1. I was pulled somewhat effortlessly into the book. It was a good book but the author was a sort of pessimist. He described most of the places as ugly and with not much detail. He also made many crude comments but I guess the book was geared more toward adults. Overall I had a great experience with the book though. It was a varied title that featured many places and i enjoyed it.
2. I was happy with my book choice. It was awesome because it had great stories and was occasionally humorous and also featured the countries as places worthy of a visit and I would like to see them one day.
3. I found Italy the most intriguing probably because I have experienced that country first hand and know the joys of travels. I like how the author included many cities and some I had never even heard about like Capri and Sorrento. I plan on visiting those specific places when I'm older.
4. I think the author might have been exploring the central theme of Independence and adventure through out the novel. Bryson travelled throughout Europe on his own and found his way. I am sure he came back home as a new person and with a new perspective on life. And his whole trip was a call to adventure. he left his life behind to explore the world and see things that he would never imaged seeing. A trip around the world truly opens your eyes and provide an enlightenment. With a trip around the world, knowledge is gained and appreciation of cultures and traditions is achieved.
5. First of all, I learned about planning ahead, being organized, and managing my time. I also learned how to make a blog. I had heard about blogs before but never really knew what one was. I also learned about posting pictures and videos. I had never done that before and I felt I did a pretty good job at it. I also learned about other places and their culture through the book such as the places in Scandanavia. I was also surprised to learn that the group ABBA was Swedish because i had heard their song Dancing Queen before but I never knew they were from Sweden.
6. I honestly enjoyed every part of the project but my favorite would have to be finding the pictures and writing the diary entries. I like photography and although I did not take the images used in my blog I liked choosing the ones that complemented each other and best represented the idea trying to be conveyed through the entry. I liked writing the entries because it gave me a further oppurtunity to express my thoughts and views on the subject. I also liked to include facts that i knew beforehand and facts i found in my country guide book.
7. The most difficult part of this project was trying not to overcrowd my blog with little unimportant details. I wanted it to be awsome but at the same time clean and organized. I had some trouble finding videos in contemporary music for the different countries but in the end it all worked out.
Map of the Places Visited Throughout the Book
http://www.geographicguide.net/europe/maps-europe/maps/europe-political.jpg