It was pretty. The thing I loved most about Paris was the Eiffel Tower. It was very tall. It was sparkling at night. We went up to the tippy top. - Sofia When daddy was planning this trip he found out that we could not make it back from Romania to the USA in one day and we would have to spend the night in another European city. His choices were Madrid, London, and Paris, and he felt that even though had been to France before (Nice last year) that Paris would be the best layover for less than 18 hours since it had the EIFFEL TOWER. I have see that in so many books, cartoons, and pictures, so I already knew about it and was very exicted. So early afternoon after a change of planes ... read more

We went to a hotel. We went up more than a thousand steps to go to Dracula's real castle. I was a little scared. Vlad Tepes is not Dracula. He does not bite people on the neck. He is a hero in Romania because he saw mean people and put a stake up their butt. - Sofia After 2 really fun days in Sibiu it was time to go see Dracula's Real Castle. By this time in the trip I really began to understand that difference between Dracula and Vlad Tepes. I learned that Dracula from the movie (book) was a vampire who sucked blood and was not real. However, he was based on Vlad Tepes whose father was nick named Dracul and he had the nick name of Draculea. Daddy told me that he learned ... read more

We went into Vlad Tepes house where he was born and is now a restaurant. We ate there. We went up a bell tower and I found my name. - Sofia On the way to our next destination, Sighisoara, we stopped by 2 small towns on the way to our next stop Sighisoara. The towns were Prejmer and Harman and both had really cool fortified churches. These were Saxon churches that were surrounded by huge walls to protect them. They were more like fortresses. Really cool looking. It was now time to go to Sighisoara, the birth place of Vlad Tepes aka "Dracula". This was another medieval town. We stayed right in the center of the old town at Burg Hostel. We had planned to stay 2 nights here, but daddy heard there were a lot ... read more

We went on a boat to see the Statue of Liberty. It was pretty. It was a little cold. - Sofia It was time for our Spring Break trip (okay I took 2 extra days off from school but I had not missed any all year) to Romania, with a day in New York City on the way there and one night in Paris on the way back. With an 8 hour layover in New York City, daddy thought I should see the Statue of Liberty. I had seen so many pictures of it and in TV shows, that it was time to see it in real life. We arrived at the airport, and took taxi to the city, then a boat to the island where the Statue of Liberty is. It was sooo cool. I ... read more

"It was a great year" - Sofia What a year. Our travels included going back to my birthplace (Italy) with a side trip to Monaco and France. We also spent 2 1/2 weeks in Bolivia and Peru, with the salt flats being my favorite place. I am really looking forward to our 2012 trips.....we wiill travel to Romania to see Dracula with a stop in Paris, and then 2 1/2 weeks in Iceland and Greenland this summer for whales, icebergs, geysers, volcanos, and a whole bunch of cool things. But this entry is for my year in miami. It was a great year. I went to the Aquarium early in the year with Daddy's medical school friend, Aran, and his family. I had a lot of fun with his daughter, Orli. I countinued playing soccer for ... read more