A Holiday

Hi Bloggers!
This week I'd like you to write about the best holiday you ever had. I think mine was a trip my wife and I made to Peru and Bolivia in 2001. We flew to Arica and stayed the night in a hostel. The next day we took a minibus to Tacna and a bus to Arequipa. We stayed in a cheap hostel in Arequipa but also spent one night in Colca Canyon (to see the baby Condors). On the trip to Colca, we made friends with 2 Italian guys and 2 Israeli girls who we kept meeting throughout our trip. After about 4 days in Arequipa, we took a flight to Cusco. We could have taken a 19-hour bus ride for about 2 dollars but we decided on the 30-minute, 50 dollar flight because it was the rainy season and some of the roads were blocked. Also there had been rumours of bandits holding up the buses and robbing the tourists. Cusco was great. Obviously, we went to Machu Picchu which was amazing. It was raining when we arrived but the sun came out late in the afternoon when all the one-day tourists had left. My wife and I had arranged to stay overnight in Aguas Calientes, the nearest village, and we walked up to Machu Picchu again the following day at 8 am to see the sunrise. We also climbed Huayna Picchu as well which has an amazing view and is a great place to take photos. In Aguas Calientes, we met a group of Argentines in a bar and they told us about an amazing hotel in Coroico, Bolivia that involved travelling down the "Road of Death". So, off we went to Coroico via Puno (for 30 minutes), Copacobana for two nights, with trips on Lake Titicaca to La Isla del Sol and La Isla de la Luna, included, and La Paz. Coroico was great. The Road of Death was scary and the hotel was just as amazing as the Argentines had said it was. Actually, the Road of Death was so scary I didn't want to leave Coroico! Eventually, I had to. Luckily we made it back to La Paz safe and sound. A couple of days later we took a bus back to Chile via Lake Chungara. Great trip!

So, write about a great holiday you had.
Say:
Where you went,
Who you went with,
How long you stayed,
What you did,
Why you enjoyed it so much.

Mention anything else you think is important. Write a comment on your teacher's blog and on the blogs of at least 3 classmates. 

A Movie Hero or Villain

Hi Fau Bloggers,

Today I’m going to write a post about a movie hero or villain. At first, I was going to write about Daleks, the alien robot-like creatures who are the archenemy of Doctor Who (a fictitious time traveller from the planet Gallifrey). However, I realized I’d written about him in a post about a TV programme I enjoyed when I was a child, so I decided to write about Roy Batty, the Replicant from the Science Fiction film Bladerunner.

I first saw Bladerunner in 1982 when it first came out. A friend gave me a pirate copy and it blew me away. I loved everything about it. The dark film noir setting, the high-tech gadgets, the idea of a future that wasn’t perfect, the action, the architecture, the rain, the script, the soundtrack, and to top it all off, the most amazing villain.

I found Roy Batty to be the perfect villain.  A humanoid robot, whose battery is about to run out, trying to find out why he has to die. This was quite a mind-blowing concept back in those days as it’s really a question of what it is to be human.  Actually, some of the humans in the film have less “humanity” than the Replicants. I won’t tell you the story as it’s a film everyone should watch without spoilers. However, I can highly recommend it as a film to see, even now 37 years after it’s release. The great thing about Roy Batty is his intelligence. At times he may appear violent and ruthless but at the end of the film, he demonstrates that Replicants have humanity even though they don’t have a soul. He was built as a fighting machine to work on distant galaxies but, the same as thousands of “slaves” throughout history, he rebels and goes in search of the answer to a question that alludes us all: Why am I here? Why do I have to die?

Write about a movie hero or villain that you like.

Say:

Who they are,

What movie they are in,

When you first saw the movie,

Why you like them,

Why they make such a good hero/villain.

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

A Family Meal

Good Morning 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 years 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.

Here's a picture of the coast next to 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.