Benassini-Lyons Travels

Well, the fall semester is in the books, and here are the stats: 88 school days, completed; 9 countries, visited; 24 separate apartments/hotels, stayed in; 10 of 17 chapters of the social studies textbook, completed; 2 famous domes, climbed (St Peter's and Florentine Duomo); 1 Galilean finger, seen; 13 books of historical fiction, read (mirroring the social studies curriculum); 4 Roman amphitheaters, visited (Luna, Roma, Pompeii, Italica); 5 long-distance ferries, ridden; 141 days, away from home; 1 active volcano, climbed; 6 days of practice Math Olympiad, completed; 3 converted mosques (to churches), visited; 1 converted church (to mosque), visited;  Many liters of gelato, consumed. Here is the map of our travels: Lessons learned: The world is large, even in five months you can only see a bit of it. Even kids who love to read and love to travel need an occasional gelato and a day at the beach. Climbing things (churches, bell towers, castle walls, volcanoes) is really fun. Bikes ...

None of us had been to Greece and we flew in to Athens with.... moderate expectations – I had read a few lukewarm reviews of Athens, but, everyone comes to Greece so I was ready to battle the tourist hordes as the place fits right in with the 7th grade social studies curriculum for 7 th grade.    Having moderate expectations can be such a blessing because we just loved it!  In Athens, we had such a sweet spot right near the Acropolis and as we got into our apt, stray but tame cats emerged from doorways and from under cars to say hi, just like the kids had heard and had hoped would happen.   The whole area around the Acropolis is of course touristy, but in the enjoyable way that makes it such a magnet - everything is walkable, lots of no-car areas, outdoor dining everywhere, live music wafting from one street or another.   Walking around that first night, eating just a delicious and inexpensive chicken souvlaki, I wondered for the 10 th time, where are all the ...