TALKING TURKEY

Happy Halloween everyone!  Flat Hawkster was hoping to have a post up on Monday but there was no wireless access:(    He hopes you enjoy the Haunted House tours today.  Watch out for those grade 7's!    I'm sure that they are doing a great job on their assignment.

Flat Hawkster’s most recent travels have taken him to the Middle East.  To be honest,  he was a bit worried about this part of his trip because many of the countries he will be visiting have been in the news a lot lately due to revolts, protests and terrorist attacks.  Fortunately his experience has been very safe and enjoyable so far.   He began in the coastal town of Alanya which is a popular beach holiday location found in southern Turkey on the Mediterranean Sea.   Tourism is now the largest industry in this town but it used to be better known for its shipbuilding.  In fact,  Alanya was like an ancient “Minit Tune and Brake” outlet that provided maintenance for ancient ships during their ocean voyages.  There were large covered spaces (arches) that ships could sail into and receive whatever care that was needed.  That shipyard still exists today as a museum and Flat Hawkster had a chance to wander around to take in the sights.

Here's Flat Hawkster in the Ancient shipyard museum.  You can see it from a distance in the picture below.  

Here is a model of the types of cranes they had used in the shipyard at one time.

This has been a very strategic port for many centuries and a number of empires ruled Alanya during that time.   At the port you can see a large fortress that greets visitors along with a tall Red Tower that helped to provide a defence during attacks.  Flat Hawkster was able to see some really cool models of large weapons that were built to help protect Alanya from invaders.

   

Here is Alanya's ancient fort with the Red Tower that overlooks the harbour and the city.

Here are some of  the cannons that protected Alanya along with the battering ram and catapult seen below.

Battering Ram.

After Alanya,  Flat Hawkster made a brief stop in another coastal city called Limassol.  This city if found in the small island of Cyprus and also relies heavily on tourism.   This country has been influenced by a number of cultures (Greek, Roman, Ottoman/Turkish) and there are many ancient ruins left for tourists to explore.  This influence continues to this day as the country’s population is divided into Greek or Turkish Cypriots (North).  This is the result of a Turkey’s invasion of Cyprus in 1975.   This island remains an issue of conflict between Greece and Turkey. 

The main boardwalk in Limassol that is being rejuvenated along with a new marina.

This is the largest church in Limassol.  The writing is in Greek which means Limassol is in southern Cyprus.

ITALY BY BICYCLE

Flat Hawkster came across the outdoor hockey rink in Bolzano.   There is a local professional hockey team (Bolzano Foxes) in the town that often has former NHL players.

Flat Hawkster has just completed a long bike tour that was over 350km in length and took him through countless towns in Northern Italy over 10 days.  It was a great perspective on the Italian countryside and provided Flat Hawkster with access to areas that cars cannot get to.  He enjoyed the amazing views, small towns and impressive bike paths that led him safely to each destination.   His trip started in the mountains of Bolzano, Italy and ended up in Venice.  The journey was relatively flat as it followed canals or rivers along the way and there were only a few hills to climb.  However, the first day was a shock for Flat Hawkster as the distance was 75km!    He was not used to that much riding and his legs (wings?) were burning afterwards.  After three days he joined up with 30 other people as part of a bike/boat tour.  The group cycled during the day and met up with the boat in the early evenings for dinner and a place to sleep.   Flat Hawkster met a lot of interesting people on this tour from Canada, the United States, Sweden, Denmark, Australia, France, Norway, and Australia. Despite all of the nationalities, communication was not a problem because everyone could speak English.  It was a great trip, filled with plenty of fun memories and reminded Flat Hawkster of how Hawthorne’s grade 6 students must feel each year after enjoying a few days at camp.

This is one of the many tunnels that were carved through various mountains to create a flat route for the bike paths.  The picture below shows some of the views that Flat Hawkster was treated to.

After a long day of biking Flat Hawkster had to take a ferry ride across the length of Lake Garda.  It was long (5 hrs) but plenty to see as the ferry stopped in a number of small, ancient towns along the way.   When the ferry emptied (below) at one point,  Flat Hawkster was worried that maybe he was going the wrong way but it all worked out.

The next three photos feature moments from the trip from Pescheira to Mantova.  There was a lot to see.  In the picture above, you can see an ancient fort surrounded by a moat that was filled with fish.

This is the tour group that Flat Hawkster joined.   He was a little off task while the tour guide was explaining how Venice had built the world's large inflatable dam.  It was pretty cool technology but they are not sure of when or if it will ever be finished:)

This was the fish market in Chioggia, Italy.  There were a lot of temptations here for Flat Hawkster.  In the photo below you can see Oscar who was on this same bike tour with his family.  They had just spent a number of years living in Dubai (the Middle East) and will soon be moving to Australia.   Before going back "Down Under" they were doing a long tour of their own that will see them travel through England, France, Italy, Africa and Orlando, Florida.  Flat Hawkster thinks that Oscar and his sisters (Emily and Isabelle) will really enjoy their Disney experience.  

The trip concluded in Venice.  Flat Hawkster entered this city by boat because that is really the only way to do it.  As many of you may know, Venice was built on the water and instead of streets there are canals that provide transportation.  As a result, everyone moves either on foot or by boat.  The taxis, police, ambulances, garbage companies, everything happens on the water.   This means that the water is very busy with boats and there are very few, if any, traffic laws.  Flat Hawkster enjoyed watching the craziness as there were so many near accidents but, despite the lack of rules, everything seems to work out just fine.  Venice is a beautiful place where the tourists outnumber the locals by a wide margin. Well before tourism, Venice was known for centuries as a bustling port which hosted ships from all over the globe that were eager to trade their valuable goods. There are plenty of challenges however as the city is often flooded and has elevated paths (staging) that allow people to move around.  Nobody lives/sleeps in basements because they are often filled with water.  It is an amazing city and the most unique environment that Flat Hawkster has visited so far.

An example of just how busy the waterway can get in Venice!  In the picture below you can see one of the many famous "gondolas" that are everywhere in Venice.   It can be a very expensive ride ($100) but Flat Hawkster found a deal for $2.50.  It was a short ride but cool nonetheless.

TURIN CAR MUSEUM

Hello Hawthorne!  Flat Hawkster won't have internet access for a week so here's a quick update on his recent travels.  As you know,  he is currently spending time in Italy and realizing that there is sure a lot to see.  He recently visited Turn, Italy to check out a car museum that he had seen on the The Amazing Race tv show.  It was pretty cool.  There were 30 different rooms featuring hundreds of cars beginning with some of the first automobiles built during the 1800's.  There was a lot to take in and the museum provided a fascinating history on the automobile and its impact on the world.   It's amazing to think that cars have only been widely available for a hundred years.  There were a lot of cool cars and great displays which kept everything interesting.  The only thing that was missing was a test drive.  Flat Hawkster was amazed by some of the sports cars pictured below.  Which one would you prefer?  He wanted them all as,  like him,  they can really fly!

Flat Hawkster is heading out on a bike tour of N. Italy and should have lots to share in his next entry.  In the meantime,  enjoy your week and good luck to the gr. 6/7 volleyball teams that are starting up their seasons.  Go Hawks!

ITALIAN CITY TOURS

For the last week Flat Hawkster has been flying around Italy and visiting three cities: Pisa, Florence and Milan. His first stop was Pisa which is famous for its leaning tower.  This cathedral bell tower was built in stages over 344 year beginning in 1173.  It actually began to tilt or lean during construction because the ground was too soft on one side to properly hold the weight of the buidling. The building was never "straightened" but was stabilized a few times over the past 200 years to make sure that it did not fall over.   It is actually quite the sight to see and looks as though it may topple over.  This is also the sight where a famous scientist, Galileo,  completed some of his tests on gravity.  He dropped two cannon balls of different sizes and discovered....?  What did he discover?  Answer at the bottom.

Here is the leaning tower of Pisa situated beside the cathedral.  You can
see Flat Hawkster trying to correct things below but with no luck.

The time in Pisa was brief before a short train ride to Florence, which is a cultural centre for Italy.  Historically, Florence has showcased the work of countless Italian artists such as Da Vinci,  Michelangelo and Botticelli.   They have all created works that are world famous and Flat Hawkster was really keen to discover more about Da Vinci who was a writer, inventor, scientist, engineer, mathematician, musician, architect, geologist, anatomist and so much more.  He's probably most famous for his painting, The Mona Lisa,  but Flat Hawkster wanted to learn more about his countless designs for inventions.   Fortunately there was a museum that built some models based on his designs and they were pretty cool. Did you know that in the late 1400's Da Vinci created designs for the following:  airplanes, gliders, tanks, helicopters, robots, musical instruments, hydraulic pumps and so much more.  Amazing.

This is the view of Florence from the Michelangelo's Piazza park which is
sits high above the city.

These are replicas of the Mona Lisa.   Did you hear that they recently found
n older edition of the Mona Lisa by Da Vinci that features a younger version of
the woman in the portrait?  No one knows who this woman was.

These two models were created based on sketches produced by Da Vinci.  The
machine above was designed to be pulled by horses through the battlefield.
The "scithes" would be spinning as it moved.  Scary.  The model below is of
a "tank" design that required a number of men inside who would "crank"
the large wheels and fire the cannons.   

Milan is the largest of these three Italian cities. It is one of the major business centres for Italy and a fashion capital for the world. The city is the largest in Italy and has over 5 million people.  Flat Hawkster began by visiting the Duomo (large church) at the heart of the tourist area.  The church was huge and there was a free tour that even allowed him to walk on the church's roof! 

Up on the roof.

This was the view of the public square from the roof.  In the picture below
you can get a closer look of an NBA on the street promotion that was taking
place.   It featured a number of activities but focussed mainly on a 3x3 tournament.
Flat Hawkster thought that the Hawthorne Hawks teams would have done well!

                                                           Flat Hawkster came across this street performer who was 

balancing a glass ball as he moved around.  It was pretty cool!

ANSWER:  Galileo found that regardless of the size,  items will fall to the ground at the same rate of speed if they are shaped similarly.  The cannon balls landed at the same time after Galileo dropped them.

SPENDING TIME IN SPAIN

For the last week Flat Hawkster continued his tour of Spain by visiting the towns of Sitges and Girona.   He started by taking a 40 minute train to Sitges, which is a beach town 35 kilometres south of Barcelona.  Sitges is well known for its beaches, restaurants and historical sites.  It has a very artistic history due to the many artists who would routinely visit from all over Europe in the late 1800's.  There are 17 beaches providing plenty of sand for the thousands of tourists that visit each year.  Flat Hawkster was very impressed by the powerful waves that were constantly crashing onto the beach.  They were so strong that the lifeguards prevented people from swimming but that did not stop the many surfers who were looking to "hang loose".

This is the main boardwalk for Sitges.  It was pretty quiet when Flat Hawkster
was there because it was the off-season.  Usually it is filled with bikers, walkers
rollerbladers and skateboarders.

Flat Hawkster saw this playground overlooking the beach and was reminded of
last year when Hawthorne had its own playground surrounded by water.  Glad
they fixed that:)

 The above picture tries to capture the the size of the waves that could be seen on
Terramar beach.  The photo below does a better job of showing the water's power. 

Check out these two videos which give you an idea of just how powerful the waves were.  The surfer below has great technique to start off but then finishes with a wipe-out.  He was not hurt and Flat Hawkster was happy to have filmed it all.

The next town on Flat Hawkster's tour was Girona which can be found in the northeast of Spain.  Girona is a well preserved medieval town that has a long and interesting history which began with the ancient Romans. Throughout its history, Girona has been attacked on many occasions and conquered 7 times.  This can be seen in the variety of architecture and churches that can be found within the Old Town area.   Flat Hawkster especially enjoyed the long walk on Girona's fortress wall that surrounds the city and rises up to great heights with impressive views of the city.  Girona is a relatively small town with 100,000 people and relies heavily our tourism.  It is a very clean town that, like Sitges, has a great appreciation for art. 

This is the Onyar river which separates Girona's old and new towns.  It is a nice place to hang out and listen to the ducks.

One of Old Town's many lanes.

Flat Hawkster came across a collector's market while walking through the Old
Town area.  They were trading bottle caps among other things.  In the picture
below the children were trading pokemon and soccer cards.

During his time in Spain,  Flat Hawkster has had to adjust his watch and his body clock.  His watch, because Spain is 9 hours ahead of Ladner.  His body clock,  because the Spanish schedule things differently than what he is used to.  For one thing, the stores and businesses are all closed on Sundays and they shut down from 2-5pm every other day for a "siesta".  This time was once used for naps but now business owners take advantage of the opportunity to catch up on a busy life.   Flat Hawkster can understand why people would need siestas because everything happens so late in Spain.  Dinners don't usually begin until 9 or 10pm.  The soccer games also start at 10pm.  People, young and old, can be found socializing on the street at all hours in the night.  This has all made Flat Hawkster quite tired and he may be recommending daily siestas for Hawthorne when he gets back.

Flat Hawkster took a break from walking and jumped onto this tourist train which took him through the narrow lanes of Girona's Old Town district.  In the picture below,  Flat Hawkster is standing at the bottom of a staircase that leads to a huge cathedral which towers over the city.   Those stairs were quite the workout and he may need to join Hawthorne's new running club.

Flat Hawkster hopes that everyone has enjoyed their first month of school.  He is enjoying his travels but looking forward to a return.  Enjoy the day Hawthorne!