The memorable journey

When i first did a plane journey was on the way to Lanzarote. Really the journey itself wasn't very memorable.
It was the first time I got on a plane and I took for granted I would be next to my parents, but the thing is that it was impossible because the plane was full. And to may horror, to make matters worse, I was sat uncomfortably on a half seat because the other half was covered by a sweaty fat man that, unfortunally, nodded off and started snoring.
So in the end not only had I been robbed of half of my seat, i also hak to stand the snoring of that man  all the way.

BIHOTZ RESTAURANT

Bihotz restaurant is a place where I was a long time ago.

I must say before I went there I used to think that the food would be of poor quality an badly prepeared, like in McDonald's. Summarizing that, I thaught it would be an extremely bad restaurant. That's why I avoid visiting it despite people's recommendations. But I went there once with my parents, and it certainly wasn't so bad. To be honest, the hamburger I tried was magnificently cooked.
The staff are extrmely nice. They do everything they can to make you feel comfortable, even they are exhausted.
That day I realised that Bihotz is a fantastic place to eat. The atmosphere there is very lively. To my mind, this restaurant is for all types of people, from young chlidren to wrinkled old men.
So that's why I strongly recommend trying this restaurant. You won't regret it.

The best journey of my life

The journey itself wasn't perfect but it had been a good experience. My classmates and I went to Tarragona, to a small hotel near the beach, one day before Easter. We had travelled by bus and it has been so funny because we were all the course in the same bus.

After arrival we went to the beach. As it was the first day we didn't do too many things. The second day we went to ride mountain bikes and took some photos of the landscape after doing some sports we were absolutely starving as if we had not eaten for ages so we went to a restaurant nearby.

The third day we went to Valencia to visit the Oceanografo, is like a zoo but there live marine animals that we don't usually see on the beach.
The fourth day was the best we spent it in Port Aventura. We had a lot of fun in all the atractions. We ended the day playing some games at night. After the best day came the worst, because we had to return to San Sebastian and after a good journey like this no one wishes to come back.
I think it is the best journey I have ever had.

AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY

   Have you ever thought what would you do if you got lost in a country you had never been to? I'm sure you'll agree that this is an extreme situation but that is exactly what happened to me when I was a 9-year-old.
   To begin with, I would like to say that I was on holiday in Malta when this happened so at that moment I didn't know enough english to be able to speak with people. To make matters worse, it was the first day I spent there so imagine how terrified I was. Thanks God, I finally found some spanish visitors that helped me find my way to the hotel.
   Despite the awful beginning of the holiday, the fortnight I spent there was really enjoyable in the end so I wouldn't say that it was such a horrible jouney like  I expected it to be
   To summarise, I would say that this experience has probably changed me. Wouldn't it change you??

An entertaining journey to Barcelona by coach

We were very excited because last year, on the 8^th April to be precise, we had a trip to Barcelona; it was an end-of-year trip. Thinking about that, after reading this you could think that it a very good journey, but why was it for me?

Let’s start by saying that, we did the journey by coach. We were all very tired because we had to wake up very early as it was a long trip, but at the same time we were so excited that we couldn’t fall asleep during the journey. I hoped that I would be sitting next to my best friend, but instead of her, a funny boy from my class sat next to me. 

When we arrived, we had to find our hostel. That was the problem. Three teachers came with us to Barcelona and one of them was the teacher who got lost three years ago in the theme park Port Aventura. He knew where was the hostel but he had forgotten the map at home.

Finally, after walking and asking where was the hostel , we found the hostel. I assure you that we had a very good time finding the hostel we laughed a lot. The long journey became an entertaining one.

Le Tagliatelle

My friends and also a lot of other people had always spoken about a restaurant called Le Tagliatelle that is in the centre of Donosti. Everybody speaks about its delicious and good-tasting food, so after I heard that, I decided to visit and try the food with my parents.

There were a lot of different types of pasta and pizza which have good prices. I decided to have a pizza called Bismarck, which was made with cheese, ham and an egg in the middle. 

I went at night. Because of that, it was full of people. The restaurant has an Italian atmosphere. It’s decorated with different pictures of Italy. You don’t have to wait a long time and if you aren’t sure what to choose, the waiters help you and also advise you what to choose. So if you like Italian food a lot , don’t think twice and try the food of this restaurant because it is worth the trouble.

The Egyptian journey

It was 17th  June 2012 when my trip started. The first day when I arrived all the men were looking at my familly it was a bit strange. We were waiting for the driver and when he came we took our luggage and went to the car. Why was it an amazing trip to go to Egypt?

Let's start with the way from the airport to our friends house. What we saw was a city built in the desert, a lot of soldiers and very important sculptures such as some pyramids, tomb and the Sphinx.

On top of that we went into one pyramid and the way to go to the tomb was so tiny that we were stunned.

One day we ate in a typical restaurant and, when we were going there, the thing that impacted me most was when I saw a dead horse in the river and around it was food and I saw rats!! But the most shock was when some children were swimming in that river!! I was astonished. 

Apart from this, the food that we ate was horrible and the bread was the best thing I ate, because the other things were odd. They gave us like a salad and some purées of chickpea, parsley.

If you ask me, this is the best trip I have ever had, because I know more about other religions and their cultures, and it was a new experience for me.

An unforgettable journey - funny bus story

Many people hate travelling by bus. But I don't. Why do I love going to places on buses? Everything happened one day two years ago.

Let's start by saying that I wasn't alone. All of my friends were with me and we were all sleepy, because it was 9.00 am. We were going to Andoain, to "Kilometroak", wich is an event to make money for the basque schools.

Suddenly, a woman next to us started speaking. She asked us our names, and my friends told her false names. All the names were silly. I couldn't help laughing! Then she started telling us her life: her name, the place where she lived. It was obvious that she was drunk. It was so funny! I've never felt so excited.

The best thing about the journey was that my friends and I haven't forgotten it yet. We will remember it for all of our lives. So, I think that an unexpected event can change a boring journey into a incredible one.

THE AKELARRE (Pedro Subijana)

     The restaurant I would like to review is located in Donostia and it is called Akelarre.

     I had always avoided going to the luxurious Akelarre as I thought it would be a very expensive place such as Arzak but I have to say that I completely changed my mind when I visited because it wasn't like I expected it to be.

     As a person who doesn't like every type of food I was satisfied with the high quality of every dish they served me, even though there wasn't too much quantity in each of them. As an example, I decided to try a steak and it was perfectly cooked.

    On top of that, it isn't a restaurant which is full of tourists so the atmosphere is very comfortable and the staff are very friendly and helpful. On the other hand, you have to wait a while until they serve you the food and therefore it's a little bit boring. Besides this, the food isn't overpriced so you'll be pleased.

     On the whole, I'd strongly recommend going there to everyone who likes the high quality cuisine.

Antxeta restaurant

I have always wanted to visit the Antxeta restaurant. Last weekend I visited the restaurant, and I was really disappointed. I thought that the atmosphere would be calm and that I would enjoy eating some food with my friends. But it was the opposite... The Antxeta was full of noisy football fans and the food I ate was very poor quality.

The prices of the restaurant were also not very good. At the beginning I thought that the high prices were because the food they served was good quality, but when I started eating I immediately changed my mind! Because of this I think that the food is overpriced.

The only good thing, in my opinion, was the staff. I was made extremely welcome and the food was served in less than twenty minutes. In addition, the staff were really friendly, not like in many other places. However, I had to wait a bit to pay the bill. On the whole, I wouldn't recommend this restaurant if you want a relaxed afternoon with your friends.

Fostes`s Hollywood

I had never been to the Fostes`s Hollywood restaurant in San Sebastian before a friend and I went there on our birthday last year. People had told me that the restaurant was very good if in terms of food and atmosphere as an American restaurant. However they had told me hat the service isn´t good at all.

When we arrived we asked for a table. We had to wait for 20 minutes. Finally we sat down at a table near a window. I decided to try a caesar salad and some American ribs. They were wonderful and also very flavorful. We had a great time in an appropriate atmosphere for an a American restaurant with county music and rustic furniture.

Finally, I think that it is a good price for good food, the only thing is the staff. There are only two waiters for ten tables and that could be improved by getting another waiter.

La Tagliatella

When I first tried the restaurant "La Tagliatella" I liked it a lot but not as much as I like it now. Is one of my favourite restaurants in San Sebastian and one of the most common. There are two, one is located in Gros and the other is in the city centre.

I love it because of the Italian food, the ingredients and how they cook. I haven´t tried all the different food there but bearing that in mind the "pizza prosciutto" and the "rigatone carbonara" are my favourites. The only thing disappointed me was the bread, because it had olives and some spices.

The staff are extremely welcoming but when the restaurant gets full of people they don´t give you much attention. I must say that the food is neither overpriced nor cheap and the atmosphere didn´t disappoint me, they haven´t got their own car park nor places to eat outdoors but it isn´t a very big problem.

The restaurant isn´t perfect, moreover has some things to increase but I think is a good restaurant to go either with your family or with your friends.

The Nikolas restaurant

I have been to a restaurant called Nikolas, which is a perfect place to have a meal with friends or family, or alone. The food was distinguished, we were gladly and cordially received by the staff and the atmosphere was amazing.

Some good points are that there is some Basque food and you can try it or you can also eat something else. If you ask me what type of food I would choose it would be the steak. This is because they prepare it perfectly. Another advantage is that they have their own car park and they have places to eat outdoors or indoors. The staff are really kind and the prices of the food are acceptable.

But not everything is good and it has its drawbacks, for example the location is strange because you can easily get lost. Another thing which I don't like is that younger children don't have a place where they can play. 

In conclusion,  the restaurant has some advantages but also has its downsides and there isn't any perfect restaurant. 

Viral hits – or misses?

We can play the radio in our classroom, and a couple of weeks ago two songs came on in succession that are big viral hits from last year. The first was Ylvis's The Fox:

It's interesting that in Scandinavian countries such as Norway, where Ylvis come from, people can and do choose to make content in English with the full knowledge that people from all walks of life will easily be able to understand and consider it perfectly acceptable. In contrast, the vast majority of even intelligent, well-educated people in Spain watch dubbed versions of films and television programmes.

Here are teens and 'elders' responding to the video as part of the Fine Brothers' excellent React series, in which they compare it to Gangnam Style and the Lonely Island:

The second song was Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines, which the teens have also reacted to:

There are (at least) two potentially objectionable aspects to this song. The first is the objectification of women in the video (and especially in the 18-rated version). However, I think that is the less serious of the two, because the models involved have made a relatively informed choice and their presence and behaviour suggest nothing illegal. The more significant issue is the implication of the title and the lyrics.

The videos have in common a widespread ambiguity of our times, and especially of YouTube videos, over whether they are satirical parodies or serious, as exemplified by many of the reacters' comments. In The Fox, this is simply to intrigue the viewer and is thus a good marketing ploy to promote a chat show. In Blurred Lines it is rather darker, since viewers are much more likely to buy into the literal message even if Thicke doesn't mean them to, and foxes' self-esteem cannot be hurt by what they say being misrepresented.

Welcome to our blog!

This is the blog for Ivan's Grade F.C.E. class at Lacunza Benta Berri in Donosti (San Sebastián) in the Basque Country. The students are aged fourteen to seventeen and are preparing to take the University of Cambridge First Certificate in English, a qualification at the top of Upper Intermediate (B2) level that will enable them to undertake Erasmus exchanges or many other options to study abroad.