Mocha, Laguna Nigel, California, USA

tarepanda


Posted Aug 30, 2007, 4:56 pm
Mocha with grandpa Cappucino.
marina


Posted Sep 9, 2007, 8:51 pm
This past Friday night SaruMaru, Robito and me went with our Mommies to IHOP. We ate a lot and had some fun there. Later it seems we were close to the sea. We could hear the waves, but because we were stuck inside a bag, we couldn't see anything. Too bad!

When the day was over we went to Robito's place. It sure was nice to sit on the dashboard on the way there! We'll be staying over at his house for a few days. We have a nice big bed to share, but I wish I had my own, because Robito doesn't like it if I stay up reading too late. It seems the light bothers his sensitive rabbit eyes, or so he says. Is it that, really? Maybe he's just a bit of a jerk...  :rolleyes:
marina


Posted Sep 11, 2007, 6:24 am
Today was such an exciting day! There are a couple of new visitors here at Robito's place--Vince and his little son Vinnie. Vinnie is very cute and well behaved. I liked him a lot. Vince is a very nice guy too. We all had a very good time together.

But the best part of the day came later, in the evening. You see, after Saturday's outing, Robito had brought SaruMaru a very nice present. He didn't give me anything, though. I couldn't help feeling a little sad because I thought Robito was angry at me for some reason, and I didn't remember doing anything to upset him.

But today, he called me and said he had a big surprise for me and that he had been secretly working on it for some time. All I could see was something really big covered by a cloth. When he took it off, there was a beautiful hand-painted red sled under it! I was so happy I couldn't speak for a while!

I just can't wait for winter so I can use my new sled. I'm glad Robito is my friend!
marina


Posted Sep 15, 2007, 7:51 am
I drew a lot today. Robito wanted me to draw a portrait of him, and when little Vinnie saw this, he wanted one too. So I drew him and his daddy Vince together. It was fun to draw Vinnie, he was so excited about it.

Later I met the warthog Robito had been complaining about. Frankly, although I like Robito, I know he is quick to get upset over little things. :rolleyes: So I went to meet this guy, Jacovino, by myself. Robito told me that he was living under the bed. I imagined he must be lonely and I was right. He was so happy someone actually went to see him!

I wanted to do something nice for him so I offered to draw him. But while we were doing this, Robito showed up and he seemed offended that I was making friends with Jacovino. He's still going on about that hat of his, too. I wonder if he's just jealous? Maybe he doesn't like that he'll have to share his things with someone from now on...? :thinking:

Who knows, but perhaps me and the others can help them become friends somehow. It won't hurt to try!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v453/zroing/ToyVoyagers/mochameetsjv1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v453/zroing/ToyVoyagers/mochameetsjv2.jpg

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http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v453/zroing/ToyVoyagers/mochameetsjv11.jpg
marina


Posted Sep 16, 2007, 5:37 am
SaruMaru and I will be leaving Robito's house tomorrow morning. Our Mommy will be coming to pick us up. So, Robito threw a little farewell party for us today. We had some Japanese apple candy and a few drinks (but not too many!) I asked Robito to please give Jacovino a chance and visit him under the bed sometime. He promised he would try.

I had a great time here, but I must admit I'm happy to be going home at last. I can't wait to see Mommy's face again! :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v453/zroing/ToyVoyagers/party.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v453/zroing/ToyVoyagers/mocha_party.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Oct 10, 2007, 7:16 pm
Today I went with mommy to the Melting Pot.  The girls Helen Bear and Budd made a fuss about it, saying it's Ladies Night and I shouldn't be there.  But hey it's chocolate fondue!! How could I pass!?  It was so yummy I licked the pot clean!!!

Wish Sarumaru was here too but he was grounded because of all the drinking he did at the party at Marina's house.  He may not care about the fondues but he sure would love all those margaritas!!  Anyway, I took a photo just to show him, heh heh.
tarepanda


Posted Oct 23, 2007, 5:24 pm
Well, Sarumaru and Robito both left to go traveling, so it feels a bit lonely.  But I have gotten to know a lot of new friends and we all went to Butterfly World together!

I saw lots of beautiful butterflies, and one even stayed put on mommy's dress and wouldn't leave.  I also saw a coffee tree and a chocolate tree.  I wonder if I graft them would I get a mocha tree?
tarepanda


Posted Oct 23, 2007, 5:29 pm
Today I went to Panera for the BookCrossing Meeting.  This is the first BC meeting I go to, I also get to visit my second Official BookCrossing Zone!  Together we released some books.
tarepanda


Posted Oct 23, 2007, 5:57 pm
Today I, being the local, showed Helen Bear around the famous South Beach.  I took her on a tour on Deco Drive, where they have all the pretty pastel buildings, and hip people walk around to see and be seen.  I showed her the house where Versace used to live.  She said she can see the blood stains on the doorsteps where he got killed, but I think her eyes are just funny after too much sun.
tarepanda


Posted Oct 25, 2007, 4:28 pm
Today we went to say farewell to Snergovik.  He is my first Russian friend.  Mommet suggested treating him to key lime pie, the Official State Pie of Florida.  I think that's a good idea. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/snowman022.jpg

Key Lime is a specialty of Florida and the Caribbeans and it's smaller than the regular lime.  In the olden days, cans of condensed milk are the only dairy available in those remote places, and some clever housewives founded out that by mixing key lime juice and condensed milk, you get a nice pie without baking!!!  Blond Giraffe has won the Best Key Lime Pie title.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/snowman020.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Oct 25, 2007, 4:37 pm
I am afraid the heat is a bit too much for our Russian friend Snegovik. He is a snowman afterall.  I think he is melting already because he seems to leave a trail of water behind when he walks around. 

I bring him to eat ice cream today.  I hope it helps.  Mommy is worried that she will be sending a bucket of water to the next host...

Coldstone ice cream is my favorite.  First you get to pick the flavor of ice cream you want. Then the mix in other ingredients with two spatulas.  There are lots of mix-ins to choose from: berries and fruits, nuts, candy bars, gummi bears, brownie...  They mix the ingredients together on a very cold stone.  My favorite is the Mud Pie Mojo, with peanut butter, oreo cookies and almond in coffee ice cream, and Snegovik got one of banana ice cream w banana, strawberry and chocolate chips.  Yummy... I am glad Snegovik likes it as much as I do.

tarepanda


Posted Nov 15, 2007, 8:00 pm
Today, we went with mommy to volunteer for the library book sale.  It's an annual four-day event which will be held a few weeks later.  What we did today was to sort the books that people donated.

I am not quite strong enough to lift the books, but Mara Joy, Romeo and I made sure that all the books are put into the correct category (we are working on the biographies in the picture) and that they all stacked neatly with spines up, so people can browse the titles comfortably.  Let me tell you, it's not easy work!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/hudson019.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Nov 15, 2007, 8:08 pm
Things have been kind of quiet, but the last two days we had visitors!  Yay!!

The first to arrive is Hudson, a teeny little bear.  I introduced him to grandpapa Cappucino, and my friend Crayon Shin-chan.  I showed him the beautiful sled Robito made for me (I heard that he is now in Europe, I hope he is having a good time).

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/hudson012.jpg

Together, we rode the sled to visit the polar bear clan in our village.  They were all very excited to see him.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/hudson011.jpg

Then the following day a big box arrived and out came Mara Joy.  She is a fine lady with a British accent.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/mara1.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Nov 15, 2007, 8:15 pm
Today we went to the Miami International Book Fair.  (Can you tell mommy loves to read?)

We volunteered at a booth for PaperBackSwap.  I was responsible for giving flyers out to visitors.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/bookfair2.jpg

I got to take a picture with Madeline!! I even said Bonjour to her.  I wish I knew more French. I could also say Bon Appetite and Bon Voyage but that would seem a bit weird and I don't want her to think that I am a stupid moose.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/mara2.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Nov 15, 2007, 8:27 pm
To celebrate Halloween, we decided to go look for Pumpkin King.

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I think this is it!!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/pumpkin2.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Dec 12, 2007, 1:59 pm
Today we celebrated Thanksgiving Day. 

A traditional dish is turkey.  Mommy instead has a tradition of donating money to Save A Turkey Project, so we got a tofurkey (vegetarian turkey) instead.

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We found that it was frozen solid. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/thanksgiving2.jpg

We put some sweet potato, onion and gravy in the casserole and baked it.  Mmm, it smelled good!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/thanksgiving3.jpg

Pumpkin pie is another traditional dish for Thanksgiving.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Nov072.jpg

And here's some cherve with walnut and cranberry.  Our host made this at where she works.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Nov073.jpg

We also had some pumpkin beer to go with it.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/thanksgiving5.jpg

Ahh, what a grand meal!!
tarepanda


Posted Dec 12, 2007, 2:24 pm
We went to the Fairchild Tropical Garden today for the Ramble Festival.

Look, we found some coconuts that are sprouting!

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I bet SaruMaru will go bananas over this!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Nov022.jpg

And look, here's a booth called Going Bananas! 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Nov016.jpg

I wonder how Sarumaru is doing. 
tarepanda


Posted Dec 12, 2007, 2:30 pm
Today we did something very exciting!! We went to Shark Valley.  Which is a funny name for a place, because it's neither a valley and doesn't have shark.  In fact, it's in the Everglades National Park, which is a swampy area that is a very slow moving river, and it is full of alligators.

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Look, here's an alligator!!

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Spotting another one...

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Wow, a mommy gator with three babies!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/alligator18.jpg

In total we counted 18 alligators.  Mommy told us that one time, when it was colder and the gators came out to sunbathe, she counted 47 of them.  To me, 18 sounds like plenty already.
tarepanda


Posted Dec 13, 2007, 2:59 pm
So I thought alligators are exciting... well, it doesn't quite compare to being in an airplane!!  The fun part is we are a group of TVers: MaraJoy, Romeo and Mister Right who arrived the day before we depart!!

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This is the plane we are taking.

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Yum... Ice cream and pizza for in flight snack!
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Yay, we finally arrived!  Welcome to Hong Kong!

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Hmmm, let's see where we want to go...

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Don't forget our lugguages!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/HongKongA012.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Dec 14, 2007, 2:31 am
I am very happy to go to another BookCrossing meetup tonight.  We went to an Indonesian restaurant called Dirty Duck, and met three other BCers.  This is my second BC city.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/HongKongA013.jpg

After dinner we took the subway home. 

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Since it was a bit early, we went shopping a bit in Mong Kok.  Mong Kok holds the Guiness record as the crowdest place on Earth!  It sure felt like it!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/HongKongA019.jpg

We saw this and thought of Marina, Robito's mom.  We bought something for her.  I am really sad Robito couldn't make it to Hong Kong with us, but mommy said Trapito is on his way.  I hope he arrives soon!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/HongKongA018.jpg

Mommy showed me her favorite dessert shop in Hong Kong.  They specialize in mango desserts.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/HKB007.jpg

Here is a street stall with all kinds of snack, from tofu to squid to corn-on-the-cob.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/HKB008.jpg

Mommy also found this Tarepanda eyeglasses.  She really really wanted to buy it, but it's too small for her and too big for me.  Alas.  But she did end up buying a big Tarepanda stuffed toy.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/HongKongA037.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Dec 14, 2007, 2:48 am
Today I took my first bus ride!!! I was at first very scared of the big monsters but MaraJoy told me not to be afraid.

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She told me to hold on tight to the rail so I won't fall.

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Phew, what a ride!! But it wasn't too bad so when we got to the dim sum restaurant, I was ready for a good meal.

First, you have to check the items you want.  Hmmm, they all look good.

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Food has arrived!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/HongKongA042.jpg

tarepanda


Posted Dec 20, 2007, 2:37 pm
Today we went to the annual fair.  It's one of mommy's favorite things to do, because they have a lot of food booths offering samples, and other fun things for sale.  Everybody goes home with a full stomach and bags of purchases.

Mara-Joy and I at the entrance.

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Here is a booth promoting a new brand of instant noodles.

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Here's a booth with lots of traditional snacks.  The type that mommy (and even her mom!) eat when they were kids.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/HongKongA047.jpg

Mommy was very happy when she found this.  Do you think it looks like a cocoon?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/HongKongA060.jpg

Turns out it's a candy with finely spun flour wrapping some coconut, sesame and sugar.  It tastes really good.  It's called Dragon Beard Candy.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/HongKongA062.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Dec 20, 2007, 4:40 pm
Today we went to the Central (downtown) district of Hong Kong.

Here I am, in front of the Bank of China building (left), and the Headquarters of HSBC (right).

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This is the lion in front of the HSBC Headquarters. Mommy said it's one of the biggest banks in the world!!

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Hong Kong has a lot of buildings with funny shapes.

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We took the bus again.  This time I felt braver and we actually sat at the front seat on the upper deck.

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I went with mommy to a very large Buddhist ceremony.  I can see the monks praying.  There were over 6,000 people attending.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/HKB030.jpg

After the ceremony, the monks lined up so that they could receive offerings ang give people their blessings.

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This is the colesium where the ceremony was held.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/HKB039.jpg

tarepanda


Posted Dec 20, 2007, 5:06 pm
We happened upon a Gundam exhibition.  Interesting...

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Mommy was really happy to find her favorite childhood candy.

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The sweet looks like a harmonica, with hollow flutes. It is wrapped inside a rice paper and sprinkled with coconut and sesame.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/HKB038.jpg

Here we are looking at some Yixing teapots which mommy likes to collect.

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It's a bit hazy but you can see the Central district across the Victoria Harbour.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/HKB046.jpg

We visited the Avenue of Stars, a promenade dedicated to Hong Kong's movie industry.

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Here is a statue of Bruce Lee.

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The handprints of Jet Li, a famous movie kung fu star.

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And these are of Andy Lau, mommy's favorite movie star whom she thinks is very handsome.

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Isn't the night scenery of Hong Kong so beautiful?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/HKB067.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Jan 3, 2008, 7:33 pm
Today we went to Macau.  It is about an hour's ride on jetfoil from Hong Kong.  Here we are, on the jetfoil.

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This is the most famous landmark of Macau, ruins of the St Paul Cathedral (Ruínas de São Paulo).  It was built in the 16th century but destroyed in a fire in 1835 but was burnt down.  Only the front entrance and the foundation remained.  It is an UNESCO World Heritage Site.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Macau/macau005.jpg

See, this is the back!! It looks really grand in the front but there's nothing behind.  It's almost like a movie set.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Macau/HKB084.jpg

Macau was a Portuguese colony for over 400 years so it has an interesting mix of Chinese and Portuguese culture.  Like the decoration in this little teashop here.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Macau/HKB093.jpg

These are the canons at the fort, Fortaleza do Monte, that overlooks the Cathedral  (or what's left of it).  It was built also in the 16th century and another UNESCO World Heritage Site.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Macau/HKB095.jpg

After the tour, it's time for for some Macaness snacks.  This is the Pastel de nata, a sweet egg tart with a very flaky crust.  Yummy!!!  I ate two in one seating.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Macau/macau003.jpg

We went to a pastry shop called Kue Kee, where we watched them make egg rolls.  In Asia, the egg rolls are really made with egg and flour and is a light, flute-like pastry that is eaten for dessert or snack.  My favorite is the chocolate one.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Macau/HKB099.jpg

Hmm, I am going to buy some to take home...

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Macau/HKB104.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Jan 11, 2008, 4:29 am
Today we visited a tourist attraction called Fisherman's Wharf.  Its various sections are modeled after different cities, so it felt like we were on a mini tour of the world.

Behind us is the jetfoil we took to come to Macau.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Macau/HKB153.jpg

Standing in front of this model of walled city, I really feel like I am in China!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Macau/HKB151.jpg

And now we are in Potala Palace in Tibet!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Macau/HKB152.jpg

We have crossed the continent!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Macau/HKB158.jpg

This is Amsterdam Street.  It looks like a pretty place to visit for real.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Macau/HKB159.jpg

And this is supposed to be Italian.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Macau/HKB168.jpg

And here we are in New Orleans!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Macau/HKB164.jpg

I almost thought that we are back in Miami!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Macau/HKB167.jpg

I must say seeing all these places makes me want to go visit in person!
tarepanda


Posted Jan 11, 2008, 4:55 am
Today we had a great time at the Museum of Macau.

First, we see this terra cotta warrior at the entrance.  The real warriors are in Xian guarding the tomb of the First Emperor, but I want a photo with him anyway!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Macau/HKB121.jpg

This tablet shows how letters like moon, field and water evolved from pictographs into characters. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Macau/HKB125.jpg

These are some tools for making silk.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Macau/HKB126.jpg

These are how typical Portuguese style buildings look in Macau.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Macau/HKB128.jpg

And a little mailbox!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Macau/HKB131.jpg

This is the set up of a traditional tea house in the olden days. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Macau/HKB132.jpg

And this is a shop where they make little god statues so people can put in their homes.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Macau/HKB135.jpg

A traditional medicine shop.  There is a big chopper for chopping up herbal roots and a grinder for grounding the herbs.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Macau/HKB136.jpg

And this is a traditional wedding chamber.  Red is the lucky color. How pretty it is!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Macau/HKB139.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Jan 12, 2008, 4:22 pm
Wow, I am in Venice, Italy now!! See the gondola?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Macau/HKB187.jpg

Ha ha, truth be told, I am still in Macau.  This is actually a place called The Venetian.  It's the largest casino and resort in the world and just opened a few months ago.  The decorations looks really grand and extravagant, if a bit gaudy.  They have these canals inside the building, and the ceilings are painted to look like the sky.  It's a really funny feeling to be inside a building but looks like it's outdoors.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Macau/HKB201.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Macau/HKB197.jpg

You can get a ride in the gondola, though I thinks it's a silly idea.  The steerman sings as the gondola floats down the canal.

While we were taking photos, a cute lady saw me and said I am really really handsome.  She wants to take a picture with me.  We told her about ToyVoyagers.  Hopefully we will see her as it would be fun if other TVs get to see Hong Kong and Macau like we did!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Macau/HKB199.jpg

And this is the entrance to the hotel.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Macau/HKB174.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Macau/HKB175.jpg

They even have an escalator that is curved. I have never seen such a thing before!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Macau/HKB178.jpg

And a huge Christmas tree!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Macau/HKB180.jpg

I found a Chocolate Shop inside the casino.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Macau/HKB186.jpg

A HUGE kitkat!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Macau/HKB184.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Macau/HKB185.jpg

This is at what they called San Marco Square.  Modeled after the real one in Venice, I was told. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Macau/HKB205.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Macau/HKB206.jpg

Isn't it beautiful?  Now I want to visit the real Venice!

And here we are, having lunch at the food court.  They have almost 30 restaurants in the food court alone (did I say it's the world's biggest casino?)  We didn't eat Italian though.  This is a Japanese okonomiyaki. A Japanese pancake.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Macau/HKB209.jpg

And look at these takoyaki! They are bigger than I am!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Macau/HKB182.jpg

Hmmm, I think I like Japanese food.  And then Mara Joy told us that she would be visiting Japan after this.  I think I would like to go along.  Maybe I can eat more okonomiyaki and takoyaki.  And taikayi.  Traveling to Hong Kong and Macau is fun, and while I am still a bit afraid of leaving Mommy and Grandpa Capuccino, I want to see the world a bit.  And I don't like Mister-Right calling me a mommy's baby because I am the only one who been out on my own.
tarepanda


Posted Jan 14, 2008, 10:51 pm
Wow it was a fun trip in Macau but now we are back in Hong Kong.  We are very excited when we find a box waiting for us.  I think I can recognize the voices.

"Hello who's there?" I ask.

"Hurry up and open the box!" screams someone and when we finally get it opened, a really wild cat jumps out at us, all claws and snarls.  Turns out it's Budd.  I remember she was staying with Marina. 

"Don't mind him," says SaruMaru.  "She is just castrophobic."  I am so happy to see him. I miss this silly monkey so much!

"And very hungry!" I turned towards the voice.  "Mommet?" I asked.  But no he is not Mommet, but rather his twin, Trapito.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/HKC002.jpg

We are really happy that all of us gather together.  We tell them of all the fun we had so far.  The latecomers are a bit jealous, but we promise to take them sightseeing.  They are also very hungry too and finish all the cookies we bought in Macau.  SaruMaru wants to find some alcohol but I think Mommy got them all hidden.

I am glad to see SaruMaru again, and when I heard about his trip to Oregon, I tell him that I would be traveling too! I will be going to Japan!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/HKC007.jpg
yumi


Posted Jan 19, 2008, 4:50 pm
Mara-Joy and I arrived at Yumi's home safely today.

We stayed at the local post office for a few days as she wasn't at home when the box was delivered.

I could get flesh air finally! I thought it was much colder here than Hong Kong. When we arrived at Yumi's home, it was snowing outside.
However, Morado,Florence and Tokiowarmly welcomed us. We became good friends right now!
tarepanda


Posted Jan 22, 2008, 2:32 am
Today I show the newcomers around town and take them to the Avenue of Stars. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/IMG_4031.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/IMG_4035s.jpg

Here is a perfect spot for our group picture!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/IMG_4030.jpg

Afterwards, I go with mommy to a chocolate buffet.  As you can imagine, it is heavenly!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/IMG_4009.jpg

This is chocolate pasta.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/IMG_4014.jpg

I also meet this uncle moose in a store.  He is really cool.  I wonder how Grandpa is doing?
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/IMG_4007.jpg
yumi


Posted Jan 28, 2008, 4:03 pm
I decided to stay with other toyvoyagers at Yumi's house today as the weather wasn't good

We watched Sumo on TV.
Sumo is Japanese traditional wrestling (the national sport).
In a sumo match, two wrestlers who wear a sumo wrestler's loincloth enter the rung fight until on either leaves the ring or touch the ground with any part of his body other than the bottom of his feet.
I was very excited to watch!!

Sorry but the photos are dark...can you see me?
yumi


Posted Jan 29, 2008, 5:29 pm
Yumi told me that we're going somewhere today.

I waited for her with Morado, Florence, Mara-Joy and Pussy Galore in her bag.


yumi


Posted Jan 29, 2008, 5:53 pm
We visited Kanazawa 21st museum where was opened in 2004.

The museum has some kinds of chairs and benchs to sit and relax.
yumi


Posted Feb 1, 2008, 4:11 pm
When we were walking at the museum, we found a swimming pool.

Why is a swimming pool here? We thought...
The next moment, we all were very surprised that some people were standing in the swimming pool.

WHY???
yumi


Posted Feb 2, 2008, 3:19 pm
Yahoooo!!
I'm under the swimming pool!!

I felt very strange...but it was fun!

I read a leaflet on the museum.
Swimming Pool designed by Leandro Erlich (so we call it Leandro's pool)

A layer of water above thick glass forms a border, through which people above encounter people below (inside the pool)
tarepanda


Posted Feb 5, 2008, 4:03 am
Today we visited a Buddhist nunnery with Tarepanda and her mom.  Her mom was worried that the nunnery may be closed for the holiday but Tarepanda said that she can't imagine a Buddhist temple closing for a Christian holiday.  Indeed it was not.  :D

While the Chilan Nunnery is a relatively new building, it used architectural technique from the Tang Dynasty, around the 7th century.  It is an all wooden structure built without using one nail.  As Tang Dynasty is the period with heavy cultural exchange between China and Japan, this style of architecture is commonly found in Japanese Zen Buddhism temples.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/templefront.jpg

A watermill useful for grinding flour, though they are not really using it now.
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/IMG_4082.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/IMG_4086.jpg

This is a really beautiful lake with a lot of koi fishes in it.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/lake.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/lotus.jpg

It feels like a sneak preview for my visit to Japan.  I will be leaving with Mara-Joy in a few days.  Yumi san, yoroshiku onengaishimasu!
yumi


Posted Feb 8, 2008, 4:05 pm
After we enjoyed the museum, we visited another one named Kanazawa Folklore museum.

The building of the museum built in 1899 was once used as a school. At present a junior high school is built next to the museum.

Unfortunately the museum wasn't allowed photography...
(Yumi told me she could take photos when she visited here last year)
We were only taken in front of the museum.

The last photo is the leaflet for the museum.
yumi


Posted Feb 15, 2008, 8:06 am
I visited Higashi Chaya District where some old Japanese houses which Geisha girls had worked at were conserved.

The two houses named 'Shima' and 'Kaika-ro' were opened generally (People still live in the rest of the houses), but unluckly we didn't have enough time to watch.
yumi


Posted Feb 29, 2008, 3:31 pm
It was St. Valentine's day today.
In Japan girls/women give chocolates to boys/men.

Yumi gave us some small chocolates. It was sweet.
yumi


Posted Feb 29, 2008, 3:49 pm
We got some snow, so we decided to play with it!

We climbed a snow mountain and went into a snow hole.
We enjoyed playing with snow!

After that, we relaxed in front of an oil-heater.
Pandamao


Posted Apr 30, 2008, 10:40 pm
I have arrived! Munich - here I come, phew it's good to be out in the day light again.  B)
Pandamao


Posted May 6, 2008, 10:46 pm
As it was a nice spring day we all went out for a walk to Türkenfeld. It's about 45 minutes with the train outside of Munich. The colours of the tree leaves are beautiful, you only find this colour in spring time.
Pandamao


Posted May 6, 2008, 11:03 pm
Our host is very interested in herbs so we helped her to search for them. We found lots of blooming wild violets and helped our host to pick them because she wanted to make sirup of them. If we would not have helped her she surely would have needed a long time to fill the small container.
Later we also found woodruff which will be dried and used for tea and food flavouring.
Pandamao


Posted May 7, 2008, 10:00 pm
We went out for another walk to pick herbs at Türkenfeld. We found chickweed, deadnettle, chervil and lots of other herbs.
Pandamao


Posted May 7, 2008, 10:36 pm
Yesterday we had sorrel soup for dinner (delicious!!) and today we used the herbs for chickweed salad, then deadnettle lasagna and wild herb quiche ... I could not resist and tried every single dish. For the quiche I helped to collect more than 10 herbs: chickweed, deadnettle, silverweed, yarrow, sorrel, stinging nettle, dandelion, meadow sweet, ribwort, beech leaves, daisies, chervil, violet leaves .... I think that's about all of them. And all of the dishes were really tasting great.  :p
Pandamao


Posted May 9, 2008, 11:29 pm
First I helped my host to register some books for bookcrossing. Later Bestik and I released these books in the San Francisco Coffee Company - many of the SFCCs in Munich are official bookcrossing zones. The one at Gärtnerplatz is nearby my host's home. So I have done one more OBCZ!
Opposite of the SFCC is a nice opera building.
Pandamao


Posted May 14, 2008, 8:58 pm
I did a bit of sight-seeing today and visited the Hofbräuhaus (a really huge beerhall), the Orlando house, Alter Hof and Marienplatz.
Pandamao


Posted May 23, 2008, 10:11 pm
I made a trip to Frankfurt on the weekend. The photos show the view of the Frankfurt skyline taken from a bridge over the Main river.
Pandamao


Posted May 27, 2008, 9:08 pm
I helped my host to release some more books - and visited another official bookcrossing zone. It's again a San Francisco Coffee Company located at the Isartor. The Isartor was one of the old town gates. Today it is used as a museum.
Pandamao


Posted Jul 10, 2008, 4:24 pm
I had a nice time here but my mom wants me back home - I miss her!
tarepanda


Posted Jul 24, 2008, 4:46 pm
I am home!!! I miss everybody so much.  I was having fun, travelling around and seeing a lot of new things and meeting a lot of nice people, but once I arrive home I realize how much I miss home.

I jump up to Grandpa Cuppacino and give him a big hug.  I am so excited I don't even know where to start telling him my adventure.  But he just smiles and says, Dear boy, you have grown so much!! I am so happy to see you home...

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Miami%2008/IMG_5548.jpg

Then I see a lot of new toys.  For a moment I thought mommy forgets about me already.  Turns out they are visiting Miami.  There are Watson, Muki, Floppers, Tibipanda and Candy Cotton.  I am happy that I can now brag about my trips too!  They tell me yesterday they went to the bubble tea place.  I am a bit upset to have missed it, I love bubble tea, and also I missed Marina's toys Robito and Palmito too. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Miami%2008/IMG_5550.jpg

Thanks again, Yumi-san and Pandamao, for hosting me and giving me such wonderful memories.
Pandamao


Posted Aug 5, 2008, 10:06 pm
Pandamao took me to a trip to beautiful Provence in France. We stayed in a little holiday cottage in the middle of the mountains.
Pandamao


Posted Aug 5, 2008, 10:24 pm
Unfortunately the weather was not good - lots of rain for quite a few days. So I did not venture out often. The photos show a bit how the area looks like.
Pandamao


Posted Aug 5, 2008, 10:35 pm
One evening I visited La Motte, a little town.
Pandamao


Posted Aug 6, 2008, 10:12 pm
On the weekend I had a short day trip to one of the lakes south of Munich, the Ammersee. It was a great summer day and I enjoyed walking along the lake side. We found a tree xylophone - nice sound.
tarepanda


Posted Aug 13, 2008, 1:07 am
Today mommy put Muki and me into her backpack and tells us that we will be traveling.  When we pop out of the backpack, we find out that we are in an airplane!  Of course we get very excited!!  We keep asking her where we are going but she says it's a surprise.  Oh well, we decide to settle down and read some magazine to pass the time.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5581.jpg

Looking out of the little window we can see the strip.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5583.jpg

And other airplanes too.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5595.jpg

We are taking off!  Look how small the houses and roads look!  Bye bye Miami!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5587.jpg

We are higher than the clouds!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5590.jpg

I wonder where we are going?

Finally we land.  I hear some French.  Both of us have traveled to France so we speak a little of the language.  But I just come back from France!  Why are we visiting again? But maybe this time the weather is nicer.  However, when we look out of the bag, we realize it's not France.  Turns out we are in Montreal, Canada!  I haven't been to Canada before so I am excited!!  I've heard there are lots of mooses in Canada maybe I get to meet one?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5959.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Aug 15, 2008, 7:10 pm
Today we went to the Jean Talon Farmers Market.  There are a lot of interesting shops.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5604.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5741.jpg

This one sells cheeses.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5603.jpg

This one is famous for its ice creams. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5608.jpg

We eat breakfast here, the baguette and pastries are really good.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5611.jpg

Look at all the pretty flowers.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5612.jpg

The fruits and vegetables are so inexpensive and delicious.  They look much nicer than the ones in supermarket.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5613.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Aug 15, 2008, 7:29 pm
We come to Montreal for the dragon boat race.  It is held at the Jean Drapeau Park.

We see this big Bio Sphere soon after we get out of the subway.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5627.jpg

We also meet the mascots from the Beijing Olympics.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5636.jpg

We find this lion resting before the dance.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5651.jpg

Here is the dragon dancing for the opening ceremony.  He chases the ball all over the place.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5657.jpg

This is the ceremony to commemorate Breast Cancer survivors.  You can see the survisor teams in the water, many of them dressed in pink.  The audience on the shore shower them with carnations.  It is a very moving celebration.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5648.jpg

It's exciting to watch as the dragon boats race across the finish line!  Dragon boat is a sports from China that has thousands of years in history, and is now popular all over the world. The standard boat in a race is about 45 ft long and sits twenty paddlers.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5754.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5747.jpg

We are really happy that our host's team wins a gold medal!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5765.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Sep 3, 2008, 4:44 am
Today we continue our travel in Montreal.

This is the Basilica Notre Dame.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5676.jpg

I see this sign at a souvenir shop.  I would have ripped it down if Muki doesn't stop me.  What do they mean by not feeding the moose!!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5683.jpg

We take a walk in Chinatown, which is not far from Old Montreal.  There are a lot of shops selling interesting things.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5666.jpg

This is the entrance to Chinatown.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5670.jpg

We also visited Oretaire St. Joseph.  Legend has it that if you pray all the way up the 99 steps of stairs to the church, your wish will come true.  A lot of crippled and sick people get well in such manner and there is a wall lined with clutches believers left behind.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5903.jpg


At night we visited Place Jacques Cartier in old Montreal.  A lot of artists are there drawing caricatures.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5682.jpg

Look at the beautiful fireworks at the Montreal International Fireworks Festival.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/fireworks.jpg

Finally we make it back to the hotel.  It's a long day, we are tired but totally enjoy the sightseeing.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5621.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Sep 5, 2008, 6:58 pm
Today we go to visit Quebec City.  It's the oldest walled city still to exist in North America!

This is part of the city wall.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5769.jpg

The houses are really European.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5770.jpg

We first visit the Parc de l'Artillerie.  Here are remains of structures built to guard the St. Charles River and the Old Port.

This is where they made cannons.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5775.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5782.jpg

This is the oven used for baking for the soldier.  I bet the breads were really good!
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5784.jpg

Afterwards we stroll the streets.

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http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5790.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5897.jpg

We found this bicycle in a shop window.  It's all made with candies!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5792.jpg

Unfortunately mommy can't figure out which statue this is.  She keeps looking at the map and first say it's this certain fountain but then realize there is no water.  So she thinks it's this certain statue but then when we walk on we find another statue that seems to fit the guidebook description even better.  But anyway, it's a nice statue.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5797.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5806.jpg

Now this is Le Chateau Frontenac, a very famous hotel/landmark.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5808.jpg

The houses look like toys.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5896.jpg

We continue on to Lower Town after dark.  This is a famous 4,665 sq ft trompe-l'oeil mural at Place Royal, depicting 400 years of Quebec history.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5825.jpg

The Normandy style houses at the cobblestone square are very quiant and romantic.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5839.jpg

You can see the funicular in the background.  It transports people from the Chateau to Lower Town.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5845.jpg

We find a shop selling Native American crafts.  A lot of dream
catchers to guarantee a sweet dream tonight.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5852.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Sep 5, 2008, 7:37 pm
This morning we go to a place called Chez Cora for breakfast.  The decoration is very cute.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5860.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5866.jpg

The crepes and waffles all come in huge portion with colorful pile of fresh fruit.  Mommy wishes we have something like this where we live, instead of Denny's and IHOP. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5864.jpg

Loaded with food, we head to Montmorency Fall.  It's even taller than the Niagara.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5870.jpg

It's amazing how calm the water is at the head of the fall.  You can even see the reflection of the trees.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5882.jpg

I couldn't believe we walked across the suspension bridge and walk all the way down the height of the fall.  But the view is really nice.  We do not go all the way down because mommy doesn't want us to get wet, and it's getting really misty.  The noise is also thundering.  Very cool!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5889.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Sep 5, 2008, 7:52 pm
Today is the last day of our trip.  We go to the Biodome, which is located at the Olympic Stadium.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5951.jpg

This is a very scary looking catfish.  Muki and I couldn't decide if it's called that because it has whiskers like a cat or if the fish eats cat?  It sure looks like it can eat a cat.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5908.jpg

It's amazing how the birds do not live inside a cage.  We can stand really close to it.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5910.jpg

I didn't know that porcupine can climb trees but this one sure can!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5911.jpg

We see some starfish.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5912.jpg

And many puffins.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5919.jpg

This one is swimming.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5923.jpg

These are really big penguins.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5935.jpg

We can see how they swim.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5932.jpg

I wonder what they are lining up for?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5941.jpg

I was hoping to see some real moose at this place but alas what disappointment.  I can only find some toy ones like me.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/montreal/IMG_5949.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Oct 12, 2008, 3:44 am
Today we go to Krispy Kreme, a doughnut place where mummy says has the best doughnut.  We can watch the doughnuts being made.  They travel around on the belt, go into the fryer, then into the sugar for a coat, and fresh and warm into the boxes. 

We try some and it's yummy indeed!  We have to hurry to take the pictures or else the doughnuts are all gone! Mmmm I love them, they are pillow soft and melt in my mouth!!
tarepanda


Posted Oct 16, 2008, 12:39 am
Today we went to the Dragon Boat Festival at Haulover Park.  We walk around the park a bit. 

There is a booth selling kites.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/PA050062.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/PA050064.jpg

With the nice breeze the kites are flying very high.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/PA050176.jpg

I spot CHOCOLATE!!  This looks delicious!!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/PA050069.jpg

Argh we got ensnarled by a big spider web!  Actually this is part of a boy scout camp gateway.  We have a lot of thing climbing it, though I am not very good at this sort of things. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/PA050056.jpg

They have an eggroll eating contest.  It is fun to watch as the contestants try to shove the eggrolls as fast as possible into their mouths.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/PA050207.jpg

Then we watch a bit of the taiko drumming performance.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/P1000592.jpg


tarepanda


Posted Oct 31, 2008, 8:13 pm
Wow!  Today we go to Haulover Beach.  It is a clothing-optional beach... which, *blush*, is nude beach!!  Floppers want to take off my clothes too but Fllama is too shy a lady and won't hear of it.  I honestly don't like the idea either so I am glad he just takes his top off in the end.

Here's the little walkway to the beach.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/P1000605.jpg

The water looks a bit rough.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/P1000616.jpg

Wow this is a wide beach w lots of sand.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/P1000623.jpg

We all sit and sun bathe together.  Mmm nice sun. 
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/P1000618.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Nov 26, 2008, 2:22 pm
Today we visit a shopping mall called The Village of Merrick Park.  It is an upscale place with famous names like Jimmy Cho, Tiffany, Neiman Marcus and the like.  I don't know who they are but mommy said they are famous so I suppose they are.  I think they make shoes and diamonds and things like that?

Anyway, this is a pretty place.  At the entrance we pass through a little bamboo gate and that gets tibipanda very excited. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/PA100209.jpg

I have to pull him very hard to get him away.  I like this clock tower.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/PA100218.jpg

A very pretty mall indeed.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/PA100236.jpg

Let's do some shopping!  ahem, window shopping.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/PA100216.jpg

They have a garden in the center with lots of sculptures.  Like this weird bird.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/PA100221.jpg

And this lady.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/PA100222.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/PA100226.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/PA100233.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/PA100225.jpg

We are tired!  Let's take a rest.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/PA100223.jpg

Good, a boat!  We can get a ride home!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/PA100231.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Dec 20, 2008, 3:12 pm
Today we visit Fort Myers, a town on the west coast of Florida, where they are hosting the American Sandsculpting Festival.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ftmyer12.jpg

When we arrive, some of the contestants are still working on their sculptures.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ftmye.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ftmyer31.jpg

This is a scary snake!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ftmyer03.jpg

This one is my favorite.  I give it my vote. (we are given tickets to put in the can in front of our favorite sculpture.  It's a really nice sculpture of wolves and eagles around a forest mountain. I am happy to learn that it is the second place winner. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ftmyer04.jpg

This is the third place winner:

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ftmyer09.jpg

Though I like this moon better, a sleeping moon enjoying a sweet dream.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ftmyer081.jpg

This one is Old MacDonald and his farm:

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ftmyer15.jpg

This is a beautiful one of a mermaid with a lot of sea creatures.  It's my mommy's favorite and it has won the Committee Choice Award.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ftmyers08.jpg

Wow this is the grandest sand castle I've ever seen!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ftmyer07.jpg

This is a pretty one too.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ftmyer19.jpg

Here's Santa w a funny face!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ftmyer25.jpg

Phew, all the sun is making me tired.  I am getting an iced mocha with ice cream!  Yummy!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ftmyer22.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Dec 21, 2008, 4:17 pm
Today is the first time I am visiting Disney.  We are not going to the park, but rather Downtown Disney.

First we check into Disney's All Stars Resort. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/disney0809.jpg

Look what we find on the bed!  Floppers thinks it's rabbit ear but of course I know better, though I don't want to disappoint him.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/disney0801.jpg

This is the nice folder we receive when we check in.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/disney0802.jpg

We see a picture of Mickey Mouse on the wall.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/disney0803.jpg

The hotel is decorated with a sports motif.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/disney0806.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/disney0811.jpg

In the courtyard, we see Donald Duck playing tennis and join him for the game,  He doesn't look too happy though.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/disney0804.jpg

So we decide to play baseball with his nephews instead.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/disney0805.jpg

I guess people can get really thirsty after a game.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/disney0812.jpg

And really hungry too?  We find this dinosaur, or what remains of it, outside a restaurant in Downtown Disney.  Boy, people here have good appetite.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/disney0816.jpg

We see a dragon in the water.  Oh, it's only made from Lego bricks!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/disney0825.jpg

We try our hands at Legotown, but I don't quite know how to build a dragon. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/disney0819.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/disney0823.jpg

Next we try Mr Potato Head, but I can't say we do much better.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/disney0858.jpg

I am glad someone knows how to fix him right, and I am glad he doesn't know how we mess up his face.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/disney0840.jpg

Otherwise his friend Buzz Lightyear will not be so nice to us. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/disney0836.jpg

We see this merry-go-round.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/disney0838.jpg

We get lost, but Donald and Donna are nice enough to point us the right way.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/disney0857.jpg

We visit the Disney Art Gallery.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/disney0845.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/disney0848.jpg

Look, the magic brooms are around to keep the place clean!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/disney0853.jpg

We rest a bit at the Pooh Corner, and share some honey before heading home.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/disney0855.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Jan 2, 2009, 8:22 pm
Today we participate in a walk to raise money for organ transplants.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Miami%2008/metrozoo17.jpg

The walk takes place in a zoo, so we are all very excited.  I think Florida is too hot for a moose, but Tibipanda wants to see a panda and Fllama wonders if there is any a llama from Peru.

Look at all the flamingoes!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Miami%2008/metrozoo03.jpg

We see an elephant!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Miami%2008/metrozoo06.jpg

And some lions. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Miami%2008/metrozoo08.jpg

We get a ride on a kodomo dragon.  But it's not real, because we are told that the real dragons are very fierce animals who will finish me in one gulp!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Miami%2008/metrozoo09.jpg

And there is a camel, happily chewing hay.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Miami%2008/metrozoo10.jpg

We are so excited to have a camel ride!  Even if it's not the real thing.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Miami%2008/metrozoo11.jpg 

This is a Gaur, the largest wild cattle and comes from India.  The bull has very beautiful horns and can weight over 1500 lbs.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Miami%2008/metrozoo12.jpg

We see some gorillas.  They have a big placeground with ropes and tires.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Miami%2008/metrozoo13.jpg

Giraffes are very tall animals.  We ask if they have seen any moose, panda or llama but they just shake their heads (which is really funny to look at).

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Miami%2008/metrozoo14.jpg

While we don't see any panda, we see some bamboo, which Tibipanda attacks immediately.  Maybe we can just leave him here as an exhibit?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Miami%2008/metrozoo16.jpg

Well, bye bye alligator!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Miami%2008/metrozoo04.jpg

We finish the walk in 1 hr, 18 min and 9 sec!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Miami%2008/metrozoo20.jpg

Now we will get a press penny for souvenir.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Miami%2008/metrozoo18.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Miami%2008/metrozoo19.jpg

tarepanda


Posted Jan 2, 2009, 9:17 pm
As a year-end celebration, today we go to the Mango Strut Festival in Coconut Grove.  It's a parade that 'put the "nut" in Coconut Grove', as participants plays parody to news events of this year.  It is a really relaxing and fun event, typical South Florida style.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Miami%2008/mango12.jpg

First we see some jugglers:

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Miami%2008/mango02.jpg

Here is Sarah Palin w her First Dude and a moose.  She carries a big shopping bag and a sign for 2012.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Miami%2008/mango06.jpg

This is the Mangobama band.  The theme music is in the video and at the end of the parade everybody dances to the tune.  I am still humming the music as I type this!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Miami%2008/mango08.jpg

Here are the Somalian pirates who go around hijacking other floats.  They kidnap Sarah Palin, and one of the guys kidnap mommy and us too!  But it happens so sudden we can't take a picture of it.  I think it is lucky we didn't drop the camera.  Quite a hair raising experience!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Miami%2008/mango20.jpg

Here comes the float with the Little Miss Mango contestants.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Miami%2008/mango16.jpg

Here's a executive panhandling.  There is another one with a mug and sign "Brother, can you spare a billion dollars?"
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Miami%2008/mango14.jpg

Even the Hari Krishna come dancing to join in the parade!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Miami%2008/mango17.jpg

Unfortunately we don't have pictures, but there is a guy wearing a mask of George Bush, and people offering shoes for the audience to throw at him.  The lady next to us must really hate him, as she throws the shoes three times.  They all miss though.  Uncle Sam goes around giving out bailout money.  There are killer tomatoes offering poisonouse salsa, a "Mother Earth" with IV, and a "economy" crippled in a wheel chair.  The Illinois Govenor is here trying to sell a chair; Joe the plumber, along with Josephine, Joanne and all the plumbers marching with a toilet plug.

As our camera runs out of battery so we don't get as many shots as we like, but here is a Youtube video that captures the good time really well:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10EZkaBLcyo
tarepanda


Posted Feb 12, 2009, 7:47 pm
Chinese New Year is coming soon so mommy is preparing for it.  She makes special puddings.  There are many varieties of puddings/cakes and traditionally the women make a lot of puddings and give to their friends and relatives.  A good pudding is a source of pride as well as an omen for a good year to come. 

First she takes out the recipe for her favorite, the turnip cake.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/CNY0901.jpg

She prepares the ingredients: sausage, and dried mushrom and dried shrimp soaking in water to rehydrate.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/CNY0902.jpg

We chop the sausage into little pieces. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/CNY0903.jpg

Next on the chopping board are the shrimps and mushrooms.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/CNY0905.jpg

We put the cubed ingredients into a bowl and marinate with soy sauce, wine and sugar.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/CNY0908.jpg

Being a turnip cake, of course it needs lots of turnips.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/CNY0907.jpg

We peel and cut them in chunks.  Now we set up the food processor to shred it.  Mommy  says that it's great now we have the food processor.  In the olden days we would have to shred it by hands and it's a lot of hard work.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/CNY0909.jpg

But now we shred all of the turnips in 10 minutes!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/CNY0910.jpg

Now we stir fry the ingredients.  Hmm, I think it needs some more soy sauce.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/CNY0911.jpg

Next we cook the turnip shreds.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/CNY0913.jpg

Everything is mixed together and cook a bit more.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/CNY0916.jpg

Now the mixture is ready to go into a casserole!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/CNY0915.jpg

We put the casserole into a steamer.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/CNY0917.jpg

It will be steamed for 45 minutes.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/CNY0918.jpg

With the pudding being steamed, we prepare the toasted sesame and cilantro.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/CNY0923.jpg

Yay, countdown is almost here!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/CNY0922.jpg

We sprinkle the cilantro and sesame on top.  Now it looks really nice!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/CNY0924.jpg

We can't wait to try it!  You can add some oyster sauce or hot sauce to it.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/CNY0925.jpg

This is another flavor, made with coconut milk and sugar.  It is given to us by our host's sister-in-law.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/CNY0926.jpg

This is another flavor our host made, with water chestnut.  Pieces of water chestnut are added to the pudding to give it a sweet, crunchy flavor.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/CNY0929.jpg

We slice it and dip it lightly into an egg batter before pan frying it.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/CNY0928.jpg

Mmmm, everything is so delicious.
tarepanda


Posted Mar 3, 2009, 7:11 pm
Mommy gave us some gold coins for the Chinese New Year.  The weird shaped nugget is how the gold nuggets used to look like in ancient China.  But this one is actually candy inside!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/CNY0930.jpg

She also gave us a red packet.  In China, adults give children these red packets during new year.  There is cash inside.  So all children love New Year as they get a lot of candies and money to buy whatever toys they want.  That is, when they are too grown up to buy the adult's tale of "give mommy your money and I will save it in the bank for you".

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/CNY0931.jpg

Mmm, I wonder what I should do with the coin I get!
tarepanda


Posted Apr 4, 2009, 3:29 am
Today I am going with Mommy to Tarpon Springs, a little town on the west coast of Florida.

First we have to drive frm the east coast to the west, through the Everglades National Park.  It may look just like any roadside grass but this is a subtropical marshland designated by UNESCO to be of vital global ecological importance.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/P3151248.jpg

This is at the rest area where Mommy has to stop by for a quick visit.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/P3151252.jpg

Now we are on the west coast we see the sea again.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/P3151260.jpg

We arrive in Tarpon Springs.  This used to be the train station.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/P3191273.jpg

The town used to be a sponge fishing village and has the highest percentage of Greek American population in the country.  There is a heavy Greek influence.

This is the St. Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral in downtown.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/P3161268.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/P3211333.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/P3211334.jpg

We also visit this Greek bakery across the street to buy some freshly baked bread for breakfast.  They all look very different from the loaves we usually eat.  They make their own Greek yogurt too.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/P3211336.jpg

You can tell you are in Greek territory! Greek Chow Mein anyone?
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/P3161267.jpg

We sit down for a while ouside a store.  Can you guess what they sell?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/P3161265.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Apr 5, 2009, 6:20 am
Today we visit Craig Park. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/P3151263.jpg

Behind us is a bayou.  During winter time there are manatees but we look and look and can't find any.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/P3191297.jpg

This is a cute little palm tree.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/P3151264.jpg

And a big palm tree that looks like pineapple on a stick.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/P3191298.jpg

Around the bayou there are a lot of old houses like this one.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/P3191291.jpg

The trees all have mustache.  Mommy tells us that they are Spanish moss.  Hanging from the trees, I think that it makes the scenery very romantic... but Vicky thinks it is very spooky.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/P3191299.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/P3191301.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/P3191291.jpg

Mommy wants to gather some moss so we help her.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/P3191285.jpg

Oh help me I am all tangled up!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/P3191287.jpg

We discover that in the park there is the Heritage Museum.  Let's check it out.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/P3191313.jpg

Looks like there are people living here from a long, long time ago.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/P3191305.jpg

The ancient people used this conch shell to make an axe.  Hmm... looks quite lethal.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/P3191307.jpg

This picture show the sponge dock at its heydays.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/P3191309.jpg

Wow I didn't know that sponges are animals.  However, nowadays most sponges are synthetic. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/P3191310.jpg

This is a sponge press used to pack sponges into bags like the one on the right.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/P3191311.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Apr 7, 2009, 7:25 pm
Tonight we go to the Sponge Docks.  We saw a picture of it in the old days at the museum.  But now there is hardly any commercial harvest due to cost and water pollution, and the place is more a tourist attraction.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/P3191322.jpg

The street is lined with souvenir shops and Greek restaurants, with names like Hellas, Zorba, Mykonos and Santorini. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/P3191323.jpg

Naturally there are a lot of sponges for sale.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/P3191324.jpg

And pretty shells too.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/P3191327.jpg

We stop by another Greek bakery.  This one has lots of sweet pastries, so Mommy and I have a great time. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/P3191329.jpg

We eat a lot at the bakery, and take home this Greek pastry called diple.  It is a big rolled up sheet of fried dough with honey drizzled over it.  Very delicious we finish it in no time, even though it looks big.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/P3181271.jpg
tarepanda


Posted May 4, 2009, 6:33 pm
Today we visit the Crandon Park on the island of Key Biscayne.  It's a nice breezy day and we see some people flying kites.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P4181381.jpg

What is that flying up in the sky?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P4181386.jpg

Let's get closer to take a look!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P4181391.jpg

Oh it's called Kiteboarding.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P4181405.jpg

There's a lot of kites on the beach.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P4181393.jpg

This guy is pumping air to fill the frame of the kite.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P4181395.jpg

Looks like this one is ready to go!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P4181397.jpg

The kiteboarder goes into the water while a friend holds the kite ready.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P4181400.jpg

Now he lets go and the wind will carry the kiteboarder into the ocean.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P4181401.jpg

This is the board.  I want to play but hmm, I don't think our feet fit in.  And mommy says I am so light the wind may blow me away really far, across the ocean.  I want to travel but maybe I will do it in a safer way.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P4181404.jpg
tarepanda


Posted May 26, 2009, 6:22 pm
We visit Tampa today, on the west coast of Florida.

We can see a cruise ship near downtown.  It's dawn so the rising sun gives the sky a beautiful glow.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/P5091562.jpg

Here we can see the buildings in downtown Tampa.  The lights on the trees make it looks als Christmassy.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/P5091567.jpg

They are trying to set up the outrigger canoe.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/P5091571.jpg

Oh we see this guy stand-up paddling. I've seen people paddling sitting down, kneeling, but this is the first time standing up Looks so cool as he drifts by, but I am sure it's not easy.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/P5091628.jpg
tarepanda


Posted May 26, 2009, 6:40 pm
We head to Siesta Key in Sarasota, where it is famous for its sugar-powder fine sand.  They have a sand sculpture contest today.

Looks like it's a popular day to be out on the beach!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/P5091685.jpg

The contest is a lot smaller than the one we went to in Fort Myers, but we still find some nice ones.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/P5091687.jpg

This one is my favorite.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/P5091693.jpg

What a beautiful beach!  I can see the Gulf of Mexico.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/P5091709.jpg

The sand is so fine, the water so clear, this is a fine beach indeed.  No wonder it was voted one of the Best Beaches in the U.S.  It was named the “Best Sand Beach in America 2008” by the Travel Channel. Harvard University's geology department found the sand of Siesta Beach was 99% pure quartz. Unlike most beaches that are composed of crushed shells, rocks or lava, this sand is pure white and finer in texture than most refined sugar. The sand has been described as "dazzling" and it is stated that it never feels hot.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/P5091702.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Jun 5, 2009, 8:17 pm
Today we make Japanese pancake, Okonomiyaki お好み焼き.  It's one of my favorite dishes. 

First we make the batter by adding egg to the Okonomiyaki flour.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P5221849.jpg

Add some water, and stir it really well.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P5221850.jpg

Then I chop up the cabbage and carrot.  Traditionally pork, shrimp and squid are used too, but we prefer not to add meat, as both giraffes and mooses are vegetarians.  We also julienne some ginger.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P5221855.jpg

Everything is mixed into the bowl.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P5221858.jpg

We add it to the pan.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P5221865.jpg

We are out of eel sauce, so we make our own by heating sugar in soy sauce to form a thick glaze.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P5221861.jpg

Next we get the seaweed ready by cutting up the nori sheet.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P5221870.jpg

When the pancake is ready, we squirt on some mayonnaise, add the soy sauce glaze, then sprinkle on the seaweed and bonito shavings.  It's ready!  Doesn't it look authentic and delicious?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P5221875.jpg

tarepanda


Posted Jun 24, 2009, 5:39 pm
Today we go to an Anime Convention.

There are a lot of comics on sale.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P6061959.jpg

And manga too.  I love manga!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P6061980.jpg

A lot of artists are here to promote their works.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P6061958.jpg

This guy draws really well!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P6061979.jpg

And he is very talented too!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P6061991.jpg

There are a lot of cosplayers.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P6061946.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P6061954.jpg

HELP!!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P6061944.jpg

Here is a booth selling voodoo babies, which mommy collects.  We find some new ones and buy a couple.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P6061950.jpg

And this booth sells a lot of knives and swords.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P6061947.jpg

I am moolverine!!!  GRAAW!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P6061951.jpg

There is a game room where people play board games.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P6061977.jpg

And a doujo where people can practise their swordsmanship/kendo.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P6061983.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Jun 24, 2009, 6:03 pm
Today I take Dottie Grace to the zoo so she can visit her giraffe friends.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P6132133.jpg

We are greeted by a group of flamingoes.  They are very elegant and beautiful.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P6132141.jpg

Can you see the head of this big cobra?
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P6132148.jpg

Look at this banana flower!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P6132153.jpg

We go to the new Amazon exhibit.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P6132183.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P6132186.jpg

We go to Mr. Jaguar habitat but I think he is out for lunch.  We see this little blue frog though.  I think he must be very poisonous.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P6132202.jpg

We see some llama.  Last time we came here, Fllama was with us but we missed the llama.  I wish she were here with us today.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P6132206.jpg

We sit down to rest and then find that we are atop a big alligator.  Good thing it's not real!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P6132152.jpg

We also see some big elephants.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P6132211.jpg

Hey Mr. Chimpazee, do you know where the giraffes are?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P6132241.jpg

Dottie gets very excited because she spots her friends.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P6132213.jpg

Hmm, what is that ostrich doing there?  Let's go and warn the big giraffe.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P6132222.jpg

But he is too busy having lunch.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P6132226.jpg

Dottie sees the sign and says she is very hungry too.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P6132230.jpg

She doesn't want lettuce like a real giraffe so we get some icepop.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P6132232.jpg

This animal is called addax and has some funny horns.  They are *almost* as nice looking as moose horns.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P6132247.jpg

Wow it's a really hot day, and we are tired.  This time we are more careful, we rest on top of a water buffalo.  I wish he could give us a ride home!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P6132153.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Aug 29, 2009, 4:38 pm
Today we go somewhere very special.  The airport!!  It has been a while since I board a plane. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/P7092411.jpg

We get onto an airplane and we are all bucketed in.  This is so exciting!!  I wonder where we are going?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/P7092414.jpg

Hmmm, where could this be?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/P7092418.jpg

tarepanda


Posted Sep 8, 2009, 12:59 am
Guess where we are?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/P7092431.jpg

It's New York City!!

I am excited and hope to visit the Liberty Lady and King Kong.  But then mommy tells us that we are heading to the Finger Lakes region of New York state, so we won't stay in the city.  I am a bit sad but she tells me we will have fun there too.  I hope so.

Anyway, to cheer us up she takes us to try a Tibetan restaurant.  I have never tasted Tibetan food before!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/P7092426.jpg

The restaurant is called Himalayan Yak.  The dish here is called Cheura Tareko.  It is beaten rice fried with peanut, potato chips & spices.  It's very spicy and I sweat a lot, but I like it.  Maybe one day I will visit  Tibet.

After lunch we start driving.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/P7102438.jpg

What is this?  New Jersey?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/P7142918.jpg

And Pennsylvania?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/P7142915.jpg

I wonder if we are lost.  But mommy says that we have to pass through New Jersey and Pennsylvania to get to another part of New York.  That sounds really weird and I can tll that Ebba and Dottie-Grace don't believe that.  Well, we decide to just sit back and enjoy the scenery.  Which is quite nice.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/P7102459.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Sep 8, 2009, 1:17 am
We have arrived in the Finger Lakes region after all.  This area is famous for its wine, and after Napa Valley in California, is the region in the U.S. with the highest concentration of wineries.  Too bad SaruMaru is not here.  He will be so happy.

Today we visit some vineyards around the Seneca Lake.  The region is called Finger Lakes because there are several long, narrow lakes in the area that looks like fingers.

The first one we go to is Shalestone Vineyard.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/P7102463.jpg

This looks like a hobbit home.  I didn't know that hobbits are good at making wines.  Come to think of it, they have big feet for crushing grapes.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/P7102479.jpg

Oh, my mommy says no hobbit lives here... We knock but nobody answers the door.  Maybe the hobbits are really busy making wines.

Anyway, we then visit the tasting room.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/P7102465.jpg

I don't see any hobbits either.  But there are a lot of wines, and we taste some.  Well, actually not me, as I am too small.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/P7102476.jpg

Then we visit Lamoreaux Landing.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/P7102501.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/P7102484.jpg

It is a very beautiful tasting room.  Mommy says the wine is very delicious, especially the Gewurztraminer.  I don't know what that is?  She must be drunk.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/P7102493.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Sep 8, 2009, 1:50 am
Today we visit the Ithaca Farmers Market.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/P7122566.jpg

There are a lot of stalls, and some musicians playing.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/P7122569.jpg

This bakery looks so yummy we get our breakfast here.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/P7122571.jpg

A lot of different type of food!  I want to try them but Dottie-Grace still feels kind of sick from the spicy Tibetan food a few days ago. (And I think she drank some wine too!)

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/P7122573.jpg

The round things hanging up are called dream catcher.  It's a web with feathers, to catch the bad dreams so only good ones pass through.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/P7122575.jpg

Being farmers market there are a lot of vegetables.  But as we are travelling we can't buy any.  What a shame, they look so fresh and delicious.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/P7122584.jpg

tarepanda


Posted Sep 8, 2009, 4:10 pm
Today we visit some animals at a place called Farm Sanctuary.  It is a shelter for rescued farm animals.  It is very beautiful and the animals look really happy there.  It must be like heaven for them, after their sad early lives and close escape from the dinner plate.

Behind us the big house is the visit center.  The little ones are log cabins where guests can stay for a few nights.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/P7122617.jpg

Inside is a souvenir shop.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/P7122605.jpg

and a place for brochures if you want to learn more about the abuse of farm animals.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/P7122608.jpg

We first visit Miss Moo.  We compare notes on what grasses taste the best, but she hasn't tasted chocolate before so we can't chat about that.   

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We see some sheeps but they are really shy.  They walk away when we try to get closer.  Our tour guide tells us that as some animals have been ill-treated by men, they may be very shy or even agressive towards human beings.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/P7122637.jpg

Then we say hi to Mr Goatee.  He had injury on one of his legs so they have to put a prosthetic on.  But he brags that he can still run very fast.

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We meet Mr. Turkey, who generously invites us back to dinner at Thanksgiving, where they will enjoy a lot of corns, pumpkins and squashes.

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There are some chickens too.  They invite us for lunch but I don't feel like eating worms.

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The ducks are a really noisy bunch.  They are quacking so loudly I wonder if they are having a fight, but I couldn't make out what they are saying. 

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This is a lovely place indeed, and I enjoy seeing all my animal friends so happy here. 

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tarepanda


Posted Sep 8, 2009, 4:18 pm
This is the Taughannock Falls, located 8 miles north of Ithaca.  The cataract has a drop of 215 feet (66 meters), one of the highest east of the Rocky Mountains, slightly higher even (25 ft., 8 m) than Niagara, although the water volume is much smaller.  The name  originates either from that of the Delaware Indian chief Taughannock or from the Delaware word taghkanic ("great fall in the woods"). 

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We walk closer to the bottom of the fall.  Very beautiful.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/P7122748.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Sep 9, 2009, 6:35 pm
Today we visit the Watkins Glen State Park.  It is reputedly the most famous of the Finger Lakes State Parks. Within two miles, the glen's stream descends 400 feet past 200-foot cliffs, generating 19 waterfalls along its course. Here we are at the entrance.

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We can see the stream down there!  It's beautiful isn't it?

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Here we get a bit closer to the little stream.

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Another gorgeous view.

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Look, we have to go under the waterfall!

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We did it!!  A bit wet but it was exciting!!  Well, it's actually like taking a very noisy shower.

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Oh this place is really beautiful.

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Sometimes we will notice this "joint" on the rocks.  It's kind of like a fault except that there is no earthquake.

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This is really one of the most spellbounding places I've been to. 
tarepanda


Posted Sep 9, 2009, 7:35 pm
Today is our last day at the Finger Lakes Region.  We will visit some more vineyards, this time on the west bank of Seneca Lake.

The first one we visit is Hermann Wiemer Vineyard which is a small vineyard but famous for its reisling.

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We can see lots of barrels in the tasting room inside the barn.

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Next we go to Glenora Wine Cellars which is one of the earliest wineries in the region.  They even have a restaurant and a hotel, which as you can see, have spectaucular views.

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Okay, where is the picnic basket?  We want our wine and cheese!

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This is a very big wine barrel!

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We can see the vineyard and Seneca Lake behind us.

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Look, this are the grapes for making wine!

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And some bugs who can't wait to for the grapes to ferment into wine.

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Oh what beautiful days.  It's sad to leave ad I must say it has been a very nice trip.

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tarepanda


Posted Sep 17, 2009, 4:54 pm
Today we go to Chibi Pa, an anime convention.

Sure there are a lot of people around!  A lot of them in cosplay.

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First we go and visit the booths to see what nice stuff they are selling.

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I want a chicken hat!

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Mommy decides to have a geisha glamour shot.  Here are the makeup tools, wig and accessories.

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The makeup lady whips together the white foundation.  It's so thick it can make Ebba into a white bunny!  Or me into a white moose, although I don't think there are white moose.

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Wow I can hardly recognise mommy! 

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We are shown different kimonos, and we vote on this pink one with flowers.  Isn't it pretty?

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Mommy puts on the wig and the kimono.

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Wow!  A geisha!!

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Next we watch a taiko drum performance.

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This is a pinball machine from Japan called Pachinko.

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We watch the "live" video game.  The characters line up, and the audience yells out which characters they want in the game.

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Then the two characters fight.  Very entertaining!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P9053271.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Oct 3, 2009, 3:45 pm
We get a new visitor, Baby Lican, a little pelican from Hong Kong.  I was excited because I have been to Hong Kong before.  Anyway, she says that her mission and is to visit beaches so we take her to Miami Beach, even though Ebba and I were there a few weeks ago. 

Here we are, on the causeway towards the beach. 

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We pass by the Miami port.  This is a cruise ship to the Carribeans, called Carnival Liberty.  It has 110,000 tonnes, is 932 ft long and carries 2,974 passengers.  A huge ship indeed!!  I hope one day I can get to travel in one. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P9263508.jpg

We are now on the street of Miami Beach, with a lot of palm trees and very sunny weather.

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Here we are, at South Point Park again, looking out toward Fisher Island.

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This time we decide to walk to the beach.  It's a long walk!  I still can't see the beach yet.  We rest on the grass a bit.  I wish we have a picnic basket.

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Okay we reach the beach!  It's a beautiful day, the water is calm. 

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There is a life guard tower, and it looks like there is a wedding couple up there taking pictures.  That sure looks very romantic.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P9263528.jpg

tarepanda


Posted Oct 12, 2009, 2:48 am
We received some Harry Potter coloring book through BookCrossing.  It's a bookring, which means that the book goes around to different members, who read it and pass it on, till the last participant sends it back to the person who started the ring.  For this coloring book ring, instead of reading a book, we pick a few pages to color.  Of course we are happy to help mommy.

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Hmm, it's hard to decide which pages to color.

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Yuck! Who wants to color Umbridge?  She is EVIL!!! I am going to tear out the page when mommy is not looking.

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We decide to color this page.  I will paint Hermione's hair a very nice golden yellow.

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We also want to color Dumbledore and Snape, because they are two greatest headmasters of Hogswart.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P9223477.jpg

That's a lot of trees to color!  Let's each pick a green pastel stick and start working.

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It takes a long time but I feel proud.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P9223479.jpg

I like to color the girls too, and give them pretty clothes. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P9223480.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Oct 12, 2009, 3:03 am
Today we go to the Miami International Wine Fair. 

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It is one of the largest wine tradeshows in America, featuring over 85,000 sqft (~8,000 m2) of exhibit space with nearly 500 producers showcasing more than 1,500 wines from 20 countries.  I wonder if anyone can drink all that???

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There are a lot of booths and many people.

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We try out some Portuguese wine. 

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Wines from Florida!  But Florida is too hot to grow grapes so the wine are made from other fruits, such as mango and lychee.

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We also attend some wine classes.  This one is my favorite, sushi and sake!  See that big glass of chocolate mousse!!  Yummy!!  I enjoy the mousse while my mommy learns about the different type of sake.  But I am very nice and save some for her.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P9273547.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Oct 30, 2009, 4:20 pm
Today is the Mid Autumn Festival in China.  It is a night when the moon is supposedly the roundest and brightest in the year, and a day for families to gather together and celebrate.  We all go outside to admire the moon but I am not sure not it compares to the other time of the year.

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Baby Lican is from Hong Kong, so she is feeling rather homesick.  To cheer her up, mommy offers us a little moon cake party.  I am happy because I love moon cakes too, and they are delicacies that are on sale only around the festival, though mommy keeps some in the freezer to enjoy year round.  First we pick the tea, for mooncake goes very well with a cup of hot tea.  There are a veriety of flavors and sizes of moon cakes.

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This mooncake is made with lotus seed.  All the mooncakes have an egg yolk in it, the round yolk representing the moon.  They say that during the Mongolian invasion, rebels hid messages inside the cakes and passed them around, thus succeeding in overthrowing the Mongolian rulers.

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Yum yum... Even Baby Lican feels a bit happier after eating such delicious cake.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/PA043680.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Oct 30, 2009, 6:15 pm
Today we help Baby Lican fulfill her dream, to visit some real pelicans.

Where can we find some pelicans?  Pelican Harbor sounds promising.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P9303626.jpg

They have a bird sanctuary here. 

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Here we arrive!  The Seabird Station is a non profit group to rescue and rehabilate animals, especially sea birds.

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Oh we spot some pelicans!!  We go by and say hi and they show us around.

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These pelicans are inside the cage while they recover from injuries.  Most of these injuries are caused by entanglement with fishing lines, ingestion of plastic and other manmade garbage.

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The volunteers explain that the birds outside the cages are visitors.  They probably come here to visit their injured friends in cage, and maybe hopefully get a bite of the fishes when there are leftovers. 

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Here is a different kind of bird.  We don't know its name but it has beautiful blue eyes.

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After the visit we wander around the harbor a bit.

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Oh look, there is mother duck with her babies!!  They are so cute!

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Oh no, there are some American black vultures.  I am not sure if what they like to eat but they sure look very scary!!  Um, I think it's time to go home!!

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tarepanda


Posted Nov 3, 2009, 8:30 pm
Today we head out for Central Florida.  It's four hours drive from Miami.  Halfway through we stop by a rest area.  We find a booth selling Florida grown citrus. 

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Yum, they have some samples!

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Here we are, at Downtown Disney!

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This is Disney Quest, an indoor game center.

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There are a lot of interesting stores to visit.

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This is the Mary Poppins balloon ride that can take you up in the sky.

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There is a Planet Hollywood restaurant in Downtown Disney.

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There is some excitement on the water.  There is a dragon boat race going on!

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Wow it's a big dinosaur!!  Or rather, it's skeleton.

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It's a T Rex restaurant.  Let's go in and check it out!

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You can make your own dinosaur here.

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I see another dinosaur... and this one is not just bones.  It's moving around.  Very scary...

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Hi Buzz, what's up!

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Hello Mr Potato Head!

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Let's go check out the toys!!

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Wow true to its name, there are a lot of toys here!

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You can get your own customized light sabre here.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/PA173814.jpg

You can also play with designing your own Mr. Potato.

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I think this Mickey hat makes me look silly...

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We get to say hi to Winnie the Pooh and his friends.  He shares some honey with us.

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It's Halloween coming up so there are lots of Halloween stuff.

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We got lost.  Donald Duck is kind of grumpy but Donna has been very nice.

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Look, a Lego store!

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Baby Lican gets very excited with this Lego picture of Hong Kong, her hometown.  I went there two years ago but I don't remember seeing a dragon in the water.

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We meet Blinkey, the Lego dragon.

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It's amazing how they can build all these with little lego bricks!

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Well, we try, but I don't think we can.

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Maybe I'll go in for some Christmas shopping!

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Can you find me in the picture?

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In the art gallery, an artist is there to do some demostration.  You can see his head hiding behind the drawboard.  There is a TV screen so you can see what he is drawing.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/PA173796.jpg

The gallery has a lot of beautiful artworks.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/PA173797.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/PA173802.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/PA173801.jpg

This is a very huge store that sells all things Disney.  We spend a lot of time shopping there.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/PA173821.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/PA173822.jpg

Let's get a little penny souvenir!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/PA173767.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Nov 6, 2009, 2:31 pm
Today we attend the BookCrossing UnConvention.

We enjoy a delicious cake to celebrate the gathering.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA233935.jpg

We take a picture with Ballycumber, the BookCrossing mascot.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA243987.jpg

This morning we sit very still to listen to some speeches.

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First are two speakers who are authors.  They talk about the books they write and how they get them published. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA243950.jpg

Next comes a presentation of BC in DC for 2011.  It will be the 10th anniversary of BookCrossing so it will be a big gathering with lots of fun.  I am so there!!  Gotta call my travel agent to book my ticket!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA243954.jpg

He is a Very Very Important Person.  Bruce is the co-founder and CEO of BookCrossing and has made a surprise visit.  I feel very happy that I get to see him in person!  I want to shake his hand too but I am too awed and shy I can't work up the courage.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA243976.jpg

We get some tickets for the raffle drawing.  I get to put a ticket in.  Hmmm, there are so many good prizes I don't quite know which one to choose!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA243945.jpg

Wow~! This is a mobile OBCZ by crrcookie.  She goes around in it to give away books!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA243955.jpg

We also have a book buffet table where there are lots of books, and people can take and leave any book they like.  We have fun looking at the books.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA243956.jpg

We find a monkey book, and Ebba finds a Bunnicular book.  Mommy is very impressed.  She says that she has heard of a lot of themed released but this is the first themed catch she knows of. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA243958.jpg

I try to look for a moose book too but the closest I find is a reindeer book.  We also try to help Baby Lican finds Pelican Brief, but all we see are four copies of The Firm.  While helping us look for books, Ebba loses her Bennicular book, that's why she doesn't look happy in this photo.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA243959.jpg

Lunch is, of course, the famous Kansas City BBQ. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA243964.jpg

Mommy is very excited to see the Tim Tams.  She says that it is a famous cookie from Australia.  I like the chocolate one a lot.  Thank you Skyring for bringing them to the BC conventions. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA243965.jpg

Discoverylover is from New Zealand, and she makes sure everybody wears a pretty New Zealand tattoo.  I want one too but I have too much fur on...

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA243966.jpg

We also stop by the BookCrossing store to get supplies like book labels, bags and stickies. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA243970.jpg

At night we visit a place called The Legends.  One of the BookCrossers gives a book to this Indian chief.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA243996.jpg

Look, here is another T Rex restaurant.  We just went to one last Saturday in Orlando, so it's hard to believe that there are only two of them in the whole country!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA244009.jpg

We release a book by Rex Stout in front of this T Rex.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA244005.jpg

Follow the yellow brick road, follow the yellow brick road...
We're off to see the Wizard, the Wonderful Wizard of Oz!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA244011.jpg


tarepanda


Posted Nov 6, 2009, 3:29 pm
We are very excited because we are going on a Reverse Scavenger Hunt!!!  We have never play this game before and it sounds like a lot of fun.  We have a list of places we have to find and release books at.

The most important thing of course is to have the books for release.  No worry we have lots of books.

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We are ready to set off!!
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Hmm... I think this is the unofficial Bally car?

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We arrive at the Country Club Plaza.

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Behind us is the Cheesecake Factory.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA254031.jpg

The BookCrossers are all gathered together for the game.  Everybody is carrying a lot of books.  We can feel the excitement in the air!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA254034.jpg

The first book we release is by the J.C. Nichols Fountain.  It's called Hole in the Water.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA254025.jpg

We find a horse statue in front of PF Chang and put a book with a unicorn statue by it.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA254030.jpg

Then we drop off Nickel and Dimed at the bank.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA254040.jpg

I try to help mommy's friend, TheGoalieGirl, put a book by this statue.  But kyaaa!  I almost get stabbed!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA254044.jpg

Next we climb into the eagle nest to release Like Water for Chocolate in front of this chocolate shop. Ebba and Baby Lican are almost scared to death but I think it's quite a thrill! 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA254049.jpg

Baby Lican insists that we are taking wild releasing too literally, so we decide to do some tamer releases to calm our nerves a bit.  We find this guy by a McDonald's.  Ebba is more interested in the lettuce in his burger though.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA254050.jpg

Kansas City sure looks very different from Miami.

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We leave a dog book, Why We Love The Dogs We Do, at Three Dogs Bakery.  I wish I have a book to leave for a dog to read too.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA254057.jpg

It's a bit tiring so we rest a bit.  Mommy put in another book here, Three for the Chair. (Can't she count there are four of us?)

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA254068.jpg

We also leave a book at the clock tower of Fogo de Chao.  It's a Brazilian restaurant.  We have a matching theme book called Zero Hours.  This book actually gets picked up by someone from Alabama!  Isn't that cool?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA254073.jpg

We have been so busy running around the plaza we barely have time to notice the beautiful scenery.

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Thank you Goaliegirl, for showing me the red maple leaves.  I am very happy as it's the first time I see them.  Now it makes me want even more to see a full mountain of them!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA254083.jpg

After a very fun and exciting morning running around the Plaza, we go on to the Hallmark City Center.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA254085.jpg

Unfortunately, the Hallmark Visitor Center is closed.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA254088.jpg

But we get to shop around a bit.  Here are some arts done by local children.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA254091.jpg

We also find a nice tea shop.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA254096.jpg

The shopkeeper (who came from Fujian, China) invites us to sit down for some tea.  He keeps pouring cup after cup we drink so much we need the restroom!

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We visit the Crayola store, where everything is colorful...

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Oh look!  We catch a BookCrossing book!  It's lying on the bench in front of the Crayola store.  Amazing!!  It's my first!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA254099.jpg

Hallmark is headquartered in Kansas City.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA254110.jpg

We couldn't find a pay phone at the hunt, but finally here's one.  We leave Superman Returns here for Superman to pick up.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA254107.jpg

Wow this is a huge cinnamon bun.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA254112.jpg

And a huge ice cream!  Hey are we in Texas?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA254111.jpg

We are tired so we sit down and watch the fountain a bit as it dances along with the music.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA254118.jpg

The trees here are gorgeous in their colors indeed.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA254123.jpg

Look, we are leaving Kansas!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA264139.jpg

Missouri welcomes us!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA264140.jpg

Goaliegirl is really nice.  She knows that I am a BookCrossing Toyvoyager who want to visit OBCZs so she takes me to this one at Latteland.  We leave some books and take a few.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA254127.jpg

Then at night, we go to eat... you guess it, BBQ!  It is very delicious.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA254131.jpg

We also get to know Ringbear.  She has traveled around a lot with Skyring, and tells us of all the great BC gatherings she has been to.  We tell her she must join ToyVoyagers so we can stay in touch.  It's like Facebook for toys!  I also make her promise to bring some TimTams next time.  I hope there are more BCTVs!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA254130.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Nov 8, 2009, 4:13 am
Today we are heading home already. But first, we will have a nice big breakfast.  Mommy takes me to one of her favorite places, the Animal Kingdom Lodge.  We are having an African buffet.  I have never tried African food before! 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/PA183901.jpg

We get some POG (Pineapple Orange Guava) juice, some quinoa, some egg with curried meat, ham, grilled tomato and other stuff.  They also have an African fruit salad which is very delicious, and other more standard breakfast fare such as French toast, cereal, muffins, croissants and omelette. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/PA183895.jpg

This is where the guest rooms are at the lodge.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/PA183898.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/PA183897.jpg

tarepanda


Posted Nov 8, 2009, 4:25 am
Wow we are travelling again!  Today we are flying in the airplane.

We are at the Miami airport.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA233914.jpg

Look!  A giraffe in the airport!  Oh, it's about the Miami Metro Zoo.  I was wondering how a giraffe can fit into an airport.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA233915.jpg

Okay, ready to take off!

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We arrive at the Chicago O'Hare airport.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA233923.jpg

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We are not exactly glad to be here.  The weather looks rainy and gloomy.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA233919.jpg

Wow, a lot of apples!!  We eat an apple and decide to travel on.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA233921.jpg

But we decide to check out the information anyway, just in case we may come back on a brighter day.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA233925.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Nov 8, 2009, 5:10 am
We arrive at our destination.  It's Kansas City!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA233928.jpg

We ride to the hotel.  Mommy tells us that Kansas City is in two states, how funny!  The airport is in Missouri but our hotel is in Kansas.  Bally and Ebba gets especially excited as they both want to visit many states, though unfortunately Bally gets so tired from all the travelling and doses off when we cross the state line. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA254120.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Nov 11, 2009, 3:31 pm
It's time to go home.  We are heading to the airport.

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We arrive at Dallas Fort Worth airport, that is in Texas.

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We have a very short time to change planes, when we arrive at the gate it's boarding already, so we could not find better places to pose for our very short visit to Texas...

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA264162.jpg

It is very rainy here.  We are lucky that it only rains in places we are just stopping for transist, and are able to enjoy nice weather in Kansas.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA264167.jpg

Wow we have taken off!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA264173.jpg

Now above the cloud we can see the sun again.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA264177.jpg

It's night time when we arrive back in Miami.  Glad to be back home!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/PA264182.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Nov 26, 2009, 4:36 am
Today we are going to Key West to celebrate Halloween.  Its Fantasy Fest is a ten-day celebration that includes street fair, costume contests, parades, and lots of parties, and is the biggest Halloween celebration in the U.S. with over 100,000 visitors.

The word "Key" comes from the Spanish word Cayo meaning island.  The Florida Keys are a long chain of islands south of Miami, connected by over 40 bridges like a necklace of pearls that runs 127 miles.  Some of them have funny names like Duck Key, Fat Deer Key, Knockemdown Key, Fiesta Key and even a No Name Key.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/FF01.jpg

We pass by this Dolphin Research Center at Marathon Key.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ff02.jpg

This is Pigeon Key.  When they were building a railroad to connect Key West to the mainland between 1908 and 1912, there were at times as many as 400 workers housed on the island.  Today there is a museum.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ff04.jpg

We are now on the Seven Mile Bridge.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ff67.jpg

This is part of the old bridge that used to connect the islands but was destroyed by a hurricane in 1935.  In the movie True Lies by Arnold Schwarzenegger, near the end there was a scene in which a bridge was blown up.  The movie was shot on this old bridge.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ff03.jpg

After almost three hours we finally arrived at Key West, the largest of the keys.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ff64.jpg

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The houses are typical Old Florida style.

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This is a conch trolley.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ff61.jpg

Look! I am at the southernmost point of the United States!! 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ff57.jpg

Nearby is the Southernmost House.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ff55.jpg

As well as the southernmost hotel.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ff60.jpg

Key West is also called The Conch Republic.  In 1982, when the U.S. border patrol set up road blocks south of Miami to control illegal immigrants and drugs, the citizens of the Keys complained.  The mayor complained that if the U.S. government is treating them like foreigners, they may as well declare themselves an independent nation.  Hence, the mayor was proclaimed Prime Minister of the Conch Republic and declared war against the U.S.  Very silly people.

This is their city hall, ahem, Office of the Secretary General.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ff53.jpg

Unfortunately the office is closed so we cannot get a passport...

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ff52.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Nov 26, 2009, 5:48 am
We find some chicken living at the house next to where we stay.  There are a lot of free roaming chicken in Key West.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ff061.jpg

We go on to Duval Street, the main street in Key West.  The street is closed off to traffic and many people are walking around in costumes, even though it's still early. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ff24.jpg

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http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ff46.jpg

A lot of people walk around with no clothes, or very very little clothes, on.  It makes me blush!! 

Here is a man weaving baskets from palm leaves.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ff08.jpg

This Conch Republic souvenir shop looks interesting.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ff09.jpg

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This church is a famous landmark.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ff15.jpg

This is another landmark, though I forget what it is...

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ff39.jpg

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We find people with body painting around the street.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ff14.jpg

A lot of shops are advertising body painting.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ff13.jpg

Here is another shop.  The two ladies in the front just have their bodies painted.  Can you tell?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ff22.jpg

This man has his suspenders painted on.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ff23.jpg

Here is another pair of artists at work.  They do a very beautiful job.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ff40.jpg

These people are wearing some funny pants.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ff25.jpg

The Hard Rock Cafe is all decked up for Halloween.

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We see these colorful beads and want to get some, but mommy says don't worry, when the floats parade begin, we will get lots of them.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ff19.jpg

I think these paintings are very beautiful.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ff20.jpg

We see this on the street.  It will be one of the floats tonight!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ff28.jpg

Look there is a huge octopus!! I think it has eaten the green parrot!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ff29.jpg

We see this sign.  It's the beginning of United States Highway 1.  If you take this road, it will take you all the way up north to Maine, although what was a highway is now a very slow scenic route.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ff31.jpg

We cross the street and what do we get?  The end of US1!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ff30.jpg

This restaurant is very nicely decorated too.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ff33.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ff34.jpg

Sloppy Joe's is an old restaurant/bar that opened on the first day the Prohibition was lifted.  The name was suggested by one of its regular customers, Ernest Hemingway.  He was, I am told, a very famous writer who wrote the book Old Man and The Sea.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ff36.jpg

The old man visited here too!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ff44.jpg

We pass by the art museum.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ff42.jpg

Looks like there are many interesting shops but they are all closed because of the parade tonight.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ff41.jpg

This shop has won the award for the best Key Lime Pie.  It's a dessert that is famous here, made using Key Lime, which is only the size of a golf ball and yellow in color, unlike regular lime.  As Key West is so far away from mainland, in the olden days condensed milk in cans were the only milk available, and this dessert is made with adding lime juice to condensed milk.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ff43.jpg

This year's Fantasy Fest theme is vampires, so there are lots of them around.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ff35.jpg

Help!! Mommy, HEEEELP!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ff45.jpg

Another spooky place!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ff47.jpg

We then go on to check out the floats, as it will be difficult to take pictures of them in the dark.

Hmm, looks like the vampires are really thirsty...

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ff48.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ff49.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ff50.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/ff51.jpg

They all look very nice indeed.

Finally it's time for the parade! 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/P1020349.jpg

Just as mommy has promised, people on the floats throw a lot of beads at us.  We get so many in different colors. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/P1020402.jpg

I must say it's a most awesome halloween celebration!!
tarepanda


Posted Nov 26, 2009, 5:52 am
Today we go to meet a very famous person. Guess who it is?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/P1020361.jpg

It's ex-vice president Al Gore.  He appears at the Miami Book Fair to talk about his new book on global warming.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/P1020380.jpg

I am so excited to meet such a celebrity. I didn't get to shake hands with him but still, I am very proud.  I don't think many toys have met with such famous people.  He is an ex-vice-president and a Nobel Laurette!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/travel/CopyofP1020389.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Jan 6, 2010, 10:11 pm
Today we take Bally to visit the Thai temple.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P1020405.jpg

They are celebrating a festival called Loy Kratong.  It is a water lantern festival held in the 12th full moon of the Thai lunar calendar.  It honours the Buddha with candle, and the act of floating away the candle raft is symbolic of letting go of all one's grudges, anger and defilements, so that one can start life afresh on a better foot.

We go inside the temple to look at the beautifully decorated alter.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P1020415.jpg

There is a Tibetan monk drawing a sand mandala, to pray for world peace.  We do not get too close as we don't want to disturb him, but he is drawing a very intricate and colorful pattern using colored sand.  That must take a lot of patience!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P1020414.jpg

Outside, they are having a talent show.  The girls are dressed up in traditional clothes.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P1020403.jpg

Hmm... I wonder what this is?  We think maybe it's for people to donate and say a prayer. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P1020435.jpg

Here you can buy a flower lantern.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P1020418.jpg

There are many varieties.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P1020420.jpg

The monks say a prayer at the beginning of the ceremony.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P1020422.jpg

Then everybody sets his/her lantern afloat in the pond.  There is no river here so they build a little pond.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P1020428.jpg

Very colorful, isn't it?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P1020433.jpg

Oh no, this one is burnt!  I hope that means all bad lucks are burned away!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P1020434.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Jan 6, 2010, 10:20 pm
Today we go to the farmer's market that just opened last week.  It's located in the Pinecrest Garden.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P1020462.jpg

Slow Food is serving breakfast to celebrate.  It's very delicious.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P1020460.jpg

We tour around the market.  There are lots of vegetables.  Like this one with a variety of peppers.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P1020479.jpg

A bee farmer selling local honey.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P1020481.jpg

There are also many local artists.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P1020474.jpg

This booth sells handbags make out of gourd.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P1020477.jpg

These are products from the ceramic league.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P1020463.jpg

Handmade soaps.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P1020465.jpg

There is a BBQ stall, and they let us try a bit.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P1020467.jpg

We also sample some kettle popcorn!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P1020468.jpg

We like this booth with many varieties of blended teas.  They all look very yummy!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P1020471.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Jan 12, 2010, 8:54 pm
It is the time of the year again for King Mango Strut parade in Coconut Grove, where people get a laugh out of the news event of the past year.  We take Bally to see this wacky tradition that "puts the nut in the grove!"

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P1020485.jpg

It's a holiday season with palm trees!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P1020484.jpg

The parade starts!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P1020514.jpg

First come the Little Miss Mangos.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P1020498.jpg

The juggler club:

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P1020518.jpg

Wow they are very good!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P1020525.jpg

The first family is here to wish everybody Happy New Year!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P1020535.jpg

Fidel Castro is  regular to the parade, as he always manages to live on despite the rumors...

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P1020531.jpg

He is partying with Sarah Palin!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P1020569.jpg

We have a group of Harley Krishna.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P1020493.jpg

The real Hari Krishna decides to make an appearance, just so we won't be confused.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P1020592.jpg

What happens when Sesame Street turns 40?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P1020539.jpg

And what happens to Elmo?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P1020541.jpg

Of course Tiger Woods make the headlines.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P1020567.jpg

Coming up is Sierra Club.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P1020579.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P1020580.jpg

They are a bunch of grapes but we have no idea what that means...

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P1020589.jpg

The "death panel" on the healthcare reform.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P1020486.jpg

Wow they are so tall!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/miami%2009/P1020590.jpg

Well, Happy New Year!
tarepanda


Posted Apr 16, 2010, 4:06 am
Mommy tells us that we will be travelling.  She packs a lot of lugguages.  Now we are at the airport.  I wonder where we are going?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/P1020598.jpg

Let's all buckle up.  The airplane is about to take off! 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/P1020603.jpg

Mommy tells us it will be a long flight.  Happily there is a TV at each seat so we can watch movies.  This one is about a piglet called McDull.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/P1020601.jpg

After several movies and some sleep, we are finally here!!  We are in HONG KONG!!  We are so excited as we wait for our lugguage.  This is my second visit but it was three years ago.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/P1020605.jpg

I tell my friends that I will be their tour guide and show them around town.  But I still need a map as it was so long ago.  Let's pick up some brochure and start exploring!!
 
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/P1020607.jpg


tarepanda


Posted Apr 25, 2010, 3:47 am
Today I visit a food market in Mong Kok.  According to the Guiness Record, Mong Kok has the highest density of population in the world!  While there are supermarkets many people still prefer to get their meat and produce at the street markets, where the price is better, the food fresher and the service friendlier.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/P1020826.jpg

This is a soy bean stall.  It sells bean sprouts, tofu, bean curds and other things make from tofu.  When a customer wants to buy tofu, the owner cuts from the big block on the wooden board.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/P1020832.jpg

This one has dried fishes hanging, and bags of dried shrimp and other stuff.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/P1020837.jpg

Ah, something we recognize!!  I spot some broccoli and bok choi!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/P1020840.jpg

The fruit stall has longan, starfruit, dragon fruit (the big red ones) among the bananas, papayas, guavas, mangoes and pears.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/P1020844.jpg
tarepanda


Posted May 1, 2010, 5:52 am
Today I take my TV friends to Tsim Sha Tsui for some dim sum.

We take a double decker bus to get there.  We are travelling along Nathan Road, a very busy main sreet in Kowloon.  It's a bit scary to be sitting so tall.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/P1020846.jpg

The bus has a TV, but a lot of the broadcast is advertising.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/P1020847.jpg

Mmm look at the pictures!  All the dishes look delicious.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/P1020863.jpg

Sorry the food is so tasty we all dive in, and then remember oo late that we forget to take pictures first.  So some of the plates are empty already.  Except for that chicken feet which Blinchick is so scared off!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/P1020857.jpg
tarepanda


Posted May 11, 2010, 3:49 am
Today I am excited that we are going to attend a BookCrossingmeeting.  It is a worldwide group of readers who love to share their books with the world.  Sometimes the members will get together so they can exchange their books.

We have a great time at the meeting.  Everybody brings lots of books so we have plenty to choose from.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/P1020911.jpg

This coffee shop also has Hong Kong's only Official BookCrossing Zone, a very nice bookshelf full of free books that people can take.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/P1030035.jpg
tarepanda


Posted May 11, 2010, 4:22 am
Today we are going to try some Shanghainese food.

One of the most famous food from Shanghai is the Xiao Long Bao.  We are reading the restaurant's placemat, which has a story about this dumpling.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/P1020921.jpg

The dumpling (bao) comes in small bamboo steam basket (xiao long).  Traditionally, pork is used as filling.  Chilled meat gelatin is wrapped inside, so once it heats up, the dumpling is filled with hot, juicy soup.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/P1020927.jpg

We also order some ramen noodles.  Ramen literally means "pulled noodle" and the noodle is made by stretching a round of dough, folding it and pulling again, repeating until you get many strands of noodles.  Sounds easy in theory but takes lots of practice to get noodles that are thin, uniform in width and not broken apart. We can kind of see the chef at work pulling the noodles, but he is working too fast for us to take good pictures.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/P1020967.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/P1020977.jpg

We first enjoy the Za Jiang Mein. (Jajangmyeon in Korean)  It is a popular Northern China dish with minced meat and bean paste on top of noodle.  You can call it a Chinese style spaghetti bolognese.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/P1020923.jpg

Next is the hot & sour noodle, which is noodle in hot and sour soup.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/P1020942.jpg

This is a dish of fried eel, a little crunchy and sweet.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/P1020928.jpg

Turnip pancake.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/P1020930.jpg

And last, something sweet to end the meal.  Steamed buns with a sweet paste.  Usually the paste is made with azuki beans or lotus seed or egg custard.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/P1020974.jpg
tarepanda


Posted May 11, 2010, 2:42 pm
Today we are taking the double decker bus again.  To cross the harbor, we go through the tunnel under the water!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/P1020997.jpg

This is the Wan Chai district on the Hong Kong island side.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/P1030003.jpg

Wan Chai used to be the red light district for American sailors when they stopped by Hong Kong.  Today, while many bars and nightclubs remains, Wan Chai is among the most affluent district in Hong Kong, boosting lots of five star hotels, a government office complex, art center, exhibition hall and restaurants.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/P1030005.jpg

Let's take a group picture by this interesting statue.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/P1030007.jpg

Behind us is the financial district of Hong Kong, the Central.  You can see the tallest building, IFC, to the right, and th Bank of China building (like a cutting blade) on the left, amidst the many highrisers.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/P1030009.jpg

This obilex is a monument commemorating Hong Kong's return to China (after a 99-year lease to England) in 1997.  The handover ceremony was performed here.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/P1030012.jpg

The bauhinia is the city flower of Hong Kong.  At this Golden Bauhinia Square, you can see the flags of China and Hong Kong in the background.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/P1030019.jpg
tarepanda


Posted May 11, 2010, 8:51 pm
Today we are going to see a big Buddha statue.  It is on Lantau Island, the largest island in Hong Kong.  While it was once a hangout for pirates with a few fishing villages, today Lantau is where the airport and Hong Kong Disneyland are located.

After taking the subway, we line up to take a cable car.  Oh this looks scary!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10001.jpg

We have set off!  Look at the buildings! We are so tall!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10007.jpg

They are getting even smaller and smaller!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10017.jpg

There is the airport!  The planes look so tiny!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10011.jpg

We have to go over the sea and the mountain, the little cable car swinging in the wind!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10004.jpg

Look, we are almost there!  Can you see the Buddha statue in the mist?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10032.jpg

We arrive at the Ngong Ping, home of the big Buddha!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10049.jpg

This is not a real village but a collection of shops for tourists.  The buildings are built in the traditional Chinese style.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10042.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10039.jpg

Some of the shops sell Buddhist souvenirs.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10050.jpg

This is a wishing tree.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10054.jpg

We continue on to the monastary.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10059.jpg

The Buddha is just up the stairs!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10068.jpg

It's not easy to make it up the 268 steps with my short legs, and Sniff and Snuff are a lot faster.  The Buddha is 34 metres (112 ft) tall, weighs 250 metric tons, and is among the world's tallest seated Buddha statue.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10073.jpg

Surrounding the Buddha are six small statues: "The Offering of the Six Devas", posed as offering flowers, incense, lamp, ointment, fruit, and music to the Buddha.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10078.jpg

This is the main hall of the monastary.  In front of it is a white statue of Kwan Yin.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10095.jpg

We help mommy's mom make an offering.  First, we have to light the incense.

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People then kneel here to say their prayers.

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I guess the huge joss sticks are for some really big wish!

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The small incense sticks are placed inside the burner.

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Cough! It's very smoky!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10086.jpg

Near the temple is a small tea plantation.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10103.jpg

Further up along the path is the Wisdom Path, where the Heart Sutra is inscribed onto 38 wooden columns arranged in a figure 8 symbolizing eternity.

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http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10109.jpg

Afterwards, we take a bus to Tai O, a small fishing village on the western end of the island.

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Besides fresh fish, they also have dried fish (kind of like a bacalao), scallop, shrimp and other products for sale.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10126.jpg

Oh we find some tofu pudding!  The soft pudding is traditionally stored in a wooden bucket, it's made a bit sweet to be eaten as dessert.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10128.jpg
tarepanda


Posted May 16, 2010, 12:25 am
We have a new TV, Thiele, who just flew in yesterday.  We have been expecting her and actually get kind of worried when she still hasn't shown up.  Turns out she flew to China before finding the correct way here. So glad she's arrived safely.

Today we start off the day by eating some traditional Chinese breakfast. 

Chinese like soybean a lot.  You can drink soy milk, which is a nutritious drink, especially before dairy milk was introduced from the West into the diet.  Just like milk is made into cheese, the soy milk is made into tofu.  If they make it very soft and young, it is like a pudding.  In Northern China, it is usually eaten with soy sauce, salty peanuts, pepper and scallion with a savory flavor.  In Taiwan they like it sweet with beans.  In Hong Kong it's usually sweetened with ginger syrup.  This one looks a bit dark because of the black bean in it.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10212.jpg

Next is rice noodle roll, "cheung fun".  It is made by rolling a sheet of rice pasta.  Sometimes it's eaten plain, with just sauces.  Like what we have now.  The way mommy likes it, with lots of sesame seeds, lots of sesame sauce, and a little soy sauce and hot sauce.  Or you can add beef, shrimp, mushrooms, or other ingredients inside the roll.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10215.jpg

tarepanda


Posted May 16, 2010, 3:39 am
Today we are travelling again.  We wait at the ferry terminal.  Everybody wonders where we will be going.  I know but I am not telling!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10380.jpg

It's time to board the turbojet!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10381.jpg

Goodbye to Hong Kong for now!

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http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10759.jpg

After an hour, we arrive at the new place.  Everything looks a bit different from Hong Kong.  There are signs in language I can't read.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10390.jpg

Mystery solved!  We are in Macau!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10392.jpg
tarepanda


Posted May 20, 2010, 5:16 pm
Today on our way to downtown Macau we pass by the Macau Tower.  You can try the world's highest bungee jump from there.  Well, thanks but no thanks, we hurry by. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10398-1.jpg

First I take them to have a very good breakfast.  We go to a this place, Margaret's, which is very famous for its egg custard tart, nata, as you can imagine from the long line.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10402.jpg

Mmmm... my favorite nata!  I miss it so much when I am in the U.S.!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10406.jpg

We finally get our natas.  They are so delicious, fresh from the oven, with a flaky crust and a creamy warm custard filling slightly burnt on top.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10412.jpg

I think we should have bought more...!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10644-1.jpg

Now we are full, we can do some sight seeing.  We first go to the town square, Largo do Senado.

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From the square we walk up to the most famous landmark of Macau, Ruinas de S. Pablo.  The church, originally built in 1602-1640, was destroyed by fire in 1835.  The facade was left standing alone.  This is a World Heritage site.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10710.jpg

I remember fondly all the shops selling snacks along the street to St. Paul, who also offer generous samples.  Today they have a lot of production going on.  This lady is making sesame candy by rolling the sweet roll in coconut, peanut and sesame, then chopping them into bite size pieces.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10698.jpg

Here she is rolling up little egg pancakes to make phoenix rolls.

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This man is making little almond cookies.  He puts them onto a big bamboo basket then into the oven to roast.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10699.jpg

Here the machine is making dorayaki, a Japanese pastry.  It will be filled with red beans in the center.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10703.jpg

There are also all type of jerkies, made with beef, pork, boar...

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Lots of candies and cookies to choose from!!

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Enough food for now... let's go on more sight seeing!

We pass by this bookstore.  Macau was a Portuguese colony, so the buildings have a European influence, and streets have Portuguese names, even though the residents speak mostly Chinese and English.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10713.jpg

We see some tile paintings showing how Macau looked like when the Portuguese first arrived.

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We now visit Casa de Lou Kau.  Built in 1889 it was the home of Lou Kau, a prominent merchant, and is a showcase of traditional Chinese style mansion.

I imagine old grandpa Lou used to sit here and sipped his tea...

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10715.jpg

And the mother watching from upstairs as the little children played in the courtyard below...  Traditional houses have a courtyard in the center of the house to let in more light and air.

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A beautiful lattice work on the wooden window.

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I wonder if this is where they had dinner.

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This is the family altar, where they would offer incense to the gods and the ancestors.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10729.jpg

Afterwards we stop by the library so mommy can check her emails.  The library is in Holland garden, so named because the Portuguese had a battle with the Dutch here.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10681.jpg

Can you spot us?  Also did you notice the design on the plants?  It's a picture of the St. Paul's ruins which we visited earlier today.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10683.jpg

As Macau is a small place of only less than 30 sq km, people like to get around with mopeds.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10751.jpg
tarepanda


Posted May 20, 2010, 8:07 pm
Macau is famous for its casinos.  It is called Las Vegas of the East, and actually has more gaming revenue than Las Vegas.  Today, we go visit some of the casinos.  We are too young to go inside the casinos but some of the hotels are very pretty inside and worth a visit.

The first one we visit is the City of Dreams.  At the entrance, they have a screen showing an underwater world.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10436.jpg

We walk around but it's mostly shops.

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http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10465.jpg

Next door is the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10451.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10491.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10446.jpg

They have a lot of memorabilia from famous musicians.  Here's something from Elton John.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10493.jpg

Hey Mommy do you know whom these things belonged to? A diamond studded glove!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10492.jpg

tarepanda


Posted May 20, 2010, 8:17 pm
We walk across the street to visit the Venetian.  It's by the same owner of the one in Las Vegas.

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It is so beautiful inside! 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10538.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10522.jpg

They have a huge food court, with a large variety of food: Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, Taiwanese, Macanese, sandwiches, burgers, pastas, dessert and more...

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10513.jpg
tarepanda


Posted May 22, 2010, 4:53 am
Today we go to visit Casas-Museu da Taipa.  They are the restored buildings which were once the residences of Portuguese officials and Macanese families (Portuguese who were born and grew up in Macau) in the early 20th century. 

On the way to the houses, we walk along a small street.  We see a small temple.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10556.jpg

This used to be a firecracker factory, but not anymore.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10561.jpg

Further down the road, there is another temple.  This one is for the bodhisattva Kwan Yin, who is often portrayed as motherly figure like Maria. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10641.jpg

Inside we see a lot of large coils hanging there.  What are they?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10638.jpg

They are incense.  By making them this shape they can burn for a long time.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10642.jpg

We take the stairs up.  The trees lining the steps are over a hundred years old.

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On top of the stairs is a small church, Our lady of Carmel Church.

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Next to the church is a small park, where there is a statue of Luis Vaz De Camoes, the National poet of Portugal. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10615.jpg

There are some exercise equipment in the park.  It looks like gym equipment but it's for outdoors, and it's free!  Since we have been eating so much, it's time to do some exercise!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10636.jpg

Oh, I think I spot the houses we are looking for!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10572.jpg

They are very European looking.  It must be very nice living here.

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On the other side of the lake, we can see the casinos that we visited yesterday.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10578.jpg

This is the typical style of street signs in Macau.  Very elegant and stylish, isn't it?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10596.jpg

Nearby there is a garden.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10610.jpg

It's a beautiful pond with koi fishes and lotus.

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http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10599.jpg




tarepanda


Posted May 31, 2010, 3:37 am
We are back in Hong Kong. 

We go to a department store, and happen to see a man from the Dragon Well village in China talk about tea. 

Here you can see the bags of tea as well as a bamboo tray of harvested leaves that are being dried.

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He is demostrating how they pan fry the tea leaves after they are harvested.  There is a fire under te circular wok, and he keeps stirring and rolling the leaves with his hands.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10786.jpg

Then mommy takes us to try a new dessert, because she knows I like them!! Yay!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10793.jpg

This is Taiwanese shaved ice.  It has become popular in Hong Kong recently.  As you can see it is very pretty, with very thin sheets layered one on top of the other, looks like layers of cream, and is different from the regular shaved ice.  Instead of granular ice crystals, this one is smooth almost like ice cream.  This one is the mango flavor.  It is topped with syrup with cubes of dragon fruit and mango.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10796.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10794.jpg

Mmmmm.... it's so good.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10805.jpg

I want another one, this one is sesame flavor, with red beans.  Delicious but I like mango better.  I wish I can eat this every day!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/TV%20Hong%20Kong/SDC10804.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Jun 1, 2010, 9:49 pm
While we had a really good time in Hong Kong, sadly it's time to leave. 

We are at the airport now.  Good bye Hong Kong!!  I hope I will be back soon.  I sure miss those natas and shaved ice!!

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tarepanda


Posted Jun 12, 2010, 3:50 am
We are now back in Miami!  Today we take Thiele to visit Miami Beach.

First, we go to Lincoln Road.  It's a Pedestrian walkway with shops, restaurants and even performers and street vendors on weekends.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Miami%2010/SDC10918.jpg

We have a bit of lunch sitting outdoors.

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Then we go and visit the Botanical Garden.

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This man looks like he has a bad hair day!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Miami%2010/SDC10934.jpg

It is a beautiful garden with some interesting statues.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Miami%2010/SDC10927.jpg

We help mommy release a BookCrossing book at the garden.  Hope someone will pick it up!

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http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Miami%2010/SDC10937.jpg

One part is arranged as a Japanese garden. 

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I listen to the whisper of the bamboo trees and enjoy a bit of Zen meditation.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Miami%2010/SDC10952.jpg

Not far from the Botanical Garden is the Holocaust Memorial. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Miami%2010/SDC10985.jpg

As we walk around the pond, there are displays with photos about the Holocaust. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Miami%2010/SDC10962.jpg

The photos make me feel very heavy in my heart. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Miami%2010/SDC10957.jpg

We then walk through this tunnel.  The slits on the wall allow sunlight to enter in an interesting pattern.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Miami%2010/SDC10967.jpg

At the end of the tunnel we see this monument.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Miami%2010/SDC10973.jpg

The figures all look like they are suffering in great pain.  It makes us all very emotional. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Miami%2010/SDC10974.jpg

This is a quotation from Anne Frank: "Then in spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart."  When I learn that Anne was a young girl who was killed in the war, I am so sad I want to cry.  I hope there will be no more war like this!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Miami%2010/SDC10979.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Jun 13, 2010, 4:46 am
Today we visit to the Knaus Berry Farm.  It's opened by some Quarkers and the place is only open during winter.  In the summer they return to Pennslyvania.  They are famous for their cinnamon buns and people will drive an hour to come get them. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Miami%2010/SDC11018.jpg

There are strawberries grown from their farm.  Usually strawberry season here is February but because of the cold winter we have them now:

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Miami%2010/SDC11004.jpg

Red and juicy looking!

Here are the cinnamon buns.  It's still early so there is not a line, but later it will extend outside the store.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Miami%2010/SDC11005.jpg

Cinnamon buns, strawberry shake, and some veggies for dinner.  Yummy!  There is no table or chair so we eat in the trunk.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Miami%2010/SDC11020.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Jun 16, 2010, 4:52 am
Today we go down to "The Keys"!!  Florida keys are a chain-like cluster of about 1700 islands in the southeast United States, beginning from 15 miles (24 km)south of Miami.  At the nearest point, the southern tip of Key West is just 94 miles (151 km) from Cuba.  The word "key" comes from the Spanish "Cayo", meaning small island.

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Marathon is located among the "Middle Keys", about 2 hours from Miami.    We arrive at the beach.

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We go there for the dragon boat festival.  Here are the atheletes getting ready!

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Here they are loading up the boat.  The dragon boat is a long boat that seats two paddlers in 10 rows.  The watersport originated in China but is now held in over 50 countries.

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We wave them off with a good luck!

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The beach is really beautiful!!

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It's kind of far out there but can you see the boats racing out on the water?

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On the shore there are some vendors for food as well as arts and crafts.

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After each heat, the racers come to check out their time at the score board.

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What a beautiful day to be out on the Florida beach!! 

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tarepanda


Posted Jun 22, 2010, 4:36 am
Today we go to a hospital!  Don't worry, nobody got hurt.  But we are going to visit some sick sea turtles!  This is a very special hospital in the Florida Keys.  They take care of turtles that are sick.  Thy have a website http://www.turtlehospital.org/

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Look, they even have a turtle ambulance!

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We go to the visitor center first.

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We read some information about sea turtles. 

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These are the shells of the different species of sea turtles.  They are very large animals!!

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We watch a slide show telling us more about sea turtles and why they end up at the hospital. 

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This is the emergency room.  The lady is using a toy to show us what they do when a turtle is delivered to an emergency room.  Did you know that turtles are conscious breathers?  That means that while they are under anaesthesia an assistant has to stand by and pump oxygen into the turtle's lung at regular intervals so it won't suffocate.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/florida/SDC11222.jpg

They have equipment to take digital X Rays of the patients.  Digital is useful because the doctors are volunteers so they are not at the hospital all the time.  Now they can view the digital image from where they are and give diagnosis quickly.  These x rays show that the turtle has a fishing hook in the stomach!  Ouch, that must really hurt.

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Next we walk over to visit the patients.  First we go to the ICU where each patient has his own room, er, pool.

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We meet Kentucky.  She has been biten by a shark but is lucky enough to live to tell the tale!  (you can read more of her story at http://www.turtlehospital.org/blog/?m=201004)

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Here you can see clearly the shark bites on her shell.  She is so excited to see us, I guess she never tires of retelling her adventure!

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This turtle suffers the bubble butt syndrome.  This happens when a motor boat hits the turtle so hard that the shell is misshapened.  An air bubble forms inside the shell.  This is a problem as the turtle can no longer sink below water, meaning that he cannot find food or shelter from predators.  The doctors have not found a cure yet, but they put a weight on the shell so the turtle can sink below the surface.  However, as the turtle grow, the old plates on the shell fall off, so the weight is not a permanent solution.  The turtles will thus have to spend the rest of their lives in the sanctuary.

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Here is another turtle recuperating.  You can see that on her flippers there are some scars.  She has tumor but it has been removed.

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This is Romeo.  He's a baby but sadly has lost a flipper already!! 

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This is Joe.  He was born without one flipper then got another one bitten off by a predator.  But we are told that Joe seems to swim around pretty well with just two flippers so they may release him into the wild.

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Isn't he a beautiful turtle?

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Besides the individual Intensive Care Units, there are two big pools.  It used to be a swimming pool of a hotel.  The pool gets water from the sea outside.  Here lives the turtles who are soon to be released back to the wild as well as those permanent residents.

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We are given some pellets to feed the turtles.  Unfortunately mommy host cannot manage holding the feed and us and the camera (she needs another flipper -- I mean hand) so there is no picture.  She says she doesn't want to feed us to the turtles by mistake. 

I am really glad to vist the hospital.  It's nice knowing that the injured turtles are well cared for.  We hope that all the sea turtles will recover soon.  We also hope that humans will stop throwing garbage into the sea, respect slow boat zone, so that the turtles will have a easier life. 

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We save the band for souvenir. 

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Afterwards we have lunch.  We sit outside so we can enjoy the breeze and the view.

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We have a fish rueben and a basket of fish and chips.  Delicious!!

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tarepanda


Posted Jul 8, 2010, 3:52 am
Today we go to South Beach to attend the Hands Across The Sand event http://www.handsacrossthesand.com/.  It is an event where world wide people join hands at beaches on June 26 12pm local time to protest off shore oil drilling and to bring awareness to alternative energy sources and conservation. 

As usual in Florida, it's a beautiful day at the beach. 

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It will most certainly be tragic if this lovely beach is spoiled by oil spills.

Look someone are playing mahjong on the beach!

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This guy is selling coconut.  He cuts it open so people can drink the juice.

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Over 2000 people show up today.  Some carry signs.

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People are chanting "Drilling means spilling!" "Spilling means killing!"

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Some helicopters fly by.  We think they are the news crew so everybody waves at them.

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Everybody lines up and hold hands!  The line stretches over 13 blocks.

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Yay we are part of the group too!  The people especially welcome Thiele, who is a pelican.  Thiele wants to make sure no oil ruins her pretty feather!

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tarepanda


Posted Aug 20, 2010, 4:27 pm
Weather has been very hot lately so we mostly stay in the house.  Today we decide to try our hands in the kitchen again.  This time I learn to make dumplings.

First we gather the ingredients.  We are making vegetarian dumplings, so we have carrot, tofu, mushroom, woodear, ginger and pickled cabbage.

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We start by chopping up the ingredients into little pieces.

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We mix them all in a bowl and season them with soy sauce, pepper and sugar.

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We put a spoonful into the center of a dumpling wrapper sheet, and then seal the sheet into a dumpling.

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It's not easy wrapping the dumpling, but I think mine is the prettiest. 

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We work hard to get a platetful of dumplings!!

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We boil the dumplings with noodles and vegetables to make a nice bowl of noodle soup!  Doesn't it look delicious?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Miami%2010/SDC11509.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Aug 28, 2010, 3:19 am
Today we are hosting another cooking class!  This class is Vietnamese summer roll.  Perfect for this hot weather!

First we soak the rice vermicelli to make it soft.
 
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Next we cut the carrot into long thin sticks.

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We also have some basil leaves.  It's very important as it adds a nice fragrance.

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We then chop up some nuts.  Usually peanuts are used but we don't have them so we use cashew instead.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Miami%2010/SDC10865.jpg

We prepare the sauce using vinegar, sugar, red peppers and garlic.

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Now we are ready to make the rolls!  First we put the rice wrapper on a big plate.  It's dry so we have to sprinkle some water on it to soften it.

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Next we put some lettuce at the bottom, and put the carrot, vermicelli and basil on top.  Last we sprinkle some nuts on top.

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Now we roll it up neatly.

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It looks very pretty and taste very delicious too!  And it's so easy to make without any cooking involved, perfect for summer!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/Miami%2010/SDC10879.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Sep 8, 2010, 4:53 pm
Mommy's friend gave her a pineapple which he grew in his own garden! 

It's a small and very cute pineapple!

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We chop off the head!  It's a gruesome job but someone has to do it.

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Then cut off the rind and cut them into little pieces!!

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Oh it's so sweet!

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tarepanda


Posted Oct 15, 2010, 3:22 pm
Viva Mexico!!!

Today we celebrate the 200th annivesary of Mexico's Independence Day.  Bicentenario Mexico!!!

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Everywhere is the Mexican flag flying around.

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Adults and kids are all decked out in National costumes.

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There are a lot of food to eat.  THis one is tamale.

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A big bowl of guacamole and salsa!

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We asked but the guy couldn't tell us what fruits they are.

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Now to down the spicy food with some Mexican soda!!

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tarepanda


Posted Nov 7, 2010, 3:57 pm
Today a package arrives at our home.  Is it a new TV friend?

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We hurry to open the box.  Hmmm, some styrofoam, some newspaper...

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And what are these?  There is some noise from inside the little bags?

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Wow, I get quite a scare when we open one of the bags and a little creature crawls out!!

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Mommy explains that this is a hermit crab.  The crab doesn't have a hard exoskeleton to protect its body like normal crabs do, so it finds a shell as a home, and live inside it.  It has to drag its house around when it moves.  What a weird animal!  Glad I am not a hermit crab!

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We name this black and white one Sesame.  Then we let the others out of their bags one by one.  This one must be tired and frightened after the long journey, he stays tucked inside his shell.

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Don't be afraid!  You are home!!  We won't eat you!

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Peek a boo!!  Hello little friend!!  He has a beautiful red color.  This variety is called Strawberry for the vivid color.

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This purple blue one is a Blueberry and he won't let out of the sack!!  Our host laughs that he is clinging to his comfort blanket like Linus in Peanuts.  She cuts out the piece of sack so the crab can hold on to it,

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Now everybody is happy in the new home!

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tarepanda


Posted Apr 1, 2011, 3:37 am
Today I show my friends the west coast of Florida.

This is the house where we stay at... I wish... 

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There is a museum near the park but it's closed.

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Tarpon Springs started out as a sponge village.  The sponge harvesting industry was very profitable in the 1930s, bringing in millions of dollars.  Today most of the sponges are synthetic or imported, so hardly any sponge is harvested here.  Today the town has the largest Greek-American population.

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The trees here are covered with Spanish moss.  Which gives them a very romantic look.

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Or it could be spooky too...

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What a big tree this is!

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We enjoy spending some time in this beautiful park.

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A lot of people comes here to paddle canoes. 

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We watch as mommy and her friends paddle in the bayou.  Wish we can get on the boats too! 

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Well, we did, on land.  Mommy says she doesn't want us to fall into the water.  And her friend says that he saw a shark.  Another friend said she saw a manatee.  Either way, I am a moose, not a sea-moose.

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tarepanda


Posted May 7, 2011, 4:57 am
I am so excited we are travelling again!  And I have some new friends to travel with.  Today we arrive at the airport.  We are all so happy and nervous!

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Are we there yet?  Are we there yet?

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After we arrive, we are all very hungry.  We go to a place called Nando's Peri Peri Chicken.  It's Portuguese style African grilled chicken.  I am not sure what that means... only that it tastes delicious but a bit spicy.

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For dessert, we got some nata pastry.  I am so glad to see them, I remember eating them in Macau.  These are not as good, but still we are very happy.  Yum...

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Then, we arrive at the Union Station train station.  Opened in 1907 it  was a very busy transportation terminal until trains ceased to be the major mode of transportation.  After some disuse, the station was reopened with shops inside and today is again one of the busiest place in Washington.  We come here to join a bus tour of the monuments.

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Our first stop is the Jefferson Memorial.  Thomas Jefferson is
an American Founding Father and the third President of the United States.

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In the background you can see the Washington Monument.

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This is the statue of Jefferson.  On the wall are excerpts from the Declaration of Independence, written in 1776.

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Next we visit the Roosevelt Memorial.  Roosevelt can be said to be the most popular American president because he served president for four terms, a total of 12 years (he died 5 months after his third re-election)!

Hmm, I guess Roosevelt is really popular!!  We couldn't get close to take a nice picture!

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We took a picture with the statue of his dog, Fala.

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This statue represents a man listening to Fireside Chat, a series of broadcast where the president talked to the American people, reassuring them during the war and the Great Depression.

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On the wall is etched part of a speech he gave during WW2:

"I have seen war. I have seen war on land and sea. I have seen blood running from the wounded. I have seen men coughing out their gassed lungs. I have seen the dead in the mud. I have seen cities destroyed. I have seen 200 limping, exhausted men come out of line—the survivors of a regiment of 1,000 that went forward 48 hours before. I have seen children starving. I have seen the agony of mothers and wives. I hate war."

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Hmm, I think he sounds like a nice president. I would vote for him too!

This statue is a relatively recent addition to the memorial park.  It shows Roosevelt in a wheelchair.  His disability was not publicized during his life, but after his death people put up this statue to show that a person is not limited by disability.

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We then visit Lincoln Memorial, built to honor the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln.  The memorial has been the site of many famous speeches, including Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech.

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On the wall is The Gettysburg Address,  delivered by Lincoln during the American Civil War and considered one of the greatest speeches in American history.  It begins with the phrase "Four score and seven years ago."

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Last we visit the Vietnam War Memorial.  It's too dark to take pictures.

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This is the directory listing the names of those who fought in the war.  So sad that so many people perished...

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tarepanda


Posted May 7, 2011, 5:17 pm
Today we go to visit Old Town Alexandria.

We have to take the Metro.  First we need to get a ticket.

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Let's wait for the train.

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Here it comes!

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Let's check the map to make sure we get off the right station.

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Old town Alexandria was first settled in 1749, and is a historic district.

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This is the city hall.

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Across from it, is the Gadsby's Tavern.

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It was built around 1785, and is a U.S. National Historic Landmark.

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What's so special about this place?  George Washington, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were among its customers.  President Andrew Jackson spent the first night of his presidency at the tavern; he sneaked out through a window of the White House because he didn't like the inaugural party, and walked to the Tavern!

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In front of the city hall is the Market Square.  It is believed to be one of the oldest continuously operating marketplace in the United States, (from 1753 until present day) and was once the site of the second-largest slave market in the U.S.  Today it contains a large fountain and extensive landscaping, as well as a farmers' market each Saturday morning.  We released a BookCrossing book at the fountain.

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We walked to the Founders Park.  The riverfront area was called West Point in the early 1700's, and was the first important European settlement along the waterfront, leading to the founding of the town Alexandria.

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Behind us is the Potomac River.

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It's a beautiful walk along the shore.

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We stop by this tree.  It is planted in memory of the daughter of one of mommy's friend.  The 10-year-old girl Becky was killed when riding a bicycle. 

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The Torpedo Factory Art Center is so named because it was, no kidding, the U.S. Naval Torpedo Station during the wars!  When the war ended, the building was eventually given to a group of artists to use as studio.

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It may be hard to believe but we came across some other TVs by chance!!  Their mommy is Swan.  We take a group picture together.

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tarepanda


Posted May 10, 2011, 5:46 pm
Tonight we have dinner at the hotel.  We are here in Washington DC for a special event, the 10th anniversary of BookCrossing!  I am so excited to go to another BC convention.  This is the second one I go to, and the 4th city where I attend a BC meeting. 

I am excited to see an old friend, Ring Bear.  We haven't met since Kansas City two years ago, though I forgot to take a picture together. 

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The organizers and the president talk about how happy we are all here. 

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Even the U.S. President, Obama, is here to celebrate!!

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They make a special cheese platter, arranged to look like Ballycumber, BookCrossing's mascot.

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The participants talk about books while we try to put together the Capitol building (after accidentally taking it down like a Godzilla... and no, it wasn't me!!!)

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tarepanda


Posted May 18, 2011, 4:08 am
Today we visit the National Museum of the American Indian.  It's the newest addition to the National Mall Smithsonian museums.

Outside the museum are some sculptures of tipis, the tents that some tribes live in.  We released a [url=www.bookcrossing.com]BookCrossing[/url] book about Native Americans there.

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Here is a beautiful display of figurines. 

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Here are some metal crafts.

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This is a statue of Pocahontas, I think.

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The first part of the exhibit is Our Universes, and introduces the creation myth and cultural philosophies of different tribes.  It examines the past 500 years of history from a Native point of view.

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Here is a display of ceremonial objects.  Including some corns, animal horns and gourd.

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These are some scary masks!

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But this one is almost cute!

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These are parkas made by Alaska Natives. 

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A beaded doll, boots, and a baby carrier.

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This part of the exhibit Our Lives, focusing on the cultural, social, linguistic and political issues of Native people and communities in the 21st century.

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It talks about issues they face today, such as keeping their traditions.

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There is also an exhibit of contemporary arts created by Native Americans.

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A display of eating utensils outside the restaurant.  The restuarant features a Native-inspired menu that represents five different regions of the Western Hemisphere. Entrées include fire-roasted cedar-planked salmon, buffalo burgers, Indian fry bread, tamales and other dishes.

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Here is an exhibit of watercrafts. 

This one called outrigger canoe is used in Hawaii.  The outrigger float is called the ama, and helps stabilize the boat in wavy conditions.

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This is a canoe made with animal skins.

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This boat is made with some kind of weed or grass.

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We sit inside this kayak.

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This type of totem is typical of Northwestern Native Americans.  Unfortunately we couldn't remember what is the story.  We think it's a squirrel and a coyote...

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We visit the gift shop.  These dreamcatchers will trap bad dreams while letting the good ones pass through.

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These wooden chickens are really cute!

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Little toys made from Pevurian gourds.

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Corn is a popular food of the Native Americans.  Here's some popcorn to enjoy!

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tarepanda


Posted May 19, 2011, 6:04 pm
We left the American Indian museum and continue on to the next one.  The Smithsonian Institution has a total of 19 museums and a zoo, all free entrance to the public.  Many of the museums are in an area called The Mall: Air and Space Museum, American Art Museum, Natural History Museum, Freer Gallery of Art,  African American History and Culture Museum, as well as American History Museum, which we are visiting next.  At both ends of the Mall you can see the Capitol building and the Washington Monument. 

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Continental gunboat Philadelphia is the only surviving gunboat built and manned by American Forces during the Revolutionary War.  It was built and sunk in 1776 (no it didn't live long at all...)

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This is a model of how the boat might look like.

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Next we visit some exhibits about the children of presidents.  This is a toy house built for one of the children. 

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A representation of the streets named after presidents. 

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There is an exhibition about the First Ladies' dresses.  This one was worn by Martha Washington, George Washington's wife in the early 1780s.

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On the left side is  white silk damask evening gown Julia Grant wore in the early 1870s.  The rose-patterned fabric was a gift from the emperor of China.  Lucy Hayes wore the gold damask and cream satin gown displayed on right to the White House New Year’s reception in 1880.

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These are the dresses worn by Hilary Clinton and Laura Bush at their inaugural balls.

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And this pretty white one was worn by Michelle Obama, our current First Lady.

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Next we visit an exhibit about African American slavery.  It's very sad to read about the cruelty they endured.

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American buffalos used to roam the land.  Now they are very reduced in numbers. 

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The museum shows how people lived in the past.  It's a lot of work for small tasks, like washing clothes!!

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This marble statue was sculpted for the centennial of George Washington's birth.  He is considered the father of the country.  The statue was modeled after Greek God Zeus, but unfortunately when it arrived in Washington, DC in 1841, it generated controversy and criticism. Many found the sight of a half-naked Washington offensive, even ridiculous.  In the end, the people decided to just build an obelisk.

Well, I don't find it so awful, but I imagine at that time ladies may faint at the sight of such nudity.

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There's an exhibition about pop up books.  I really like that, the books are so beautifully crafted.

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These open up as stars.

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In the exhibit about transportation, this depicts the first automobile drive across the country in 1903.

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Trains are very important, even today, in transporting goods, as well as people. 

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This is how a school bus used to look like.

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Finally at the basement level is an exhibit of Julia Childs.  She introduced French cooking to the Americans. 

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They moved her kitchen into the museum.

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She had many gadgets in her kitchen, from old fashion mortar and pestle to new electric blender. 

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tarepanda


Posted May 21, 2011, 8:37 pm
Tonight we have dinner at the hotel for the BookCrossing convention. 

We have the organizers explaining what the future plans are, and an author as guest speaker.  Then some members from Ireland come on stage to tell us about next year's convention in Dublin.  Wish I could be there.

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We take a picture with Orange and Wolle, whom we met yesterday.  Orange decides to come with us to visit Florida.  We are so excited! 

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We browse the book buffet.  Of course there are lots of books we want to take!

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At the hotel there is an OBCZ.  I think this is the 7th I've visited!

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tarepanda


Posted May 24, 2011, 1:12 am
Today we go to the National Zoo.  I wonder if I may see some of my moose friends there, but mommy says they don't have moose.

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We release a book about Giant Panda here.

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There are lots of pandas here in the gift shop! 

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We check out the small mammals.  This one is a monkey with a funny face.

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There are lots of little animals like moles, monkeys, porcupines, squirrels and more, but they don't like posting for the camera.

Can you spot the tiger in the cave?  We release a tiger book here too.

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We say hi to a whole family of lions.  Lenny is especially excited.

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We also see a cheetah, the fastest animal on earth.

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This is a praire dog, although it doesn't look a bit like a dog to me. 

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We release a book at this Praire Dog statue.  The book is titled The Blue Fox, but since that part of the exhibit is closed we release it here.  It has been caught!!

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tarepanda


Posted May 28, 2011, 3:26 pm
Such busy days going around sight seeing, it's time to take a break.  Let's sit down for a cup of tea!

We find this tea shop in Georgetown.  Founded in 1751, the city of Georgetown is much older than the establishment of the city of Washington.

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We enter the shop. 

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The decoration is very traditional Chinese.  I don't feel like I am in America at all!

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The shop sells a lot of tea and paraphernalia, like teapots, magazines and more.

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On the shelf are many jars of tea with different names: Dragon Well, Jade Cloud, Golden Needle, Monkey King, Oriental Beauty, Silver Needle, Hairy Crab, Chrysanthemum Oolong... What interesting names!!

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Wow look at all the different tea pots!!  They are handmade with a special clay from China.  Those made by famous artisans can be worth a lot of money.  We want to buy something to add to our collection but don't see anything we really like.

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Let's find a place to sit!

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We read the menu to select our tea.

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Now we wait for the water to boil!

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We ordered a tea called Floating Lantern.  I don't see how it looks like a lantern, but mommy tells me to be patient.

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Look!  After a few minutes, the bud blossoms.  Wow! How beautiful it is! And I have to say it tastes very delicious too!

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tarepanda


Posted May 30, 2011, 6:02 pm
Now on to more sight seeing!

The Old Stone House is the oldest standing building in Washington, D.C. and the last Pre-Revolutionary Colonial building on its original foundation.  The lot was purchased in 1764 for one pound, ten shillings.

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The original house was only one story high but later owner added two more floors.

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The hearth in the kitchen is large enough to heat the whole house.

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The family dined in the dining room on the second floor.  The clock was built in the early 19th century by the owner of the house then. There was a dumbwaiter to transport food from the first floor kitchen to the dining room here.

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On the same floor is the master bedroom.

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We climb up the narrow stairs and reach the third floor, where the children's bedroom is.

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tarepanda


Posted May 31, 2011, 2:51 am
Next we visit Georgetown University.  It's a very famous university.  Found in 1791, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States.  Among its alumni are Bill Clinton, King Abdullah II of Jordan, as well as many royalties and head of government from other countries. 

The main campus is just over 104 acres (0.4 km2).  Healy Hall, built in Flemish Romanesque style from 1877 to 1879, is the architectural gem of Georgetown's campus, and is a National Historic Landmark.

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In the center of the campus is a bronze statue of John Carroll.  He was appointed by Pope Pius VI as the first head of the Roman Catholic Church in America, and is the founder of the university.

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The cherry blossoms on campus are blooming beautifully.

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And my favorite maple leaves too! 

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Completed in 1933, the White-Gravenor Building houses several classrooms, the Georgetown College Dean's Office, The Office of the Undergraduate Admissions and the university registrar.

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Ignatius of Loyola was s Spanish knight and the founder of  the Society of Jesus (Jesuits).

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There is a little pond next to it with some kois inside. 

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Let's sit down and play some chess!

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tarepanda


Posted Jun 7, 2011, 5:11 am
We continue on to walk around town. 

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The cherry blossoms are so beautiful.

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We walk along Pennsylvania Ave. 

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We reach Washington Circle, where you can see a statue of, who else, Washington on a horse.

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This is Renwick Gallery, another Smithsonian art museum.

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This is LaFayette Park, in the center is a statue is President Andrew Jackson.

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In the four corners are statues of foreign Revolutionary War heroes, from France, Poland, and Prussia.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC12830.jpg

This is the White House Press Center.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC12827.jpg

Look here's some white cherry blossoms!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC12831.jpg

This tree looks interesting, like it's growing flowers on the branches!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC12826.jpg

Across from Lafayette Square, on the other side of Pennsylvania Ave, lives a very important person...

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC12845.jpg

Yes, ... the President of United States!!  Hello Obama!! Aloha!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC12838.jpg

Hmm, I guess the secret agents are everywhere.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC12852.jpg

This is the U.S.Treasury Department. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC12856.jpg

And here's the headquarters of the National Geographic Society.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC12862.jpg

The Democratic donkey and Republican elephant.  These two animals are used to represent the two parties in U.S. government.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC12861.jpg

We see this beautiful building but now cannot remember what it is!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC12865.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Jun 14, 2011, 4:45 pm
On the last day of our visit, we go to the National Portrait Gallery and American Art Museum. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC12871.jpg

It's across the street from the International Spy Museum, which sounds very exciting!  Maybe we will visit next time. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC12876.jpg

This cute trolley goes around town.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC12873.jpg

Downtown Heritage Trail is composed of 21 poster-sized signs that gives interesting facts which link the history of the city to the history of the nation. According to this sign, Abraham Lincoln walked right where we are standing now!  The museum used to be the Grand Hall of the Patent Office, where Lincoln’s second inaugural ball was held, and the Office was used as a hospital during civil war.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC12877.jpg

The first section we visit has American folk arts. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC12879.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC12882.jpg

The giraffe is made with bottle caps. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC12883.jpg

Next we visit the protrait museum where different styles of protraits, paintings and sculptures are displayed. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC12890.jpg

They are very famous American writers: Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and.. mmm... we remember it as Poe but can't say for sure. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC12885.jpg

Now this one I recognize! It's Joan of Arc!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC12892.jpg

And these two also!  Previous Presidents Clinton and Bush!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC12895.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Jun 14, 2011, 5:28 pm
After the museum we all feel hungry.  Chinatown is just a few minutes' walk away. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC12898.jpg

At this restaurant, a lady is making dumplings.  She is breaking the dough into small pieces which she then roll flat to use as skin for wrapping the stuffing in. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC12899.jpg

We go in and order pork dumpling, BBQ with rice, and beef noodle.  The noodles are made in house too. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC12901.jpg

Not that we are bragging, but both Snuff and I think that the dumplings are more delicious in Hong Kong.

Afterwards, we have to head to the airport.  I don't want to leave yet, but now it's my turn to show my friends around in Florida! 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC12903.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Jun 22, 2011, 3:44 am
Yippy!!  We are travelling again!  This time we are heading south, to a place called Key West.  The word Key actually comes from Spanish Cayo, which means a small island.  At the southern tip of Florida, there is an archipelago of 4500 islands, and Key West is the westernmost of the inhabited islands.

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After 3 hours of driving, we arrive at Key West!

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Wow looks like the beach is very busy. What's going on?

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Turns out we are here for a event called Key West Paddle Board Classic.  We will paddle 12 miles to circle around the island.

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A lot of people have gathered at the starting point at Smathers Beach already.

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Everybody looks very fit and sun tanned. 

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This is a shop for renting stand up paddleboards.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13012.jpg

There are many different types of boats.  These two are kayak and outrigger canoe.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC12987.jpg

Here are surf ski, kayak, stand up paddle board and stand up kayaks.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC12983.jpg

This one is kind of like your regular rowboat, called a dory, except that it's open at the end so any water entering the boat can drain away easily, and waves can go through without capsizing the boat.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC12980.jpg

Mommy is very excited about this outrigger canoe, because it looks like the one she has at home. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC12979.jpg

Some of her friends are on this 12-men outrigger canoe. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC12974.jpg

As for us, we are riding in this, a dragon boat.  It can sit 20 people.  I am excited!! 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC12961.jpg

Let's take a picture with the dragon!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC12967.jpg

Wow, people are leaving the shore to go to the start line!!  How exciting!  It looks like they are standing on water. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC12995.jpg

The trip around the island is a lot of fun.  We pass through waves and calm water, we see beaches, mangrove, and hotels.  Sadly we do not take too many photos though, because mommy doesn't want to be taking pictures while other people are paddling hard.  We don't want to get thrown out of the boat. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13006.jpg

You can see the finish line behind us.  People stand up there to cheer for the paddlers.  The fastest ones take a little two hours, the slower ones three or even four hours.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13020.jpg

Now the race is over we can sit on the beach and relax!!  I must say it's a beautiful day.  Hey where is my pina colada?

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tarepanda


Posted Jun 22, 2011, 5:02 am
We do a quick tour about Key West before we head home.  Key West is known as the southernmost city in the Continental United States.  A little interesting fact: In 1860 wrecking (salvaging valuables from shipwrecks) made Key West the largest and richest city in Florida and the wealthiest town per capita in the U.S.

This is the Southernmost Hotel.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13028.jpg

We also visit the house of Hemingway.  He wrote several of his novels here, including For Whom the Bell Tolls and The Snows of Kilimanjaro.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13045.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Jul 3, 2011, 12:16 am
It's not easy to say goodbye, but Snuff really need to go home now, even if he doesn't want to.  His mommy is missing him swfully, he has been gone for so long.  So today we go out for a little farewell party.

We come to this Irish restaurant.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC12929.jpg

It's very beautiful inside. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC12924.jpg

There are some old books to add a rustic look to it.  I like places with lots of books!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC12925.jpg

We order some fish and chips. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC12921.jpg

This is an Irish dish called Bangers and Mash.  It has a funny name, I've never tried it before.  It's sausages with mashed potatoes.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC12922.jpg

For dessert we have some bread pudding.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC12928.jpg

Cheers to friendship!!  Travel home safely, our dear friend, we will miss you!  We hope to see you again!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC12926.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Jul 3, 2011, 3:43 am
After a full dinner we feel a bit sleepy, so we decide to stop by Starbucks for a coffee. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC12931.jpg

This is a special Starbucks!  It has a Official BookCrossing Zone there.  Just a few books but we are glad to have a Zone.  I and my new friend Orange are glad to help momm release two books here.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC12933.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Jul 27, 2011, 3:37 pm
Today we receive a package!!  Look at the pretty stamps!  I wonder what's inside?  I'd bet it's books for mommy!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13178.jpg

Sure enough, there's a book.  But there's something else too?  A rat?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/GENO1.jpg

Turns out Genoveva is a BookCrossing toyvoyager too!    Orange and I are very excited.  We give her a warm welcome.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/GENO2.jpg

Very nice of her mommy to send us some wafers!  But I couldn't believe that rat ate half of it!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/GENO3.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/GENO4.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Jul 28, 2011, 2:24 am
Today we help mommy release a book for the [url=www.bookcrossing.com]BookCrossing[/url] Monopoly game.  Her (and Genoveva's mom's) team landed on "square", so they have to release a book by a square.  Mommy said that she knows of a very beautiful square for the book. 

This is the book we will release. The Boy Who Loved Anne Frank.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13052.jpg

We first visit the [url=www.bookcrossing.com]website[/url] to register the book.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13051.jpg

Since weather has been somewhat rainy we put the book in a protective bag.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13053.jpg

Off we go!  Turns out we are going to the Mommy takes us to the Holocaust Memorial.

First we pass by a wall etched with pictures during the war.  It's horrible to look at the pictures and imagine the suffering.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13117.jpg

The main statue of the hand is reflected in the water.  Very beautiful.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13111.jpg

Oh here is the squares my mommy talks about!!  There are slits in the wall so sunlight creates squares of light on the wall. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13133.jpg

We leave the wall in the tunnel.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13132.jpg

This statue is at the end of the tunnel. There is a quote from Anne Frank on the wall.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13131.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Nov 22, 2011, 4:08 am
Today we are helping mommy do another BookCrossing release!

Mommy is playing the BookCrossing Monopoly game.  This round they have to do a restaurant release, as her team landed on a square saying "restaurant". 

First, we have to find a book.  Hmmm... I think we find the perfect book

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13345.jpg

We wrap the book up with a little description of what BookCrossing is.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13347.jpg

Now Bally is all ready it's time to make a Bally roll!  We use a white towel and some paper.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13350.jpg

Tada!  Bally is ready to roll!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13367.jpg

We visit this place called Ozzi Sushi.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13370.jpg

This is a kaitenzushi, which means that they have sushi going around the table and you select what you like, instead of ordering with the waitress or chef.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13164.jpg

The sushi plates pass by us on little wooden boats.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13143.jpg

Yum yum... they are pretty tasty. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13158.jpg

The plates are in different colors, indicating how much each costs.  The waitress does not take away the plates; when you are done, they come by and calculate how many plates you eat and how much you pay.  Um, looks like I ate a lot already!

This is a very pretty pink roll with strawberry inside!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13161-1.jpg

Bally and us enjoyed a farewell dinner together.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13377.jpg

Bon voyage!!  Travel well, Bally, hope you find some new friends!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13381.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Jan 8, 2012, 4:54 am
We travel with Mommy to Tampa, which is on the west coast of Central Florida, to watch an international dragon boat race.

Look here are some athletes ready to get on the boats.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13253.jpg

And some getting off after a race.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13264.jpg

Looks like the Germans win the race, they look so excited!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13267.jpg

We visit a friend's VIP guest suite so we can get a full view of the race.

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Looks like this is the mascot of the race.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13274.jpg

We go inside the athlete area.  There is a kiosk selling smoothies.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13278.jpg

There are some stores too.  This one is selling exercise machine.  I suppose the athletes have to work out a lot on them.  We want to try it but decide that we will look too bad compare to all the national teams here...

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13280.jpg

This one sells paddles.  Mommy explains that while a regular wooden paddle sells for about $40, serious paddlers usually use a carbon fiber one that costs over $200.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13284.jpg

This booth is selling souvenir t-shirts. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13288.jpg

There is also an exhibit about the history of dragon boats.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13294.jpg

This is an ancient drawing from China, showing a very fancy boat.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13298.jpg

There is even a dragon boat magazine.  Wow, Prince Henry and Kate are on the cover.  Kate is into dragon boating too, but she was asked to discontinue it, as it makes security real difficult.  Or so we were told.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13308.jpg

We enter the athlete village, where the paddlers rest between races.  Each country has her own room.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13300.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13238.jpg

Looks like the Brits are stretching out to get ready!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13305.jpg

And the Germans too! Lenny Lion and Genoveva fight over who will win.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13289.jpg

I wonder which country will go home with all the cups?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13313.jpg

We visit the Hong Kong team.  They have won a plaque.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13310.jpg

We watch the awards ceremony.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13327.jpg

Trinidad and Tobago has won a few medals for her youth division.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13322.jpg

The Canadians sweep the most medals.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13329.jpg

We also take a picture with the Macau team.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13242.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Feb 9, 2012, 8:38 pm
Today we go to celebrate Oktoberfest with Genoveva who is getting a bit homesick.  The event is organized by the German American Club.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13520.jpg

Hey do we feel very much like in Germany now?  It's the Neuschwanstein Castle.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13530.jpg

There is a band playing.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13532.jpg

Feeling a bit hungry we decide to check out the menu.  Genoveva is very nice in translating for us.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13514.jpg

They have samples to show us what the food are like.  Though Genoveva tells us that the food she and her mom make look a lot nicer than this.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13513.jpg

And of course we want some beer!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13516.jpg

Oh dessert!! There is the German chocolate cake, which turns out is not originated in Germany (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_chocolate_cake), and the Black Forest cake, which is. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13527.jpg

Looks like these are candies from Germany.  Genoveva gets all nostalgic over them.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13522.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13521.jpg

Okay now to find a spot to sit down.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13525.jpg

Guten Appetit!  Hey looks like we get a very thirsty fish here!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13526.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Feb 9, 2012, 9:35 pm
Today mommy makes a Chinese noodle dish.  It's called Dan Dan noodle, with a spicy sesame sauce and very easy to make.

First we minced up the garlic, and preserved mustard stem.  If you don't have that, you can use carrot or turnip.  It lends some crunchiness and flavor.  Normally minced pork is used but we use the vegetarian substitute here.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13493.jpg

Next we stir fry the ingredients in the pan.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13497.jpg

Now we put the noodle to boil.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13504.jpg

While waiting for the noodle, we prepare the sauce.  We use chili sauce, soy sauce, peanut butter, vinegar, sesame paste and sesame oil.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13500.jpg

We mix everything into a smooth paste.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13502.jpg

The noodle is ready.  We put the stir-fried mix, along with some crushed peanuts and scallion, on top.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13506.jpg

We add a little hot water to the paste to make a broth, and add it to the bowl.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13508.jpg

Doesn't it look delicious?  This one is made mild, as you can hardly see any red chili oil floating on top.
tarepanda


Posted Feb 10, 2012, 4:22 am
Mommy likes to read and is a member of  BookCrossing.  (So are the mommies of my TV friends, Genoveva and Orange.) Right now, my host is playing a BookCrossing monopoly game, she and Genoveva's mom is on the same team, and today we are going to do another release!

We plan to do a Yellow Release.  We are visiting some food trucks. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13704.jpg

This truck is called 90 Miles.  The name comes from a monument in Key West, the southern most city in continental U.S., that says 90 Miles to Cuba.  This truck sells Cuban food.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13713.jpg

While I am curious to try Cuban food, Bally the Bookcrossing mascot drags us to another truck called  Yellow Submarine.

[http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13716.jpg

Bally shows us the menu... the yellow sub looks good.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13710.jpg

We place our order.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13720.jpg

The hotdog has chopped pineapple on top, so it looks yellowish.  it's delicious indeed!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13726.jpg

Afterwards, we help Bally release a yellow book by the truck.  Mission accomplished!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13717.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Feb 27, 2012, 2:44 am
Today we go to the Miami Library Book Sale.  As we all love books we are very excited.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13753.jpg

There are books everywhere!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13755.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13756.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13750.jpg

Look we have some great finds!  Our host usually get a few boxes to last her for releasing the whole year.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13752.jpg 

Afterwards, we go inside the library. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13758.jpg

We go up to the second floor where the audio books are.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13760.jpg

Here we are!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13757.jpg

The library also has computers to use.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13761.jpg

Time to check out!  This is the self service counter where you check out the books by running them through the scanner.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2011/SDC13764.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Mar 25, 2012, 5:49 pm
Today we go with mommy to the Chinese Buddhist Temple to celebrate Chinese New Year.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC13880.jpg

They have some cute monk statues around the building.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC13878.jpg

Look, they hang up a lot of red lanterns so it looks very festive.  Looks like a lot of people are here for the celebration.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC13879.jpg

Near the entrance is a big incense burner.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC13881.jpg

I say a little prayer, make a wish and insert the incense into the burner.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC13896.jpg

It looks very festive inside too!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC13889.jpg

The lanterns are made to look like lotus flowers.  Aren't they beautiful?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC13912.jpg

This is the main hall where the Buddha statue is.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC13890.jpg

We see more of the cute statues.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC13887.jpg

This is a beautiful bronze bell.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC13891.jpg

What are all these little lanterns hanging on the tree?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC13888.jpg

We make a donation and receive a little lantern.  We write our wish for the new year on the attached plate and hang it on the tree.  I hope our wish comes true!!   

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC13918.jpg

It's lunch time!!  We line up in the dining hall to get our food.  At the temple, all food is vegetarian and cooked by volunteers.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC13915.jpg

Yummm... very healthy, and very delicious! 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC13898.jpg

There is a gift shop area. 

They have a big section of books and CDs.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC13913.jpg

Lucky charms, bracelets and more.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC13911.jpg

They have some paper lantern.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC13886.jpg

This is a weird looking puppet.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC13882.jpg

There are many type of food and snacks.  Some of them are home made by volunteers, some are vegetables and fruits donated by farmers and wholesalers, and some of them are imported from Taiwan.  Mommy always get something when she visited the temple. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC13902.jpg

We see a lot of paper strips hanging from the ceiling.  Our host tells us that at Lantern Festival (the last day of New Year, on the 15th day) a popular activity is to play riddles.  Each piece has a riddle on it .  If you know the answer you can take the riddle down and claim a prize.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC13922.jpg

Can you guess the answer to this riddle?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC13921.jpg

Outside the temple they are getting ready for the lion dance.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC13926.jpg

Let's take a picture in the lion's mouth!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC13928.jpg

There is some kung fu performance.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC13951.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC13955.jpg

The drummer's beats quicken.  I wonder what is coming up?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC13960.jpg

Wow look at the dragon!!  It's very lively!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC13961.jpg

Uh oh~!  Looks like it tangles itself up while chasing the ball!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC13965.jpg

Here comes the lions!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC13934.jpg

I try my best to be brave and protect my little rat friend.  I haven't heard of lions eating mooses so I hope they are not starting now.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC13939.jpg

The lions stand up real tall, by having one performer standing on the shoulder of other.  The scroll wishes everybody to be as lively and strong as dragon and tiger.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC13946.jpg

Now on to some quieter performances. A lady plays the flute.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC13976.jpg

And another does a sword dance.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC13979.jpg

What a fun experience this is!
tarepanda


Posted Apr 14, 2012, 4:49 am
Today we go to Lake Worth for the street painting festival.  It's the largest of its kind in the U.S.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14047.jpg

They close off a few streets and the artists paint on them.  The beginning section is drawn by students.  They may be young but they paint very well.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14051.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14046.jpg

The event goes from Saturday to Sunday.  It takes a lot of hours to paint.

This one is very colorful!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14062.jpg

Hey look!  Here's a painting of Nemo and his friends!  I am so happy!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14068.jpg

Looks like sea turtles is a popular theme.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14067.jpg

This is a manatee, an endangered sea mammal found in Florida.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14085.jpg

And a Florida beach!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14168.jpg

The painter paints his own dog in this one.  The dog model is sitting right next to the picture, enjoying his fame.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14089.jpg

And this man paints his wife.  It's very beautiful.  We debate whether she will be very moved by this or she will complain that he makes her look too fat. : D

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14108.jpg

The artist draws grid on her copy, so she can reproduce it accurately on the street.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14151.jpg

This is so beautiful.  It's a shame to remember that when the festival is over, the art will not remain.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14081.jpg

Besides street painting there are other arts on display too.  This stall sells palm frond art.  Frond is the base of a palm leaf.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14078.jpg

This man is pretending to be a bronze statue.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14158.jpg

There are a lot of reproduction of classics, all nicely done. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14094.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14096.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14152.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14100.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14127.jpg

Here's a picasso!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14161.jpg

Not a classic, but rather an impressionist painting of Darth Vader!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14060.jpg

There are some food booths too in case you get hungry.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14121.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14146.jpg

I guess cigar and fine arts kind of go together...

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14147.jpg

Oh look!  Harry Potter!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14102.jpg

Pussy in Boots!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14143.jpg

Some artists complete their work already while some are still hard at work.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14115.jpg

So many paintings, and they are all simply amazing!  It's hard to imagine how they can accomplish this kneeling or lying on the street! 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14118.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14110.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14135.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14137.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14163.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Apr 30, 2012, 3:10 am
This week we go with mommy to Tarpon Springs, which is on the west coast of central Florida.  The city has the highest percentage of Greek-Americans of any city in the US, beginning back when the first Greek immigrants arrived to this city during the 1880s, hired to work as divers in the growing sponge harvesting industry.

The farmers market is open today, so we go to take a look.

There are lots of vegetables, including local tomatoes and strawberries.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14241.jpg

This stall sells home made jams and peanut butter.  We get some kumquat jam that is excellent.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14236.jpg

The bread looks delicious too!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14237.jpg

That looks yummy... not... yuck!  That's dog biscuit!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14232.jpg

Now this is sounds better - cheese!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14231.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14228.jpg

And the local honey sounds delicious too.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14236.jpg

There are some plants for sale.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14223.jpg

The soap and sachets smells really good.  We pick a jasmine soap and a verbena sachet for the car.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14222.jpg

As for food - needless to say you can go Greek here!  Gyros anyone?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14235.jpg
tarepanda


Posted May 1, 2012, 3:31 am
My guests Genoveva and Sissi are from Germany, and they start to have craving for some some good beer.  So mommy and I went on yelp to scout out some breweries.

Today, we go to a Saint Somewhere Brewery, for a Happy Ending Brunch!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14243.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14245.jpg

Looks like they get some good stuff here!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14248.jpg

This tank is used for boiling the grain.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14253.jpg

This is the fermentation tank.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14250.jpg

Hey look where the bottles come from!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14254.jpg

These beers are ready to be shipped to bars for use on the tap.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14257.jpg

Now time to sit down for a gulp!  They specialize in saison.    The one on the left is orange juice mixed with saison. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14259.jpg

We also enjoy some scrambled egg, potato, empanada and pancake.  What a nice Sunday brunch!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14262.jpg
tarepanda


Posted May 1, 2012, 3:31 am
My guests Genoveva and Sissi are from Germany, and they start to have craving for some some good beer.  So mommy and I went on yelp to scout out some breweries.

Today, we go to a Saint Somewhere Brewery, for a Happy Ending Brunch!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14243.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14245.jpg

Looks like they get some good stuff here!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14248.jpg

This tank is used for boiling the grain.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14253.jpg

This is the fermentation tank.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14250.jpg

Hey look where the bottles come from!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14254.jpg

These beers are ready to be shipped to bars for use on the tap.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14257.jpg

Now time to sit down for a gulp!  They specialize in saison.    The one on the left is orange juice mixed with saison. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14259.jpg

We also enjoy some scrambled egg, potato, empanada and pancake.  What a nice Sunday brunch!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14262.jpg
tarepanda


Posted May 4, 2012, 5:14 pm
Today we go around downtown Tarpon Springs.

We go to the Greek Heritage Museum, which unfortunately is closed.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14279.jpg

We take a stroll around the park next to the museum.  It is nice weather.  The trees have Spanish moss hanging from them, giving them a romantic aura, or a ghastly look, depends on your take.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14283.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14282.jpg

Look there is a little squirrel friend!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14289.jpg

We have a good time at the park.  Wish we packed some picnic!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14291.jpg

This is a monument for His Holiness Bartholomew, arch bishop of Constantinople, who visited in 2006.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14293.jpg

The park is right by the bayou. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14301.jpg

Some days you can see manatee swimming here. We see two, but it's hard to catch them on the camera though, as you don't know when or where they will peek out from the water. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14305.jpg

The bayou leads out to the Gulf of Mexico.  There are several spots for people to unload their motor or man-powered boats, like these outrigger canoes, to go out to the gulf.  Or they can just paddle around inside the bayou and along the waterways leading out to the sea.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14314.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14297.jpg

This house here looks very pretty!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14300.jpg

We walk up to the main street.  This is the St. Nicholas Cathedral.  It is modeled after Hagia Sophia.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14322.jpg

The statue is a memorial for those residents who fought in the wars.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14326.jpg

You can see the Greek flag flying.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14328.jpg

We spot a Greek bakery across the street.  We are not hungry so we will visit another time.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14332.jpg
tarepanda


Posted May 4, 2012, 5:25 pm
This is the room we are staying at.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14370.jpg

The house has a beautiful patio where we can see the sea.  We like to read, use our computer or have our meals here.  The light sea breeze makes it very comfortable.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14360.jpg

What a beautiful place this is! 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14362.jpg

We enjoy watching the sun setting into the sea.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14368.jpg
tarepanda


Posted May 5, 2012, 5:29 am
Boy, we are getting thirsty again!  LOL.  Today we go visit Dunedin Brewery, the oldest microbrewery in Florida.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14356.jpg

The outside looks pretty good, almost like a German beer garden.  Let's see what's inside!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14354.jpg

The brewing tanks here are much bigger than the other one we went to.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC14349.jpg

The inside has a cosy, funky atmosphere which we like immediately.

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Oh, looks like we just missed the performing band.  : (

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We have an apricot peach Ale and a gold ale.  They are both very delicious.  Also ordered some fried cheese curd, chicken wings, and more.  Yummy!

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tarepanda


Posted May 6, 2012, 4:33 am
Today we go visit the Sponge Docks, which is the popular tourist destination in Tarpon Springs.

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We walk along Dodecanese Avenue (named after the Dodecanese Islands of Greece).  There are a lot of Greek restaurants and shops selling sponges and Greek souvenirs.

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This is how a sponge boat looks like.  While a 1894 newspaper article reported that Tarpon Springs did over a million dollars of business a year in the sponge industry, today there is hardly any sponge harvesting done here, due to costs and other factors.

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This statue is a memorial to the divers. 

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Look at all the sponges!  Most of them are imported from where costs are lower.

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It's fun to play hide and seek among the sponges!!

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We find this friendly sea turtle.

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Oh Mommy!  Help!  I am going to be shark dinner!!!

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What a scare!! Now we need some food!

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Gyros is a Greek specialty.  You can see the stacks of pita bread and the roasting meat.

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Yum!  It's so delicious.  The bread is soft and warm, and the tzaziki sauce creamy.

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We also have a Spanakopita, spinach pie, which is very flaky.

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Dessert time!  We go a few doors down to a bakery.

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Look at all the baklava, flans, cookies and more!  My mouth is watering!

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Mommy gets some of my favorite, the diples.  It's a thin waffle rolled up like a tube, with honey drizzled over it. 

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What a fun trip but sadly it's time to go home. 

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We pass the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.  The Travel TV Channel rated the Sunshine Skyway #3 in its special on the "Top 10 Bridges" in the World.

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tarepanda


Posted May 6, 2012, 6:03 am
Today we visit a place called Cauley Square.  This is originally a railroad depot from 1903.  Now, much of that downtown area, with its dozen of buildings, are preserved. 

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The railroad is long gone, except for this little train here.

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We walk around the village.

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Most of the little houses are converted to either shops or restaurants. 

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This weekend there is a Renaissance Festival going on.  Let's check it out!

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What are these colorful things?

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It's a society of glass blowers showing their work.

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There is a booth for pan flute.

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This lady is playing some lovely music on the harp.

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There are many volunteers and workers dressed up in medieval clothings.

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All these clothes look very interesting!

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If you want to, you can go ahead and buy an outfit to join them!

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Reward offered for my head!

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I guess this rocking horse is like what our roller roaster is now!

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These people are educating people about birds of prey.

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Looks like we stumble into the camp of a crusader?

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The sign looks medieval but the food definitely is not!  Ceviche?  Chili cheese fries?  And pray tell what is Peruvian donut?

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Methink'st the medieval lords and knights will be stumped by the drink menu of pina colada and mojito too! 

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tarepanda


Posted May 15, 2012, 3:25 am
Today we go get some bubble tea.  Enough beer for me already! ; )

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The empanadas look very appertizing.

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Look, they have some interesting goods on the shelf too!

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We get the bubble tea with lychee tea.  Bubbles are tapioca balls that are chewy in texture. 

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We want to take more pictures but the owner is not very nice and tell us we can't take pictures.... so we leave.
tarepanda


Posted Jun 1, 2012, 4:39 am
This morning bright and early we go to the airport.  I wonder where we are going?

This is some weird decoration on the wall at the terminal.  I guess they figure Miami is famous for the beach... and fishes too?

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Look, here's our plane!

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Mommy wants to bring everybody but cannot, as this is a work trip, and taking around a bunch of toys will seriously jeopardize her professional image.  LOL.  But she does want some company, so I get to come along.  And Genevona too, because while Mommy doesn't say where we will be going, she says it's a place a rat will really enjoy.  Now, that gets me really curious!

Okay, buckle up!

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We arrive in Atlanta.  But Mommy says we are just changing planes.  So where are we going?

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tarepanda


Posted Jun 3, 2012, 5:04 pm
We arrived at our destination!!  Madison, Wisconsin! 

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Madison is the state capital.  We come here to learn about cheeses.  Wisconsin is the largest cheese producing state in the U.S.; almost a quarter of production comes from here.  In fact, as a a state it produces more cheeses than the country of Italy!!  Needless to say, Genevora is super excited.  No wonder Mommy says she's the best companion. 

On our first day we do a little exploration around town.  It's a beautiful city.

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It feels European in some way.

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Look there are some maple trees!

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And I find these maple keys, they contain the seeds.  I will take some home and hopefully grow a maple tree at home!

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We are going around town w a mission.  We recently hear about a group called Little Free Library.  Being BookCrossers of course we get very excited with places to catch and release books.  Turns out Madison is the HQ of the group.  We decide to go hunt down some of these libraries. 

This one is outside a coffee shop.

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Here's another one.

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We also go and visit the founder.  He's in the picture here (though he doesn't know it!)

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He shows us this beautifully painted library.  It will be dog themed.  We give him a copy of Marley and Me, as we have brought along quite a few books for releasing. 

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We wish that we have a LFL where we live! 
tarepanda


Posted Jun 14, 2012, 5:12 am
Today we start our class at the University of Wisconsin.  The university has a big program on agriculture, including a dairy research center.  While we are excited to be here, my host explain that they may get alarmed about a rat appearing in a cheese plant.  So, we have to hide in her bag some of the time. 

Time to head to school! 

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This used to be the barn where they keep the horses.

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This is the stock pavilion.  In the past, the live stock would be exhibited inside, walking around a center stage.

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This is their library.

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The school has been around for a 150 years.

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Constructed in 1897, this barn is the oldest building on campus.  The design is based on structures in Normandy.

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Throughout the campus, they have these plaques which give information about various important agricultural and scientific discoveries.  This one is about immunity.

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This one is about disease resistant plants.

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This is one of their greenhouses.

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Now we sit quietly for a while learning how cheese is made.

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The university has some cows on campus!  We go to say hi.  As you can see, they are very friendly.

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It's milking time!

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Their milk is used to make ice cream that they sell on campus.  Of course, we decide to go visit.

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According to this plaque, the building is named after Stephen Moulton Babcock, the inventor of the first reliable butterfat content milk test.  Before the test, it's hard to know if people who sold the milk diluted it with water.

They have some cheeses that are made on campus.

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And of course, ice cream!  Look!  They have a mocha flavor!!

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The ice cream is very delicious, and a great price too!

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Hey what does this sign say?

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Look, let's follow the spots!

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Here we are!  Hmmm, can I just jump into the vat?

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tarepanda


Posted Jun 14, 2012, 5:58 pm
Today we go visit some cheesemakers.  We enjoy a scenic ride along the way.

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The houses and barns look very pretty against the green pastures.

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The Green County of Wisconsin is called "Little Switzerland of America", because its rolling green hills reminded Swiss immigrants very much of their homeland, who first came here around 1845 due to economic crisis back home.

We first visit Chalet Cheese Cooperative. They are the only place in the U.S. that makes the stinky limburger cheese.

Here is a formager flipping and rubbing the cheeses.

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Now we watch the production of swiss cheese.  The curd is being stirred in the vat, so the whey will separate and drain out.

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The curds are placed into rectangular molds, then age in the warm room, so that the bacteria can actively produce the gas holes that are characteristic of Swiss cheese.  They are made in squares instead of rounds because most of them are used for slicing for sandwiches.

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Here you can see the holes on the sample the cheesemaker is holding.

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The village of New Glarus was settled in 1845, and named after the Glarus canton of Switzerland.  After 160 years the Swiss heritage is still very visible.  Many Swiss customs are still alive in New Glarus, including the card game Jass, yodeling, and flag tossing.  Many of the buildings are built in the chalet style.

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This is a hotel and restaurant.  We stop by for lunch.

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We tried Spätzle and other dishes.  And some beer from a local brewery.

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Next we visit Emmi Rothkase.  They are part of the Emmi group from Switzerland.

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You can see the aging room where thousands of wheels American gruyere are being aged.  Four robots are used to flip the wheels twice a day. 

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Hmmm, this may be a tasty wheel, they keep sampling from it!

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tarepanda


Posted Jun 15, 2012, 4:40 am
Today we continue to visit more cheesemakers.  We pass by more green pastures and farms.

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Can you see all the wind turbines in the background?

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This is our first destination, Salemville Cheesehouse.

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This cheesehouse is operated by Amish, a group of people who came from Europe in the 18th century to practice their religion.  Today their descendants continue to speak Pennsylvania German in addition to English, and they live a simple way of life shunning modern technologies.   

The cheese house collect milk from 40 farms in the neighborhood, no more than 15 miles away.  Some farms have as few as five cows.  All cows are hand milked, without use of machine or electricity, and delivered to the cheese house in 10 gallon milk cans.  The manager comes to work in a horse and buggy, and spot a large beard to indicate that he is married.

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The Amish people believe deeply in not creating human images and so we are warned many times not to take pictures of them.  So we take pictures of the cheeses instead.  These are cheeses sitting in a salt bath.

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The wheels are pierced so the blue mold can develop.

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I don't usually care for blue cheeses but these are pretty delicious!

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Their crumbled cheese is packed by hand.  In a room, young Amish girls work in a group.  One girl will scope some crumbles into a container, the second will weigh it on a scale and adjust by adding or taking a few crumbles.  After the container is put on, another girl stands by and put labels on the lid one by one from a roll of labels.  Another girl dates the containers and pack them into a box.  At another table, one will cut apart a wheel while other girls hand wrap the pieces.

Next we go to a very different farm. 

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Crave Brothers is formed by four brothers.  One is in charge of growing the crops that feed the cows, one in charge of the herd (they have 1500 cows), one take cares of cheese production and one look after the books.  So, they grow the crop that feed their cows, and the milk are piped to the factory to be made into cheese.  Amazing, isn't it?

Let's go say hi to the cows.

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This is where the calves are kept.

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They are so cute!

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When the calves grow up, they are allowed to roam in the pasture.

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This structure is where they recycle the manure.  Animal waste is a big pollution problem for farms.  Here, they treat their manure.  Enough methane gas is produced to power the farm and factory plus three hundred houses in the area.  The nitrogen extracted is used to fertilize their farm.  The leftover dry matter is used for bedding for the animals.  Their green practice has won them several awards.

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At the cheese plant, the curd are stirred then put into a machine to be stretched.

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The mozzarella balls are coming off the mold!

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Which are then packed into containers.

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What an interesting trip this is! 
tarepanda


Posted Jun 24, 2012, 4:38 am
Today we discover a garden inside the University.

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It looks very beautiful inside.  The tall purple flowers are called allium Mt Everest.

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This is the Iris Garden, with, as the name suggests, many varieties of irises.  Which one is your favorite?

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Next we walk into the Italian Garden.  It's too early yet for the plants to bloom.

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This peony is called Scarlett O'Hara, named after the character in the famous novel Gone With The Wind.

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We see a lot of big leaved plants. This one has a funny name, Big Momma Hosta.

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This one has a prettier name, Angelia Stonecrop.

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Ah, Alpine Lady's Mantle.  What a romantic name!

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Look! The maple leaves are all red.

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Look there is a mandarin duck in the pond!

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I don't know what this is called but it looks like miniature roses.

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These are called Caramel Coral Bell and Blackout Coral Ball.  Curious names!

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Now we enter the rock garden.

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Hey are we in the English garden?

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I have to say this is a pretty garden.

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I am not very good at reading sun dial but my watch says it's time to go to class again!

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tarepanda


Posted Jun 26, 2012, 7:48 pm
Today we visit the Gulfstream Park.  First opened on Wednesday February 1, 1939, it held the first Florida Derby in 1952 and today continue to be an important horse racetrack, and has a casino and shopping area. 

There is no horse racing today, and we cannot go in to see the race track.  But we explore around the place a bit.

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We go around to visit the shops.  There are quite a few shops and restaurants in the complex. 

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The architecture is again very typical Florida style, with the tropical palm trees and Mediterranean influence buildings.

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Look who we bump into!

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tarepanda


Posted Jul 10, 2012, 5:38 pm
Today we go to try out some food trucks.  It is really popular now.  We visit some a few months back when we did a release for the BookCrossing monopoly.

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Let's check them out!  This one sells burgers.

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This one has tacos.

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This one has arepa (corn pancakes) with cheeses.

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Ah we find what we are looking for, Ben and Jerry ice cream!!  It's our host's famous ice cream.  Their truck goes around different cities to give out free ice cream.  Today is its last day in Miami, so we make sure to seek it out and find out where it goes today.

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This year they are promoting frozen yogurt, which is very popular now.  Oh I am feeling hungry already!!

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Hmm what flavor should I pick?

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We get a cup of raspberry frozen yogurt.

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Yumm!

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There are some tables under the shade there!

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We enjoy our fish taco at the table.  The tacos are made with corn tortilla.  We squeeze on a little lime juice and hot sauce. 

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tarepanda


Posted Jul 31, 2012, 4:36 am
Today we visit the Miami History Museum.

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The first exhibit we visit is about Guayabera.  It's a style of shirt that is popular in South and Central America, and has become ubiquitous in Miami as a popular clothing style of the Cuban Americans.

It explains the defining styles of a Guayabera.  It has plaits and four pockets, among other features.

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We find out how the shirt comes to be called a guayabera.  They think that the many pockets are used to store guava.  Hmm.  Wonder if they develop a shirt for oranges and bananas too?

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Over time, the styles evolve somewhat.

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They also make guayabera for women, children and dogs too!!  I wonder what they carry in their pockets?

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Next we go upstairs for a historic tour of South Florida.  AT the stairs, is a flamingo statue dedicated to the Heat Basketball team.

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tarepanda


Posted Aug 9, 2012, 4:15 am
We start from around 8000 BC.  These are fossilized bones of mammoth, mastodon and bison.

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The top one here is the fossilized jaw of a wolf.  The left one is of a jaguar!  I am glad I wasn't here 10000 years ago!

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These are tortoise shells.

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These are arrow heads made by hunters, from the Paleo-Indian age, from (15,000 BC to 7,500 BC).

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They also unearthed a canoe along with a paddle.

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These are different types of tools made from shells.

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These are some potteries.

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These are a collection of beads, pendants and more made from bones and beads, found in South Florida.

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We read about the Miami Circle.

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In 1998 when construction work was done in downtown Miami, they excavated the Miami Circle.  It consists of a perfect circle measuring 38 feet (11.5m) that contain 24 holes or basins cut into the limestone bedrock, on a coastal spit of land, surrounded by a large number of other 'minor' holes.

It is the only known evidence of a prehistoric permanent structure cut into the bedrock in the United States. Estimated to be between 1700 and 2000 years old, it considerably predates other known permanent settlements on the East Coast. It is believed to have been the location of a structure, built by the Tequesta Indians, in what was possibly their capital, at the mouth of Miami River.  Archeaologists do not know for sure what the purpose of the building was, but believe it to be of religious purpose.

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The developer was anxious not to lose this prime real estate, and suggested to relocate the stones, which was faced with much opposition.  He then offered to sell the land to the government for $50 Million, which the latter said they could not afford. Some suggested the Indians to purchase the land for perservation, which was met with sneers: You killed our people and took our land, and now you want us to pay you to buy it back?  Fortunately after many emergency hearings and lawsuits, the site is now preserved as a National Historic Landmark.

These are some artifacts found at the Miami Circle, which ranged from shell-tools and stone axe-heads to human teeth and charcoal from fires. 

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Here's a model of what we imagine life to be like in those days.

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The next part of the exhibit talks about the demise of the Native American culture with the arrival of the Europeans.

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These artifacts were found on Spanish ships wrecked in the 1700s.

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This pistol was made in England around 1715 and recovered from San Jose, wrecked in 1733.

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This beautiful sword is from a Spanish Galleon that was wrecked in a hurricane in 1622, when sailing from Havana to Spain.

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The Spanish also shipped back many of the gold and silver products they found in the new world.

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They are still very beautiful after so many years.

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More sadness to the history, as slaves from Africans were sent to work in America.

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This section is about the Native American culture in South Florida.

This is a typical Seminole dress from the 1890s.

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With the availability of sewing machines in the 1920s, the dress became an increasingly colorful patchwork.

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Picture of the huts they lived in, called a chickee.

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These are some items they traded.  Alligator skins, egret feathers and more.

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Now we find out about the lives of the white pioneers in South Florida.

This is a typical style of house built by them.

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A group picture of the pioneers.

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We read the descriptions about lives back then.

"Will has to stand over me with a brush when I cooked to keep the  mosquitos out of the food."

"Charlie Moore invited us to his place for our first Christmas dinner on Lake Worth.  The piece de resistance of course, was the roasted possum... for all its tastiness, Mother said she preferred turkey."
 
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Guess what this is?  It's a laundry beater.

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And look what kids found when they went fishing in the pioneer days...  I am happy I live in this day and age!

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The pioneer days are too scary!  Let's move on to more modern times.  This is a trolley.

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In the 20s and 30s, there was a trolley line in Miami. 

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Ah, the beach was popular as it is now!

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Here's a picture of a diner in its 60s.

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Pan Am was a big airline that was based in Miami.

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A model of SS Norway, the largest cruise ship in 1980.

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A more modest vessel:  Cubans arriving in Miami on rafts. The five men were the first to arrive in 1979.  In the next year, close to 125,000 Cubans will arrive in South Florida in the Mariel boatlift.

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This is a wooden boat used by Haitians to seek better life in Miami.  Unfortunately, the immigration policy mandates that they be sent back to Haiti.

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Now I learn quite a bit more about the history of South Florida!
tarepanda


Posted Aug 11, 2012, 5:44 am
Today we receive a package.  It doesn't look like books, which is what we get most of the time.  Hello?  Is anybody there?  We hear some noise! 

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Oh wow!  A toyvoyager!  And he is a rat too!  From Germany! Hallo Guten Tag!

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He introduces himself.  His name is Big Foot.  He sure has very big feet, and hands too... And hey why is Genoveva acting so shy and demure all of a sudden?  The two are talking in German.  I wonder what they are up to? 

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tarepanda


Posted Aug 11, 2012, 5:59 am
Today we get another visitor arriving!  Wow!  Looks like this one can't wait to get out.

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Let's give him a hand.

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One... Two... Three!

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A few more...  One... Two... Three!  To the left, a little bit...  yay we get a leg out!

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Our new friend is a giraffe.  His name is Fidibus and he is from Germany too!  Looks like I have to learn some German.  Guten Tag mein neuer Freund!

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Fidibus tells us that because his package was broken, he had to stay somewhere while they fix it and tape it up so he can continue his journey.  Therefore he takes a long time to arrive, and his dad is very worried.  He surely looks tired and hungry.  To cheer him up, Genoveva takes out some German candies to celebrate.  Yay!!

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tarepanda


Posted Aug 26, 2012, 10:49 pm
I am so excited!  We are travelling again!  We arrive at the airport.  Let's check our flight info.

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We are on the airplane now, getting ready to take off!

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Yay we are taking off!

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Woosh, up we fly!

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Look at all the clouds!!

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tarepanda


Posted Aug 27, 2012, 2:14 am
We are in Raleigh, the capital of North Carolina! 

Let's see where we should go today.

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We decide not to wander too far.  We start by exploring the neighborhood.

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We come to a shopping square called Cameron Village.

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The "living wall art" is quite beautiful.

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Here's another one.

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Let's check out the shops.

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Penzey Spices?  A spice shop!  That sounds interesting.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16280.jpg

Wow I didn't know there are so many kind of spices!

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They have some beautiful gift sets too.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16284.jpg

Mmmm this smells really good!

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These hats are very interesting!

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And what a cute doggie made from crepe paper.

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We find a frozen custard shop!  I say it's dessert time!

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The posters say that they use real honey, vanilla and good ingredients to make their frozen custard.  Frozen custard is similar to ice cream, but with more egg yolk and less air in it, so it has a richer, creamier texture.

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See how thick it is?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16291.jpg

Yummy!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16292.jpg

Look this shop turns a cooking wok into an UFO!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16293.jpg

Very interesting sculptures!

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There is an art gallery showcasing local art.

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Ooooh.... a cupcake shop!

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This one, Ten Thousand Villages, sells fair traded handicrafts made by people in other countries. 

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They have a lot of neat things.  We buy a few items.

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It's dinner time.  We stop by a place called David's Dumpling and Noodles Bar. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC15843.jpg

We order a Malaysian curry noodle.  Can you believe they service us extra hot sauce in case the curry is not spicy enough?  No, thank you very much, but moose do not like spicy things. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC15842.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Aug 27, 2012, 3:51 am
There are a lot of these monument plaques around town.  During the civil war, a lot of battles were fought around here. 

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Today we will visit downtown.  Let's wait for the bus.

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Look, the bus is coming!

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We arrive at the main station.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16308.jpg

The City Square is part of the Moore Square Historic District.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16268.jpg

The Moore Square is a park named after Alfred Moore (1755 – 1810), a distinguished North Carolina judge who became a justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16267.jpg

The Big Acorn is a 1,250-pound sculpture honoring Raleigh's title as the "City of Oaks". It is dropped from a crane every New Year's Eve at midnight during the First Night Raleigh celebration.  Hmmm... I better not stand too close to it if I visit then...

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We walk around downtown.  It's very beautiful.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16320.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16310.jpg

Let's see, where should we go first? 

We agree that lunch is first!  :p

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16313.jpg

Hmmm everything sounds so good, what should we get?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16315.jpg

We order this tofu bánh mì, Vietnamese sub.  It looks so delicious.  Mommy is very excited as she likes bánh mì but she cannot find it in Miami, and most places don't have vegetarian option.  It's a big sandwich and super delicious!! 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16318.jpg

Now we are ready for some sight seeing!  Here's the capitol.  The North Carolina State Capitol was completed in 1840

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This statue is Zebulon Baird Vance, an important political figure during the Civil War.  He was once a governor of the state and later U.S. Senator.

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I know this guy!  He is George Washington!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16324.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16325.jpg

Worth Bagley was the first American naval officer killed in the Spanish-American War in 1898, hence the engraving on the monument, First Fallen.

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This is the WWII monument.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16330.jpg

This is Christ Church, established in 1821, the oldest Episcopal congregation in the Raleigh area.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16466.jpg

Isn't this a nice house?  It's the Executive Mansion, where the governor of North Caroline lives.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16470.jpg

It is designated as a U.S. National Register of Historic Place.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16471.jpg

What a pretty home indeed.

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tarepanda


Posted Sep 2, 2012, 4:59 am
Today is another day of sight seeing.  We are going to visit a museum.

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This is not a shark.  It's a magatooth shark, a 42 foot long ancestor of the great white shark! 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16349.jpg

While we cannot make it to the beach, here's a display of how the North Carolina seashore looks like.

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Look, a puffer fish!

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They are not real, but here is a sea turtle nest.  You can see some of  babies have hatched and are trying to crawl their way out of the nest and to the beach. 

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When they grow up they like to eat jellyfish.

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This is the skeleton of a manatee.

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And here is a blue whale.

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and its tail...

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This one looks totally different, and is a sperm whale.  They are very huge animals!!

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This is a eel.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16368.jpg

We walk through a duplicate of the forest in North Carolina.  Oh the owl is so scary!!! even though I know it's not real.

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The beaver is very friendly and invites us to join him for dinner.  But I don' care for chewing wood.

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We learn about endangered animals.

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The passenger pigeon, once numbering over 5 billion, was wiped out in 50 years due to hunting and lost of habitat.  How sad.

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Are they real?  I hope not, but they are!!  Gaaaa!

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I don't know if it's trying to come over to say hi or to eat me!!

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Next we learn about the gemstone and quartz found in North Carolina.

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These are gold nuggets!

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Emerald is North Carolina's gemstone.  It produces more emerald than any other state, and in fact the largest North American emerald crystal ever found was from North Carolina.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16382.jpg

Quartz can be clear.  If they are purplish, they are called amethyst, pink, rose quartz and yellow ones are citrine.

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Now we will go back in time to see some dinosaurs!!

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This egg will make a lot of breakfasts!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16390.jpg

This thescelosaur is special because it is the most complete specimen ever found.  Its skull is uncrushed, and its tendons fossified.  You can also see the heart in this reproduction.  It's the only dinosaur found with the remains of the heart!

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Urgh this guy has a really ugly head.  It is believed that the thick skull is used in battles for territories or courtship.

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This creature is a giant sloth.

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It looks like all prehistoric creatures are very huge. I wonder what my ancestors look like?  Maybe they are 10 meter tall?

This is not a T Rex, but an Acrocanthosaurus.

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The scientists found two sets of fossilized footprints, so they recreated this scene of Acro attacking another dinosaur.

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As the remains were not found, we will likely never know if the dinosaur survived the attack.

It is a fun day.  We press a penny to keep as souvenir.

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tarepanda


Posted Sep 4, 2012, 4:30 am
Today we visit the North Carolina Museum of History. 

Outside the museum there are a few statues.

This gentleman is Frederick Augustus Olds.  He is the founder of the museum. 

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This statue is of a Saura tribe woman.

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Does this look familiar?  It is from Renoir's painting.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16337.jpg

Outside the museum is grown several crops that are important to the state.  The first one is corn.  Corn was a staple of the Native Americans living in the south, and they are usually ground in meal.  Corn is used to make everything from cornbread, grit to whiskey.

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These are sweet sorghum and peanuts.

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Sweet potatoes! 

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And this one is cotton. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16346-1.jpg

At the entrance is Judaculla rock. This petroglyph is NC's best known pre-historic rock art, but the meaning is unknown.  Is it a map, a story, a record of events, or just random painting?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16419.jpg

This is a canoe from almost 3000 years ago, along with a reproduction of paddle and fishing spear.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16420.jpg

This ceramic mug is the earliest surviving complete European style ceramic made in America, made around 1700.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16422.jpg

Settlers from different European countries bring in their influence to lives in America.  The British bring along their love of tea.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16430.jpg

The German, their craft and trade, such as bread baking and woodwork.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16431.jpg

The Africans their farming and maritime skills.

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The Scots and Irish, with their hard working spirit, became pioneers for many land.

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North Carolina is the 12th state of the U.S.

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This is an early version of the American flag, when there were fewer states in the country.

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Old money!  The ten dollar bill is from about 1800!  It must be worth a lot then.

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This is the army uniform from that era.

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This house is the fourth oldest known dwelling in North Carolina, built in 1742.

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The house is very well preserved.  Some of the wooden wall panels, flooring and nails are original!

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Many farmers would distill part of their corn harvest into whiskey, as it fetched more money.  Here you can see a whiskey bottle.  As the still is so small, historians believe that it is used to make brandy.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16449.jpg

Here you can see a loom, and a butter churner, among other items.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16451.jpg

This guy is Giorgio Washington... or rather, this is a Roman style statue of George Washington made by an Italian sculptor.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16454.jpg

We read about gold mining.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16456.jpg

This exhibit is about the American Civil War.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16457.jpg

This is a Confederate Flag that was surrendered in 1865.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16459.jpg

We learn about the major industries in the state.  The first is furniture, a skill brought in by the Germans.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16460.jpg

As there are many cotton plantation here, textile was a big industry.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16461.jpg

Tobacco is another very valuable crop.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16462.jpg

We learn about the country's involvement in the First World War, "The war to end all wars".

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16463.jpg

The Great Depression is a very sad time in history. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16464.jpg

Then we move onto WWII.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16465.jpg

Today we decide that we should try some dish that NC is famous for: barbecue.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16473.jpg

First, they bring us some fried pork skin, and hushpuppies.  Hushpuppies are basically fried dough made from cornmeal.  The funny name comes from the way cooks or fishermen rolled some cornmeal mix into balls, fried them and fed them to the dogs to "hush the puppies".  The pork skin is a little salty, and very crunchy.

We also get some iced tea, in Southern U.S. they make it VERY sweet.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16476.jpg

Our food arrives.  It's barbecue ribs, that has been smoked for several hours.  For side dish we have collard greens as well as beans with corn.  Everything is very typical Southern U.S.  Not very healthy food, but delicious!
tarepanda


Posted Oct 21, 2012, 4:20 am
Today I am taking my new TV friends to Miami Beach.  We pass by W Hotel.  Guess who we meet?

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Dear Hello Kitty!  I am so excited because she is very famous.  But why is she crying buckets of tears?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16596.jpg

Miffy has taken her 5th amendment and won't tell me why...

We take a group picture with My Melody.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16598.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Oct 23, 2012, 2:20 am
After such nice sunny days it has gotten rainy.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16699.jpg

We watch the news.  A hurricane is coming!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16713.jpg

Looks like it may be heading to Florida. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16703.jpg

Weather in the island of Key West, the southernmost part of Florida, is deterioting, as the reporter tells us. But looks like people in Key West are true party-goers.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16708.jpg

Mommy decides to put up the shutters.  We give them our help.  The metal shutters prevent projectiles by the wine from breaking the windows and causing major damage to the house.  Many houses are installed with shutters or if they don't people nail up wooden boards, which are not as strong but cheaper.

Besides the shutters, we also need to buy extra water and food, in case the water supply gets contaminated or the electricity is down.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16748.jpg

After we put up the shutters the weather calms a bit.  It's not that the hurricane is over, but the bad weather comes in bands.  We decide to go around the neighborhood for a look. 

This house looks prepared!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16730.jpg

This one too.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16734.jpg

Looks like this owner takes a break while installing the garage shutters. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16741.jpg

Even though there is no rain the wind is rather strong.  We better head home before it gets bad.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16742.jpg

I hope we are safe and the hurricane will pass soon.

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tarepanda


Posted Oct 26, 2012, 7:43 pm
Tonight we go and visit a chocolatier.  We get to see how chocolates are made and make some ourselves!  How exciting, I have a wish fulfilled!

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This is a cacao tree, where the cacao bean comes from.  As here is not the best weather to grow it it is a little sad looking.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/SDC16674.jpg

This is the machine where they melt and pull the chocolate.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/SDC16667.jpg

This one is for making white chocolate. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/SDC16658.jpg

The owner gave us a brief introduction about how chocolate is made.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/SDC16664.jpg

We dip marshmallows, pretzels and strawberries into chocolate and sprinkles. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/SDC16668.jpg

After the chocolate squares are made, they are pressed onto a transfer sheet where a pattern is printed.  The pattern is thus transferred onto the chocolate.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/SDC16661.jpg

I thought someone painted them by hand!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/SDC16650.jpg

Wow. Look at all the varieties.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/SDC16670.jpg

The gift baskets look very nice.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/SDC16673.jpg

The chocolatier makes a lot of chocolate in different shapes for different occasions.

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http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/SDC16679.jpg

To make lollipops, we pick from one of the moulds here.  We paint color onto the mould then pour chocolate in, then set the skewer in.

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This is how the lollipops get such wonderful colors.

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We get to take everything home to enjoy!

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tarepanda


Posted Oct 31, 2012, 3:07 pm
Today we decide to make some laksa noodle.  It's a noodle dish that is popular in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.

First we help clean the bean sprout and trim the tails off. It is quite a bit of work but makes it taste better.

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We cut up some chick'n - that is vegetarian chicken.  Usually a laska noodle has shrimp and other ingredients too, but we are just making it simple with whatever we have on hand.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16688.jpg

Meanwhile, we cook the noodles.  It's some white rice noodle we bought at a Vietnamese grocery store and comes in little bundle tied with a bamboo straw. 

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We fried some garlic slices and set it aside.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16690.jpg

Now we cook the onion with some curry paste.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16691.jpg

Then add the chick'n in.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16692.jpg

We add the broth, as well as other seasonings.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16693.jpg

It's almost ready!  We put the noodle and bean sprout into a bowl.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16694.jpg

Now add the onion, chick'n and broth.  Sprinkle the garlic on top. Mmm mmm, it looks delicious!  And sure tastes so too!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16695.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Oct 31, 2012, 3:53 pm
Wow today we go to the airport. 

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We are strapped to our seat as the plane takes off.  Everybody is curious where we are going.  But he he I am not going to tell, even though I know.  When mommy packs big suitcases I know where we will be, and it'll be a nice surprise for my friends. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16821.jpg

I am so excited.  It's so beautiful, the clouds.  It feels like you can walk on them.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16823.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Oct 31, 2012, 4:01 pm
We arrive in a place called Newark.  But that's not our destination.  Now we check for our next flight.

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Here's our next plane.  It looks really big because we are flying far, far, away.

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tarepanda


Posted Oct 31, 2012, 4:23 pm
It was a long flight indeed though I slept very well. 

We have landed in Hong Kong.  All my friends are very excited.  Especially Sweetie, she has been wanting to visit China.

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tarepanda


Posted Nov 20, 2012, 5:40 am
Today we first have another round of dim sum for lunch.  Then we go to Causeway Bay.

Causeway Bay is a very busy district for shopping and eating.  This big ad of sushi makes me hungry!

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This is Sogo, a Japanese department store. 

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They have a Forever 21 here too!

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The boards behind us are about Fa Lun Kung, a cult that is banned in China.  However, as Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Zone, people can protest over here, whereas if they do the same in they will certainly get arrested.

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We see a food stall where people are enjoying kebabs of different types of meats and veggies.

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This is a tram.  It's the slowest and cheapest mode of transportation in Hong Kong, after walking (which is jokingly called bus number 11 here.)

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This shopping center is called Times Square.  It has shops on 9 levels and restaurants on the higher. 

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We continue on the street.

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And find the place we are looking for.

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We come here to check out the Official BookCrossing Zone.
It's the only OBCZ in Hong Kong, where people can take and leave books.  Mommy is a BookCrosser so she brings some books here to release.  The books have IDs like we toys do, so the person who finds it can journal its travelling and comment on the book. 

We bring a bunch of books to release!

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It has a nice bookshelf.

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We even find some books in German for my friends.

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Look, we find a card on the shelf.  It is addressed to us?

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Hmm there is a card inside!

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It is from the owner, thanking us for visiting and letting us know we are welcome to enjoy the books.  How very nice.

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Afterwards, mommy takes us to have shaved snow.  I am excited because I haven't had one for a long time, as they can't be found in Miami. 

We receive the menu.  This is a dessert shop (quite common in Hong Kong) so they only serve desserts.  I am liking their menu already.

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So many to choose from!

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The shaved snow or snow ice is a cross between ice cream and shaved ice.  Instead of plain ice, the ice blocks are made with juice, fruit or other flavors and then shaved into thin ribbons like wood shaving.

This one is green tea flavor with red beans, coco jelly, condensed milk and tapioca.  It is pretty and delicious, melting like fluffy ice cream in my mouth!

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tarepanda


Posted Nov 24, 2012, 3:33 am
Today we are back in the Tsim Sha Tsui area.

We enter the shopping center.  Here is a nice view of the harbour.  You can see the ferry terminal.  The ferry connects people between the Kowloon peninsula and the Hong Kong Island.  Before underground tunnels were built this was the only way to travel.

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We check out some of the shops.  This one sells teaware.

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Look at these cute turtle bread!  I want one!

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Mommy is taking us to see an exhibition.  What is this?

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It is a celebration of 100 Years Before Birth of Doraemon.  What does it mean?

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Doraemon is a very popular manga and anime character from Japan.  Nobita is a Japanese boy who has bad grades, bad in sports and gets bullied all the time.  His great-great-grand-son sends a robot cat, Doraemon, back from the future in hope that it can help Nobita be more successful and so his descendants lead a better life.  Doraemon has lots of gadgets from the future to help.  The manga is popular in Asia for decades, and in 2002, Doraemon was featured along Aung San Suu Kyi and Hamid Karzai as one of the 22 heroes featured in a special edition of Time Magazine on Asian Heroes. 

The robot cat is supposed to be born in 2112, so this year marks his 100th pre-birthday.  To celebrate there is a big exhibition going on.

This is Doraemon.  There is a whole army of Doraemon statues, each with a different gadget.  Doraemon stores all his gadget inside his pocket.

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This is Doraemon and mini-Dora.

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This is one gadget that our host remembers fondly she wanted as a kid.  Memory Bread.  You press the bread onto the book and the words get imprinted onto the bread.  Then you eat it and you will remember everything printed on the bread.  But when Nobita eats too much memory bread before the exam, he gets sick and has to go to the toilet, ends up remembering nothing at all.  (So the moral of the story is, children, you just have to study hard, there is no short cut. Though our host is quite sure that if she had the bread she will not over eat.)

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But she forgets what most of these gadgets are.

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This Mood Band can change your mood by the music it plays.

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This purse allows you to pull out things you leave elsewhere.

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Be careful! If the ink hits you, everybody will dislike you.

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This angel will lead where you wants to go.  But she hates detour!

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This is the fashion camera.  You insert a picture of clothes into the camera, then click, and you'll be wearing that set of clothes!

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This is a season can.  You open the can and the weather around you will change to whatever is labeled on the can.

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Dorayaki is Doraemon's favorite bun.

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These power gloves let you become very strong when you put them on.

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This helps steer you on the right way.

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This lamp has a genie inside, but of course your wishes don't quite come up as you expect.

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Feeding this Momotaro bun to an animal will turn it into an obedient pet immediately.

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Put this on the ground and it will turn into a trap.

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The bamboo horse is a fast horse if you can master it.  The bird mouth will make true whatever you say, even if it's a lie.

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This magic leaf allows a dog to perform magic.

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There are a hundred of these statues.

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There is also a cafe.

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This is a scene of Nobita marrying the girl he likes.  Guess he grows up to be a better man.

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tarepanda


Posted Dec 2, 2012, 4:33 am
Yay today we go visit Victoria Peak.  Usually referred to as The Peak, it is the highest mountain on Hong Kong Island at  552 m. 

In the early days of the colony, the peak attracted European residents for its cooler climate and panoramic view.  The sixth governor had his residence built here in 1868.  In those days they are carried up the hill in sedans. 

Hmmm, nice view indeed!  You can see the tall buildings on Hong Kong Island, the Victoria harbor, and the Kowloon Peninsula from afar.  To the left is IFC, the tallest building in Hong Kong.  The one near the center, with crosses on it, is the Bank of China, at one time the city's tallest building. 

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The little red house used to be home for engineers working on the Peak Tramway. It was rebuilt in 1901 as a stop area for sedan chairs, but re-opened as a restaurant from 1947 on.

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In 1888 the funicular tram started service. 

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This is the Peak Tower, a shopping and entertainment center.

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You can take a peek of the reservoir through the trees. 

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As Hong Kong is famous for its shopping, naturally there will be shops here.  The focus is on Hong Kong style products and brands.

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Panda t shirts.

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This photo shows a common style of buildings in the 60s and 70s.  With people living in crowded small units (they still do, but the buildings look nicer now.)

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This is how mailboxes used to look, all lined up on the ground floor for mail to be delivered.

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This is a model of a tram. 

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This pastry shop sells popular Hong Kong pastries like the egg tart.

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Maneki Neko is imported from Japan but very popular here, as it's supposed to bring good luck.  Different colors represent bringing in various things like luck, money, love, health, etc.

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This twin set of bracelets is called dragon and phoenix bangles.  In Chinese custom, a bride will wear a set of such bangles on her wedding day.  Most brides don't wear bangles this thick as it will be too expensive, as the bangles are usually made with real gold.  Unlike stores in the West, jewelry stores here sell their gold by weight and the price will fluctuate according to the price of gold. Mommy has a pair too.

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These are cards for tourists, with popular names written in Chinese.

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Lots of souvenir shopping again.

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This is a shop that specializes in embroideries on shoes.

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I like the panda one.

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Hmm hmm, very beautiful.

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This Two Girls brand is the first local cosmetic brand, selling Florida Water, Face Cream and Hair Oil since 1898.

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This is their products.  Very cute packaging.

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tarepanda


Posted Dec 3, 2012, 9:30 pm
Today Genoveva and I go to the BookCrossing Meetup in Hong Kong.  I am real excited to.  I have been to the meetup before so I look forward to seeing my friends again! 

We go to a coffee shop to enjoy some afternoon tea.  Yum... the cakes look delicious!

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After we got kicked out of the coffee shop, we went to the hotel lobby to continue chatting.  We also exchange some books. 

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tarepanda


Posted Dec 5, 2012, 4:07 am
Today we go to Causeway Bay.  We are hungry!  Let's eat lunch first.  How about some Japanese ramen. 

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This place is called "Ippudo", meaning "one wind hall." It is a Japanese noodle chain that also has stores in New York, Singapore, Sydney, Seoul, and Hong Kong.

Let's look at the menu. 

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Hmmm which one should we get?

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These are the condiments.  They have pickled ginger, soy sauce, chili pepper, chili oil and sesame.  See the wall?  They decorate it with cakes of noodles.

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Our noodle arrives along with a side order of hot spring egg.  Hot spring egg originated by cooking eggs in a hot spring.  The water is warm enough to cook the yolk semi-soft but leaving the egg white soft and custardy.  We never tried this type of egg before and it's very delicious! 

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Now we are full, we will do some shopping.  We come to this new shopping center, Hysan Place.

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It looks very beautiful.

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Look at this shoe made of flowers!

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Shops here look very trendy indeed.

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We visit Eslite bookstore inside the mall.  It is the largest bookstore in Taiwan, and this branch, opened in August, is the largest bookstore in Hong Kong with over 100,000 books.

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It has a nice variation of books.  On the left is a book from a Taiwanese author.  In the center is a Japanese translated book about Cooking and Art.  Then to the right is a book by Anthony Bourdain, a celebrity chef from America.

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Let's check out the bestsellers.

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I find a copy of The Life of Pi in Chinese!

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And this one!

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Looks like Young Adult Paranormal is very popular here too.

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Oh I totally love this cover of Un Lon Don, one of our host's favorite books. 

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This section is dedicated to the best Hong Kong literature writers.

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They also have a nice tea shop inside too.

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Check out the restroom!  Even the sign is done so stylishly.

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See the lights? This is a cool restroom!

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Is it time for some afternoon snack?  Hmmm... I like these restaurant directories.

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This is a French patisserie.  They specialize in macaroons and make them in some very Asian flavors like oolong, jasmine, lychee and sesame.

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We also get a chocolate mousse because we want the ramekin. Delicious!   

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tarepanda


Posted Dec 5, 2012, 5:41 pm
Sweetie really want to see a temple, so today we are going to visit one!!

Wong Tai Sin is a deity in Taoism.  Wong as a mortal lived around 3-4th century CE, he was a shepherd since 8 but when he was 15 he met an immortal in the mountains and started practising Taoism.  His fame spreaded in Hong Kong when numerous cures were attributed to him during a plague in the area in 1894.  It was said that during the WWII, the Japanese tried to demolish the temple several times but there were always some miraculous intervention.

Today, the temple is among the most popular in Hong Kong.  People come here to pray for cure, for success at work and school, and for love.

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We come to the first gate.

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This is a protector of the temple.

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Oh, we see some statues of the twelve animals from the Zodiac signs.

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I can recognize the dragon and the rabbit.

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and the rooster.

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Mr. Piggy is here too!

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The goat, the horse,

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and the rat.

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Now we pass the main gate.

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There are some dragon cravings on here and this gate is modeled after the similar ones in Forbidden City.

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We come to the main altar.  It's very colorful!

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Along the side are craved stone pillars.

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We spot a fairy

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a general

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and a man on a tiger!  They are all fairies in the Taoism mythology.

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A lot of people, young and old, male and female, come to say prayer and give thanks by offering incense.

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You can get your fortune told here.  It's reputed to be very accurate.  Every New Year's Day, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong will come here to get the fortune told.  First you get a bamboo jar full of thin bamboo sticks.  The sticks are numbered 1 to 100.

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You can see the ladies here asking for their fortune.  You kneel down, say your prayer and specify what you want to know.  Like will I marry who-and-who?  Will I get into university?  Will I get a promotion?  When will I have a baby?  Then you shake the jar until a stick falls out.

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The number on the stick refers to an oracle.  You can get a copy of the oracle here. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC17584.jpg

You can read the oracle and its notes to interpret your fortune.  Or if you like, you can find someone to explain it in detail.

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On the side of the main altar are shrines for minor deities.  This one is for the God of Fortune.

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The God of Medicine

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And this old couple is the God of the Land.  They protect your home and bring blissfulness.

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Here is the Three Saints Hall.

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Hmm, a very fancy office!

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The Door to the Confuscius Hall.

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And guarding it a scary lion!

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Look how beautiful the ceiling is!

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This is the Confucius Hall.

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Now we visit the Good Wish Garden by passing through this circular door.

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Oh wow this is so beautiful!! 

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There are lots of fishes and turtles in the pond.  Can you see them?

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This is the Yin Yang Symbol meaning a well balanced universe.

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The corridor is made with lots of turns, because Chinese believes that ghosts cannot make turns very well.  So if you walk around in a zig zag way they have a hard time following you!

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What a lovely garden.

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Although the tall buildings behind do spoil the scenery a bit.

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What is this?  A cave?

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Let's go exploring!

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We come back up the other side of the temple.

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This Nine Dragon Wall is modeled after the one in Beijing.  The name Kowloon (Hong Kong is divided into the Hong Kong Island, the Kowloon peninsula which connects to China, and other islands.) literally means Nine Dragon in Chinese.

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This is the Old Man in The Moon.  He is supposed to use red threads to tie couples together.  It is believed that two people who are destined together are tied by this invisible thread and they will eventually find each other. 

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Here is an instruction of how to hold a piece of red thread in a special way, pray to the Old Man, to help you find the one you love.

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A lily pond, but not with real lilies.

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The baby lions seem to be doing circus acts.

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Good boy!

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Another lion!

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We go to the souvenir shop to pick up some souvenirs.

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They are building a stage with bamboos.

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They are getting ready for a temple fair.  There will be Chinese opera, dances, music, snacks and more.  Wish we will be here to attend!

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tarepanda


Posted Dec 9, 2012, 3:25 am
Dessert time again!  (Do you think I look fatter in the photos? I haven't weighed myself but I am worried!)

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The newspaper clippings on the wall says that this dessert shop has been around for over 10 years. 

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Let's check out the menu.  Mmm, everything looks good.

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We decide to have another one of those shaved snow.  But which one?  We want them all!

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This time we pick the plum flavor with marshmallow, dragon fruit, coco jelly and banana.  It looks very pretty in pink! 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC17617.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Dec 9, 2012, 3:37 am
Mommy has packed her luggage again.  Looks like we are heading somewhere?

We pass through immigration at a ferry terminal and now we are in a lobby.

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Hmm... I wonder which boat are we taking?  I am so excited we will be heading somewhere new!

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We are boarding.

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This is the bow of our ship.  It's a hydrofoil.

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The seats here look very comfy.  Much better than the airplane. 

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Good bye Hong Kong.

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After an hour, looks like we are reaching our destination.

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Yup we are docking.

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This ship looks like ours.

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We line up to pass through immigration.  Lots of people!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC17653.jpg

Macau welcomes us!

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tarepanda


Posted Dec 9, 2012, 5:15 am
We are very hungry after the journey, so let's go eat lunch!  This time we are going to a restaurant that specializes in Shanghai food.  They have an all-you-can-eat dim sum buffet. 

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At the entrance is this display of Chinese white wine.  The poster shows a shark fin soup.  It's made from shark fin, abalone, chicken, ham and other ingredients and is very delicious.  Also very expensive too.  In recent years there are activists who try to persuade people not to eat it, as the sharks are becoming endangered. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC17903.jpg

And these are moon cakes, the traditional food for the Mid Autumn Festival, which is coming up. The story goes that back when the Mongolians invaded China, the Chinese passed messages to each other by hiding it in the moon cakes, and used the festival as an excuse to bring the cakes as gifts to each other.  In this way they are able to organize a rebellion that eventually drove the Mongolians out of their country. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC17898.jpg

Enough history lesson.  Let's sit down and eat. 

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First we got served tea.

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He he we are getting like pro as this.  Next step is to mark down what we like on this piece of paper.

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We have the Shanghai style cold meat, drunken chicken (chicken cooked in wine) and soup dumpling.

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Now we have fried sticky rice stick, dumplings, spare ribs, greens, and a Shanghai dish called Choy Pong Hai.  The name means "Almost as good as Crab."  It is made with egg white and vinegar, stir fried so it resembles shreds of crab meat.  The story goes that Empress Cixi once wanted to eat crabs, but she was nowhere near the ocean or lake.  The royal chef thought up this dish (to save his head), and the Empress enjoyed it very much. 

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This one is a rice noodle roll with fried dough inside.  I know it sounds weird but it actually tastes pretty good.  This one is a very typical Cantonese dish, served for breakfast or lunch. 

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These little pumpkin dumplings are real cute!  Dim sum chefs are skilled at shaping the dumpling skin to look like different things: fish, rabbit, flower, fruits and more. 

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tarepanda


Posted Dec 17, 2012, 11:42 pm
Today mommy tells us that we will go visit someone very special.  I wonder who that is? 

First, we have to take the bus.  We wait for the bus at the bus stop.  There is a mail box which is very Chinese looking.

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Ah, the bus is here.  Macau is a much small city than Hong Kong, with half a million residents vs 7 million in Hong Kong, so instead of double deckers we get small buses.

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The signs are bilingual in Chinese and Portuguese, because Macau was a Portuguese colony.

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we get off at a park.  Ah, this is a cute panda statue.

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We see another one.

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Wow, lots of pandas around!

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Oh, we at the Giant Panda Pavillion!  We are visiting the giant pandas! I am so excited as I have not seen a real panda before.

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The pandas are called Kai Kai and Xin Xin.  Kai xin means happy in Chinese.

Oh there they are!  Hi Kai Kai!  Hi Xin Xin!

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Looks like they are having lunch.

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Hey come back, don't be shy!

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Ha ha looks like he is taking a nap.

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Back to snacking.

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I think panda eats like pig!  Do they do anything besides eating and sleeping?

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Looks like he is really enjoying the bamboo!

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Good bye my new friends!  Be happy!

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tarepanda


Posted Dec 18, 2012, 5:49 am
After saying farewell to our panda friends, we travel on to visit downtown Macau.

Notice the red sign? It is shaped like a bat carrying a coin, and indicates a pawn shop.  There are lots of pawn shops in town, near the casinos.

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This is the BNU tower.  To keep the historical look, but be able to expand the building, they demolish the building except for the facade and build a new building behind it.

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Downtown Macau is a designated UNESCO heritage site.  This is the Largo do Senado.  The tiles on the ground are very typical of what you may find in Portugal, and were laid by artisans from there.

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As it is nearing the Mid Autumn Festival, they have built a large Chinese tower and hung lanterns all along the square.  An interesting mix of East and West.

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At one end of the square is Leal Senado, which was the seat of Macau’s government during its colonization.

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The building is neoclassical style, showing its Portuguese influence.

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These tiles are called azulejo, and is very popular in Portugal.

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What a beautiful garden!

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This is a statue of Camoes, a famous Portuguese poet.

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This is the St. Dominic's Church.

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The street signs here are very unique.

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I show my friends Macau's landmark, the ruins of St. Paul.  We notice something next to the church ruins?

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It's a tiny little temple!

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The temple is for Na Ja. According to myths, his mother gave birth to him finally after 3 years and 6 months, and he came out as a little boy that can walk and speak.  Then one day while playing with his friends, a general from the dragon king appeared and captured his friends as sacrifices.  Na Ja wounded the general, then killed the son of the dragon king. 

People offer incenses in this cauldron.

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This stove is for people to burn their offerings.

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Incenses are made in a large coil so they can burn for a long time.

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All that walking leaves us a bit thirsty.  We stop by to get a drink.

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We get a rose tea with basil seeds. 

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tarepanda


Posted Dec 25, 2012, 6:15 pm
Today we visit the hotels and casinos at Cotai.  This is a newly developed area by reclaiming name from the two islands, Coloane and Taipa.  The Cotai stripe is where the new casinos are. 

There is a Hard Rock Casino.

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The shopping arcade here is very beautiful.

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We go there to see a new circus show called Dancing Water, similar to Cirque de Soleil, with beautiful stage and exciting acrobatic acts.

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The stage looks very beautiful!

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Wow it's exciting!

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Next we go to the Venice Resort.  It's very beautiful here.

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We feel like we are in a palace!

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There are some ladies performing traditional Chinese music.

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We are indoors but the ceiling is painted to look like the sky.

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You can even take a gondola ride!

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This is modeled after the San Macro square in the real Venice. 

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tarepanda


Posted Dec 25, 2012, 8:01 pm
Today we cross the bridge to go over to Macau downtown.  You can see the Macau Tower here.  It houses the world's highest bungee jump, if you are brave enough to try that.

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Hmmm, Macau street names always seem like a mouthful.

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This is Casino Lisboa, the oldest (and used to be the only) casino in Macau.

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This is its new wing.  If you stand in the right spot you can actually see your reflection in one of the mirrors.

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We take a peek at the gambling hall as we go upstairs to the noodle restaurant.  We are too young to go into the gambling area.

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The restaurant specializes in different type of noodles, freshly made.  We can watch them make it in the open kitchen.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC18132.jpg

The chef is now making ramen, meaning pulled noodles.  He starts with a ball of dough, stretch it, fold it, and keep doing so until he ends up with many strands of noodles.  Looks like he can do jumping ropes with the noodles!

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She is making scissors noodle.  She uses a pair of scissors to snip off small thin pieces of dough.  The noodles are shorter and kind of look like the Italian capunti.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC18155.jpg

This style is called knife shaved noodles.  The chef has a ball of dough and uses a blade to shave off thin ribbon of noodles, one by one, into the boiling water.

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Lunch is ready!  Enjoy!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC18123.jpg

tarepanda


Posted Dec 25, 2012, 11:42 pm
Today we are returning to Hong Kong.  Before we leave, first we have breakfast in the hotel.

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We order some typical Hong Kong style breakfast.  There is a buttered toasted bun (which is from the West) and stir fried noodles with a bit of scallion and soy sauce.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC18200.jpg

Another very popular breakfast dish is the congee, a rice porridge. This one has eggs and meat in it. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC18201.jpg

Afterwards we walk around the hotel a bit.  This is the lobby.  It is a Japanese hotel so the decoration looks a bit Japanese.

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This is the outside of the hotel.

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It has a man made beach.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC18187.jpg

As the Mid Autumn Festival is nearing, there is an exhibition of lanterns.  This one is huge!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC18173.jpg

The Chinese believed that there was a rabbit in the moon, so rabbit is a popular theme.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC18169.jpg

This one is very intricate!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC18175.jpg

We pass by the almond cookie shop.  On display here are the tools used to make the cookies, such as the ingredients, the scales and the moulds.

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Oh oh we are getting hungry again!

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tarepanda


Posted Dec 26, 2012, 2:06 am
We are now boarding the ship to get back to Hong Kong.

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There is another Hydrofoil going to Hong Kong.

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We pass by the Sands casino.

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We can see the Macau Tower and the tricolor MGM casino.

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This is the bridge we have passed by several times.

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Goodbye Macau!

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We are out in the sea now!  It's kind of stormy!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC18223.jpg

Look, that's the hydrofoil we saw at the dock!

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You can see how it's floating on the water.

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We see some unhabitated island.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC18234.jpg

This is Lamma Island, one of the outlying islands in Hong Kong.  We are now back in Hong Kong.

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You can see all the tall buildings now!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC18240.jpg

Hey the boat is now heading back to Macau.

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Remember IFC, the tallest building?  and the convention center on left?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC18244.jpg

For our last night out we go to eat hot pot.  First we get a pot of broth.  We have selected the half-and-half, with half of it spicy and the other not.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC18249.jpg

We check the dishes we want to order.

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Here are different seasonings that you can mix in your bowl for your favorite sauce. There are sesame sauce, soy sauce, chili, cilantro, scallion, ginger and more.

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The food arrives.  We have beef, corn, oyster... but they are all raw!

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We get fish and ribs too!  And they are raw too?

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Oh!  We are supposed to cook it ourselves in the pot.  That is fun!

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tarepanda


Posted Dec 26, 2012, 10:00 pm
This morning we take the taxi to the airport.  We go onto the Tsing Ma Bridge.  It is the longest suspension bridge in the world carrying both road and rail traffic!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC18264.jpg

I have a good nap on the plane.  Then I wake up, and looks like we've landed somewhere.  We pass through this beautiful tunnel.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC18275.jpg

We are in Chicago!  We are on our way back to Miami, home sweet home!  What a fun trip it was to visit Hong Kong and Macau!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC18278.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Dec 27, 2012, 4:29 pm
Today we go to Miami Beach.  This is a very nice hotel called Fontainebleau. 

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Opened in 1954, it is one of the most historically and architecturally significant hotels on Miami Beach.  It has also appeared in many movies and tv shows.

This is the Chateau Lobby.

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Let's get a drink and see if we can spot some celebrity!

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Mommy comes today to visit the spa.  With 40,000-square-foot (3,700 m2) it is a very nice spa and we get a special promotion coupon.  It's very beautiful, mommy says it's her favorite spa.
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After a good massage we decide to visit the pools.

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Lots of people are enjoying the sun.

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Hmmm this is very comfy!  I am feeling sleepy!

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This round bed looks fun.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16771.jpg

How about this one with TV?  We can order some drink and while we wait for our movie star friends! 

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Oh here is the kiddie pool with a slide.

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We have a good time swimming in the pool.

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After the sun and some good exercise, we feel a bit hungry.  There are some restaurants in the hotel, but they are all very fancy.

The Chinese restaurant has a US$195 Peking Duck.

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The pasta dish in this Italian restaurant is among the best!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16759.jpg

However, as it's a warm beautiful day we decide for something casual and cold.  How about we try some ceviche?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16804.jpg

Ceviche is a seafood dish made from fresh raw fish marinated in lemon or lime juice, and seasoned with chili peppers, onions, salt, and coriander. It is popular in the coastal regions of the  Central and South America but is believed to have originated in Peru.

This place has won some award as Best Ceviche in town!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16805.jpg

Let's check what they have.

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We can see the chefs prepare our food.

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Here is our food!  Octopus taco and fish taco with some tortilla corn chips.  Yummy! 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC16812.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Dec 27, 2012, 5:02 pm
Today we have a new visitor!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC18339-1.jpg

His name is Micky, a little mouse from Germany.  Genoveva and Big Foot are happy to have a baby cousin, and  Fidibus too all very much enjoy the German chocolate Micky brings along.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC18341-1.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Dec 28, 2012, 3:56 am
Today another box arrives!!  Hmmm, what is it?  Hello?  Anybody there?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC18342.jpg

Oh my gosh, it's another rodent?  Hey we are having an infestation here!!  No, just kidding... all TVs are welcome, though I do wish we have more mooses visiting...

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC18343.jpg

His name is Mozart, after the famous composer.  But he is not from Austria.  He is from Russia.  I like him already because he is a very friendly guy and brings us lots of candies! He he he...

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC18344.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Dec 28, 2012, 3:34 pm
Tonight we visit a pop-up library.  It's called Bookleggers and shows up once a month at different locations in Miami.  You can bring your books in and trade them with new books. 

Of course we BookCrossers are there!

This time it's inside a bar so it's kind of dark.

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They have lots of interesting books.

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Look what we get from the library!

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Each book is stamped with the Bookleggers logo.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC18335.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Dec 28, 2012, 4:44 pm
Mommy bought this by mistake last week when she shopped for some beets.  We did not know what it is, but Genoveva figured out that it is a rutabaga.  We decide to make a soup out of it.

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First we cut it up into pieces.

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We also cut some potatoes and carrots.

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We brown some onion in the pot.

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When it's ready we put the root vegetables in as well.  We throw in some herbs, bay leaves and pepper and some water.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC18356.jpg

Now it's time to put everything in the blender.

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We put the puree back into the pot, add a bit of wine, salt and pepper to taste.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC18362.jpg

Let's a final touch, of scallion and shredded asiago.  Doesn't it look good?  It's very delicious!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC18365.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Jan 3, 2013, 4:14 am
Today we are going to Tampa, which is on the west coast of Florida, to visit mommy's friend.  We get onto the turnpike.

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See the bridge up there?  It's the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

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Look, the water in the gulf is so beautiful!

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When we arrive... we are feeling a bit hungry.  I wonder what we are having for lunch?

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It's a Korean restaurant.  The decor looks very interesting.

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We first enjoy some hot tea.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC18409.jpg

Or maybe we should order some Korean wine?  It is similar to Japanese sake.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC18413.jpg

At a Korean meal, there are many small dishes called banchan.  Kimchee is the most famous type, but there are others made with steamed, marinated or stir-fried vegetables, anchovies and more.  Some are spicy but some are not.

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We have some soup and a spicy noodle.  It's so delicious!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC18418.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Jan 6, 2013, 10:49 pm
Today we come baked pork chop rice at home. 

First we have to marinate the pork chops.

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Next, we chop up the tomatoes and onions.  It's not easy work!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC18469_zpsd09ea9b4.jpg

We prepare the rice by stir frying it, adding a little egg and sausage.

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We grease the bottom of a pan.

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Then put the rice in it.

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Now we fry the pork chop.

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We lay them nicely on top of the rice.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC18495_zpsf564956d.jpg

Next up is the tomato and onion!

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We add tomato paste, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and sugar to make the sauce.  Cook till it's thick and bubbly.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC18503_zps34043f43.jpg

Once we pour the sauce on top of the pork chop and rice, it's ready to go into the oven!

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We sip a glass of wine while we wait for the dish to cook.

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Is it ready?  Is it ready?  We keep checking the oven.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC18511_zps8c5c8d5a.jpg

Finally, it is!  Now we can enjoy a wonderful dinner!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC18515_zps2cad3edc.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Jan 11, 2013, 7:00 pm
Yippie we are at the airport again!!??

Let's take some Miami-looking pictures.

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Hmmm wonder where we are going?

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It's a pretty airplane.  It says Portugal on the airplane. Is that where we are going?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC18528.jpg

Looks like we are flying across the Atlantic!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC18529.jpg

Wow we are about 17km from Lisbon!!  That's the capital of Portugal!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC18531.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Jan 13, 2013, 4:41 am
We are going out to do some sightseeing! 

First thing first.  We need some breakfast!  Naturally we want to try the famous pastel de nata with coffee.  It is an egg tart from Portugal. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC18543.jpg

We buy the ticket for the subway.  It can be used on buses and trams too.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC18538.jpg

Let's check the map to see how we get there.

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We are on the subway now!

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We arrive at the terminal.  Here they have trains too. 

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We get outside the terminal to get on a bus.

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Portugal sure looks very different from where I've been before.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC18544.jpg

After the bus ride we arrive at our destination, the Azulejo Museum.  Azulejo is a type of painted, tin-glazed, ceramic tilework that was introduced to Portugal by the Moors in the 15th century, and has become a typical aspect of Portuguese culture.  A major aspect of Portuguese architecture, they can be found on the interior and exterior of churches, palaces, houses and even railway or subway stations.

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The museum building looks very old.

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The moment we enter, this azulejo painting of soldier greets us.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC18553.jpg

These tiles from the 16th centuries are some of the earliest examples of azulejos.

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These are examples from the 17th century.

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This is a peony pattern.

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I have to say, the painter is not very good at drawing!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC18572.jpg

We see examples of how the tiles are used to decorate churches.

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The corridors are decorated with azulejos too.

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Some of the azulejos are very large in scale.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/SDC18587.jpg

Here's an example of tiles along a flight of stairs.

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This one has different flowers, animals and boats in it.

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This one is pretty, isn't it?  Each tile shows a different picture.

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By the 18th century, people certainly can draw much better.  This is depicts maritime and country life.

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I really like the colorful tiles.

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Sometimes a series of tiles are used to tell a story.

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This one is supposedly scenes from China, but to me they look very weird!

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Wow, look at this!  A paranoma of Lisbon.

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Now we go on to some more contemporary designs.

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We are getting tired, let's take a break.

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Afterwards, we visit the chapel that is also part of the museum.

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The ceiling is very beautiful.

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I see a reproduction of the Last Supper.

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Did you see the mummy at the bottom?

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The inside of the chapel is very beautiful.

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As we exit, we pass by the workshop area.  Wish we can see the artisans at work.

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tarepanda


Posted Jan 17, 2013, 4:55 am
Today we go explore downtown Lisbon.

We start out at Praça do Comércio.  The square is still commonly known as Terreiro do Paço (Palace Square), because it was the location of the Royal Ribeira Palace until it was destroyed by the great 1755 Lisbon Earthquake.

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We walk through the triumphal arch onto Rua Augusta.  This is a lively pedestrian street with mosaic pavements, outdoor cafes and many shops.

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Here is a newspaper kiosk.  The front page of newspapers are displayed, so people stand there to read them.

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There are souvenir shops too.  Do you see the many rooster figures?  They are called O Galo de Barcelos, and is the unofficial symbol of Portugal.  There is a story behind it.  At a banquet given by a rich landowner in Barcelos, a valuable piece of silver was stolen and one of guests was accused of the theft. He was tried by the court and was found guilty, despite his claim of innocence. On the day he was to be executed, he was brought to the magistrate.  The magistrate was having dinner with his guests. Seeing the cock on the plate, the condemned man said, “If I am innocent, the cock will crow.” The cock stood up from the plate and crowed, and the prisoner was allowed to go free.

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We stop for lunch.  As Portugal is famous for its codfish dishes, we decide to try one.  This one is baked with potatoes.

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This is the Santa Justa Elevator which can take you up for a view of the city.

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Can you see the car passing under the little arc?

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We reach Rossio Square, with the column of Pedro IV in the center and the national theatre behind it.

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There are many shops around.

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This is a beautiful fountain.  In the 19th century the square was paved with cobblestones in wave patterns, a design seen today in many other pavements all over Portugal, and that has spread to Portugal's former colonies from Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) to Macao (China).

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We see an old tram.

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And a modern one!

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We find a shop and go in for our daily quota of pasteis de nata!

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What interesting pattern they have on the streets!

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We continue to walk around the streets.

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This is a nice-looking police station but we are not interested in a tour.

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This is the Rossio Railway Station.  What is special about it is its facade, made in Neo-Manueline style unique to 16th century Portugal.

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Look this guy is selling chestnuts!

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We find the funicular tram that will take us to a Miradouro (viewpoint).

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Let's get on the tram.

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After a few minutes we are up the hill!

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The tram goes up and down the same track, so it has doors on both sides.

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We are rewarded with a nice panorama of the city.

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Time to leave.  Should we walk or take the tram?

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Hmmmm we are tired.  Let's just hop onto the tram!

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And leave the walkers behind!!

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We find the metro station and take the subway back to the hotel.

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tarepanda


Posted Jan 23, 2013, 4:07 pm
Today we are staying in the Alentejo district. 

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It's a small hotel with only 11 rooms.

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What a nice fireplace it has!

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The wines lined up here in the corridor is from the vineyard.

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We have a really nice room!

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You can see the garden from the room.  Let's go out and explore!

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What a nice pool!  Sadly it's too cold to swim.

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We can see the vineyard from here.

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Harvest is over so we don't see any grapes on the vines.

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We do see a lot of olives though!

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We try some fresh olives and find out why we never see fresh ones for sale. It's very astrigent!  This place pick their olives to make olive oil.

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tarepanda


Posted Feb 13, 2013, 3:44 am
Today we stop by the ancient city of Santarém for a short time and get to see the city very briefly.

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The region of Santarém has been inhabited since pre-historic times. The city was named after Saint Iria (or Irene).

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Look at the beautiful street signs!

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Even the facade of the buildings are decorated.

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This is the Igreja da Graça, built between the 14th and 15th centuries in a mix of mendicant and flamboyant Gothic styles. It is closed so we cannot get in for a visit.

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tarepanda


Posted Feb 15, 2013, 3:15 pm
Today we visit the Alfama neighborhood in Lisbon.  It's the oldest district of Lisbon. Its name comes from the Arabic Al-hamma, meaning fountains or baths.  During the times of Moorish domination, Alfama constituted the whole of the city, and it was also the only part of the city not destroyed during the great 1755 Lisbon Earthquake.

First, we have to take the tram to go to Alfama.  There is a long line!

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We wait and wait, and finally our tram comes!

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We get off at Miradouro das Portas do Sol.  This is a statue of St. Vincent, the city's patron saint, holding a boat with two ravens, the symbols of Lisbon.

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From the terrace we get a very beautiful view of Lisbon.

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The weather is lovely and the houses look very cute viewed from high above.

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There is a beautiful church on the left.  It's the  São Vicente de Fora Monastry

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A short walk away is Miradouro de Santa Luzia where we get more views of the city and spot this wall tile.

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There are a lot of souvenir shops around, and we visit some of them.

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Look at all the bottles of Port and other wines!  Port is a famous wine from Portugal and here you can see them from different vintages.  New ones to some that are decades old!

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tarepanda


Posted Feb 17, 2013, 3:26 am
Today we visit the Castle of São Jorge.  It was royal residence until the early 16th century.

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As it's on top of the hill, we get a great paranoma of the city.

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This is remnants of the old gardens.

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In the main square (Praça d'Armas) there are many cannons.

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Watch out for enemies!!  Ready to fire!

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We continue on to the castle.

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You can see the Portugal flag.  The tower and wall was built during the Moorish occupation.

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We see some peacocks around the castle ground.

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I wonder what activities used to go on here?

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Still checking for enemies!!

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The castle and tower had been rebuilt and fortified over time. 

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tarepanda


Posted Feb 17, 2013, 3:52 am
We next visit Sé de Lisboa. The Cathedral is the oldest church in the city, it began construction in the year 1147 and had survived many earthquakes.

The main façade of the cathedral looks like a fortress, with two towers flanking the entrance and crenellations over the walls. This menacing appearance, also seen in other Portuguese cathedrals of the time, is a relic from the Reconquista period, when the cathedral could be used as a base to attack the enemy during a siege.

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The west façade with a rose window is among the oldest remaining part of the building, from the Romanesque period.

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This part is from the Gothic architectural style.

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tarepanda


Posted Feb 17, 2013, 5:33 pm
It's time for dinner.

We pass by this building with beautiful azulejo tiles on its facade.

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We arrive at the restaurant.

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Cervejaria Trindade is the oldest brewery in Portugal.  In 1294 a convent was built on this spot.  Destroyed by fire and earthquake in the 1700s, the remains was purchased and reconstructed as the first beer brewery and factory in  1836.  Here you can see the banner announcing its 175 year anniversary.

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The tiles in this room were designed and decorated back in 1860.

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We sip on the beer as we go through the menu.  It's nice they draw pictures of the seafood so we know what they are!

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First we enjoy a caldo verde.  It means "green broth" and is a popular soup in Portuguese cuisine, made with potato and kale.

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Next we enjoy a codfish dish, another favorite of the Portuguese.

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After dinner we walk around downtown a bit.  We see vendors selling roasted chestnuts on the street.  They look delicious!

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We pass by this bookstore in Chiado district.  Founded in 1732, Bertrand is certified by Guinness Book Record as the world's oldest bookstore!

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Quite a historic tour we have today!
tarepanda


Posted Mar 15, 2013, 4:16 pm
Today we take the bus to Belem.

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We arrive at the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos.  The monastery is one of the most prominent monuments of the Manueline-style architecture (Portuguese late-Gothic) in Lisbon and is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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The construction of the monastery and church began on 6 January 1501 (and were completed 100 years later).  The project was funded with commerce from Africa and the Orient.

The monastery was designed in a style that later became known as Manueline: a richly ornate architectural design that includes complex sculptural themes incorporating maritime elements and objects discovered during naval expeditions, carved in limestone.

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The local gold-coloured limestone adds a very beautiful aura to the buildings.

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We enjoy looking at the intricate carvings.

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No wonder it took so long to complete!

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We go to the second floor of the cloister.

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We next enter the Church of Santa Maria.

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This is the entrance of the church.  The tympanum, above the double door, displays, in half-relief, two scenes from the life of Saint Jerome: on the left, the removal of the thorn from the lion's paw and, on the right, the saints experience in the desert.  The Madonna (Santa Maria de Belém) is located on a pedestal on top of the archivolt.

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This monastery is really beautiful. 

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tarepanda


Posted Mar 24, 2013, 9:16 pm
After a very enjoyable visit to the Monastery we go ahead to visit another sight.

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Look at this beautiful tower by the  Tagus river!  It's called the Belem tower.  It is one of the Seven Wonders of Portugal and also UNESCO World Heritage Site, like the nearby Jerónimos Monastery we just visited.  The tower was constructed on a small island but with development the shoreline changes and now it's right by the shore where we can reach from a short bridge.

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On the Gothic-rib-vaulted ground-floor bunker, there are canons along the niches.

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The bartizans, cylindrical watchtowers, are topped by Moorish-looking cupolas.

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Now we will climb up the tower.

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What a beautiful view of the city!

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Here we get a nice view of the river with its bridge.

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This is the inside hall of the tower.

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Nice view indeed!  A beautiful day!

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The Monument to the Discoveries is a 52 metre-high slab of concrete erected in 1960 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the death of Henry the Navigator. The monument is sculpted in the form of a ship's prow, with dozens of figures from Portuguese history following a statue of the Infante Henry sculpted in base relief.

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After all the sight seeing we are a bit hungry.  Time for a coffee break!  Wow looks like everybody is hungry and lining up for food!

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The cafe has been around since 1837!  What's so special about it? 

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Ahh, we are here for the pastéis de nata!

It is believed that pastéis de nata were created before the 18th century by Catholic monks at the Jerónimos Monastery.  During Portuguese medieval history, the convents and monasteries of Portugal produced large quantities of eggs, whose egg-whites were in demand for starching of clothes (such as nuns' habits) and also in wineries (where they were used in the clearing of wines, and the monks and nuns make dessert with the left over egg yolks.  The  clerics at the monastery later pass their secret recipe to the cafe.  So they are the maker of the original Portuguese egg tart!

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The counter is very busy w all the customers!

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The tarts in the photo looks delicious!!  Where are the real things?

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We pass by the kitchen.  Look, there are the tarts!!

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Lots and lots of them!  I want the whole tray!

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Let's get a seat.

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We look at the menu, but of course we know what we want!

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Hey waiter, where is the waiter?

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We want some fresh from the oven, hot pasteis de nata with a delicious cup of coffee!!

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It was a fun day of sight-seeing but sadly it's time to leave!

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tarepanda


Posted Mar 25, 2013, 3:05 am
Today I go with mommy to a BookCrossing meetup!  I am so excited to meet with BookCrossers in Portugal.  I am a bit worried as I don't speak Portuguese, but happily, they all speak English!

We bring some books to our new friends.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8371/8586556489_1156fa4d49.jpg

We also released some books at the OBCZ (Official BookCrossing Zone) there.  It's a beautiful shelf! 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8510/8587657590_211c856217.jpg

And I am one step closer to fulfilling my missions!
tarepanda


Posted Mar 25, 2013, 3:55 am
How sad but tonight is our last night in Portugal!  We decide to have a little something special to remember it by. 

We go to a restuarant.  First, we order some pata negra.  The black Iberian pig is from Spain and Portugal, and the best ones roam free in oak forest and eat a diet of acorns.

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We also get some delicious Portuguese cheese and bread.

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Now the best:  a glass of Madeira from year 1850!!  That's very very old wine!  And of course it's very delicious and memorable! 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8381/8587657324_1a6eecd10d.jpg

We are a bit sad as we leave and go to the station to take the subway home.  This is the Rococo station.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8097/8587655766_044be05ca6.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Apr 1, 2013, 8:58 pm
Today is our last day in Portugal.  Before we leave we have a little bit of time, and we decide to go get some delicious Portuguese bread and pasteis de nata to take home. 

We arrive at the Largo do Chiado (Chiado Square). The famous Café A Brasileira is not open yet, but we can see the statue of Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa sitting outside.  This is one of the oldest cafes in Lisbon.

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We walk around the neighborhood a bit.

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Here we are at the Praça Luís de Camões.

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Ah, the familiar tram 28, which we rode a few days ago!  Goodbye little tram!

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We spot this little shop selling coffee and tea.

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We find the bakery we are looking for. 

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Everything looks delicious.  We have some lugguage space so we decide to fill it with fresh bread!

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Now when we get home we can munch on the bread and recall the fond memories of our travel! 

Adeus Portugal!
tarepanda


Posted Apr 12, 2013, 4:07 pm
We are now back in Florida. Today we go visit an attraction called Coral Castle.  It's built by the man in the picture, Edward Leedskalnin.

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Well this is a very old sign. The admission is definitely not 10 cents now!

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Hmm I wonder what we will see?

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There is a sign that says "Ring Bell Twice".  In the past, visitors would drop a coin and then ring the bell to enter.  Leedskalnin was very strict about "ring bell twice".  If the visitors rang it too many times or only once, he would not let them in till they got it right!  He sure sounds like a weird fellow!

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The whole place is built with big limestone!  According to our guide, the man who built the castle, Edward Leedskalnin, was eccentric indeed.  He came from Latvia after his sweet 16 broke up their engagement the night before marriage.  He lived alone and built this whole place by himself, craving and moving stones weighing many tons, never letting anyone see him work!  There is a lot of mysteries and legends about how he built the whole place, people claiming to peek in at night and saw him levitated the stones around!  Not to mention the man was only 5 ft tall!

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Here are some lounge chairs for you to rest in. 

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This board meeting table is craved in the shape of the state of Florida.  The puddle of water in the center is Lake Okeechobee.

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These are the "beds" though they must be very uncomfortable.

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And a bathtub!

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This table is carved in the shape of heart.  Some visitors liked to propose or renew their vows at this table.

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The sundial is accurate within minutes, though I don't know how to read it!

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Oh a dungeon!  I wonder what creepy creatures live in there?  Well, our guide said this was where he stored his food, keeping it cool underground.

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And a well for nice, cool water.

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Guess what this is?  His stove!  He put food inside the metal ball, built a fire underneath, and the food would cook up nicely.

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This door was built so cleverly that even a child can push the stone door open, but sadly the mechanism is broken now and cannot be repaired.

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We are shown where he dug the coral stone for his castle.

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These are signs of different planets.  I bet it's great sitting here and watching the stars in the sky at night!

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It's impressive indeed!  Very beautiful and we cannot imagine how a man was able to build the whole thing back in 1930s without any help from machine or men!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/DSC00055_zps471371e1.jpg

We went up the second floor of the the building. (How did he even build this? He must be a wizard!)

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This is the bed he slept in.

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Everything looked somewhat primitive.

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Quite an interesting tour indeed!
tarepanda


Posted Apr 14, 2013, 12:09 am
Today we are going out to visit some place. 

Hmm, what does it say on the sign? 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/DSC00081_zps1970414f.jpg

Ah, it's the Thai Buddhist Temple in South Florida.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/DSC00082_zpsf791ce43.jpg

The building sure looks unusual.

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The entrance to the temple looks very grand, and there are two golden lions guarding it.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/DSC00069_zps5d976885.jpg

The inside looks equally grand!  The Buddha statue was sculpted in Bangkok and is 23 feet high and weighs 5 tons. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/DSC00073_zps3882c78e.jpg

Wow this gong must make very very loud noise!

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These chairs are for monks to sit in.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/DSC00075_zpse631f08f.jpg

A monk there is very happy to see us.  He gives everybody a string of prayer beads and sprinkle water on us as blessing.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/DSC00079_zpsff3e2285.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Apr 14, 2013, 3:31 am
Fibicus the giraffe is leaving for Japan, and we decide to take him somewhere special for a farewell party. It's a restaurant named Giraffe!  At first he thought it serves giraffe meat but when he finds out they don't he feels very happy and honored!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/20121128_194952.jpg

We go to the counter to place our order.  This is a Brazilian burger and steak place.

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Then we find a table.  Look at all the giraffes on the wall!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/20121128_195712.jpg

We are number 73.  We first get our drinks and the cheese bread, which are round little balls.

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This is the quinoa salad.  It's delicious!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/20121128_200521.jpg

There is also steak.  Like many South American cuisines, the meat comes with black bean and rice.  There is the chimichurri sauce, made from parsley and garlic, for dipping the steak in.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2012/20121128_200631.jpg

We have a good dinner together.  It's sad saying goodbye, but we promise to stay in touch. 
tarepanda


Posted May 10, 2013, 2:05 am
Today we are going to see a Cirque du Soleil show!  They are a famous circus group from Canada. 

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Look at the colorful tents!

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The show has not started yet, so we browse around the shop where they sell T shirts and other things.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00176_zps8cf5644c.jpg

There are also souvenir books, CDs and more for those who want to relive the show. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00177_zps50d08768.jpg

You can also buy pop corns, pretzels, drinks and other snacks.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00171_zps76a3cb3f.jpg

We finally get inside and watch the show!  It's very good!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00184_zps6a4f78f3.jpg
tarepanda


Posted May 10, 2013, 2:08 am
Wow looks like we are getting another toy visitor!  I wonder who this will be?  I hope it's not another rodent, because honestly we are having too many of them here!!  I've never had a moose visit me, that would be nice.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00391_zps9022f8f7.jpg

Oh my gosh, it's really a moose!!  I am so happy!  I jumped forward to introduce myself and other TVs.  The new guy's name is Jasper.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00393_zps47b17188.jpg

I am so glad to find another moose.  Like me, he wishes to meet a real moose some day!  I proudly introduce him to my grandpapa, Cappuccino.  Grandpapa is too old to travel but he loves having visitors.  I am sure we will have a grand time.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00394_zpsf0c802d1.jpg 

I think I will have a grand time here.
tarepanda


Posted May 10, 2013, 4:33 am
Today the weather is very nice, and we go to the farmer's market.

Naturally, we shop for some fresh, local vegetables. 

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There are many varieties of tomatoes.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00220_zps80c962ee.jpg

Wow they even have lobsters!  Unlike Maine lobster, Florida lobster do not have the big pincher claws. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00216_zps2f92b13c.jpg

This stall makes conch fritters, and conch salad, a specialty of South Florida and the Caribbeans.

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There are a lot of food.  This French (looking) guy is making crepe.  It looks delicious!

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We see this stall selling things with an ocean motif.

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We buy some local honey.

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Look they even have local rice grown in Florida!  Florida is actually the 7th largest rice-growing state in the U.S, but most of its production is used locally, as there is a heavy population of South American immigrants whose main starch is rice rather than potatoes.  It is used as a cover crop in sugarcane fields during the fallow period.

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Here are some home-made cookies.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00246_zpsb4c75a7b.jpg

These hand made soaps look very pretty!

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Oh the popcorn smells so delicious!

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There are flowers for sell.

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These dwarf trees are called bonsai.

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We can pick up some spices and herbs.

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Or some blend of tea.

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We sample some of the home made dried fruits.  Yummy!!  The market is a lot of fun!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00226_zpsf1aa6932.jpg
tarepanda


Posted May 23, 2013, 8:26 pm
Today we visit a place called Pinecrest Garden. 

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These are some pretty flowers!

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The garden has been around for a while so the tropical foliage is very thick.

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It feels like we are in a jungle!  I hope there's not a tiger! 

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Look at this fruit!  I wonder what it is? 

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We see some bamboo too.

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We come to a different part of the garden.

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Here people can enjoy a picnic and just sit and relax.

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We see a swam! 

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The lotus flowers are very beautiful.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00258_zps13a6e4d1.jpg

Wow look at this banyan tree!  Banyan tree is special because when its air root touches ground, it will grow into another trunk, so all you see here is just one tree.  As a result, one tree can grow to cover a big area.  Covering 2/3 acre, this tree is among the largest of its kind!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00255_zps7a348948.jpg
tarepanda


Posted May 31, 2013, 12:18 am
Today we are going on a trip to Tampa, on the west coast of Florida. 

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Look there is a bridge coming up.

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This is the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.  The Travel Channel rated the Sunshine Skyway #3 in its special on the "Top 10 Bridges" in the World.

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We come to visit the Cigar City Brewery.

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The brewery was first built in Ybor City, which is a historic neighborhood in Tampa founded in the 1880s by cigar manufacturers.  Later it moved this current location, hence the saying on the sign.

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Here is the star of today!  The special brew, Hunahpu, which is available only on this day of the year.  The limited release bottle has received very high rating among drinkers and can fetch up to USD $200 on ebay.  People from all over the country come to line up from early in the morning to buy it. 

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You can see other people carrying the special beer.  Each person can buy only 3 bottles at $20 each.

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There are some food trucks here.  We need food to go with our beer! 

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This one called Oki Doki, is for Okinawan food.

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We take a peek inside the truck.  They are very busy cooking!

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People are walking around with a beer in hand.

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Somef people bring their own chairs, coolers filled with beers, and food to just enjoy a nice day out here.

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There is a booth selling locally made cigars.

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Hmmm... I guess big cigars need a big lighter? 

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Let's check out the tasting room!

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Look at all the beers on tap!! What a selection!

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Wow looks like the party is really going on.

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This guy invites us to join his party.

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The brewery has won a lot of awards, which they proudly display.

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We check out the shop so we can buy some souvenir.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00488_zpsac4e6ecc.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Jun 6, 2013, 7:32 pm
Have you ever tried a Brazilian churrascaria? Today we are going to a Brazilian steakhouse.  At this one, instead of Rodizio style, which means the waiters bring the meat to you, it's self service. 

Ah, I think we find the right place.  We can see the Brazilian flag on the sign. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00289.jpg

This is the name of the restaurant.  It means Rice and Beans, but mommy assures us that we will get a lot more than that. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00291.jpg

Mmm it sounds good.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00307.jpg

Here is a poster reminding us that the 2014 World Cup will be in Brazil!  Hmmm needs to start planning my trip there!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00308.jpg

We sip some cold, refreshing cashew juice while reading the menu.  The juice is make from the cashew fruit, where the cashew nut is actually the seed of the fruit.   

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At the buffet line you can see the salad and dessert.

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Here are the side dishes, rice and beans as well as stewed chicken, spaghetti and more.

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This is the grill where they have various cuts of meat: sirloin, chicken, pork loin, filet mignon, flank steak, sausages, and more. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00303.jpg

You let them know what meat you like and they cut it for you.  At fancier place you will have waiters come by to your table with the sword skewer of meat. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00298.jpg

Bom apetite!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00296.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Jun 6, 2013, 7:57 pm
Today we go to visit a Free Little Library.  These are the books we are bringing.  We register them on BookCrossing first. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00140.jpg

The Little Free Library is an organization that promotes setting up little "library" boxes in communities around the world, to encourage people to gather together, and to promote read.  People are welcome to visit the libraries to take and leave books.

We put our books into the library, and check to see if there is anything interesting.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00142.jpg

Hmmm, maybe we can just live here for a few days and enjoy some books?  It would be nice and cozy here.  Hey can you bring us some snack? 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00144.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Jun 6, 2013, 9:14 pm
Today we go to visit a microbrewery.  It's called Due South.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00314.jpg

This little sign says: "Drink Like A Local" which we certainly would today! 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00315.jpg

Here is a sign marking all the microbrewery nearby.  The Cigar City Brewery, which we visited a few weeks ago, is 219 miles away on the west coast. 

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You can also get some souvenir t-shirts.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00328.jpg

Look at all the fermentation tanks!

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We can see packs of ingredients lying around.

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These are the malt barley, a major ingredient in making beer.

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You can see the brew kettles on the left, where they add the barley.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00350.jpg

The grain after using in the beer will be given to nearby farmers.  I am sure that will feed some happy animals!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00361.jpg

We notice that all the tanks are named after Space Shuttles!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00362.jpg

These are some apple brandy barrels, used to brew some special edition beer. 

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Now is time to enjoy some beer.  We go to the bar area.

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Hmm which one shall we order?

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We go to the lounge to enjoy our beer.

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There are lots of beer-related arts on the walk.

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Some are made with beer bottle caps.

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Yessir, we are doing our part: Support Florida breweries and drinking like a local!!

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Ahh it's delicious!!

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tarepanda


Posted Jun 7, 2013, 4:31 pm
If you think we've been drinking a lot lately, well, today for a change, we are going to eat a lot!!  We are going to this event called Taste of Pinecrest. 

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Mmmm these cupcakes and lollipops look GOOD!!

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This stall sells different types of french fries, wrapped in newspaper-looking grease paper.

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Machu Picchu is the "Lost City of the Incas".  So this must be a Peruvian restaurant! 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00611.jpg

It's a rather hot day and great for some snow cone.  Which flavor would you like?

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This is a big plate of pulled pork.  It's pork barbecue where the pork, after slow cooking, is tender enough to be pulled into shreds.  It is then mixed with barbecue sauce.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00604.jpg

Hamburger, anyone?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00602.jpg

You can also get some delicious and healthy smoothie.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00603.jpg

There is a band playing music.

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There is also a line of food trucks, for even more options.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00597.jpg

It's not easy at all deciding what to try!!

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When you eat so much your clothes feel tight, you can do some shopping here as well! 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00594.jpg

There are also some games for children.

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I sure hope they haven't eaten too much food... I know I can't be swinging around and bouncing up and down with all the food in my stomach!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00588.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Jun 12, 2013, 12:11 am
Today we go to see something very American!! 

No, I don't mean the Hard Rock cafe or casino, though that's very American...

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00679.jpg

Let's follow the sign...  to the American Indian pow wow!!  The Seminole tribe owns the casino, that's why there is an Indian village and a pow wow here.  It may sound weird, but because it has been determined that the Native Americans are here before the white American government, they do not have to abide by many laws of the U.S. govt and do not pay tax.  As a result, many tribes open casinos because it's such a profitable business for them... 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00685.jpg

There is no big prairie here, the dancing are done inside a stadium.  We see them all dressed up ready to dance. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00702.jpg

First they say a prayer and then introduces the little Miss and Mister Seminole.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00731.jpg

Next all the dancers come out in a parade.  It's leaded by the warriors.  Following behind are the little Miss and Mister Seminole.

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Look at the beautiful outfit!!

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The face paint makes them look very fierce!!  I don't think I will like to encounter them in a woods!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00714.jpg

The ladies look very graceful in their buckskin dresses.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00736.jpg

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Look, there is a baby warrior here, being led by his mommy!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00754.jpg

The drummers sit in a circle.  I can't imagine how they can sit down in their outfit!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00767.jpg

They have competition where different dances were performed.  There are different themes and traditions.  This man has a lot of bells on his outfit so when he dances he makes his own music.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00771.jpg

This is the Southern tradition.

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The most spectacular is the feather dancers.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00720.jpg

This one is called Grass Dancing.  The head dress makes us think of moth antennae. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00795.jpg

There are many stalls at the pow wow. 

Look at all the moccasins!

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These jewelries are very beautiful.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00690.jpg

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There are some paintings.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00814.jpg

The traditional Seminole clothings are very colorful.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00787.jpg

These pendants are made with tiny beads.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00780.jpg

Mickey Mouse moccasins!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00782.jpg

There are also books and CDs.  Sherman Alexie is one of my mommy's favorite authors. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00778.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Jun 13, 2013, 5:33 am
Today we receive a package.  It doesn't look like a Bookcrossing book, so it must be a toy!  Could it be another moose?

"Who's in there?"  "Hello?"

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00834.jpg

"Hello!  I am Lumpi!!  I am a travelling toy!  Have I arrived?"

"Wait a moment!  We'll get you out!"

"Hurry, hurry!  I can't wait a moment longer!  I am so excited!!"

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00835.jpg

I am so happy to see a new friend.  His name is Mr. Lumpi.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00836.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Jun 13, 2013, 6:01 am
Big Foot the rat will be leaving and travelling to Germany.  To say farewell, mommy prepares something special for him.  She knows that he likes coconut water. 

Big Foot is very excited to see the coconut!!  But how do we open it? 

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If you can a machete you can just chop off the top.  But it's too dangerous for us.  We don't want to chop off our fingers too.  So we are doing it the safer way.  First, we trim off some of the fiber outside the shell.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00838.jpg

Next, we get a screwdriver and a hammer.  Yes, you read that correctly.  Make sure you clean the screwdriver first.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00839.jpg

With the help of the hammer, we use the screwdriver to make several holes around, like a dotted line. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00840.jpg

Then we pry it open.  It takes only a minute or two!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00841.jpg

Now we can enjoy the cool, refreshing water inside.  Coconut water has electrolytes too so it's a natural replenishment, better than artificial sports drink!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00845.jpg

Don't forget to enjoy the tender meat as well!  Mommy tells us also that when you choose a young coconut, shake it.  If you hear water, the coconut is drying out.  Old coconuts have thick, dry, hard meat inside with no water.  So if you don't hear anything, that means that the coconut is young and full of water and the thin layer of meat is very tender. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00848.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Jul 30, 2013, 4:20 am
Yippee, we are going on a trip!!  See the airplane? 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00893.jpg

Sit tight, everybody.  I wonder where we are heading? 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01420.jpg

Wow we are in Toronto, Canada!!  See the road sign says Ontario at the corner?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00898.jpg

The road and trees here look very different from Miami. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00899.jpg

I wonder if we will get to see some maple leaves and some moose?  I am getting excited. 
tarepanda


Posted Aug 2, 2013, 4:44 am
Today we have another long trip to make. 

Surprise, we get introduced to a new friend.  Her name is Early, and she is given to mommy from a friend who sees how much fun we are having.  The friend decides to send her bird to travel too!  We are so excited. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00917.jpg

First, let's set up the GPS.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00920.jpg

Okay, all hands on deck ready to go!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00916.jpg

Umm, mommy thinks it's better for us to enjoy the view and let her do the driving.  Look, the sign says it's 120 km away!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00923.jpg

As we drive on the landscape becomes more rocky. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00957.jpg

We spot this sign that says that we are in Ontario.  That's the province where Toronto and Parry Sound, our destination, are in.  It's a very large province.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00967.jpg

Looks like we are getting close to our destination.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00965.jpg

We spot the water tower with the town's name on it. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00968.jpg

This is the hotel we are staying at.  We bring our lugguage in.

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tarepanda


Posted Aug 2, 2013, 4:14 pm
After we check into the hotel, there is a little time, so we go on a walk around the town.

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We are a bit tired.  Let's take a break.

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See the Canadian flag flying up there?

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The water looks beautiful on the lake.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00999.jpg

Look there is a train passing by. 

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Dinner time!  Look, we are going to an Irish pub!

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It looks pretty nice inside.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01005.jpg

And of course they serve Guinness! 

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We order some food.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01012.jpg

And of course some beer.  Cheers!!  Jasper is very happy to complete his mission of drinking Guinness in an Irish pub.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01152.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Aug 10, 2013, 12:06 am
Today we go to a place called Waubuno Beach.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01073.jpg

What or who is Waubuno?  Here's the story.  Waubuno was a steamer that was sunk during a storm near here in 1879.

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This is the anchor that was recovered, though the body of the crew was never found.

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We are here for a dragon boat festival, which mommy's family races in.  First, there is an opening ceremony.  Usually there is a dragon dance.  Here they do not have the real Chinese dragon, but the students make some nice dragon heads instead.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01022.jpg

They are very creative and colorful.  The students perform a dance with the dragon heads. 

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Look, there is a dragon boat getting onto the beach, let's go check it out. 

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A dragon boat has ten rows that carry 20 paddlers. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01054.jpg

There is a drummer up front that will beat the drum so the paddlers can paddle in unison. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01052.jpg

This is the head that attaches to the front of the boat... Argh!  Help!  I don't want to be dinner!

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We check out the score board.  I wonder if our host is winning?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01061.jpg

It would be nice if we can take one of these home!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01059.jpg

Look, there seems to be a lot going on there.  Let's check it out.

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This is the festival information booth.

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People set up their own tents so they can watch the race.

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We get invited to sit in one of the tents too!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01065.jpg

Getting a bit hungry, we walk around to see if there is any food.

This food truck is selling potato chips.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01039.jpg

Mmmm, kettle popcorn!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01036.jpg

I want some donuts!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01034.jpg

Oh, Canadian beer!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01079.jpg

Check this out!! The radio station here is called Moose FM!! Moose rules!!

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Weather is very gorgeous today.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01062.jpg

The bay looks beautiful.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01019.jpg

Mommy didn't win, but we have a lovely day.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01018.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Aug 10, 2013, 1:59 am
This morning we take the boats out for some practice before we return to Toronto.  However, the coach is very strict so we do not get to rest and take pictures along the way.  But as you can see, it's a very nice day to be out on the water.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01130.jpg

Afterwards, we start to head home.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01088.jpg

Mommy's friend, who lives in the area, tells us that they sometimes see bears, deers, mooses and other animals near their houses.  We try to keep our eyes open, but we do not see anything.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01118.jpg

They must all be hiding!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01109.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01106.jpg

Hmm I guess we need to camp out deep in the woods to find them!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01227.jpg

We are almost back to Toronto.

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We feel a bit hungry so we think some dessert will be nice.  Mommy takes us to try some Hong Kong dessert!  Yippie!  I miss the shaved snow!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00902.jpg

The place looks very Chinese inside. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00906.jpg

We take a look at the menu.  So many choices!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00907.jpg

We order this big bowl of shaved green tea flavored snow, with strawberries, mango and red beans.  Yummy!!  It's not as good as the ones in Hong Kong, but it's still very tasty.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC00910.jpg 
tarepanda


Posted Aug 13, 2013, 2:50 am
Today we visit downtown Toronto.

See the tall tower?  That's the CN Tower, the world's tallest tower when it was built in 1976, and today remains the tallest free-standing structure in the Western Hemisphere.

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I wonder where we'll be going?

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We enjoy checking out the street scenes of downtown Toronto.

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Shanti Baba is an Indian store sells incense, hookah pipes and more.

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Chapters is a Canadian bookstore chain.

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Look at the banner!  Are we in Portugal again?

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It's Little Portugal!  Which means... my favorite pastry?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01269.jpg

We find a bakery.  They have many fresh bread.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01264.jpg

And cheeses and sausages from Portugal!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01263.jpg

OMG look at all the pasteis de nata!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01260.jpg

Nom nom nom I think the ones in Belem tastes better but I am still happy! 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01266.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Aug 25, 2013, 5:46 am
Today we start our day with breakfast.  But this breakfast is different!  It's Cantonese style!  I am curious. 

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Let's check out the menu.

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It's popular to have rice porridge for breakfast, and you can select what type of meat or seafood to go in there, with eggs, scallion, and other things.  There is the fried dough that can be dipped into the porridge.  It's like a salty doughnut.  We also have some fried noodles.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01238.jpg

Afterwards we go the road again.  Look there is a McDonald's. Inside the logo there is a small red maple leaf, to remind us that we are in Canada.

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We pass by Chinatown.

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Look there is the CN Tower again.

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Look there is a H&M here!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01289.jpg

We visit a store calls Mountain Equipment Co-Op, which specializes in outdoor gears and wear.

Looks like they have both water and mountain equipment!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01292.jpg

The paddles look very beautiful.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01305.jpg

Bear bells? I hope they don't attract bears.  Mooses aren't friends of bears.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01303.jpg

Ticks remover?  Yikes!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01300.jpg

Oh I like watermelon helmet!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01296.jpg

On a brighter note, here are some plastic wine glasses to keep some civilization in the wild!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01299.jpg

Hey let's go camping!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01304.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Oct 10, 2013, 3:51 am
Today we go visit mommy's friend.

This is his very friendly dog.

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He has a beautiful garden.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01358.jpg

Look at the maple leaves with the beautiful seeds!

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We sit out on the pouch.

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And drink some beer.

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Later we go to a Brazilian cafe.

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and get more of the pastias de nata!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01351.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Oct 10, 2013, 4:15 am
Today we first try out some dim sum at a Chinese restaurant.

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We mark down what we like to eat on this order form.

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Isn't this dumpling very pretty?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01405.jpg

More food arrives.  Dim Sum means small dishes of food, like tapas.  So you get to order and try many things.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01410.jpg

This is chicken feet!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01412.jpg

Then later in the day we go to a Korean dessert place.

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All the cakes look delicious!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01332.jpg

Everything looks so tempting, it's hard to decide what to order!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01370.jpg

This is a crepe with sesame ice cream.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01375.jpg

We also have a green tea shaved snow. Yummy!!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01327.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Oct 10, 2013, 4:21 am
Sadly today we are leaving Toronto.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01415.jpg

Good bye, our Canadian friends!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01416.jpg

Back to Miami we go!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01417.jpg

But now we have a new friend traveling with us!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01422.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Oct 25, 2013, 1:46 am
Today Mommy is very excited, as we are going to see her favorite author. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01441.jpg

His name is Neil Gaiman.  As we wait, we check out his books.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01558.jpg

I see Stardust, our favorite!  And Coraline.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01554.jpg

I am proud to say we've read many of these.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01555.jpg

We are allowed to get two books signed.  One is the new one, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, and Mommy's favorite, Stardust.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01443.jpg

We sit a bit far back but can still see Neil Gaiman as he talks.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01484.jpg

Afterwards we line up to get his signature.

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We wait over two hours but looks like we are getting close!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01540.jpg

I am so excited to be standing right by the famous author!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01523.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01518.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Nov 10, 2013, 8:31 pm
Today we are helping mommy bring some books to a Little Free Library.  All over the world there are little boxes in neighborhood, where people can stop by to drop off or pick up books to read.  It promotes reading as well as encourage neighbors to talk and be friends. 

Ah, we spot the little library under the tree in the park.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01878.jpg

We released a few books in it.  Hope they get caught!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC01877.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Apr 14, 2014, 4:22 pm
Today we go to visit another Little Free Library.  It's a movement to set up book exchange spot all over cities to encourage people to read more and to promote exchange of idea and friendship. 

This is the park where it is.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC02045.jpg

We spot the library!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC02042.jpg

It's quite empty. We put in some books.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC02044.jpg
tarepanda


Posted Apr 14, 2014, 8:09 pm
Today I go to visit a museum with my friends.

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They have a Peanuts Exhibit!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC02122.jpg

It looks like fun!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC02125.jpg

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First, a little introduction about the artist, Charles Schutz.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC02057.jpg

We read collection of the comic strips.

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We also watch some videos.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC02064.jpg

Here's the gang!

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Let's get Charlie to play baseball.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC02073.jpg

Snoopy is having a costume party!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC02074.jpg

Hi, anybody home?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC02079.jpg

Wow that's one big dog!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC02081.jpg

Hmmmm, let's see... It's a dark and stormy night...

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Here is a collection of the old comic books.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC02083.jpg

Some of the collector items.

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We read more comics.  This one is funny!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC02088.jpg

Here are some of the cel art from the animated cartoon.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC02094.jpg

Some colored strips.

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Where is the big pumpkin king?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC02104.jpg

Hmmm... I don't know how to play Beethoven!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC02107.jpg

Who's your favorite character?

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http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC02112.jpg

There are also some artwork done by other artists.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC02118.jpg

We have a good time but it's time to go.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC02121.jpg
tarepanda


Posted May 21, 2014, 4:00 am
Today we are getting on an airplane.  I am so excited.  Where are we going?

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC02207.jpg

Good thing the airplane is telling us where it's going.  Looks like it's going across the continent to California?  Wow!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC02209.jpg

It has been a long flight so once we arrive we need to find food!  We go to a restaurant that specializes in Korean and Uyghur lamb BBQ.  The poster behind describes the benefits of eating lamb.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC02214.jpg

We get several dishes of ban-chan.  They are small plates of vegetable pickles that go with your rice.  Hey, notice this guy on the placemat?  He's the singer who started the gangnam style dance craze.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC02215.jpg

We have a stove where we will put our BBQ on.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC02211.jpg

Yay!  Our lamb skewers have arrived.  We put them on the stove to cook.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC02218.jpg

More food arrives.  Mushrooms, bun, lamb belly, and more.  Yum yum!!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC02220.jpg
tarepanda


Posted May 21, 2014, 4:37 am
After lunch we drive to our hotel. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC02223.jpg

Ah ah, California dreaming... Palm trees and blue sky...

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC02226.jpg

Oh we are arriving at our hotel in Laguna Nigel.

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We rest a bit in our room room.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC02233.jpg

What a comfy bed!  Good night!!  I am so excited what tomorrow will bring.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC02232.jpg
tarepanda


Posted May 23, 2014, 2:28 pm
Waking up, bright and shiny!  Let's go for a walk!

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You can see the hotel on the cliff. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC02249.jpg

There are some people on the beach surfing. 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC02257.jpg

And people walking their dog.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC02261.jpg

Must be nice to live in one of these houses!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC02264.jpg

It would be so awesome to enjoy a barbeque grill here!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC02273.jpg

Here is our hotel again. 
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC02270.jpg

Hey we can see our room!  It's where the three palm trees are near the corner of the hotel.

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We walk back up to the hotel.

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A bit overcast in the sky but a beautiful walk indeed.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC02279.jpg

Let's relax and rest here a little bit.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u314/azuki726/toy%20voyagers/2013/DSC02282.jpg

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