post pics of London.

Also on the Tower we saw the Queens Crown jewels. They were awesome. BYE!!!!!!

Sort of an EDUCATIONAL BLOG#1: Google Earth.

This the Google Earth map of our house. If you go to Google Earth and research 2 Cantell Close in Buckingham UK, this is it. It is 50 degrees N. Latitude and 0.59 degrees W. Longitude. If you are in Ontario and you go to 50 degrees N. do you know where you will be? You will be in... James Bay!!

Oxford

On Thursday we went to Oxford!!! The city is known for its university.

This a view from the oldest building in Oxford. The building is almost 1000 years old!!!!!

This is the spot on Magdelen Street where the 3 bishops Cranmer, Ridley, and Latimer were burned at the stake for being Protestant.

This is the Eagle and Child, a pub famous for the corner where the 2 famous writers J.R.R Tolkien and C.S. Lewis sat and discussed the books they were writing. We were lucky enough to have lunch at that pub!

That is what we did in Oxford. Please comment!!!! Bye!!!!