~The best place for a day out~

Dear Editor,

I am writing to nomimate "TALOS Plaza" for the best place for a day out.

"TALOS Plaza" has been inspired from the better known department store called "Mall", in Athens. The great thing about it, is that it is situated in front of the sea, so you will have a spectacular view of the sea and the atmosphere is magic and clear. Every year, this place is visited by a lot of people, especially adolescents and middle-aged people. "TALOS Plaza" has a wide range of different kinds of shops. There are some shops, where you can find clothes, shoes and bags. In these shops, apart from clothe stuff you will also find some jewellery and make-up stuff. Moreover, there is a huge shop where you can find necklaces and beads, make your own necklace and be sure your creativity will automatically increase d. I was impressed when I first saw it. However, these are not the only things you can do there. There are some cafes, fast-food and traditional restaurants, a "game" room for the video games lovers and many other facilities.

When we decided with my friends to spend our day in "TALOS Plaza", it was absolutely fascinating! I have to say, that it was one of the best decisions we have ever taken.First, we saw a movie at the cinema, then we went to the "game room" and played some games. After that, we went to the beach in front of "TALOS Plaza". Then, we went back and ate at one of its restaurants and finally we went to a cafe. The girls and I were looking at the shops all the time, so the the boys let us to take a look at all shops. However, the did not come with us. They sat at the "Sports Cafe" and they were watching football matches and playing some games until we finished. It was a day out we particulary enjoyed.

To sum up, "TALOS Plaza" is a brilliant place for a day out and I recommend it to anyone. I hope this place wins the competition.

Yours faithfully,
Vasiliki Tziraki

Comments: Fantastic letter, Vassilikoula! The only (small) problem seems to be that you sound too informal even though it is a letter to the editor of a newspaper. We'll discuss more tomorrow. Great blog post, as usual!

The best place for a day out.

Dear Editor,

I am writing to nominate Agia Galini as the best place to go for a day out.

 

Second paragraph: general information about the place---> where is it? What can you do there?

Agia Galini has some really beautiful beaches and hotels to stay in and it is definitely worth going! (You used present simple and now past simple, why?) The sea there was gorgeous and peaceful.It was the best place to calm down and relax.We were also impressed with the food!In the hotel we were staying the food was brilliant and we enjoyed every single delicious piece of it! Another aspect of the visit that we particularly enjoyed was the rooms and the people!Our rooms were big and clean and the people were so kind and helpful that we were feeling like home.

All in all, Agia Galini is, (comma) in my point of view, (comma) is the best place to go on a day out.I think that you will relax and feel peaceful and that is what everybody wants for a day out.That is why I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone.

Yours faithfully,
Tilemahos Kastrinakis.

 

Comments: That is an amazing text Tilemachos, full of new words and phrases, but why has paragraph two disappeared? :-) Be careful with the paragraph plan and be ready for more blogging adventures!

 

Visit Lygaria!

Dear Editor,

I am writing to nominate Lygaria as the best place for a day out in Heraklion Crete!

Lygaria is very peaceful place to spend a day out with your family or friends. It has one of the most beautiful beaches in Crete and also its sea is just wonderful. Lygaria is like a closed beach surounded by some awesome hills that makes it perfect. Because of that, there are many waves. Lygaria's sea is absolutely clean, because instead of water is has a cliff at the beginning of the sea and then some rocks and just a little bit of sand. At Lygaria you can't do many activities, like go windsurfing (unfortunately, you can't go surfing because there are no waves), you can drive a jet ski or be driven and just stay in an inflatable banana.Also, you can go scuba diving if you want! Lygaria is not only known about the beaches but also about the food they make there and how open handed are the locals are there. You can buy lots of souvenirs there and eat some delicious seafood. Even though (no comma here) it hasn't got many hotels, you can just rent some houses which look to the sea. Lygaria also has many attractions that you don't have to miss!

Well, the first time I went to Lygaria it was 2-3 years ago and the reason was that my cousins invited me there for a day there. They had already rented an apartment there a few days before. So I went with my family. In the first sight I got amazed from that natural beauty that, that small place possessed. I did many things there with my cousins and my other relatives there: we swam , we ate, we dived from the hills and also went exploring the place and the sea with our masks. The sea inside was brilliant with all that colourful sea animals that we saw there. We played rackets there,too!

To sum up, even though it is not such a touristic place, (comma) it really is an extraodinary place and I could spend weeks there without leaving for even a day! I would definitely recommend it to everyone who wants to spend a day out or even their summer holidays.

Your faithfully,
Kristian Vishka

Further comments: Kristian, your text and photo are amazing as usual, but be careful when you write a letter to the editor. It must be a little more formal. It is not a magazine article. We'll say more in person. Great effort!

~Saint Pelagia~

Dear editor,

I am writing to nominate Saint Pelagia for the best place for a  day out near Heraklion of Crete.

Saint Pelagia is a beautiful place to spend a day out or the summer holidays.It has got awesome beaches where a lot of activities can be done such as swimming or windsurfing if there is wind.The sea's water has a magical colour-a mix between light blue and green!It's wonderful.In Saint Pelagia,there are also a lot of restaurants which are always open to welcome customers who want to taste the delicious,traditional or not,dishes of Saint Pelagia.There are also a lot of cafeterias which are open for all the duration of day.Moreover,there are some night clubs,which are open at night and where the adolescents have fun.In Saint Pelagia,some shops can be found where  you can buy whatever you want.There are also some souvenir shops and a supermarket which is open all day.There are a lot of hotels and appartments,too!Finally,in Saint Pelagia there is a small cloister which is really a beauty spot!Nearby Saint Pelagia,there are some historical attractions,too.

When I first visited Saint Pelagia,I got amazed thanks to its natural beauty!I did a lot of things there:I swam into the splendid beaches,I tasted traditional dishes especially seafood,I played rackets in the sand and I visited the cloister,which was really amazing.In my opinion,it was a lovely experience and since then each year,especially in the summer,I visit Saint Pelagia.

All things considered,it's an extraordinary place for a day out and I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone.

Yours faithfully,
Androulaki Sofia

Γαλλικό άρωμα... στην Αγία Πελαγία απόψε | Candia News

Great Britain

         Great Britain

Great Britain also known as Britain, is an island situated to the north-west of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world and the largest island in Europe. With a population of about 62 million people in mid-2010, it is the third most populous island in the world, after Java (Indonesia) and Honshū (Japan). It is surrounded by over 1,000 smaller islands and islets. The island of Ireland lies to its west. Politically, Great Britain also refers to the island itself together with a number of surrounding islands, which constitute the territory of England, Scotland and Wales All of the island is territory of the sovereign state of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and most of the United Kingdom's territory is in Great Britain. Most of England, Scotland, and Wales are on the island of Great Britain, as are their respective capital cities: London, Edinburgh, and Cardiff.

The Kingdom of Great Britain resulted from the political union of the kingdoms of Englandand Scotland with the Acts of Union 1707 on 1 May 1707 under Queen Anne. In 1801, under a new Act of Union, this kingdom merged with the Kingdom of Ireland to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. After the Irish War of Independence (1919–1921) most of Ireland seceded from the Union, which then became the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Madagascar

Madagascar

Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar  and previously known as the Malagasy Republic, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, off the southeastern coast of Africa. The nation comprises the island of Madagascar (the fourth-largest island in the world), as well as numerous smaller peripheral islands. Following the prehistoric breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana, Madagascar split from India around 88 million years ago, allowing native plants and animals to evolve in relative isolation. Consequently, Madagascar is a biodiversity hotspot; over 90 percent ofits wildlife is found nowhere else on Earth. The island's diverse ecosystems and unique wildlife are threatened by the encroachment of the rapidly growing human population.Initial human settlement of Madagascar occurred between 350 BCE and 550 CE byAustronesian peoples arriving on outrigger canoes from Borneo. These were joined around 1000 CE by Bantu migrants crossing the Mozambique Channel. Other groups continued to settle on Madagascar over time, each one making lasting contributions to Malagasy cultural life. The Malagasy ethnic group is often divided into eighteen or moresub-groups of which the largest are the Merina of the central highlands.

Until the late 18th century, the island of Madagascar was ruled by a fragmented assortment of shifting socio-political alliances. Beginning in the early 19th century, most of the island was united and ruled as the Kingdom of Madagascar by a series of Merinanobles. The monarchy collapsed in 1897 when the island was absorbed into the French colonial empire, from which the island regained independence in 1960. The autonomous state of Madagascar has since undergone four major constitutional periods, termed Republics. Since 1992 the nation has officially been governed as a constitutional democracy from its capital at Antananarivo. However, in a popular uprising in 2009 the last elected president Marc Ravalomanana was made to resign and presidential power was transferred in March 2009 to Andry Rajoelina in a move widely viewed by the international community as a coup d'état.

In 2012, the population of Madagascar was estimated at just over 22 million, 90 percent of whom live on less than two dollars per day. Malagasy and French are both official languages of the state. The majority of the population adheres to traditional beliefs, Christianity, or an amalgamation of both. Ecotourism and agriculture, paired with greater investments in education, health and private enterprise, are key elements of Madagascar's development strategy. Under Ravalomanana these investments produced substantial economic growth but the benefits were not evenly spread throughout the population, producing tensions over the increasing cost of living and declining living standards among the poor and some segments of the middle class.

                       

Source of information: http://en.wikipedia.org , 

Source of Photos: http://en.wikipedia.org, https://www.google.gr/imghp?hl=el&tab=wi .

Antartica and Madagascar

Did you know that...?

• Antarctica is the southernmost continent on Earth.
• The South Pole is found in Antarctica.
• Antarctica is surrounded by the Southern Ocean.
• Antarctica is bigger than Europe and almost double the size of Australia.
• Most of Antarctica is covered in ice over 1.6 kilometres thick (1 mile).
• Because it experiences such little rain, Antarctica is considered a desert.
• The coldest recorded temperature on Earth occurred in 1983 at Vostok Station, Antarctica, measuring a rather chilly −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F).
• While humans don’t permanently reside in Antarctica, several thousand people live and work at various research facilities found on the continent.
• Well known animals that live in Antarctica include penguins and seals.
• The name ‘Antarctica’ comes from a Greek word meaning ‘opposite to the north’.
• Around 90% of the ice on Earth is found in Antarctica.
• Sea levels would rise around 60m (200ft) if all the ice in Antarctica were to melt.

• Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world, approximately 226,656 square miles (587,040 square kilometers). 
• Madagascar has two seasons, a hot rainy season which starts in November and last until April and a cooler dry season which starts in May and last until October.
• One of the most interesting Madagascar facts listed here is that almost all OF the animal and plant species found on the island are unique to the island.
• The capital of Madagascar is Antananarivo. It is also the islands most populated city.
• The islands highest mountain is Maromokotro. It is 2,876 meters high (9,435 feet).
• The island has two official languages, Malagasy and French.
• Madagascar has gone by many names. Upon gaining its freedom in 1958 it named itself the Malagasy Republic, it renamed itself the Democratic Republic of Madagascar in 1975, and changed its name again in 1993 to the Republic of Madagascar.Madagascar was home to the largest bird in the world, the elephant bird, until it became extinct in the 17th century. It is believed to have been over ten feet tall (3 meters).

sciencekids.co.nz/

interesting-africa-facts.com/

Amazing places

                                          Madagascar

                               

                             

                    

                                 Animals

                                                   

                                                 

                                                                  Antarctica