This is my big list of all of my favourite things on this trip, enjoy!
Favourite Country
Turkey is currently my favourite country, Istanbul if you want to be specific. I like the people, and definitely the food. One of the best parts is that there are a lot of kittens!
Favourite Language
I think Spanish might be my favourite, to me it’s not as cryptic as others, such as Greek. I would definitely try to learn Spanish as it is spoken all around the world.
Favourite Foods
I have to say I’ve got a couple. I love all pastries, there’s something about them that after six months, still can’t put a finger on. I also love Turkish donner kebabs, it is where they put meat on a large metal rod that rotates around a heater. Then, they shave it off the rod then pack it in a pita among fries, yogurt, lettuce and tomatoes. Yum!
Favourite Mode of Transportation
I think my favourite is boats, I like them because they aren’t like buses or cars, because they make me sick, especially on bad roads. You also don’t need to scamper around a huge building with thousands of other people, to get on your plane… One of the best things though is that you can live on a boat, and that’s pretty amazing. The ocean is your backyard!
Favourite Beaches
My favourite beaches are in Sri Lanka. I love surfing (or at least trying to). But when I am not surfing, the snorkelling is fantastic! Once, I touched a sea turtle! When I’m not doing either, my brothers and I are trying not to get knocked over in the waves.
Favourite Park
My favourite park is definitely the one on the Zorlu Mall in Istanbul! You might wonder why my favourite is not Gullivers Park in Valencia. I don’t really know why. I do, however, know why I love the Zorlu park so much. That is because it has:
- A slide that is super wide, that my brothers and I can all go on all together, horizontally!
- It has a ton of fun stuff integrated into the area, like trampolines, climbing ropes and a lot more stuff that I do not know the name of.
- Best of all there is a super long slide that goes through a concrete wall!
If you go to Istanbul you have to go there.
Favourite Museum/Science Center
I honestly have loved every single Science Center we have gone to. Some of the museums although they were educational, weren’t very enjoyable. I think at the all-time favourite award goes to the Vida Science Center in Brno, Czech Republic. Even though I visited it about four and a half months ago, and have been to many more science centers, it is still my favourite. Inside the building, one of my favourite things is a tube that you fill with hydrogen by electrolysis, and once the pressure reaches a certain point a spark is lit and the hydrogen explodes, making a huge BANG!
Favourite Historical Site
My favourite historical site would definitely be the Tombs of Kings. I like it because there are a ton of caves that you can explore that real ancient kings were stored in! Some of the caves are huge so we could walk around and pretend that we were dead kings, because who wouldn’t want to be a dead king!
Favourite Dessert
I have two favourite desserts. The first one is Sibel’s homemade chocolate pudding in Kuzguncuk, Istanbul. It was absolutely amazing. I think I could even eat it for breakfast (if only I were allowed). My next favourite is ice cream/gelato, as we have been traveling I have tasted some amazing flavors and I’m challenging myself to try as many flavors as possible!
That’s my big list, I hope you liked it. Bye!
Thingvellir National Park. Iceland – July 2018 
Letting loose in Reykjavik. Iceland – July 2018 
First swim in an ocean. Ireland – August 2018 
Learning about genetics at the Valencia Science Centre. Spain – October 2018 
Art class with Dilek. Istanbul, Turkey – November 2018 
Sizing up the Theodosian land wall. Istanbul – November 2018 
Unexpected nighttime visit from a rhinoceros beetle. Sri Lanka – January 2019 
Owen and a giant python. Sri Lanka – Januray 2019 
Gypsy monkey looking for valuables. Galle, Sri Lanka – January 2019
Owen,
We would like to know what spicy foods you have tried and what you thought. We have heard that especially in Turkey the spices are quite different than here in Canada. Is there one or two that you particularly liked?
My mom found that the spices are actually not that different, they just use them in different ways. They also use other foods such as yogurt and dried mint to enhance the flavour. Plus they use tomato paste in almost everything. Thanks for your question!
Owen,
WOW! What a journey! You and your brothers are the luckiest young men I know. What you are learning are things that cannot be taught inside the the four walls of a school.
With all the countries you are visiting and all the people you meet, I am guessing that you are seeing some of the disparity in which many people live.
On our travels Elaine and I have met people that are extremely wealthy and others that are extremely poor. When we were in Monaco, we met people that owned yachts that were valued at $1,000,000 per metre in length. Some of the yachts were almost a hundred metres long. When Elaine was in India, she met people that lived among the garbage dumps.
Such diverse living conditions lead to a number questions in my mind; are the super wealthy any happier than the super poor? Do more material things make a person happier? What are the basics of life to achieve ultimate happiness?
Perhaps you might be able to offer me your perspective on this. You don’t have to respond immediately. Give this some thought as you see, meet, and talk to different people. I am quite interested to know your viewpoint.
Safe travels and hopefully we cross paths sooner rather than later.
Mike