Flat Stanley Goes to Tunisia and Western Sicily

Hello all! Flat Stanley has been very busy as always. This past week, he went to Tunisia, in Africa, and to the other part of the island of Sicily. He had so much fun! The weather in Africa was a little bit rainy and chilly, but the sun soon came out in Sicily.


Flat Stanley saw lots of cool temples like this one with giant columns in the front.
He also saw a big city gate where people would enter in the city. Do you see him on the right side?
Then he saw a really cool ancient theater and sang a song to hear it echo around the stairs.
But then something very bad happened... a lion waterspout bit off Stanley's arm!! Oh no! We had to rush him to the hospital and get it bandaged back on. He's okay now. Thank goodness!

Barcelona and Milan

Flat Stanley has been so busy since he last posted. Sorry it took so long! He has been traveling around Europe. He went to Barcelona, Spain and to Milan, Italy. Can you find them on a map?

He went to Lake Como outside of Milan. It was very beautiful!


It was surrounded by snow-capped mountains.


He rode the train to get there. It was also a very beautiful ride.



In Barcelona, he saw many cool sights. He saw some pretty buildings like this one here which is a Catalan History museum.


He also went to Olympic Stadium where they had the 1992 summer Olympics. It was so cool! He wanted to run around the track, but it was closed. He also went to Monserrat where he went hiking and climbed up to a very high point where he could see for miles and miles and miles around Spain. He had a great time on all of his adventures!

Flat Stanley in Rome

Flat Stanley had one busy weekend. He flew all the way to Rome, which is in the middle of the boot of Italy. He had lots of fun but had to do lots of walking. He got to see many things like the Coliseum where the gladiators fought a long time ago during the Roman Empire. Stanley wanted to dress in armor like they used to and fight, but Allison wouldn't let him. He saw the Vatican where the Pope lives and even the Sistine Chapel that Michelangelo painted. Do you know Michelangelo? He also played in a beautiful park. It was a great weekend, but he was so tired he slept for a really long time when they returned.

Stanley and Allison in Naxos

Man was it a busy week for Stanley and Allison. Allison had lots of studying to do so Stanley patiently waited by and helped Allison study. He was a great help! Then on Friday, they took their weekly field trip. This time, they went to Naxos, which is North of where Stanley and Allison live in Catania. Stanley loved it! It was his favorite place yet. It was filled with beautiful flowers and trees. First Stanley and Allison rode the bus here. It took about an hour. When they arrived, they went to a museum to see lots of old pottery and statues. Here are Allison and Stanley with a Gorgon head, which would have been on the front of a temple (like the ones they saw last week.

Then Allison and Stanley went outside for a walk through the beautiful landscape.









Stanley loved frolicking through the yellow flowers.


He also loved climbing the orange trees. Do you see him? He tried to eat an orange, but it was too sour to eat.

















Then Flat Stanley saw some giant plants. They were so cool! He climbed up the giant, green cacti. Do you see him? They were so prickly, but Stanley was very careful! Then he saw another giant plant. It was so fun!

Stanley went sliding down its giant leaves. It was like a giant park for Stanley.



Then Stanley saw some remains of another temple and sat among its rocks.

Stanley was so tired from all of his climbing and sliding that he decided to get lunch. It was yummy. Check back this week for more adventures with Flat Stanley!

Flat Stanley Goes to Syracuse

This Friday, Flat Stanley went with his friend Allison and her class to the city of Syracuse. This city is on the island of Sicily in the country of Italy. Syracuse is famous for its ancient temples to the Ancient Greek gods, Apollo and Athena.


Here is a picture of part of the temple of Apollo (in the picture above). The sun was shining very brightly so it was hard to get a good picture. This temple was built around 600 BC and was later turned into a Christian church. It has been taken apart over time so now it only has one wall. Do you see it?

There are also some columns still standing that have been restored over time. These are Doric columns. Doric columns are very plain on the capital (the top of the column) and do not have a base, but instead sit directly on the floor.


Then Flat Stanley and Allison visited a cool fountain in the city. It was cold outside, so though Flat Stanley wanted to jump in for a swim, he did not. They just looked at it.



Afterward, Flat Stanley and Allison walked to the Temple of Athena. The Temple of Athena is in much better condition than the Temple of Apollo because it has been turned into a cathedral. The picture here is a little dark because it was dark inside and you could not take a lot of pictures so you did not disturb the people praying. It was very beautiful though!



Flat Stanley was so tired after his adventure that he came back to Allison's dorm room and took a nap.

Then he hung out with Allison and her roommate Desirae.


The rest of the weekend, Allison had to study for all of her tests and papers this coming week so Flat Stanley helped her. This week, Flat Stanley hopes to go on another cool trip and he's even thinking about going to Spain for Spring Break. Where would you want Flat Stanley to visit?