Boston- My last day

Today is really and truly my last post. As I walked into my apartment in Boston, I thought about the amazing places I had been and how much I had learned. It had been a wonderful trip. But I was ready to settle back with my life now. Maybe I could get a pet now that I was done traveling. Or maybe I would continue traveling on my own... I don't know.

Note From The Blog Creator and Writer-

I have had a great time blogging on this blog, and I am sad to be done with it. I have learned so many things about many places in the world. I'd like to thank my Dad for giving me this assignment in the first place, to teach me my geography. I learned so much, thank you. Thanks to my readers (if I have any.). With this said, I am going to close my 80 days blog. Please return in the future for information on places all over the world!

Driving Back to Boston

I landed at the Manchester airport, where my car was waiting for me. I grabbed the keys and settled back. My trip around the world was great. I thought about all the amazing things I had seen and learned, and all the interesting places I had been. I just can't believe it went so fast. It seemed like just yesterday that I was leaving Boston for the first time, and going out into the world to search for new things...

But hey, maybe now that I am going back I can get a pet, and settle down with my life... Or maybe I will continue traveling on my own... I don't know. I am sad to say that this is going to be the last post on my blog though.

 My sister is already back from her trip, and I am now back from mine. Goodbye, Eighty Days Blog. You have served me well and taught me a lot about the world. Thank you Dad for giving me this assignment, I have had a lot of fun with it.

Goodbye.

Rushing to the Airport

I woke up, expecting it to be early and to have a whole day to spend in London. But instead, I woke up at 1:00 p.m. with only a half an hour to pack my bags and get over to the airport! I had to eat breakfast first, of course, and my bags were already packed from the night before. But what about transportation? AND WHERE WAS THE CLOSEST AIRPORT?! WHAT AIRPORT WAS MY PLANE LEAVING FROM!? I had thought I would have all of today to figure that out, so I had just randomly bought tickets to a nearby airport.

I hailed a taxi and told the driver to take me to the nearest airport. Once I got to the airport, I hurried to find where my plane was. I found the right platform, just in time to hear that there was a 3 hour delay. Since my hotel was a long drive away, I decided to do some souvenir shopping at a little souvenir store in the airport. I bought a small Union Jack Flag to bring home to Boston with me.

After that, I went to Subway, and then just went back near my platform to wait. I took a 2 hour nap, and awoke just in time to hop on the plane to go back to Boston. I ended up not getting 1st class seats, but at that point, I just wanted a place to sit and relax.

I guess that this time I can't say that I quite enjoyed my visit to London, in fact I'd say I rather disliked it. On my past venture to London, however, I had a great time. It was just due to my waking up late that I did not enjoy myself. That is all for today. Good bye.

Plane to London

My eighty days are almost up and I can't believe it! Today, I left Nairobi by airplane for London, where I will switch planes and from there land in Boston, where my trip will, sadly, end. But I will make a stop in London tomorrow. At the moment, I am in first class, luxury seats on a plane next to NO ONE! It is wonderful. The most annoying thing is that the food cart stops here last. 

I was totally at peace. There were not very many people who could afford to fly luxury, so there was very little noise. I just put my headphones in and fell asleep for about an hour listening to my music. When I woke up, The food cart was just passing by, so I bought a few packs of cookies and a milk carton and settled back with a Harry Potter book. The difference was amazing! Even the bathrooms were cleaner! I actually felt safe SITTING on the toilets this time!

Well, soon it was dark out, and all I could see below me was night lights. Occasionally I could look out my window and look up and see the stars, but below was more entrancing. I had learned to get over my fear of heights. I just needed to tell myself that the pilot was experienced and knew what he was doing. It wasn't like they had a kid behind the plane steering wheel...

Anyway, my plane landed at 1:00 a.m. that night. I was exhausted, and dragged myself into my hotel room. I fell asleep almost automatically. When you stay up till 1 with nothing to do, I am sure that everyone falls asleep easy.

Nairobi, Kenya

Well, I ended up taking an airplane and flying to Nairobi, Kenya. At least I GOT there. I settled into a small hotel with tiny rooms, and since I hate being cramped, I decided to look around for some cool attractions. I went online and searched TripAdvisor, and found the perfect attraction for myself. THE GIRAFFE CENTER!!!! For those of you who don't know, the giraffe is one of my favorite animals.

I decided that my mind was made up, I was definitely going there. I was very excited when I found out that I was allowed to feed the giraffes too! A lot of schools were there on field trips. While I spent an hour feeding one of the giraffes, and enjoyed that, I did not like the fact that there was so much noise and so many people pushing others out of the way. 

The Giraffe Center was also a very small place, so I did not think it was very much worth the high fee to get in. Because of the bad quality, I decided I was not going to spend a single penny on food there. I did get a plush giraffe for a souvenir though. I ended up going to a McDonald's to eat food after the giraffe center.  

To finish up my stay in Nairobi, I went on a safari through Nairobi National Park. I drove my own rented car through the jungle, and ended up seeing tons of Wild African Animals. It started to get dark halfway through my safari, so I left and went back to my hotel. All in all, I had a wonderful stay in Nairobi.

Kampala Uganda

I woke up in a hospital bed, not in my balloon, and at first I was confused. I was sure I had fallen asleep in my balloon basket. Then, a nurse walked in. She said my balloon had been floating in a nearby lake, and that they had rescued me and my items and brought me here for the night. I asked where I was, and let me tell you, when she said UGANDA, I screamed my head off. I had been floating towards Kenya! How the heck had this happened?

The first thing I needed to do was book a good hotel. Since I had crash landed, I decided to blow out some money on a five-star hotel called the Kampala Serena Hotel. It was beautiful there! The swimming pool had clear water, the rooms were gigantic and comfortable, and the beds were magnificent! I think mine was a water bed. I settled in right away.


I decided to stay at the comfortable hotel and read up about where I was online. I searched Kampala on Google and discovered that it was the capital of Uganda. Here is what I found:

 Kampala is the largest city in Uganda, hence making it the capital. The city is divided into five Municipal Divisions headed by mayors that oversee local planning. These include: The Kampala Central Division, The Kawempe Division, The Makindye Division, The Nakawa Division and The Lubaga Division. The city is run jointly by the Executive Director who is appointed by the president and oversees the administrative activities of the city and the Lord Mayor who chairs the Kampala City Council Authority.

I felt like resting. I was a little worried about getting to Kenya the next day. I was slowly running out of money, and since my balloon was gone, I needed to get a job in Kenya!

Day 2, Air Balloon- Drifting towards Kenya

It is day 2 of my balloon expedition! I am still heading towards Kenya, and my balloon has started to descend. It is getting very hot out, I feel like I am going to melt into a puddle at any minute. I ended up sticking my head overboard and dumping a bottle of water over it to cool off. After that, I set up a little pop up tent I had brought with me and stuffed so things in it. I grabbed a book and went into my little tent to relax.

I decided that it was time to take some beautiful photos after an hour of reading. It seemed to get dark fast, and as the sun escaped beneath the clouds, I caught a wonderful picture (not really none of this is real it is my imagination, this photo belongs to someone else.) of the sunset just as it went down. I then switched my camera to night mode, and I got some good night photos.

I knew it was still early, but with it being so dark, I had no idea what to do. I couldn't call anyone or go online as I had no service up in the clouds. I turned on my little electric lamp and read a little of my book. It was a really good book called Tom Sawyer Abroad. In the story, Tom too is up in the air on an adventure. Soon, I got tired and turned off my lamp. I fell asleep easily with only a little moonlight peeking through my tent. As I slept, I slowly descended into Kenya.

Hot Air Balloon

I decided I was tired of traveling on land, and after my first experience in the plane, I didn't really want to travel in a plane either. So I came up with the perfect solution: I would get into a hot air balloon with all of my items and let it take me wherever and that's where I would explore. I hoped it would drift towards Kenya. I needed tons of food and drink, because I had no idea where or when the balloon would go down. I even packed an inflatable raft in case I landed in water.


I guess I was a little over-safe. I ended up buying some parachutes as well. I let my balloon drift off at 6:00 a.m. It was beautiful, drifting off into the sunup. I saw some birds flying around, but I scared them off with a small horn I had with me. The sight from up in the sky was amazing. Everything looked so tiny, yet it was beautiful. I had never realized how many patterns Mother Nature had created from above.

I felt like I was at peace. I felt the wind in my hair, and I just lay back on the floor of the balloon with a good book. I felt carefree and perfect. As it got to noontime, I made myself a sandwich for lunch. The birds started coming back again, because they saw the bread, but I took care of that in a pinch. I blasted the horn at them, and they left me be.

As it got darker, the moon came out, and it got cooler. I got out my blanket and pillow and settled in for the night. It was amazing to look up at the night sky, with the stars and the moon. As I looked down, I saw that I was drifting towards Kenya. I smiled and went to sleep.

Vienna, Austria- History Trip

Today, I visited Vienna, Austria. Since I knew previously that Vienna had tons of history behind it, I decided to stay at my hotel and read up online about Vienna.



Originally a Celtic settlement, Vienna became an important Roman military and commercial center. After the Romans withdrew in the late 4th century, it rapidly changed rulers among the invaders who overran the region. Several decades passed before Henry Jasomirgott, first duke of Austria, moved his residence to the town, made it capital of the duchy, and erected a castle, Am Hof.

 The town was then ruled by Ottocar II of Bohemia, who conquered Austria in 1251. In 1282, Vienna became the official replace of the house of Hapsburg. The city was occupied by Matthias Corvinus of Hungary and was besieged by the Turks for the first time in 1529. In the horrible second siege in 1683 by the Turks under their leader Mustafa and their Hungarian allies under their leader Thokoly, the city, defended by Ernst von Starhemberg, was on the verge of starvation when it was saved by John Sobieski of Poland.

Early in the 18th century a new circle of fortifications was built around the city, and many beautiful buildings were created. Bernhard Fischer von Elrac drew up new plans for the Hofburg (the imperial residence) and built the beautiful Karlskirche; Johann von Hildebrandt designed St. Peter's Church, the Belvedere (summer residence of Prince Eugene of Savoy), and the Kinsky Palace; together they planned the Schwarzenburg Palace and the winter residence of Prince Eugene. Empress Maria Theresa made the old university, founded in 1365, bigger and completed the royal summer palace of Schonbrunn, started by her father, Charles.

 Joseph II opened the Prater, a large imperial garden, which now contains an amusement park, to the public. Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert lived in Vienna and gave it lasting glory.
In 1805 and 1809, Vienna was occupied by Napoleon. In the early 19th century Vienna was famous for the waltzes of Joseph Lanner and the Strauss family, and for the farces of Nestroy, the comedies of Raimund, and the tragic dramas of Grillparzer. Many theatrical acts came and went and still form in Vienna. (Needless to say there is a cookie called the Vienna Finger. That is totally aside from the fact, I just thought it was cool.)

Monaco-ville, Manaco

I decided to go to the capitol of Monaco today. While there, I heard about a wonderful oceanographic museum. It is world known as one of the best aquariums for it's vast variety of fish. I entered and was almost automatically feeling like I was in the ocean. There were 90 different pools all with different fish in them. The tanks were set up wonderfully. The fish were so colorful I was almost blinded.

I couldn't forget the shark tank either. The sharks that the aquarium had were HUGE! I got there just in time to see the feeding. After watching the sharks eat, I was mighty hungry myself. I stopped at the aquarium's cafeteria and got something to eat. I got a crab salad (fitting for an aquarium) and ate some pudding for dessert.

Before it got too dark, I went to St. Charles' Church. I read a little plaque out in front of it, and was shocked to learn it was built in the 1800's. Whoever took care of the church took care of it well. The stained glass windows sparkle, and the building looks very well kept with no vines. The bell tower raises 30 meters up and still operates well.

After I visited the church, it got dark. Not wanting to be out in a strange place at night, I returned to my hotel to tuck in for the night. I had a great time in Monaco, and hope to visit it again sometime.

London, England

I got off the plane and was in London. I was worn out from my flight, so I slept in that night. I got up and it was already 10:00. I got a late breakfast at the hotel's small buffet, and then went out for a walk. I stopped to ask someone for directions for somewhere with wifi, and I couldn't understand him! It was so hard to understand anyone over there. Finally, I found some people visiting from the United States, and hung around with them for awhile.

I decided to go to the Natural History Museum, mainly because online I had read that they have a 40,000,000 year old spider. UGH! That thing was ugly. It looks like it never got to finish it's lunch... or whatever the heck it was eating...

I looked around further, and decided that the best exhibit in the whole place had to be the giant Brontosaurus skeleton in the main hall when you first walk in. The spider was a bit of a disappointment- all it did was make me lose my appetite for lunch.

Finally, it started to get dark. I was not used to the new time schedule, and I decided to get back to my hotel. I found a little bakery to grab some food at, and then went home and fell sound asleep. I woke up at 12:00 from a nightmare about spiders though... 

Plane Trip to England

Today, I am on a plane going to England. I boarded and much to my dismay discovered that I would be sitting next to a cranky young woman in her 30's. All she wanted was to talk about how she had to fly to England to do the work that she absolutely hated, blah blah blah. I got sick and tired of hearing it after while. I almost blurted out, "WELL IF YOU DIDN'T LIKE THE JOB, WHY THE HECK DID YOU TAKE IT!?" The only times I got peace and quiet was when the food cart came around with milk and cookies and when she FINALLY fell asleep.

Soon, I was high up in the air and all I felt like doing was hurling. I hate heights, and just to make it worse, all I could see below me was water. I ended up going to the bathroom to barf once. I don't think it was seeing the water and all the height that made me barf though. I think they gave me old milk with my cookies. Speaking of food, I discovered that when lunchtime came, I couldn't reach my lunch! I was so annoyed. I ended up buying some more cookie packets to eat to hold me over.

Soon enough, my grumpy seatmate woke up. She seemed to be in a bit of a better mood. She didn't groan about her job as much, but she seemed to disagree with everything I said and didn't want to make friendly conversation. I even tried giving her a leftover cookie I had. She just snatched it out of my hand grumpily and didn't say thank you. Last of all, I asked her name. She just stared at me harshly and said, "None of your business." Talk about mean!

Finally, my flight was over. I was relieved to be off that stupid plane and away from that cranky woman. However, my pain wasn't over yet... because to my absolute horror, she was my next door neighbor at my hotel!!!

Baltimore, Maryland

                                                         
Today I am going to Baltimore, Maryland. I decided to go to the Baltimore Civil War Museum while I was there. It was a very cool place, but small. It had gotten good reviews on trip adviser though, so I decided to try it. I went, and while there was not much to see, there was an interesting documentary on the building that the museum is in. The museum used to be a railroad stop that Union soldiers would get off at in the time of the civil war.

I decided I would eat some lunch and then go to a well rated place called Sherwood Gardens. I went, and it was beautiful there! My only turn off was that there were no trash cans anywhere! I had brought a sandwich and a soda with me to eat lunch there, and there weren't any trash baskets. I was upset. However, the flowers were very pretty. The garden consisted mostly of tulips that were blooming and at the height of their growth.

To end my stay, I decided to go to a drive in movie at a place called Bengie's. I bought a bag of popcorn there, and it was delicious. It was nine bucks to see 3 movies. However, the employees were not nice at all. While the rules were as they are at any movie theater, the employees kept reminding everyone over the loudspeaker to not turn lights on and all the other rules. It was very annoying.

I went back to the hotel after only one movie because I was so annoyed. Its better that I get my rest anyway. Other than the annoying drive-in, I had a great time in Baltimore.

Wilmington, Delaware

I decided that today I was going to do a history trip, since I haven't  done one in awhile. I researched Wilmington online, and it turns out there is more than one. There is also a Wilmington in Massachusetts. The history of Wilmington isn't too exciting.

 Back in colonial times, it was simply known as Willington after the first land adapter, Thomas Willing. The first colony was set up by Finland and Sweden in 1638. The land fell to the Dutch in 1655, and later to the British. Under the British reign was the name changed to Wilmington, after Spencer Compton, earl of Wilmington.

Wilmington has benefited over the years from the laws of Delaware, which favor corporate management. It is the official headquarters of many corporations that otherwise do little or no business in the state. 

Wilmington College has grown rapidly since its founding in 1968 and now has campuses throughout the state. Goldey-Beacom College, a private co-educational college founded in 1886, has its campus in a suburb of Wilmington. Wiedner University, based in Chester, Pennsylvania, has a branch campus in Wilmington.

WOW! I never would have guessed that big corporations don't like to do business in Delaware! And, uh, I never would have guessed that it's name was originally Willington too..... but anyway. Though I didn't get out and see the sights, I learned the underlying story. I guess you could say I had an EDUCATIONAL time in Wilmington.