I had a very different and fun summer this year. I tried a lot of new things that I have never thought of doing.

When I went fly fishing I learned a lot about the sport’s aspects. My favorite part of my fly fishing experience was doing a perfect rollover cast. It is a hard cast where the line is in the water in front of you and you flick your wrist and the line basically flips and shoots forward. It was also a disappointing experience because I caught nor saw a single trout in the river.

It was scary when I decided to jump off the cliff in Sculptured Rocks. I built up my confidence that I would not hit a rock below. Also, I didn’t want to wait and chicken out like a few of the kids in my group. To solve that problem I jumped in as soon as possible because if I waited I would stand static on the edge for 2 minutes out of dread. The water was icy but refreshing. I swam down the river and hopped out. I faced my fear of jumping off cliffs/huge rocks near water.

My favorite part of my summer was when I went to Croatia. I learned so much about the country’s history and culture. When I saw the famous lizard at Postojna Cave I was fascinated by its physical traits like a lifespan of 100 years. It can endure 11 years without food or water and it only lives in that one cave. I bought a mug with the lizard on it. I went to Predjama Castle which is built into a CAVE!! It was ideal for defending against armies. When I first laid my eyes on the castle I was in awe. The view was breathtaking. When I walked inside I explored the different parts of the magnificent structure. They had a torture chamber, a chapel, and a safety bunker in the cave that had a small tunnel that led out the other side of the mountain. Those two places were the most memorable for me although I also had a good time kayaking on the Adriatic Sea around the islands. I kayaked 9 kilometers that day.

I felt a feeling of fascination on my trip to Croatia and when I went fly fishing on a river. This was because I felt very curious about every new thing I learned and all the new things I learned were very interesting.

When I jumped off of the cliff I felt a feeling of great satisfaction. The second my feet left the edge I felt like I could do anything. I felt unstoppable.

That was my reflection on my summer.

 

I did a lot of things and had a lot of fun at the countries Croatia, Slovenia, and the city Venice in Italy.

 

This is Croatia on a map.

First I flew to Paris since you can’t fly directly to Zagreb* from Newark’s airport.

*Zagreb is the capital of Croatia.

Here I am in “AÉROPORTS DE PARIS” in the photo above

This photo is me at a café in Zagreb. This other photo is of a famous church in Zagreb.

Then I drove to Slovenia to go to these places.

 

I went to Predjama Castle which is a castle built into a cave.

I also went to Postojna Cave that is the home to a lizard that can live up to 11 years without food or water and it has a lifespan of around 100 years.

I then drove to Motovun which is back in Croatia. The town is located on a mountain. They are known for their tasty truffles.

 

This is a photo of Motovun.

These are Istrian DONUTS!!!!

I had these in Motovun.

Istria is a region in Croatia.

Then I went  to Istria and stayed at a nice hotel.

Then we went to an amphitheater at a city named Pula.

 

After that we went kayaking on the Adriatic Sea and went by islands. We stopped at an Island called Red Island because the walls of the Monastery were red from rust.

I also went snorkeling at Red Island.

Then we kayaked back to the hotel and the next morning we woke up at 4:30 to get to the ferry which showed up at 6:15. We arrived in Venice and had a lot of fun before we left the next day!

This image is sideways.

 

 

Anyway I had a great summer vacation in Europe!

 

 

 

I went to my country house and woke up at 6:00 in the morning to go flyfishing in a river. We did not catch anything or get any signs of fish. Despite that I learned a lot about  flyfishing concepts, casting, and flies!

 

This summer I went to Camp Kenwood in New Hampshire. I went on a field trip to a freezing cold river with extremely big rocks on the sides. I jumped off and had a blast with my friends at camp. Out of around 70 kids I went 45th.

 

This is us jumping.

This is the freezing water

 

 

This is all of us shivering and waiting.