Friday, 13 January 2012

Great Greece!



Some olives that fell during harvest
Kate separates the olives from the branch on that machine
It was so nice to get comments from Ryley and Aidan!  Thank you for posting comments--especially since it does not seem to be an easy thing to do!
I am having a fantastic time.  After I went to Pompeii we drove across Italy to catch a ferry to take us to Greece.  It was warm and sunny in Greece.  It was so nice.  We spent Christmas there.  We had orange and lemon trees in our yard and so we ate fresh fruit everyday.  We also got a chance to help harvest olives.  There are olive trees everywhere in Greece.
The flame lighting spot in Olympia
Greece is an ancient civilization with tons of amazing ruins to visit.  The first place I went to was Ancient Olympia.  This is the place where the Olympic games were born.  It is still the place where they light the Olympic flame.  Do you remember watching that video when we did the Olympic unit?  I stood right at the very spot where they light the flame from the sun!!
The South side of the Parthenon--notice the work they're doing!
The East view of the Parthenon

I also went to Athens.  The most amazing site in Athens is the acropolis.  The acropolis is a big hill in the centre of the city.  On top of the hill is the Parthenon an ancient temple to the Goddess Athena.  The Parthenon is a ruin because it was blown up in the 1600s.  What is left of the building is still incredible.  The ancient Greek architects made the building with a bow in the foundation so that it would look perfectly straight to the human eye.  They also leaned the huge Doric columns out a bit for the same reason.  It really is a marvel.  


Stalactites and columns in the caves
One giant column in the cave

The other really neat thing I saw in Greece were the Caves of Diros.  This system of caves is over a kilometre long.  They are full of stalactites and stalagmites.  Most of the  floor of the caves is a river so you have to travel by boat when you’re exploring.  It was cool.  
Take care everyone,
Hope you’re doing well,
Mrs. McMillan
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2 comments:

  1. June Ave Bloggers13 January 2012 at 13:55

    Hi Mrs.McMillan! This is Aidan. You will get some comments from June Ave. staff and students. My mom and I made a blogger account for June Ave. School. Mrs. Stockton said one student a day can go online and comment on your blog. Mrs. Stockton and I looked at your blog afterschool today. She said it was really cool how they made the columns (at the Parthenon) wider at the top so when you looked up at them they were straight.

    Sincerely,
    Aidan L. :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Donna McMillan13 January 2012 at 23:24

      Yaaaaaaaaaaaay!!! I'm so excited about this!!! Thanks for setting up the blogger account Aidan!! I will try to post blogs more regularly so that there is something new for people to see when they get the chance to read my blogs.

      Take care,
      Mrs. McMillan

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