Paris! Eifel Tower

I would like to go to the Eifel Tower in Paris, France, because it is one of the most famous /recognized land marks in the world. Since the Eifel Tower is in Paris, I am very glad, because I have always wanted to go to Paris. The Eifel Tower is 1063 feet (324 meters) including the antennas, now. Initially it was 1023 feet (312 meters) to the top of the flag pole. Building the tower took 2 years, 2 months, and 5 days. They had started building in 1887 and they completed it in 1889. The Eifel tower was built to celebrate the Worlds Fair that was being held in Paris. It was made of puddle iron, not steel. The Eifel Tower leans a tiny fraction in the direction of the sun. The tower “grows” in the heat. It is located in the Champs de Mars in Paris.

12/15/2009

Chichen Itza (The snake and the sun)

I would like to go to Chichen Itza (chee-chan ee-sa) in Mexico. It is one of the seven wonders of the world. It is the last and greatest pyramid of Mayan temples. The Maya history started in 700 B.C and ended in 1500 A.D. Mayans are good weavers and potters. They built temples, and carved inscriptions on the wall. They made their own calendar, and they are smart with the sail and knew how to crop well, too.

According to, Mayan (my-ahn) history, there is a shadow on Chichen Itza staircase that looks like there is a squiggly snake descending the stairs on the first day of spring and fall. The squiggly snake on the staircase was a lucky sign/symbol for the Mayans. It meant the golden, yellow sun had entered, and it was time to plant corn. I think that is very interesting. It was built in 445 B.C.E. I would like to go because there is a spiral staircase inside, too.

Now, that I have actually gone to Chichen Itza I know more about it. (My dad and sister went to Cancun, but they were tired so they did not go to Chichen Itza.) My grandma, my mom and I got on a two hour bus ride with my friends A and S. A went with her mom and dad. S went with her grandma, mom, dad, and brother. On the bus ride, we did not get bored, because S’s mom had a dictionary that looked like a cellphone, it was like a mini-computer. The dictionary had games that we played.

When we got there the councils told us to separate to Spanish speaking group and English speaking group. The English speaking people had a tour guide with black hair. S, A and I took a video with my camera. The pyramid is made up of brownish, blackish, grayish stone. Our tour guide let us observe for awhile then he talked a lot- a lot that was LEARNING talk. (I did not know you had to learn on vacation.) He clapped his hands and there was a strange echo. It sounded like birds. There were seven echoes, seven days of the week, and seven triangles. (The triangles are on the pyramid going down the side.)

Our trip to Cancun was plenty of fun. We went to Xcaret, Chichen Itza, and the beach. I liked the beach the best, because we collected shells and S and A said I could have them. (Yay!) We also went shopping. I got some souvegniers. I got a sand turtle (a turtle made of sand), a mini colorful hat, two big shells, another turtle (made of wood), and a magnetic blue Mexican hat (it was small). I am glad I went to Chichen Itza and had a lot of fun. I hope you can go there.


A.D. = Anno Domini "the Year of Our Lord"
B.C. = Before Christ
B.C.E = Before Common Era
C.E. = Common Era

12/18/2009