In the last three weeks, we've had only two nights without couchsurfers or airbnb guests.
First we hosted an American couple living in England. When they left, an Argentinian lady called Paula came to stay with us for two nights. On the second day that she was staying, one of our former Italian hosts came. Paula was really surprised when we told her that the Italian man was vegan. We explained that he doesn't eat eggs, cheese or yoghurt, or anything like that, to her, and she said, "So he doesn't eat steak either?'
We asked Paula whether she ate steak three times a day, because that's what Argentinians are famous for eating, and she replied, "No, not three times a day, only two". Somehow, that still seems like a lot of steak to me.
Giovanni (the Italian guy) stayed at our house for a long time, but he spent a few nights away during his stay. One of the guests who we had staying over at the same time as him is called Robin. Robin was a volunteer at the Olympics, and is from Manchester. He taught my sister and I a really cool card trick.
After that, we had an American family stay for two nights. They had two children, one aged nearly 12, and the other one aged nearly 10. They were one of our best guests. We went to Covent Garden, Waterstones, Trafalgar Square and Green Park with them. We learnt card tricks with them, too.
As well as having loads of guests, we went kitchensurfing, and recently we went to a picnic with some couchsurfers.
Tuesday, 21 August 2012
Monday, 6 August 2012
Midnight and Morgan
We have two cats called Midnight and Morgan. Midnight is called Midnight because her fur is mostly black, like the sky at midnight. Morgan is called Morgan because it means mornings in German, and Morgan is mostly lightly coloured like the sky is in the morning.
The reason I'm writing about the cats is because they were born in 2009, some time around August, so it's around their third birthday this month. Midnight and Morgan are the same age because they were from the same litter. When they were very little, they didn't have a proper home, so their mum moved them from shed to shed, and they had to keep moving. They came to our house a few times, so my sister and I begged to keep them. We used to have a cat called called Minke, but he went missing and we still had some cat food and a few bowls from when he was around. We just fed Midnight and Morgan at first, but it got cold in winter, and we couldn't keep them inside the house, so we made them a little shelter from an old crate in our garden, and all three of them slept there.
The cats were really shy at first, but as they grew older, they became less shy and we could stroke them. They even got brave enough to come inside the house, which they'd been too scared to do before.
Unfortunately, Midnight and Morgan's mum, Noona (Like afternoon), went missing. She still hasn't come back but we hope she's found a nice home with kind people.
The cats have grown since we first got them, but they're still small. Dad thinks it's got something to do with them being in the cold before we got them.
Morgan and Midnight are very good at catching mice. I never see any mice around here, only dead ones.
The reason I'm writing about the cats is because they were born in 2009, some time around August, so it's around their third birthday this month. Midnight and Morgan are the same age because they were from the same litter. When they were very little, they didn't have a proper home, so their mum moved them from shed to shed, and they had to keep moving. They came to our house a few times, so my sister and I begged to keep them. We used to have a cat called called Minke, but he went missing and we still had some cat food and a few bowls from when he was around. We just fed Midnight and Morgan at first, but it got cold in winter, and we couldn't keep them inside the house, so we made them a little shelter from an old crate in our garden, and all three of them slept there.
The cats were really shy at first, but as they grew older, they became less shy and we could stroke them. They even got brave enough to come inside the house, which they'd been too scared to do before.
Unfortunately, Midnight and Morgan's mum, Noona (Like afternoon), went missing. She still hasn't come back but we hope she's found a nice home with kind people.
The cats have grown since we first got them, but they're still small. Dad thinks it's got something to do with them being in the cold before we got them.
Morgan and Midnight are very good at catching mice. I never see any mice around here, only dead ones.
First Airbnb guests
Airbnb is like couch surfing, but the guests pay to stay at your house.
Our first airbnb guests were a couple called Elizabeth and Gary. They live in England, but they come from America.
I thought that they wouldn't spend any time with us because they were airbnb guests, but they did. We had dinner with them and we all chatted together.
I was really surprised when Elizabeth told us that she'd lived in England for over a year but she hadn't tried English tea. We gave her her first cup, and she said it was nice.
Elizabeth has a game on her phone that she showed us. I played it for a while. In the game there's a character running along. You tap the screen of the phone to make him jump over obstacles and holes, and also to make him reach the coins that sometimes appear above him. It's quite a simple game, but it was fun talking to her about it. Gary and Elizabeth also gave my parents tips about some apps.
Because we were having burgers, Gary told us about a shop in America that sells burgers and hardly anything else.
Our first airbnb guests were a couple called Elizabeth and Gary. They live in England, but they come from America.
I thought that they wouldn't spend any time with us because they were airbnb guests, but they did. We had dinner with them and we all chatted together.
I was really surprised when Elizabeth told us that she'd lived in England for over a year but she hadn't tried English tea. We gave her her first cup, and she said it was nice.
Elizabeth has a game on her phone that she showed us. I played it for a while. In the game there's a character running along. You tap the screen of the phone to make him jump over obstacles and holes, and also to make him reach the coins that sometimes appear above him. It's quite a simple game, but it was fun talking to her about it. Gary and Elizabeth also gave my parents tips about some apps.
Because we were having burgers, Gary told us about a shop in America that sells burgers and hardly anything else.
Wednesday, 1 August 2012
Devon beach reviews
These are reviews of all the beaches I've been to in Devon:
Bantham is a very big sandy beach with a wide river flowing into the sea that you can float down on. The river is called River Avon. We jumped into it and swam down with the current. The water wasn't too deep, but it was very cold and took time getting used to. River avon brings softer, wet sand onto the beach, so it's easy to play games that involve drawing in the sand.
It is very easy to spend a whole day at Bantham, but if you get too hot in the sun there are always tiny coves set back from the sea to shelter in. When I went to Bantham, we made a barbecue in one of the tiny coves and beef and lamb burgers in toasted buns.
Bantham also has a very big parking lot, so on most days you don't have to worry about finding parking.
Lannacombe is a small beach with a tiny parking lot. The parking lot only has space for twelve cars to park, so you have more chance of being able to get a space if you arrive by nine thirty. Even then, you'll have to pay three pounds. Otherwise, you'll have to park outside the beach and walk all the way to and from the car. There are coves to walk along, but no facilities.
Beesands is a pebbly beach, but a good place to go if you're looking for sun as there isn't a lot of shade. There's a nearby cafe with ice-cream and good food, but it isn't cheap and the shopkeepers aren't friendly.
Thusloe is a wide, sandy beach with plenty of sun and enough shade. It isn't very crowded, but you have to pay two pounds to get in.We went there on the first and last day of our trip and paddled around in the water.
Mattescombe is a lovely little beach. It's a good place to go if you're looking for a slightly hidden beach where you can escape crowds. The walk from the parking lot to the sea is long and there is a steep climb down that can be dangerous, but you get a beautiful view, especially at sunset. There are mini waterfalls on the beach.
Near the beaches there are two towns that I like going to. One is called Kingsbridge, and the other is called Totnes.
In Totnes there are health food shops, bookshops, ice-cream shops, milkshake shops, food shops, crystals, and on the day we went, a market.
Kingsbridge, a town nearer where we camped had a sweet shop with better strawberry milkshake, and my sister also enjoyed her honeycomb ice-cream. The owner was friendly. Everyone in Kingsbridge was friendly.
We discovered a service station that sold everything. Food was in one shop and in a separate one, the shop sold beach gear, boards, bullet knives, clothes, bracelets, slipper, stools small fridges. Also honeycomb chocolate and delicious cheese pasties.
Bantham is a very big sandy beach with a wide river flowing into the sea that you can float down on. The river is called River Avon. We jumped into it and swam down with the current. The water wasn't too deep, but it was very cold and took time getting used to. River avon brings softer, wet sand onto the beach, so it's easy to play games that involve drawing in the sand.
It is very easy to spend a whole day at Bantham, but if you get too hot in the sun there are always tiny coves set back from the sea to shelter in. When I went to Bantham, we made a barbecue in one of the tiny coves and beef and lamb burgers in toasted buns.
Bantham also has a very big parking lot, so on most days you don't have to worry about finding parking.
Lannacombe is a small beach with a tiny parking lot. The parking lot only has space for twelve cars to park, so you have more chance of being able to get a space if you arrive by nine thirty. Even then, you'll have to pay three pounds. Otherwise, you'll have to park outside the beach and walk all the way to and from the car. There are coves to walk along, but no facilities.
Beesands is a pebbly beach, but a good place to go if you're looking for sun as there isn't a lot of shade. There's a nearby cafe with ice-cream and good food, but it isn't cheap and the shopkeepers aren't friendly.
Thusloe is a wide, sandy beach with plenty of sun and enough shade. It isn't very crowded, but you have to pay two pounds to get in.We went there on the first and last day of our trip and paddled around in the water.
Mattescombe is a lovely little beach. It's a good place to go if you're looking for a slightly hidden beach where you can escape crowds. The walk from the parking lot to the sea is long and there is a steep climb down that can be dangerous, but you get a beautiful view, especially at sunset. There are mini waterfalls on the beach.
Near the beaches there are two towns that I like going to. One is called Kingsbridge, and the other is called Totnes.
In Totnes there are health food shops, bookshops, ice-cream shops, milkshake shops, food shops, crystals, and on the day we went, a market.
Kingsbridge, a town nearer where we camped had a sweet shop with better strawberry milkshake, and my sister also enjoyed her honeycomb ice-cream. The owner was friendly. Everyone in Kingsbridge was friendly.
We discovered a service station that sold everything. Food was in one shop and in a separate one, the shop sold beach gear, boards, bullet knives, clothes, bracelets, slipper, stools small fridges. Also honeycomb chocolate and delicious cheese pasties.
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