A Family Meal

Hi Fau Bloggers:

Today I'd like you to write about a family meal you remember. The family meal I remember was in about 1983 or 1984 (I think. My memory isn't as good as it used to be!!). It was in a Hostel my father managed in a little village in Scotland called Coldingham Bay. It was a couple of tears after my mother had died and possibly the first time the family had gathered together since her death, The whole family was my dad and my 5 sisters (Terri, Clare, Moira, Lizzie & Fran) and my 3 brothers (Adie, Colin & Ged). My nephew Dan would have been there too. I can't remember what time of the year it was so I can't remember if we were celebrating anything special or not. I think there was turkey or vegetarian meatloaf on the menu. One of the reasons the meal is so memorable is because my sister Moira and brother Adie started a food fight that got really crazy. It was so epic that it took us ages to clean up afterwards. I mostly remember it because of my dad's reaction. He was always very strict at mealtimes when we were younger but, on this occasion, he just sat there laughing. I think he had finally realized that his children were all a little bit crazy but in a good way. Below is a picture of some of my family in 2010.

This is Coldingham Bay.

Write about a family meal you remember.
Say:
When and where it was.
Who was there,
What you ate.
Why it was memorable.

Mention anything else you think is interesting or important. Try to write at least 200 words. Leave a comment on my post and on the posts of 3 classmates.

A Country You Would Like To Visit

Hi FAU Bloggers!

One thing I have been lucky enough to do in my live is travel abroad frequently. Since my first trip abroad to Amsterdam as a 20-year old to visiting China last year, I have managed to visit a number of countries, mainly in Western Europe and South American. All in all, I've visited 24 countries, which includes the UK, which is 4 countries, but not including Ecuador where I spent 5 hours in a frontier market town, or stopovers in airports (Canada, Russia) or countries I drove through without really stopping (Belgium and Luxenberg).  

Anyway, having already had the chance to visit amazing countries like Japan, Turkey, Costa Rica and New Zealand, I think the place I would most like to visit is Cambodia, mainly because I would love to see the Angor Wat buddhist temple. I don't really know much about the temple except that it is considered one of the 7 wonders of the world, and, is the biggest religious structure on the planet. Apparently, Cambodia isn't as developed as other countries in the region and it has a problematic past in terms of politics. In recent years, tourism has been on the increase and Cambodia is seen as a quieter more relaxing destination than its neighbours Thailand and Vietnam.

If I could travel to Cambodia I'd like to go with my wife. Ideally I'd go for about 3 or 4 weeks. Angor Wat is so big it's recommended that you allow at least 4 days to explore. Cambodia also has amazing beaches so I'd also plan to spend some time chilling at the beach. The other place to visit would be Phnom Penh, the capital city, in order to soak up some Cambodian culture.

 

What about you? 

Write about a country you would like to visit.

Say:

Which country it is,

Why you would like to visit it,

Who you would go with,

How long you'd spend there,

Which places you would visit.

Mention anything else you thing is interesting or important. Try to write at least 200 words. Leave a coment on my blog and on the blogs of 3 classmates. 

Something You Did Last Weekend

 Hi Fau Bloggers,

Today I'd like you write about something you did last weekend. I actually had a real busy weekend catching up with friends and making music. However, the thing I'm going to talk about is walking up San Cristobal. I did this on Sunday afternoon at about 5pm. I went with my wife and a Chilean friend called Pedro. This is the 2nd consecutive Sunday we've done this walk. I enjoyed this activity for a number of reasons. Firstly, it's good exercise. Secondly, I enjoy being in the natural environment (although the air quality was extremely bad in Santiago over the weekend). Also, I have an interest in birds and I like to see how many different species I can spot. My wife and Pedro have known each other for years and they are both good talkers so I just drift in and out of their conversations. It gives me time to think without having anything around to distract me. There were lots of other people doing the same walk plus some runners, cyclists and skateboarders. The walk down was quicker than the ascent because we took a short cut. When we reached the bottom of the hill we went straight home because most places were closed because of the elections. Including the walk to and from home to the hill, we took about 2 hours.

ps. Not my photo:)

Write about something you did last weekend.

Say:

What it was,

Who you did it with,

What it involved,

How long you did it for,

Why you enjoyed it.

Mention anything interesting or important. Try to write at least 200 words. Leave a comment on my blog and on the blogs of 3 classmates.