swan Posted Jan 29, 2011, 4:48 pm |
I'm so excited. I did my first little outing today. Swan took me and my new friend Wolle to the post office. That's where I'll be traveling from in the future. Wolle is another ToyVoyager. She stays with Swan most of the time. We checked for mail in the post office box. And we sent a postcard; I helped put it in the mail slot. |
swan Posted Feb 4, 2011, 4:44 pm |
Oh, we sent out again. This time there was lots of snow and it was cold. It was very exciting to play in the snow even though I got cold fins. I'm happy that Wolle came with me so we could keep each other warm a bit. |
swan Posted Feb 4, 2011, 4:57 pm |
Later in the day, we went to an Italian Restaurant. I liked the crunchy salad, but there were also mussels to eat.
But what was most interesting was this crooked tower that Wolle and I are posing in front of. It's called the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It looks like a fun place. I want to travel to the real tower some time and climb up there. |
swan Posted Feb 4, 2011, 5:30 pm |
Have you heard of Bookcrossing? We met all these people who like to read and exchange books. We talked with a little boy especially who was really nice. And you know what? The coolest thing happened - I found a book with another goldfish on it. I took it home with me. |
swan Posted Feb 4, 2011, 5:34 pm |
Do you know what Bookcrossing is? Well, we went to this meeting and there were lots of books on the table. I met a nice boy and we talked a little.
Also, another awesome thing happened. I found a book that had a goldfish on it, just like me. I was able to take it home. |
swan Posted Apr 17, 2011, 5:25 am |
We went to something called a BookCrossing Convention. I'll update you about that later. We had lots of adventures.
The most exciting news is that we met some other ToyVoyagers. I will be traveling with them and their host to Florida. |
tarepanda Posted May 21, 2011, 9:00 pm |
Yesterday when we went to Old Town Alexandria, we met, to our surprise, some other TVs! Needless to say we are very excited! Mommy didn't know the other host, so it was pure coincidence to see someone else taking pictures with her toys. I mean, how often do we go out and see our fellow travelers? We took a picture together.
Tonight we have dinner at the hotel for the [url=www.bookcrossing.com]BookCrossing[/url] Convention. It is the 10th anniversary celebration. I meet my new friends again and we chat about where we have been and where we want to go. Here I am, with Wolle, Lenny, Mocha, Snuff and BineHH. We talk about where we have been and what we want to see. When they hear that I have hardly been to anywhere, they invite me to visit Florida. I feel so excited, and very happy that my mommy lets me go!! Florida! Here I come! |
tarepanda Posted May 22, 2011, 3:37 am |
Oh, turns out I am not heading to Florida yet. My friends haven't seen enough of Washington DC yet, so I offer to show them around town.
Today we go to the National Zoo. We get to see the Giant Panda. It's kind of hiding behind the trees, but we are still very excited. We release a book about Giant Panda here. There are lots of pandas here in the gift shop! We check out the small mammals. This one is a monkey with a funny face. Can you spot the tiger in the cave? We release a tiger book here too. We say hi to a whole family of lions. Lenny is especially excited. This is a praire dog, although it doesn't look a bit like a dog to me. 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!! |
tarepanda Posted May 28, 2011, 6:10 am |
Today my new friends offer to treat me to 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. We enter the shop. The decoration is very traditional Chinese. Gosh, I don't feel like I am in America at all! The shop sells a lot of tea and paraphernalia, like teapots, magazines and more. 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!! Wow look at all the different tea pots!! They are made with a special clay from China. Let's find a place to sit! We read the menu to select our tea. Now we wait for the water to boil! We ordered a tea called Floating Lantern. I don't see how it looks like a lantern, but my host tells me to be patient. Look! After a few minutes, the bud blossoms. How beautiful it is! And it tastes very good too! |
tarepanda Posted May 30, 2011, 5:58 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. The original house was only one story high but later owner added two more floors. The hearth in the kitchen is large enough to heat the whole house. 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. On the same floor is the master bedroom. We climb up the narrow stairs and reach the third floor, where the children's bedroom is. |
tarepanda Posted May 31, 2011, 1:50 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. 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. The cherry blossoms on campus are blooming beautifully. 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. Ignatius of Loyola was s Spanish knight and the founder of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). There is a little pond next to it with some kois inside. I say hi to them. Let's sit down and play some chess! |
tarepanda Posted Jun 7, 2011, 5:02 am |
I continue to show my friends around town. We walk along Pennsylvania Ave.
We reach Washington Circle, where you can see a statue of, who else, Washington on a horse. This is Renwick Gallery, another Smithsonian art museum. This is LaFayette Park, in the center is a statue is President Andrew Jackson. In the four corners are statues of foreign Revolutionary War heroes, from France, Poland, and Prussia. This is the White House Press Center. This tree looks interesting, like it's growing flowers on the branches! Across from Lafayette Square, on the other side of Pennsylvania Ave, lives a very important person... Yes, ... the President of United States!! Hello Obama!! Next to the White House is the U.S.Treasury Department. And here's the headquarters of the National Geographic Society. The Democratic donkey and Republican elephant. These two animals are used to represent the two parties in U.S. government. We see this beautiful building but now cannot remember what it is! |
tarepanda Posted Jun 14, 2011, 5:06 pm |
On the last day of our visit, we go to the National Portrait Gallery and American Art Museum.
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. The first section we visit has American folk arts. The giraffe is made with bottle caps. Next we visit the protrait museum where different styles of protraits, paintings and sculptures are displayed. They are very famous American writers: Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and.. mmm... we remember it as Poe but can't say for sure. Now this one I recognize! It's Joan of Arc! And these two also! Previous Presidents Clinton and Bush! |
tarepanda Posted Jun 14, 2011, 5:15 pm |
After the museum we all feel hungry. Chinatown is just a few minutes' walk away.
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. We go in and order pork dumpling, BBQ with rice, and beef noodle. They make the noodles in house too. Mocha brags that he has tasted better ones in Hong Kong but for me they are pretty good. Afterwards, we have to head to the airport. Yay! we are finally heading to Florida! I wonder what adventure awaits me? |
tarepanda Posted Jun 22, 2011, 1:33 am |
Yippy!! We are travelling! My new host tells me that we are going to do something very interesting. 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.
We drive along the Seven Mile Bridge. You can see another bridge to our side. That's the old bridge built in 1909-1912 and destroyed by a hurricane in 1935. This bridge has been filmed in movies like True Lies, 2 Fast 2 Furious and the James Bond film Licence to Kill, as well as in the car show Top Gear. After 3 hours of driving, we arrive at Key West! We are here for a event called Key West Paddle Board Classic. We will paddle 12 miles to circle around the island. A lot of people have gathered at the starting point at Smathers Beach already. Everybody looks very fit and sun tanned. This is a shop for renting stand up paddleboards. There are many different types of boats. These two are kayak and outrigger canoe. Here are surf ski, kayak, stand up paddle board and stand up kayaks. This one is kind of like your regular rowboat, called a dory. 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. Our host is very excited about this outrigger canoe, because it looks like the one she has at home. Some of her friends are on this 12-men outrigger canoe. As for us, we are riding in this, a dragon boat!! It can sit 20 people. Let's take a picture with the dragon! Wow, people are leaving the shore to go to the start line!! How exciting! 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 our host doesn't want to be taking pictures while other people are paddling hard. We don't want to get thrown out of the boat. 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. Now we can sit on the beach and relax!! I must say it's a beautiful day. I am liking Florida! Hey where is my margarita? |
tarepanda Posted Jun 22, 2011, 5:17 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.
We pass by the Southernmost Hotel. And the Southernmost House. I am here at the southernmost point of Continental U.S.! Here in Key West is the beginning of US Route 1. It is a major north–south U.S. Highway that runs the length of the East Coast of the United States and runs 2,377 miles (3,825 km) from Fort Kent, Maine at the Canadian border all the way south to Key West, Florida. If I drive along this road I will be able to go home, though it will take a long, long time. We cross the street, and what do we have? The end of US 1, ha ha. We also come by the house of Earnest Hemingway. As a BookCrossing fish, I can tell you that he is a very famous author who wrote Old Man and the Sea. He wrote several of his novels here, including For Whom the Bell Tolls and The Snows of Kilimanjaro. |
tarepanda Posted Jul 3, 2011, 12:46 am |
It's not easy to say goodbye, but Snuff really need to go home now, even if he doesn't want to. He has stayed here for a year and a half, and has gone to a lot of places. His mommy is missing him awfully, he has been gone for so long... Today we go out for a little farewell party.
We come to this Irish restaurant. It's very beautiful inside. There are some old books to add a rustic look to it. I like places with lots of books! We order some fish and chips. Hmm... I will just munch on the chips. I think I am a herbivore. 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. For dessert we have some bread pudding. Cheers to friendship!! We are too small to drink Irish beer, although I'd love to try that. Travel home safely, our dear friend, we will miss you! We hope to see you again! |
tarepanda Posted Jul 3, 2011, 3:40 am |
After a full dinner we feel a bit sleepy, so we decide to stop by Starbucks for a coffee.
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 am glad to help my host to release two books here. |
tarepanda Posted Jul 27, 2011, 3:42 pm |
Today we receive a package!! Look at the pretty stamps! I wonder what's inside? I'd bet it's books for our host who loves to read!
Sure enough, there's a book. But there's something else too? A rat? Turns out Genoveva is a BookCrossing toyvoyager too! Mocha and I are very excited. We give her a warm welcome. Very nice of her mommy to send us some wafers! But I couldn't believe that rat ate half of it!! |
tarepanda Posted Jul 29, 2011, 4:34 am |
Yay today is a BookCrossing day!! We get to release a book.
Today we help our host release a book for the BookCrossing Monopoly game. Her (and Genoveva's mom's) team landed on "Square", so they have to release a book by a square. Our host 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. First, of course, we have to visit the website to register the book. Since weather has been somewhat rainy we put the book in a protective bag. Off we go! I thought we are going to a town square, but to my surprise we visit the Holocaust Memorial. At the entrance there is a statue of a mother with two children. Behind the statue is a quote from Anne Frank on the wall. There is a pond and a statue of a big hand. First we pass by a wall etched with pictures during the war. It's horrible to look at the pictures and imagine the suffering. The hand is reflected in the water where there are some lotuses. It's very beautiful. Oh here is the square our host talks about!! There are slits in the wall so sunlight creates squares of light on the wall. We leave the book in the tunnel. We hope someone will find and enjoy this book. And of course, to journal it! The light also shines through an opening to throw a yellow star on the ground. We walk through the tunnel. At the end, there is an opening where the big hand statue is. Up close, we can see that it is formed by many human figures. They all have very sad and tortured faces. We feel very emotional looking at them. (yeah that was a bad pic but our host excused that it was hard to see the viewer under bright sun.) At the end of the memorial is a sculpture similar to the one we saw at the entrance. Only in this one, the mother and children have died. |
tarepanda Posted Oct 29, 2011, 3:50 am |
Today we go to South Beach, which is a very popular tourist destination.
We are now on Ocean Drive, which is right next to the beach. The street is lined with restaurants and hotels, many of which are built in the Art Deco style. Many movies and magazine photos are shot here. People like to dine al fresco, and it's a place to see and be seen. Look, this hotel has a swimming pool on its first floor! You can lie on the beach chair there and watch the beach. Weird. This was the residence of Versace, a world renowned Italian designer who was killed right on the door steps years ago. Hmm is that a blood stain I see? This is a station where people can rent a bicycle to go around. So, this is Miami Beach. This is the Atlanic Ocean! I want to swim in it! Being a tourist in Florida, of course we need to get some sun tan. Pass me the lotion please... On the way home, along the causeway, we can see the Port of Miami. This is where we can get on a cruise ship to the Caribbeans. Hmmm I hope one day I get to travel in one! |
tarepanda Posted Nov 17, 2011, 6:26 pm |
Today we are helping our host do a BookCrossing release!
Our host 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! We wrap the book up with a little description of what BookCrossing is. Now Bally is all ready it's time to make a Bally roll! We use a white towel and some paper. Tada! Bally is ready to roll! We visit this place called Ozzi Sushi. 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. The sushi plates pass by us on little wooden boats. Yum yum... I am not sure if I am supposed to eat just algae or other fishes, but this sushi roll is tasty. 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. This is a very pretty pink roll with strawberry inside! Bally and us enjoyed a farewell dinner together. Bon voyage!! Travel well, Bally, hope you find some new friends! |
tarepanda Posted Jan 8, 2012, 4:21 am |
Our host apologizes that she hasn't been keeping our journal more up to date. But finally here's some!
We travel with her 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. And some getting off after a race. Looks like the Germans win the race, they look so excited! We visit a friend's VIP guest suite so we can get a full view of the race. Looks like this is the mascot of the race. We go inside the athlete area. There is a kiosk selling smoothies. 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... This one sells paddles. Our host explains that while a regular wooden paddle sells for about $40, serious paddlers usually use a carbon fiber one that costs over $200. This booth is selling souvenir t-shirts. There is also an exhibit about the history of dragon boats. This is an ancient drawing from China, showing a very fancy boat. 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. We enter the athlete village, where the paddlers rest between races. Each country has her own room. Looks like the Brits are stretching out to get ready! And the Germans too! I wonder which country will go home with all the cups? We visit the Hong Kong team. They have won a plaque. We watch the awards ceremony. Trinidad and Tobago has won a few medals for her youth division. The Canadians sweep the most medals. We also take a picture with the Macau team. |
tarepanda Posted Feb 9, 2012, 8:25 pm |
Today we go to celebrate Oktoberfest with Genoveva who is getting a bit homesick. The event is organized by the German American Club.
Hey we do feel very much like we are in Germany now!! There is a band playing... and two German guys dancing...? Feeling a bit hungry we decide to check out the menu. Genoveva is very nice in translating for us. 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. And of course we want some beer! 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. Looks like these are candies from Germany. Okay now to find a spot to sit down. Guten Appetit! Boy, I am thirsty! |
tarepanda Posted Feb 9, 2012, 9:32 pm |
Today my host teaches me to make 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. Next we stir fry the ingredients in the pan. Now we put the noodle to boil. While waiting for the noodle, we prepare the sauce. We use chili sauce, soy sauce, peanut butter, vinegar, sesame paste and sesame oil. We mix everything into a smooth paste. The noodle is ready. We put the stir-fried mix, along with some crushed peanuts and scallion, on top. We add a little hot water to the paste to make a broth, and add it to the bowl. 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, 4:19 am |
Both my mom and my host likes to read and are members of BookCrossing. Right now, my host is playing a BookCrossing monopoly game, and today we are going to do another release!
We plan to do a Yellow Release. We are visiting some food trucks. 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. While I am curious to try Cuban food, Bally the Bookcrossing mascot drags us to another truck called Yellow Submarine. [ Bally shows us the menu... the yellow sub looks good. We place our order. The hotdog has chopped pineapple on top, so it looks yellowish. it's delicious indeed! Afterwards, we help Bally release a yellow book by the truck. Mission accomplished!! |
tarepanda Posted Feb 27, 2012, 2:32 am |
Today we go to the Miami Library Book Sale. As we all love books we are very excited.
There are books everywhere!! Look we have some great finds! Our host usually get a few boxes to last her for releasing the whole year. Afterwards, we go inside the library. We go up to the second floor where the audio books are. Here we are! The library also has computers to use. Time to check out! This is the self service counter where you check out the books by running them through the scanner. |
tarepanda Posted Mar 9, 2012, 7:25 pm |
As Chinese New Year is coming up, we help our host prepare her favorite New Year dish, turnip cake (Lo Bak Go). (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turnip_cake) My host makes it every year for the new year. She brags that she cooks a really good version of it, when she gave it to her boss to share with his Chinese parents, they said it's the best they ever had. : ) You can find the cake in Chinese restaurant dim sum too, but they are not as good. ; )
First we have to prepare the ingredient. We used dried shrimp, dried scallop and mushroom, and we have to soak it in water first. Next we chop up some sausage. Now we stir fried it with some cooking wine, soy sauce and sugar. Next is the preparation of the turnip, or daikon. We use 5 lbs for one round of cake. We clean and peel them. While my host's grandma had to shred them by hand, now it is a breeze with a food processor. We cook the radish, then add the mixings in. We prepare the flour mix. It's half rice flour and half corn starch in a small bowl of water. We put the radish mixture into a deep pan and stir in the flour mix. [ We have to steam the mixture for 45 minutes. While we are waiting, we prepare some cilantro. Let's see if it's ready! We stick a chopstick into the cake. If it comes out clean it's good. A little garnish with cilantro and sesame on top, and it's done!! |
tarepanda Posted Mar 25, 2012, 5:27 pm |
Today we go with our host to the Chinese Buddhist Temple to celebrate Chinese New Year.
They have some cute monk statues around the building. Look, they hang up a lot of red lanterns so it looks very festive. Near the entrance is a big incense burner. I say a little prayer, make a wish and insert the incense into the burner. It looks very festive inside too! The lanterns are made to look like lotus flowers. Aren't they beautiful? This is the main hall where the Buddha statue is. We see more of the cute statues. This is a beautiful bronze bell. What are all these little lanterns hanging on the tree? We donate some money, so we get 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!! 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. Yummm... very healthy, and very delicious! There is a gift shop area. They have a big section of books and CDs. Lucky charms, bracelets and more. They have some paper lantern. This is a weird looking puppet. 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. Our host always get something when she visited the temple. 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. Can you guess the answer to this riddle? What are these? My host says it's lion head but I am not sure if they look like the lions I know. Maybe Chinese lion looks different? Anyway, let's take a picture in the lion's mouth! There is some kung fu performance. The drummer's beats quicken. I wonder what is coming up? Wow look at the dragon!! It's very lively! Uh oh~! Looks like it tangles itself up while chasing the ball! Here comes the lions!! The lions stand up real tall, by having one performer standing on the shoulder of other. Now on to some quieter performances. A lady plays the flute. And another does a sword dance. What a fun experience this is! |
tarepanda Posted Apr 2, 2012, 11:00 pm |
Today the weather is very nice, so we go visit the U Pick farm.
We found some delicious strawberries! These are the little flowers from the strawberry plants. They are very juicy and delicious. We pick and eat to our hearts' content. Next we look for some tomatoes. We find some Roma tomatoes. The cherry tomato is very sweet so we decide to get a tray of them. We also pick a few green peppers. Here we are, enjoying ourselves among the parsley. The basil doesn't look too great but we decide to get a little just to cook with pasta. They have a field of flowers too, like sunflower, for people who want to take a bunch home. For those who don't have time to pick the fruits and vegetables themselves, they can get it at the stall. When we get home, our host scramble an egg with some of the tomato and chives we just got, with a bit of goat cheese too. Mmm it sure is tasty! |
tarepanda Posted Apr 14, 2012, 4:45 am |
Today we go to Lake Worth for the street painting festival. It's the largest of its kind in the U.S.
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. The event goes from Saturday to Sunday. It takes a lot of hours to paint. This one is very colorful! Hey look! Here's a painting of Nemo and his friends! I am so happy! Looks like sea turtles is a popular theme. This is a manatee, an endangered sea mammal found in Florida. And a Florida beach! The painter paints his own dog in this one. The dog model is sitting right next to the picture, enjoying his fame. 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 The artist draws grid on her copy, so she can reproduce it accurately on the street. This is so beautiful. It's a shame to remember that when the festival is over, the art will not remain. Besides street painting there are other arts on display too. This stall sells palm frond art. Frond is the base of a palm leaf. This man is pretending to be a bronze statue. There are a lot of reproduction of classics, all nicely done. Here's a picasso! Not a classic, but rather an impressionist painting of Darth Vader! There are some food booths too in case you get hungry. I guess cigar and fine arts kind of go together... Oh look! Harry Potter! Pussy in Boots! Some artists complete their work already while some are still hard at work. 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! |
tarepanda Posted Apr 30, 2012, 3:05 am |
This week we go with our host 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. This stall sells home made jams and peanut butter. We get some kumquat jam that is excellent. The bread looks delicious too! That looks yummy... not... yuck! That's dog biscuit!! Now this is sounds better - cheese!! And the local honey sounds delicious too. There are some plants for sale. The soap and sachets smells really good. We pick a jasmine soap and a verbena sachet for the car. As for food - needless to say you can go Greek here! |
tarepanda Posted May 1, 2012, 3:27 am |
My friends Genoveva and Sissi are from Germany, and they start to have craving for some some good beer. Our host has been very nice to scout out some breweries.
Today, we go to a Saint Somewhere Brewery, for a Happy Ending Brunch! Looks like they get some good stuff here! This tank is used for boiling the grain. This is the fermentation tank. Hey look where the bottles come from!! These beers are ready to be shipped to bars for use on the tap. Now time to sit down for a gulp! They specialize in saison. The one on the left is orange juice mixed with saison. We also enjoy some scrambled egg, potato, empanada and pancake. What a nice Sunday brunch! |
tarepanda Posted May 4, 2012, 5:13 pm |
Today we go around downtown Tarpon Springs.
We go to the Greek Heritage Museum, which unfortunately is closed. 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. Look there is a little squirrel friend! We have a good time at the park. Wish we packed some picnic! This is a monument for His Holiness Bartholomew, arch bishop of Constantinople, who visited in 2006. The park is right by the bayou. 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. 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. This house here looks very pretty! We walk up to the main street. This is the St. Nicholas Cathedral. It is modeled after Hagia Sophia. The statue is a memorial for those residents who fought in the wars. You can see the Greek flag flying. We spot a Greek bakery across the street. We are not hungry so we will visit another time. |
tarepanda Posted May 4, 2012, 5:28 pm |
This is the room we are staying at.
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. What a beautiful place this is! We enjoy watching the sun setting into the sea. |
tarepanda Posted May 5, 2012, 5:27 am |
Boy, we are getting thirsty again! LOL. Today we go visit Dunedin Brewery, the oldest microbrewery in Florida.
The outside looks pretty good, almost like a German beer garden. Let's see what's inside! The brewing tanks here are much bigger than the other one we went to. The inside has a cosy, funky atmosphere which we like immediately. Oh, looks like we just missed the performing band. : ( 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! |
tarepanda Posted May 6, 2012, 4:30 am |
Today we go visit the Sponge Docks, which is the popular tourist destination in Tarpon Springs.
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. 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. This statue is a memorial to the divers. Look at all the sponges! Most of them are imported from where costs are lower. Hmm... I feel very at home sitting in this sponge here. We find this friendly sea turtle. Oh Mommy! Help! I am going to be shark dinner!!! What a scare!! Now we need some food! Gyros is a Greek specialty. You can see the stacks of pita bread and the roasting meat. Yum! It's so delicious. The bread is soft and warm, and the tzaziki sauce creamy. We also have a Spanakopita, spinach pie, which is very flaky. Dessert time! We go a few doors down to a bakery. Look at all the baklava, flans, cookies and more! My mouth is watering! Our host gets some of her favorite, the diples. It's a thin waffle rolled up like a tube, with honey drizzled over it. What a fun trip but sadly it's time to go home. 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. |
tarepanda Posted May 6, 2012, 6:02 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.
The railroad is long gone, except for this little train here. We walk around the village. Most of the little houses are converted to either shops or restaurants. This weekend there is a Renaissance Festival going on. Let's check it out! What are these colorful things? It's a society of glass blowers showing their work. There is a booth for pan flute. This lady is playing some lovely music on the harp. There are many volunteers and workers dressed up in medieval clothings. All these clothes look very interesting! If you want to, you can go ahead and buy an outfit to join them! Reward offered for my head! I guess this rocking horse is like what our roller roaster is now! These people are educating people about birds of prey. Looks like we stumble into the camp of a crusader? The sign looks medieval but the food definitely is not! Ceviche? Chili cheese fries? And pray tell what is Peruvian donut? Methink'st the medieval lords and knights will be stumped by the drink menu of pina colada and mojito too! |
tarepanda Posted May 15, 2012, 3:23 am |
Today we go get some bubble tea. Hey we can't survive on beer ; )
The empanadas look very appertizing. Look, they have some interesting goods on the shelf too! We get the bubble tea with lychee tea. Bubbles are tapioca balls that are chewy in texture. 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 26, 2012, 6:24 pm |
Today we go visit the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables. It is a designated National Historic Landmark.
Biltmore was opened in January 1926, after a ten-month construction and a $10 million dollars expense. In its heyday, The Biltmore played host to royalty, both Europe's and Hollywood's. The hotel counted the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Judy Garland, Bing Crosby, Al Capone and assorted Roosevelts and Vanderbilts as frequent guests. Franklin D. Roosevelt had a temporary White House office set up at the Hotel for when he vacationed on his fishing trips from Miami. It served as a hospital during World War II and as a VA Hospital and campus of the University of Miami medical school until 1968. It became a hotel again in 1987. The lobby looks very beautiful indeed. Look, what an exquisite bird cage! Hi birdie! The architecture borrows heavily from the Granada style in Spain. What a beautiful courtyard! At one time the swimming pool was the largest pool in the world. It does feel like Spain, doesn't it? While the palm trees make it feel very Floridian. |
tarepanda Posted Jul 1, 2012, 3:46 am |
Today we learn to make Vietnamese style spring roll.
First, we chop up the ingredients. As Charles is the biggest and strongest, he gets to do all the chopping. We cut up the carrot, then the mushrooms and wood ears (it is a type of fungi that grows on wood). Next we cook the ingredients in the wok. I have to stir fry them so they cook evenly and won't get burnt. We continue to add more ingredients as we cook. Now I add the bamboo and rice vermicilli noodles too. We also season with soy sauce, cooking wine and sugar. Now we prepare the wrapper. We add a little water to the rice paper to soften it, and place a bit of cooked ingredients on it. We roll them up nicely. Now we fry them in the pan. Usually it's deep fried, but as we do not want to use too much oil, we have to fry one side then the other. Next we prepare the sauce. We chop up the garlic, then add vinegar, chili sauce and sugar to it. Now lunch is ready!! We put a spring roll on a leaf of lettuce, add a little sauce and enjoy! It's very delicious! |
tarepanda Posted Jul 7, 2012, 8:03 pm |
Today it's cloudy but at least it stop raining. We decide to go visit a park.
I almost thought we went to the zoo! There is some fitness equipment for people to work out. This one you can sit or stand and twist, to strengthen your ab and improve your flexibility. It's not easy for a little fish to do chin up, but I did it!! Look, there is a bench. Let's rest a bit. We are all tired after the work out! Let's go to the dock and take a look! There is a boat which can take you around the bay, for a day or evening cruise. A lot of boats are anchored in the bay. I wish one day I can get on one of them and sail the world! |
tarepanda Posted Jul 11, 2012, 3:54 am |
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.
Let's check them out! This one sells burgers. Look, this one has a fish kite flying on the top of the truck, and it looks like me! Oh, they sell fish tacos. This one has arepa (corn pancakes) with cheeses. 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. This year they are promoting frozen yogurt, which is very popular now. Oh I am feeling hungry already!! Hmm what flavor should I pick? We get a cup of raspberry frozen yogurt. Yumm! There are some tables under the shade there! 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. |
tarepanda Posted Jul 12, 2012, 5:14 am |
Today we decide to go visit the zoo.
Look at the pretty bird! This is a different kind of pretty bird! A very colorful peacock. There are some pelicans by the pond. They are kind of far away, but can you see a patch of pink back there? They are a flock of flamingos. They are very beautiful birds. Look at the beautiful lotuses! These ibises are around the picnic area trying to find food. Sorry but we don't have anything to share. It gets a bit rainy, let's check out the gift shop instead. Let's doing a little drumming and dancing to pray for the rain to stop! I say hi to some other toys. Hopefully they will find a new owner soon and maybe get to travel like we do! Sadly the rain gets heavier, so we cannot continue our visit. Hopefully we can return another day. |
tarepanda Posted Aug 11, 2012, 5:45 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!
Oh wow! A toyvoyager! And he is a rat too! From Germany! Hallo Guten Tag! 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? |
tarepanda Posted Aug 11, 2012, 5:57 am |
Today we get another visitor arriving! Wow! Looks like this one can't wait to get out.
Let's give him a hand. One... Two... Three! Okay okay, pull now! To the left, a little bit... yay we get a leg out! 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! 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!! |
tarepanda Posted Oct 23, 2012, 2:18 am |
After such nice sunny days it has gotten rainy.
We watch the news. A hurricane is coming!! Looks like it may be heading to Florida. 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. Our host family 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. 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! This one too. Looks like this owner takes a break while installing the garage shutters. Even though there is no rain the wind is rather strong. We better head home before it gets bad. I hope we are safe and the hurricane will pass soon. |
tarepanda Posted Dec 28, 2012, 3:26 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. They have lots of interesting books. Look what we get from the library! Each book is stamped with the Bookleggers logo. |
tarepanda Posted Nov 10, 2013, 8:29 pm |
Today we are helping our host bring some books to a [url=www.littlefreelibrary.org]Little Free Library[/url]. 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 neighors to talk and be friends.
Ah, we spot the little library under the tree in the park. We released a few books in it. Hope they get caught! |
tarepanda Posted Apr 14, 2014, 4:23 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. We spot the library!! It's quite empty. We put in some books. |