Dutch lollies and windmill cookies!!

Good morning Room 4. It's 8.15pm on Tuesday night in Holland so it is probably about 6.15am on Wednesday morning for you. Today I went for a bike ride and bought some Dutch lollies to share with you when I get back to school. Caitlin, I am still trying to find some gluten free lollies. I will keep looking. I bought a special windmill cookie cutter yesterday. I thought it would be fun to maybe bake some gluten free biscuits and we can use the cookie cutter. There might also be something coming in the mail for you Room 4. It may take just over a week to get from Holland to NZ though. Enjoy your last two weeks with Mr Green and I will see you soon :).

The Beautiful Swiss Alps

Switzerland was my other favourite country so far so thought I would share a couple of photos from my visit here too. The houses are beautiful in Switzerland. Most of them are built from wood instead of bricks and have brightly coloured flower boxes that sit below the windows. I will post a photo of one of the houses I saw to give you a better idea. While we were staying in Switzerland I went up to Jungfrau Mountain. It is 3,454 metres high, making it the highest point in Europe. It is also a World Heritage site. To reach Jungfrau Mountain you have to go by cog railway. At the top is the highest railway station in the world. Because it is so high up there is snow there all year round. So even though it is summer here we had to dress up in warm clothes when we went up the mountain. We had lunch up there and had a snow ball fight! On our way to the Swiss Alps we drove through a town called Lucerne. There is a beautiful wooden bridge that crosses the lake to the other side of the town. In the lake live a lot of white swans. Here are some photos for you to have a look at...

Parasailing in Corfu

Corfu is an island in Greece and was one of my favourite places that we visited during our bus trip. We went out on a boat one day and were taken to a pebble beach where we could choose to have a go at some different water sports. I decided to give parasailing a go. Parasailing is when you are lifted up in a parachute and towed behind a boat. I'm not very good with heights so was a bit nervous, but decided I would face my fear. Once I was up in the air I loved it and we had a beautiful view of the surrounding islands. After parasailing we went back to the boat and had our lunch. There was lots of fresh bread, salad, fries and the best Greek tzatziki. If you haven't had tzatziki before it is a cucumber and yoghurt dip. It was delicious! Maybe we could make some of these international foods one day at school. Risharne, to answer your question the snails weren't my favourite thing that I've ever eaten, but it's good to give new things a go. They're very chewy so the texture isn't that nice, but they taste like the garlic butter they have been cooked in. I always made sure I had LOTS of the garlic butter on them :). Caitlin tells me that you haven't had any homework or had to stay in at lunch. Maybe I will have to start giving you all lots of homework when I get back (I'm just kidding). I'm disappointed that I am
missing out on Battle Ball, but I'm sure you are all doing an awesome job. You will have to let me know who wins. GO RIMU!! I'm going to watch the closing of the Olympic Games tonight on TV. I hear we won a gold in the 200m kayaking, which is very exciting to hear. Have you all been watching the Olympics at home? I'm sure you have been learning lots about it at school. Only two more weeks and then I will be home again. Make sure you are all squirting Señor Crump with your water bottles for me! I will post a little bit about some of the other places I have visited tonight, but will share my photos with you when I am back at school.

Pisa, Florence and Rome

On our way to Florence we stopped in Pisa to visit the Leaning Tower of Pisa. After spending two nights in Florence we moved on to Rome. In Rome we visited the Colosseum and the Trevi Fountain. I threw a coin into the Trevi Fountain as it is meant to be good luck and increase your chances of returning to Rome. Rome has the yummiest gelato. I ate a lot of gelato while we were in France and Italy. I visited one place in the French Riviera that had one hundred different flavors. I will see if I can find a photo to show you :)

Beaujolais Wine Region

Our next step was the Beaujolais Wine Region. The Beaujolais Wine Region is in Southern France. Remember you can have a look on the map I left for you in Room 4 to see where these places are. The area has a lot of vineyards and is very beautiful. We stayed at the Chateau in the middle of the vineyards. We were given a map on our second day there. It was a map of how to get to a nice picnic spot that looked out over the vineyards. It turned out that we didn't even need a map because the dog that lives at the Chateau led us the whole way there. It was about a 40 minute walk so we thought he was pretty clever. I wanted to take him home, but Paul wouldn't let me. Our picnic baskets had been packed for us. We had a delicious lunch including fresh bread, apples, chips, ham, cheese and water. I gave the dog some water and he had a picnic lunch with us too.

Paris, the Eiffel Tower and snails for dinner

Good morning Room 4!!! I have missed you all so much. I finished my bus tour around Europe a couple of days ago so thought I would update you all on my adventures. I thought I was going to be able to easily access the wifi, but it would often cut in and out or I would only have enough time to contact my family. Thank you for all your comments and messages though. I have loved reading them. What have I been missing out on at school? I would love to hear about what you have been doing. Have there been any house competitions yet? I hope Mr Green is giving you lots of homework and keeping you in every lunch time :)


I know you have all been asking for updates so I will write a little bit about the different places I have visited and share some photos with you. Our first stop was in Paris. I climbed up the Eiffel Tower, saw the Louvre and even ate some snails for dinner. The Louvre is where the famous Mona Lisa painting lives. The snails were special snails so please don\'t try to eat the snails in the school garden. Paki and Kian I\'m talking to you haha.

London and Disneyland Paris

Hi Room 4. I have made it to London and have been having a lot of fun exploring the city. We did a tour of London on a double decker bus, with an open top. We got the opportunity to see the London Eye, Big Ben, the Tower Bridge and Buckingham Palace where the queen lives. We also bought some peanuts and feed squirrels at the park out of our hands. Some of the squirrels would try to hide their nuts in the dirt instead of eating them straight away. Then the mean crows would try to dig up the squirrel's nut. It has been raining in London. The weather really isn't much better than at home. Yesterday we caught the Eurostar, which is the high speed train that goes between England and France. I was very excited to finally be able to visit Disneyland in Paris! I think my favourite things were Sleeping Beauty's castle and seeing the teacup ride. I hope you are all having a happy and safe holiday.

From Miss Gentil