Philopappos Hill-Hill of Muses (The Jail of Socrates & The Philopappos Monument)

The Jail of Socrates &The Philopappos Monument

The Jail of Socrates was where Socrates was put into jail. The Jail of Socrates and the Philopappos Monument are both on the Philopappos Hill near the Acropolis. How can you find the Philopappos Hill? It's easy. Just get to Acropolis, and search for the hop on-hop off stop. When you get there, the hill right behind the stop is the hill! All you have to do then is to walk up, and you will see the Jail of Socrates first. Afterwards, keep climbing up until you get to the top of the hill.(It only takes about 10 minutes to get to the top) There, you will see the Philopappos Monument. At the top of the hill, you will get a clear, fantastic view of Athens and the Aegean Sea. It's really beautiful, and not many people go there,so it isn't too crowded!
Some people read travel guides and go to a place called Lykavittos Hill to see the whole view of Athens and the Aegean Sea. You have to walk up to the hill and spent another 7 euros taking a cable car to get on the top and get from the top to the bottom . In my opinion, the view you see on the Philopappos Hill is better than Lykavittos Hill. What's more, it free and near to downtown! So, I think travelers don't really need to go there~
For more information on the hill of muses, you can go to http://www.aviewoncities.com/athens/philopappos.htm to learn more~

*remember to put on sunscreen!
*there isn't much people on the hill, so it's better to go with someone else and not go alone (there are also some shepherd dogs)

The Jail of Socrates

Philopappos Monument

Plaka

Plaka

Plaka is an area to shop,eat and have more looks at the historical sites (Acropolis and Hadrian's Library) in Athens. It is located from around the Acropolis to Monastiraki. After visiting the Acropolis and the museum, it is great to just walk though the area, have desert or search for lunch, and shop for souvenirs. When I went to Athens, I asked the hotel what exact place Plaka was at. And the hotel told me," Just take the metro to "Akropoli" and ask someone there." Well, eventually, there was no need of asking anyone. When you get there, you will be able to see some restaurants and gift shops. Just walk over there, and keep shopping down the streets. In the end, you will end up in Monastiraki, and you can just take the metro (Monastiraki Station) there to your next destination or go back to your hotel to take a rest after the exciting day.
When I was on the plane on the way to Greece, I met an enthusiastic greek woman who gave me a lot of information about Athens, recommended me their traditional food and drinks, and tips to look out for in Plaka. Well, their traditional drinks are greek coffee and ouzo (beer). They are both strong drinks, especially ouzo. Ouzo is an invisible-color drink, and if you add water in it, it will become white. Since I'm under 18, I wasn't able to try it, but my mom told me that it had a fennel taste!The traditional food in Greece is called gyro pitas. There is restaurant located right across the Monastiraki Metro Station that sells this traditional food (I forgot the name of the restaurant, but I remember its' English name starts with a "B").You can go there and try! Another thing is, at Plaka, you have to bargain. The sellers may sale things too high, but if you bargain with him/her, you can get a lower price!! 
* When I was at Plaka, I went to a shoe store to try on a pair of shoes. Because the price of the shoes were higher than at other stores, I tried to get a lower price. The seller wasn't willing to sell it at a lower price, so I decided to think about it. Afterwards, I decided not to buy them since there were a lot of other stores selling shoes. And you know what? The seller then told me," If you are not going to buy the shoes, please don't waste our time!" I was kind of shocked that he would say this to me! P.S There were no other customers in the store~ So, not every bargain we make succeeds!

the restaurant that sells gyro pitas

gyro pitas

Hadrian's Library

Monastiraki Metro Station

The New Acropolis Museum

The New Acropolis Museum

When you get down from the Acropolis, keep walking down, and you will see the museum. It takes about 5-10 minutes to get there from the Acropolis, and it is very close to the tourism center (across from the tourism center). Some people may think, I have already seen the Acropolis, so is it worth seeing the museum? Well, I had this question in my mind too and asked my mom, and my mom said," Well, you're already here in Greece, so why not just go in and have a look?" I thought so after hearing this answer, haha! The museum basically displays statues etc.. stuff that relate to the Acropolis and the gods. The two things that I was most impressed by was the restaurant and the film played in the museum.The film is played on the third floor and describes about the history of the Parthenon, what the symbols mean and what the people and gods on the architecture are doing. After seeing the film, I really understood more about the Parthenon! The restaurant is on the second floor (pictures below). It serves drinks, food and dessert (pictures below). In the restaurant, you can get a very clear view of the Acropolis and even take short-distance pictures with the historical site. The price is moderate, so there's no need of worrying if the price is too high!

1.For information about ticketing and opening hours, visit their website http://www.theacropolismuseum.gr/en/content/hours-ticketing .  Or go to the The Acropolis Museum website to learn more about it http://www.theacropolismuseum.gr/en.
2. My advice would be to go earlier ( right after seeing the Acropolis ) because it will be the same: crowded with tourists after about 10:00am (it will take a long time just buying tickets)!

the entrance of the museum

inside the restaurant

greek coffee

Acropolis

Acropolis

The Acropolis a place that you all must see when traveling in Greece.  It is opened from 8:00am to 6:00 pm on summers.  Because the weather is very hot in the summer and the Acropolis will be crowded with people after the mornings, I think that the best time to go there is at about 7:00 am, early in the morning. It takes about one hour to get there and see where to buy the tickets, so 7:00 am would really be to right time to get out ( unless you live very far from the Acropolis~). My mom and I took the metro there, and it was pretty convenient  and fast. (the buses are kind of difficult to read). To get to the Acropolis, you have to get off at a red line stop called" Akropoli". The station is very close to the Acropolis, so you will be able to see the acropolis right after getting off the stop. There were a lot of visitors that were going to the Acropolis, so everyone just kept walking up and eventually saw a lot of people buying tickets. And that's the place to buy tickets. If you really can't find the place to but tickets, you can just ask someone to help you. The price of the ticket is 6 euros for people under 18 and 12 euros for the rest of the people. I am 17, and when I was buying my ticket, they didn't let me get half price because I didn't bring my passport(what?!). In the end, I had to pay 12 euros, when I could have only paid 6. So it wise to bring your passport if you're under 18 I guess! When I went to the New Acropolis Museum to buy tickets, I said I was under 18 and they didn't even ask for my passport and just gave me an half price ticket! When I got up the Acropolis, I could see the whole Athens, the Propylaia, the Parthenon, Erechtheion and the Theatre of Dionysos. A lot of walking though! IT WAS SPECTACULAR AND UNBELIEVABLE!!!  

Advice
1. Bring a stable hat, or else your hat will be blown away by the strong wind
2. Put on sunscreen, the sun is intense. 

About the tickets
The ticket is a combo ticket, with the ticket, you will also be allowed to go to see the Dionussus Theater,the Southern and Northern slope, Temple of Zeus, Agora,Agora Museum, Hadrian's Library,the Kerameikos and Roman Agora within 4 days! So, it's better not to lose your tickets!

the place to buy tickets

Airport to Athens, Athens to Airport

I went to Athens with my mom, and we got there at about five pm. There are two choices of transportation  I recommend to get from the airport to Athens. First, the taxi. Second, the metro. When we got there, we took the taxi because we were not familiar with the place yet. It is 35 euros to get from the airport to Athens. It is a fixed price, so travelers don't need to worry about paying to high or getting cheated by the taxi drivers. We had 2 luggage, so we paid another 3 euros for that. So, in total we paid 38 euros ( a ok price). The advantages about taking an taxi is that (1) it is convenient, it takes us right to the hotel (2) we won't need to watch for our luggage, (3) we are guaranteed to have a seat to seat in. The disadvantages are that it is expensive compared to taking the metro and that if you met traffic jam you might lose a lot of time on the highways ( this problem we didn't meet)! The second choice is taking the metro. We decided to take the metro near our hotel to the airport when we were going to Santorini ( we went there by plane). Since our hotel (Titania Hotel ) was very close to the metro station, we got on quickly. The thing is, when you get to a stop named" Doukissis", you have to get off, and wait for a another metro to get to the airport. It is not available at all times, probably 30-40 minutes one train. So, if you going to take the metro, it would be wise to check the time of the arrival of the metros. We didn't know about the information and had to wait for 30 minutes, and almost missed our flight!(Whoa!) So, I checked the information : Doukissis Plakentias first 6:52am last 23:52 every 22'and 52'!! For the ticket cost, you can go to the website:http://www.athensairporttaxi.com/en/busmetro_metro_en.htm to learn about it!

Long Time No See~M.T.Heart!!!

    Wow, this is amazing! I haven't written my blog for two years.  I just went to Greece last week, and I have some things I want to share. Before I went there, I needed a lot of advice from people in where to go, how to go, where places are the places that are said to be "must see", and tips to look out for when in Greece. Some information really become useful to me and saved some time. Therefore, I want to post the things I saw and learned in Greece( I went to Athens and Santorini) , I wish that hopefully this will be useful to the people traveling there and by this I will also have the chance to express my ideas on the unbelievable journey! Hahaha! Can't wait to post my first blog on Athens tomorrow( plus there will be a lot of great pictures!)!!!!!

Michelle

How to improve your English writiing skills

1. read more books
2. understand more beautiful words
3. practice writing more
4. check up the words you don't know
5. learn how to write amazing sentences

What Can I Do to Our Mother Earth

The Earth, the only planet that humans can survive, is getting polluted by people, so we need to do something before the Earth gets destroyed by ourselves. What can I do? I can help reduce pollution from the following three sources.
First, I can help solve air pollution. I can draw posters of what might happen if people keep smoking. They might quit it in order not to get lung cancer. Likewise, instead of letting my mother or father drive me to school, I can ride my bike. Riding bikes to school not only can help getting the air unpolluted, it is also good for my health. Furthermore, I could recommend people who are old enough to drive to buy solar energy cars. Solar energy cars have many merits. For instance, it doesn’t need gas so that the driver could save a lot of money.
Second, I can resist pouring paint, oil or other chemicals down the drains in sinks. By doing this, it won’t harm the water supply. Furthermore, I can help by giving advice to companies who dump garbage into the rivers or lakes. Therefore, water pollution won’t be a problem. Moreover, I will pick up garbage and clean the river near my home. Thus, it would be a beautiful, pure river, and maybe I would get a prize for helping the river.
Last but not least, I could reduce global warming. For example, I can tell my friends and relatives to use less heat and air conditioning. In this way, each family could save about two-thousand pounds of carbon dioxide each year. Besides, I can turn off the water when I am brushing my teeth. Additionally, I could write a letter to my school principle, telling him that everyone should plant a tree at school every year. Soon, the school would be a fresh and natural place.
In conclusion, above all are the solutions to save mother Earth. I believe that if everyone does these simple things, the Earth can be a better, green world. Anything is possible!

This essay I wrote won 4th place at a contest!

SAT VOCABULARY

1.camouflage-[S or U] something that is meant to hide something, or behaviour that is intended to hide the truth
2.forgery-an illegal copy of a document, painting, etc. or the crime of making such illegal copies
3.counterfeit-made to look like the original of something, usually for dishonest or illegal purposes
4.daring-brave and taking risks
5.imitate-to behave in a similar way to someone or something else, or to copy the speech or behaviour, etc. of someone or something
6.undoctored-genuine, real, authentic
7.doctor-(a) to secretly put a harmful or poisonous substance into food or drink (b) alter something for illegal purposes
8.mimic-to copy the way in which a particular person usually speaks and moves, usually in order to amuse people
9.efface-to remove something intentionally
10.deceit-(an act of) keeping the truth hidden, especially to get an advantage (scan)
11.infestation-(of animals and insects which carry disease) to cause a problem by being present in large numbers 寄生蟲感染
12. preemptive-describes something that is done before other people can act, especially to prevent them from doing something else
13.tenacious-holding tightly onto something, or keeping an opinion in a determined way
14.exotic-foreigh, ailen
15.deteriorate/worsening-to become worse
16.adversary-an enemy
17.mayhem-havoc, violence, chaos, commotion
18.accessible-(a) able to be reached or easily obtained (b) easy to understand
相反詞-impenetrable/unitelligible/obscure
19.penetrate-verb [I or T] to study or investigate something in order to understand
20.affective-causing a strong emotion, especially sadness
21.not refined-
(a)A refined substance has been made pure by removing other substances from it
(b)improved because of many small changes that have been made
(c)very polite and showing knowledge of social rules
22.modified-通俗小說
23.appeal-to interest or attract someone
24.scary-intiaimating
25.jeeky-shaky
26.conspiouous
27.obvious-adjective
clear; easy to see, recognize or understand
28.blatant-adjective
describes something bad that is very obvious or intentional
29.insidious-adjective
(of something unpleasant or dangerous) gradually and secretly causing harm
30.stealthy o subtle
31.perplexed
32.confused-
(a) unable to think clearly or to understand something
(b) not clear and therefore difficult to understand
33.bewildered-to confuse someone
34.buffled
35.awaken-
(a)to stop sleeping or to make someone stop sleeping
(b)If you awaken someone to something, you make them aware of it or make them remember it
36.enlighented-
(a)showing understanding, acting in a positive way, and not following old-fashioned or false beliefs
(b)knowing the truth about existence
37.narration-
(a)[U] the act of telling a story
(b)[C or U] a spoken description of events given during a film or television programme
38.arouse-
(a)to cause someone to have a particular feeling
(b)to cause someone to feel sexual excitement
39.mezmeric-[T often passive] to have someone's attention completely so that they cannot think of anything else
40.mindful-careful not to forget about something

SAT VOCABULARY

1. notable-important and deserving attention, because very good or interesting
2. embedded-caught in between
3. excavate-(a) to remove earth that is covering very old objects buried in the ground in order to discover things about the past (b) to dig a hole or channel in the ground, especially with a machine
4. paleontology-the study of fossils (= preserved bones or shells) as a way of getting information about the history of life on Earth and the structure of rocks
5. tedious-boring, interminable
6. terminate-to (cause something to) end or stop
7. esteemed-respected.................ex: self-esteem-belief and confidence in your own ability and value
8. demeaning/derogatory/belittling-to cause someone to become less respected or showing strong disapproval and not showing respect
9. well-meaning-wanting to have a good effect, but not always achieving one
10.therapeutic/remedial/medicinal-help
11. draining-exhausting, tiresome
12. heighten/rutensify/elevate/bolster-(a)to make someone or something more important or to improve something (b) to be given a higher rank or social position
13. alleviate/reduce/allay/assuage-(a) to make unpleasant feelings less strong (b) to make someone feel less worried or frightened
14. eminent-famous,reowned, distinguished, prominent
15. feasible- workable,viable,achievable
16. captivating- appealing, enchanting
17. mysteriously- secrertive, clandestine, enigmatic
18. warily-not completely trusting or certain about something or someone
19. vociferouse- loud, clamorous
20. garrulous-talkative
21. stingy- parsimonious, cheap, miserly 貪心的
22. effusive-expressing welcome, approval or pleasure in a way that shows very strong feeling
23. frugal-careful when using money or food, or (of a meal) cheap or small in amount; thrifty
24. tacit-quiet
25. primate-靈長類
26. inquistitive-curious
27. atrocious-cruel
28. crude-coarse; rough and not smooth or soft, or not in very small pieces
29.ferocious-fierce and violent........ex. cats are ferocious

Twilight

About three things I was absolutely positive.
First, Edward was a vampire.
Second, there was a part of him-
and I didn;t know how dominant that part might be-
that thirsted for my blood.
And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.

After Edward saved Bella from the car accident , the following things are the facts that Bella found out. They were in love . She didn't care she was in love with a vampire who could kill any minute. All she wanted was to be with him forever. As every hour, every day pasted, she wanted to be a vampire. She was getting older and older every single day. Edward refuses her be coming a vampire because he thinks it is bad for her. Will Edward let she be a vampire? Or will she be a human forever?
Wait for my next post for New Moon, the second book of the Twilight Saga!

The Four Seasons in Taiwan

The four seasons are different in Taiwan. In winter, it doesn’t snow, but it is chilly and windy for the people who have lived in Taiwan for a time. In spring, there are a lot of flowers in parks, and you can see birds singing around trees. It is extremely hot in summer, and people often go swimming. It is a good time to eat popsicles. The autumn in Taiwan is cool; it is a season where you can see different colors on different leaves. Autumn is my favorite season.

Monthly Test

Ya! I finally can rest! The monthly test I had was finally over. My school had the monthly test this week on Monday and Tuesday. On Monday, I thought I was going to have a heart attack., but i didn't. The first test we had was English. English, was kind of easy, so I relaxed a little. Then, we had Chinese, Geography and last Citizen test. It was easy too and so was math and history. But then, we had science. Science was so hard that I thought I was going to die! Well, the monthly test is over, I have to prepare for the next test!

WORDS THAT YOU SHOULD LEARN FROM BBC NEWS 2

1. prognosis (plural prognoses) noun [C]1 (ALSO prognostication) FORMAL a doctor's judgment of the likely or expected development of a disease or of the chances of getting 2 a statement of what is judged likely to happen in the future, especially in connection with a particular situation
2. interim adjective [before noun]temporary and intended to be used or accepted until something permanent exists:an interim solution interim noun in the interim in the time between two particular periods or events
3. modest adjective (SUCCESSFUL APPROVING) tending not to talk about or make obvious your own abilities and achievements
4. spare (AVOID) verb [T + two objects] to prevent someone from having to experience something unpleasant
5. rural adjective in, of or like the countryside
6.unique adjective being the only existing one of its type or, more generally, unusual or special in some way
7.clang verb [I or T] to make a loud deep ringing sound like that of metal being hit, or to cause something to make this sound- clang noun [C usually singular]
8.beam (LIGHT) noun [C]1 a line of light that shines from a bright object 2 a line of radiation or particles flowing in one direction 3 verb [I or T] to send out a beam of light, or an electrical or radio signal, etc

My Blog

Do you like my blog?
I think, it is great!
Do you like my blog?
Yes, I do!
La! La! La!
It's great to have a cool- blog!
La! La! La!
Do you think so too?

mad libs time

the______________(adjective) story

Once apon a time, there was a _______________(Adjective) and _______________(Adjective)_______________ girl called_______________(A First Name) .She _______________(Past Tense Verb) all day and cared about every ___________(adjective)thing. One day, her ____________ (adjective) friend planned to steal her _______________(Adjective)_______________(noun)! After, _______________(the girl's name)found out, she was very _______________(adjective). From that day, __________________(girl's name)never __________(verb) with her again.

WORDS THAT YOU SHOULD LEARN FROM BBC NEWS 1

1. dominate- verb  to have control over a place or a person, or to be the most  important person or thing 

2. alternative-noun  something that is different form something else , especially from what is usual, and offering the possibility of  of choice

3 . ingrain- adj.  (of beliefs) so firmly held that they are not likely to change  

4. fidget- verb  to make continuous small movements which annoy other people

5. stimulus- noun (c) [plural stimuli] something that causes growth or activity

6. linear- adj. consisting of or to do with lines

7. provoke- verb (CAUSE REACTION) to cause a reaction, especially a negative one

8. fundamental- adj. forming the base, from which everything else originates; more important that anything else

9. cocaine- noun a drug used in medicine to prevent pain and also used illegally, often in the form of white powder which is breathed in through the nose

10. preconception - noun an idea or opinion firmed before enough  information is available to form it correctly

11. contemplate- verb to spend time considering a possible future action, or to consider one particular thing for a long tine in a serious and a quiet way

 

Eragon

The book "Eragon " is a excellent book! At first when you read it, you'll think," This book is so boring!"But when you're almost finished reading the book, you'll be so excited that you think you are ready for the second book called " Eldest". Reading this fabulous book will make you think that there are really dragons, elfs and dwarfs on the Earth. Do you think there are really dragons on the Earth?

Camp-Day 1

Day one, I woke up at 6:30 am to go to Taipei Train Station. After an hour, I got there. I saw a lot of children with their baggage. Good bye dad! It was time to go to Elan! I sat with a new friend I met called Angel on the bus. Several minutes later, we arrived at Ilan. We ate lunch, to a break, and went a school to climb the rock wall. Guess what! I was the first one to climb the rock wall! It so was fun! When everyone had climbed the rock wall, we went back to campus to eat dinner, a place where we slept. As soon as we were done eating dinner, we played a game. The game is that there are things we need to find around the campus, and whoever find all of the things, wins. After an hour, the game was over, no one won! I think the game was too hard!

Below is codes, with the same story above! Figure out what the codes mean to you! If you have any questions, leave a comment or email me: mtheart.cool@yahoo.com

Day one, I woke up at 6:30 am to go to Taipei Train Station. After an hour, I got there. I saw a lot of children with their baggage. Good bye dad! It was time to go to Elan! I sat with a new friend I met called Angel on the bus. Several minutes later, we arrived at Ilan. We ate lunch, to a break, and went a school to climb the rock wall. Guess what! I was the first one to climb the rock wall! It so was fun! When everyone had climbed the rock wall, we went back to campus to eat dinner, a place where we slept. As soon as we were done eating dinner, we played a game. The game is that there are things we need to find around the campus, and whoever find all of the things, wins. After an hour, the game was over, no one won! I think the game was too hard!

This story will be continued next week!

SMALL STEPS

This story is about:
Armpit, a boy that was released from Camp Green Lake, is now living at his hometown Austin, Texas, trying to turm his life around. Everyone there thinks he is a bad boy because he has a record, so it is hard to get used to the new life. The only person who believes that Armpit is as kind person, is Ginny, his ten-year old disabled neighbor. Armpit seems to be going well until X-ray, a friend from Camp Green Lake, comes up with get-rich plan. The get-rich plan leads Armpit on meeting a teen pop sensation, Kaira DeLeon. Now, all he know is that he will never be the same again. THEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE ENDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD