Sweetie Posted Oct 23, 2011, 8:30 pm |
Hi,
here I'm with my first log. So, I'm Sweetie and I'm so happy to have the chance to travel. At the moment I am waiting for tomorrow because i am going to Finland I can't wait to start here from Slovenia. |
Nonnariina Posted Oct 28, 2011, 2:10 pm |
Hello Mom!
I arrived Finland yesterday! It was very cold weather outside. I met Nonnariina and she was very pleasent that I arrived safely. She showed her house and yard to me and I had great fun, I jumped in leafs and I climed to tree also Then we went to bicyle trip to shore. Weather is misty and water was really cold ( I didn´t tried to swim...) Then I was able to visit Nonnariina´s italian lesson. I learned to say Ciao And Nonnariina teached me how to say hello and I love you in finnish: Hello= Hei and I love you = Minä rakastan sinua. Nonnarrina has a problem with uploading photos but she will try tommorrow again. I had a nice and exciting day and I will sleep well! Love you -Sweetie |
Nonnariina Posted Oct 29, 2011, 1:36 pm |
Hello again!
Here comes some pictures! Today was sunny day and we were at Nonnariinas friend´s place. I met cute cat. She sniffed me and I was little scared, but she was just curious. Today we well go outside to do some rakeing. In the evening we will eat some fried bananas and icecream! Love you! -Sweetie |
Nonnariina Posted Nov 2, 2011, 5:36 pm |
Hello!
Today I was at school! Pupils were age 8-9 years and they were very excited about me. I saw aclassroom and it was guite big. I learned much: English and some Geography, Finland`s map. In the breaks I swinged and slided with children. We had great fun! In the evening I just relaxed and watched tv. Bye! -Sweetie |
Nonnariina Posted Nov 5, 2011, 6:16 pm |
Hello !
Now is weekend and today I have practised to Nonnariinas match tests with her and it was really difficult. Nonnariina has now many tests at school, but she still has time to me Today was dark and cold day and Nonnariina is waiting for snow. She really loves winters. I wish that I could be Finland when snow comes, it´s also nice to travel to anorether place! I will leave Finland on monday and my next host lives in...Africa !!!!! How exciting! What will I see there? Today We maid fried bananas (again) and there´s a photo! It´s so delicious, expecially with chocolate ice cream<3 Today I met otter called Padra! He was really kind, but otters are some kind weird animals... Yesterday I met Nonnariina`s firend´s dog! The dog was really big and interseted of me. Many people here loves me and I allways hear screaming like: oh, how cute! I miss you ! -Sweetie |
Nonnariina Posted Nov 6, 2011, 4:55 pm |
Hi Mum!
This is my last day in Finland It´s little bit sad, but I´m excited about what I see next. Today I, Nonnariina and Nonnariina´s friend went to bicyle tripp to Nais-saari shore, witch is about 3 kilometres from Nonnariinas home. Then I visited centrum of Jyväskylä. I saw buildings of University of Jyväskylä. They were old and beautifull. I have also relaxed, when Nonnariina cleaned up... This night we are going to watch tv: dancing race Tanssii tähtien kanssa (in eglish it could be something like Dancing with stars). There is dancers who gets famous persons to partners and they have to teach famous persons to dance. Toaday I also visited real Finnish sauna! And I have to say that I like beeing in sauna But not so long time as Nonnariina like´s. I can tell, you it´s very hot in sauna.... So, this is last upload from Finland, next is from Africa! Have a nice day! With kisses Sweetie |
Katara Posted Nov 28, 2011, 6:11 pm |
Hi mom!
I arrived in South Africa today! I am so excited! It is very hot here - about 30 degrees Celsius. Katara told me that because Spring is almost over, the Jacaranda trees are no longer in bloom. We did however spot a tree that still had a few blossoms - so I decided to pose for a photo I am looking forward to my stay in South Africa, and I hope that I'll meet new friends! Lots of love, Sweetie xxx |
Katara Posted Dec 6, 2011, 3:48 pm |
Hi mom!
Today Katara made some spicy Butternut soup for dinner. She added some ground Ginger, mild curry powder, dried mixed herbs and a splash of Tabasco sauce. After she plated the soup she crumbed some Feta cheese into the soup. We ate it together with some seeded bread. It was delicious! Katara said that next time I can help her in the kitchen - I am looking forward to it! I miss you Mom, Love Sweetie xxx |
Katara Posted Dec 6, 2011, 3:55 pm |
Today Katara had her very first stall at
The Green Market and she took me along. She has been working very hard the past few days to get everything ready. The market focuses on environmentally friendly products as well as products that are made from recycled materials. Katara sold some jewellery that she made from recycled items. |
Katara Posted Dec 6, 2011, 4:27 pm |
Today we went to visit Katara's in-laws who live on a plot outside Pretoria.
I met "Grietjie", a goose and Penny and Sylvester, their 2 Boxer dogs I also posed for a photo with some wood-carved African statues. I had a great day outdoors! Love you Mom, Sweetie xxx |
Katara Posted Dec 9, 2011, 7:35 pm |
Hi mom!
Tonight we (me, Marty and Hase) helped Katara decorate the Christmas tree. It was a lot of fun! Katara said that if the weather is nice tomorrow night we will go and look at some Christmas lights at the Casino! I am very excited! |
Katara Posted Dec 13, 2011, 4:53 pm |
Hi mom!
Today it rained so we didn't go to the casino to see the Christmas lights but Katara promised me that we will go another time. In the evening I helped Katara in the kitchen. I helped her prepare the Butternut pumpkin - Katara was also feeling very creative so we made 'pin-wheel sosaties' (kebabs) with 'wors' (sausage) Me and Hase thought it was delicious! |
Katara Posted Dec 13, 2011, 5:10 pm |
Hi mom!
Today I went shopping with Katara and her husband. On our way to the shopping centre we had to pass through a toll-gate. We went to a big shopping centre called the Kolonade. Inside the shopping centre there is an ice-skating rink. We also did some grocery shopping. Can you spot me? Hugs and kisses! Sweetie xxx |
Katara Posted Dec 21, 2011, 5:31 am |
Hi mom!
You will not believe what I ate for lunch today - SUSHI! Katara ordered some from a Chinese take-away restaurant down the street. We had "Avo Maki", "California Rolls", and "Fashion Sandwiches". We put some wasabi on the sushi and dipped it in soy sauce. We ate it with chopsticks. There was also some pickled ginger - Katara said that you are supposed to eat it to cleanse your palette. |
Katara Posted Dec 21, 2011, 5:58 am |
Hi mom!
Tonight I saw some Christmas Lights. Katara bought us some ice-cream and then we took a drive down Lawley Street. It is situated in a residential area in a posh suburb of Pretoria and every year most of the houses in this street put up Christmas lights. |
Katara Posted Dec 25, 2011, 7:38 pm |
Hi Mom
Today Marty, Hase and I spent the morning watching some cricket on the telly (South Africa vs Sri Lanka). South Africa was playing well and we soon got into the 'swing' of things, happily cheering along. The match was played at "Super Sport Park" - the stadium is about 15km from Katara's home. I am having a great time - Marty, Hase and I have become very good friends! Lots of love, Sweetie xxx |
Katara Posted Dec 30, 2011, 3:18 pm |
Hi Mom!
Today I went with Katara went to the Centurion Mall to do some Christmas shopping! It's an open mall that overlooks a small man-made lake. First off we had some coffee and breakfast at Cafe Bugatti and after that we hit the shops! The sugar packets have quotes on them as you can see in this picture. I had a lot of fun helping Katara choose out Christmas presents, even though the shops were quite busy! Thinking of you! Lots of love, Sweetie xxx |
Katara Posted Dec 30, 2011, 3:33 pm |
Hi Mom!
Seeing that it is Summer in South Africa we decided to make a few sun decorations for the Christmas tree. We made the decorations using air-dry clay which we then painted. It was a lot of fun!! xxx Sweetie |
Katara Posted Dec 30, 2011, 3:38 pm |
Merry Christmas Mom!!
I was so happy to see the sun shining today!! The past few days it has been cloudy and rainy so it was great to see some blue sky! We started the day by opening some Christmas presents We then got ready to go to Katara's sister's house for Lunch. We had Turkey, baby potatoes, carrot puree, aubergines with olives and capers and salad. For dessert we ate some Tiramisu. Katara's sister was busy grating some chocolate over the top. Yummy!! (Katara's sister's in-laws are Bulgarian. Normally for Christmas we eat lamb or gammon, with rice, roast potatoes, creamed spinach and sweet carrots with a green salad. For dessert we normally eat a baked pudding with custard and for tea-time we have fruit cake and tea). I had a great day - together with Hase and Marty! Our first "African" Christmas! Love, Sweetie |
Katara Posted Dec 31, 2011, 1:21 pm |
Katara's husband took me with to the Irene Country Club today. He went to play a round of golf with some of his colleagues. I watched the whole game from the safety of his golf club bag.
|
Katara Posted Dec 31, 2011, 1:43 pm |
Hi Mom!
We went to the Irene Village Mall to buy some baking supplies (Katara wants to try out a recipe for Chocolate Brownies) and to get some Sparkling Wine for New Year's Eve tonight. The Irene Village Mall is an open-air mall. It has quite a relaxed atmosphere. Throughout the mall there are various sculptures. In this picture you can see a sculpture titled "The Udder Side" - It's of a buried cow lying upside down. Some more sculptures: We also walked past a "Biltong" Shop where you can buy "biltong" (dried meat. In America it is called 'jerky'). "Biltong" is very popular in South Africa. I had a great time! I can't wait to help Katara bake Chocolate Brownies later on today! |
Katara Posted Jan 3, 2012, 7:32 am |
Hi Mom!
In the afternoon we baked Chocolate Brownies. I even helped Katara in the kitchen! First we found the recipe and Marty, Hase and I helped Katara get all the ingredients together Then I helped Katara melt the butter and cocoa We mixed all the ingredients together and put the batter in a dish and placed it in the oven. Pretty soon the whole house smelt of chocolate! For dinner we had Hot Pots and we ate the Brownies with cream for dessert. The Brownies were dark and decadent. Yum! We watched the movie "Thor" and welcomed the New Year with some Sparkling Wine. Katara added some rasberries for decoration. Hugs and kisses, Sweetie |
Katara Posted Jan 6, 2012, 1:14 pm |
Today we had some fruit mince pies for tea. It was yummy!!
|
Katara Posted Jan 6, 2012, 1:49 pm |
Hi Mom!
Katara adopted "Penguin Girl" and she arrived a couple of days ago from the Chech Republic. She is very sweet! Katara can make nice things with wool. She made a cute little doggie for charity - his name is "Woof". In the afternoon we all played some cards. It was a lot of fun! Love you lots! xoxox Sweetie |
Katara Posted Jan 10, 2012, 8:16 am |
Hi Mom!
We went hiking at the Groenkloof Nature Reserve in Pretoria today. We did a 5km hike and it was fantastic! Everything is nice and green and the wild flowers are beautiful! We also saw some giraffe, zebra and buck in the distance After the hike we rested for a bit in the picnic area Wishing that you were here... Lots of love, SWEETIE xxx |
Katara Posted Jan 13, 2012, 4:42 pm |
Hi mom!
This morning we had a delicious breakfast of freshly made flapjacks! Katara's new ToyVoyager, Blou Beer, will be travelling to Germany tomorrow, so the breakfast was in his honour |
Katara Posted Jan 19, 2012, 9:20 am |
Hi Mom!
This morning we went to run a few errands. For lunch we stopped at "Doringkloof Mall" and bought some samoosas from an Indian Spice Shop. Their samoosas are delicious! In the afternoon we went to play some Tennis. There is some equipment for the children to play on. We took a photo because the sign is also written in an African language. |
Katara Posted Jan 21, 2012, 5:52 pm |
Hi Mom
Lately it's been VERY hot here in Pretoria. Unfortunately we haven't had much rain this month. Today Katara showed me the view they have from their flat/apartment. I also met 'Uno' - their neighbour's cat. He comes to visit every now and again. I am missing you very much! Lots of love, Sweetie xxx |
Katara Posted Jan 22, 2012, 2:44 pm |
Hi Mom!
This afternoon we finally got some rain to cool us down a bit. For lunch today we (Marty, Hase and I) helped Katara make some Tuna fish sandwiches. We added some chopped onion, lettuce, red pepper and Feta cheese. It was yum! |
Katara Posted Jan 28, 2012, 1:27 pm |
Hi mom!
Today we went for another hike at Groenkloof Nature Reserve. It was a beautiful day! Afterwards we had a braai (barbeque) in the picnic area. We ate the boerewors (sausage) on bread buns/rolls with mustard and tomato sauce - We call it "Boerewors Rolls" We toasted some Marshmallows for dessert. They were sweet and yummy! On the way home we stopped to take some photos of the Telkom Tower |
Katara Posted Feb 2, 2012, 7:25 pm |
Hi Mom!
Yesterday a new ToyVoyager arrived - His name is Bubblegum. He is from Germany. He told us all about his trip to Australia and Katara showed us his Travelog. Tonight Katara made us some Macaroni-and-Cheese for supper. She added in a little bit of salami for flavour. It was really nice! |
Katara Posted Feb 3, 2012, 6:56 pm |
Hi Mom!
We all helped Katara prepare tonight's supper. We had roasted mixed vegetables, chicken and wholewheat couscous. xxx Hugs and kisses, Sweetiexxx |
Katara Posted Feb 5, 2012, 2:14 pm |
Hi Mom!
Katara has started a mini herb garden on her balcony. She has chives, peppermint, oreganum and flat-leaf parsley. For lunch today we ordered some wood-oven-fired Pizza. We ordered a "Tiri" - It has feta cheese, cheddar cheese and mozarella cheese with Napolitana sauce and a "Las Vegas" with mozarella cheese, pepperoni, mushroom, onion and Napolitana sauce. In the afternoon she showed us their local community newspaper. Some articles are written in English and others in Afrikaans. |
Katara Posted Feb 6, 2012, 6:25 pm |
Hi mom!
Today it was hot so Katara treated me to a Magnum Almond Ice-cream. It has Vanilla ice-cream and is smothered with dairy milk chocolate and chopped almond. It was delicious! In the afternoon we took a stroll down the street. This house has high-voltage electric fencing to keep intruders out. |
Katara Posted Feb 8, 2012, 6:27 pm |
Hi Mom!
Today we all did some sewing! It was much fun! We are all helping Katara make a birthday present for her sister First Katara made the legs, then we helped pin some of the pattern pieces. I helped Katara cut out the 'arms' Then we watched while Katara sewed the pieces together. Birthday present in progress. Then for supper we had Spaghetti Bolognaise. Katara made it with ostrich mince. Open wide! |
Katara Posted Feb 9, 2012, 6:31 pm |
Hi Mom!
Tonight we watched "The State of the Nation Address" on television. I saw Mr Jacob Zuma - the South African president. Just now I will go to bed - at least it is a bit cooler tonight Good night mom! PS: I asked Katara how to say "Sleep well" in Afrikaans. She says I must say "Lekker slaap". |
Katara Posted Feb 12, 2012, 4:53 pm |
Hi mom,
Today it is raining... We spent the morning helping Katara to finish the doll for her sister's birthday. We are very proud because the doll looks beautiful! In the afternoon we told Katara that we wanted to bake a cake. Me, Hase, Marty and Bubblegum found a recipe in one of Katara's cookbook's. We creamed the eggs and castor sugar I sifted some flour Here the cake is ready to go into the oven Katara helped me to taste some of the batter - It tasted delicious! Then we put the cake into the oven. After a whilst Katara checked the cake - she said something wasn't right... We discovered we never put the butter/margarine into the batter, so the cake was a big disaster... Katara didn't have enough ingredients for us to make another cake... |
Katara Posted Feb 13, 2012, 4:08 pm |
Today we went to Rosebank. Rosebank is a suburb in Johannesburg. We took some photos along the way...
We arrived at the Rosebank Mall. The newer part of the mall is called The Zone. At the mall: Hase, Bubblegum and I had some fun too! We also visited the Rosebank Rooftop Market: I had a great time! In the afternoon Katara gave me, Hase and Marty a little farewell tea. We ate some Cinnabons - it was very nice! Tomorrow I will embark on my journey to Arizona I don't want to go back into the dark envelope but I am looking forward to going to USA! Thank you Katara for hosting me! I really enjoyed my stay! |
Bart Posted Feb 24, 2012, 8:51 am |
I arrived safely in Phoenix, Arizona today! When my envelope was opened I was surrounded by friendly, smiling faces!
"Hi! I'm Sweetie and I live in Slovenia. I just completed a fun adventure in South Africa!" "Welcome to Arizona, Sweetie! We're happy you've come to visit us! I'm Bart. My human family and I will be your hosts." "It's nice to meet you, Sweetie! I'm Puppy Graham from New Jersey. I'm sure we'll become good friends and have lots of fun adventures together!" "Hi, Sweetie! I'm Lilac and I live in Los Angeles, California. I've been the only Toy Voyager here for several months, so I'm really happy to have you and Graham here to share adventures with!" After meeting my new host and Toy Voyager friends, we posed for a group photo. Then I went outside to get some fresh air (that envelope was very dark and stuffy!) and get a quick look at Arizona. When I came back into the house I met one of my host's cats. His name is Jake. He seems very friendly and he seemed to like me! I'm very tired after my long nine day journey from South Africa, so it's time to get some rest. My host says I have a few days to rest and relax and then we will be going on adventures this weekend. I can't wait to see Arizona! Bye for now! Sweetie |
Bart Posted Mar 4, 2012, 8:29 am |
I had my first Arizona adventure today! My hosts haven't been away in a long time, so today we went on an overnight getaway! We can't go far from home since Jake (their cat) needs insulin injections twice a day, so we went to Wild Horse Pass Hotel & Casino. It's only a 25 minute drive down the freeway from my host's house.
This is the Wild Horse Pass Hotel & Casino sign along Interstate 10. I'm sorry the sign is blurry and you can't read it. Wild Horse Pass Hotel & Casino opened in October 2009. Gambling isn't legal in the state of Arizona, but it is legal on Native American land. Wild Horse Pass is owned and operated by the Native American Gila River Indian Community. We saw some pretty yellow wildflowers blooming outside of the hotel. The hotel registration desk is in a tall rotunda lobby area that has a big statue of a wild horse. Time to go check out our room, it's on the fourth floor. Here we are...our home away from home for the night, room 432. This room is very nice! The bathroom is very stylish, too! And this pillow-top bed feels very soft and comfortable! I wonder if the televison has any information about the restuarants here at the hotel? Maybe it's better to look in the hotel Guest Services book. We were getting hungry, so we decided to go to Cafe 24/7 for lunch. We shared a grilled seasoned chicken sandwich and french fries. Mmmmm...that was very yummy! Next, we went into the Casino to play some slot machines. We didn't win anything big, but we still had fun. We played one slot machine that was based on the movie, "The Hangover". It was funny! We got to play a lot of bonus rounds, so we had fun playing for a long time. Sadly, still no big win though. Later we went over to Lone Butte Casino. It's only about 5 miles from Wild Horse Pass, and it's also owned by the Gila River Indian Community. We parked in the 3 of Hearts area of the big parking lot. It was getting late, so after playing for awhile and not winning at Lone Butte Casino either, we decided to go back to the hotel to watch television and relax. I wasn't very interested in the show that was on television, so I decided to look at this pretty book about Arizona. I can't wait for our adventure tomorrow. I wonder if we'll see any of the places in these magazines! Time for one last group photo with Graham and Lilac so that we'll always remember our getaway to Wild Horse Pass! We need a wake up call, but this phone is bigger than I am, si I can't make the call. We asked Graham to call and request a wake up call. My hosts said that tomorrow we're going on an "old west" adventure! It sounds so exciting and interesting, I can't wait! Time to crawl into that big, comfortable pillow-top bed and get some sleep. Good night! |
Bart Posted Mar 20, 2012, 6:44 am |
Today my hosts took Lilac, Graham and I on an adventure into the Superstition Mountains. We learned a little about the old west!
Our first stop was the Superstition Mountain Museum. Here we learned about the Dutchman's Lost Gold Mine. Legend has it that a German immigrant, Jacob Waltz, found one of the legendary Peralta family gold mines, deep in the Superstition Mountains. At the time, "Dutchman" was a common, yet inaccurate, American slang term for "German" (derived from the word "Deutsch" which means “German” in German), which is where the mine got it's name. According to Jacob Waltz, the mine he found was rich beyond dreams and was located where a miner would never look for gold. Supposedly, on his death bed he gave a friend a crude drawing of a map containing the location of the mine. To this day, the mine has never been found. Many versions of the legend exist, along with much controversy about it's existence. Back in the 1860s, this area had several gold mines which produced a large amount of gold. In addition to providing history about the Superstition Mountains, the museum is now home to two buildings from the Apacheland Movie Ranch which was located near here, in Gold Canyon, Arizona. Apacheland Movie Ranch opened in June 1960. Elvis Presley, Stella Stevens, Ronald Reagan, Steve McQueen and Clint Eastwood were some of the actors that filmed western movies at Apacheland. Movies filmed there include: “The Gambler II”, “Death Valley Days”, “Charro!” and “Have Gun Will Travel”. The last full length movie to be filmed there was the 1994 HBO movie, “Blind Justice” starring Armand Assante, Elizabeth Shue and Jack Black. In May 1969, a suspicious fire destroyed all but 7 buildings on the ranch. The sets were rebuilt but almost 35 years later, in February 2004, another suspicious fire destroyed Apacheland. In October 2004 Apacheland closed its doors permanently. The cause of both fires still remains a mystery. Upon closing, the only two surviving buildings from Apacheland were donated to the Superstition Mountain Museum. The chapel from the Elvis Presley movie "Charro" survived the fire. Inside the chapel there is a display case showing some of the movies that were filmed at Apacheland Movie Ranch. Just outside the “Charro” chapel we saw a man who looked like a gold miner from the old west! He posed for a picture with Lilac, Graham and I. He said his name was Rusty Spurr. We also saw a little cactus garden outside of the chapel. We found a stage coach just waiting for me to jump in! I bet it was really hot riding in this stage coach back in the old west, it doesn’t even have air conditioning! That barn in the background survived the fire, too. It was used in lots of western movies filmed at Apacheland. In this picture you can see the Superstition Mountains behind me. We saw a lot of Cholla (pronounced “choy – a”) cactus. They look like fuzzy trees, but I was told not to get too close! They’re often referred to as “Jumping Cholla”. If you get too close, just the slightest brush against it can leave you covered in cactus thorns. YIKES! It was time to get back in the Jeep and continue on our way. The first stop was Canyon Lake Vista! We had a beautiful view of the whole lake and the surrounding canyon walls. We saw some pretty yellow wildflowers again. They seem to be every place we go! Back on the road again! Just a short distance from Canyon Lake is the tiny town of Tortilla Flat, AZ. Only 6 people live here! Over 100 years ago Tortilla Flat was a stage coach stop along the Apache Trail. Today over 1 million people visit Tortilla Flat each year. That’s a lot of people! This sure is a tiny little school! Oh good! We found the Saloon just in time for lunch! We had to wait a while for a table because there were so many people at Tortilla Flat. While we were waiting I saw an Indian carved out of wood! I also saw a place to pose for a picture! It took about a half hour, but we finally got a table! We ordered a Cowboy (burger), Big Bad Dawg (hot dog), a salad bowl and soup. It was all very tasty! I have to say, my favorite was the Big Bad Dawg! The pretzel bun was delicious! It tasted just like a soft pretzel! Look at the dollar bills on the wall! There are dollar bills everywhere! All over the walls and even on the ceiling! The custom of pinning dollar bills on the walls began many years ago when regular customers, ranchers, prospectors and people working on the Salt River Dam would pin their card and dollar bill behind the bar. Local customers and visitors from all over the world have continued the tradition and today the walls have currency from more than 67 countries! One of my hosts came prepared! She thought that each Toy Voyager should have a dollar bill on the wall. Here’s a picture of me with the dollar bill she prepared for me to leave in Tortilla Flat. Now everyone will know that Sweetie was here! Someone made a nice sketch of Tortilla Flat. The saloon bar has bar stools that are made with real horse saddles! Bart, one of my hosts, decided to mosey on up to the bar and order a beer…a root beer (after all, he’s only 7!). In this picture you can see more dollar bills way up high. You can also see people on those crazy horse saddle bar stools! They had a United States flag hanging in the Saloon. More dollars along the walls! After we were done with lunch we walked down to the Old Time Ice Cream & Candy Store. They have candy that looks like a Saguaro Cactus! They also hade Prickly Pear Cactus Gelato, but we were too full from eating lunch so we didn't buy any. Speaking of Prickly Pear Cactus, we found one just outside! This one doesn’t have any fruit on it right now though. I was finally able to have my picture taken with a Saguaro Cactus! It was time to get back in the Jeep and start driving back to Phoenix. There’s Canyon Lake again. We made a quick stop at Canyon Lake for a picture. There are lots of pretty views along the winding road through the Superstition Mountains. Here’s one of those pretty views. It only took about 20 minutes and we were back in the Valley of the Sun (that’s what they call Phoenix). We stopped along the road for a few pictures. Here’s some more Cholla Cactus (I didn’t get too close!). The final picture from our adventure is of the Superstition Mountains. I had a really great time experiencing a little of the old west in the beautiful Superstition Mountains! ] |
Bart Posted Mar 23, 2012, 11:50 pm |
Today is Bart's birthday! One of my human hosts bought a card for Graham, Lilac and I to give to Bart. We were all happy to sign it because he's been a really nice host!
We all took turns signing the card for Bart. The card is signed and ready to give to Bart! Bart requested a special birthday lunch...Sloppy Joes. So Graham, Lilac and I decided to make some Sloppy Joes for him! First we had to fry the ground beef. Then we had to add the ingredients that make the beef into a Sloppy Joe. We had to keep stirring it while the delicious flavor cooked in, we didn't want it to burn! That didn't take long! Time for all of us to share a Sloppy Joe! I hope it's not too, uh...sloppy! Bart loved his Sloppy Joe and so did we! I thought it was very tasty and it wasn't too terribly sloppy! I didn't even spill any on myself! Now it's time to give Bart his card. I hope he likes it! Bart was so happy with his "8 is great" birthday card! Our hosts also bought Bart some "Cars" cupcakes and a nice big "8" candle! Aren't the cars on the cupcake cute? It's really yummy, too! It was a nice little celebration for a very nice host! I wish you many, many more Happy Birthdays Bart! |
Bart Posted Mar 23, 2012, 11:56 pm |
Today one of my human hosts had to go to the Mazda dealership to get the oil changed on the Miata. Graham, Lilac and I decided to go along.
It was a beautiful day outside, so the roof was down on the car. We wanted to feel the wind blowing through our fur, so we jumped up on the back of the car. Sadly, our host said that it just wouldn't be safe to ride on the back of the car like that. She said that she had to keep us safe so that we could return home to our families all in one piece, just the way we arrived. So, we jumped down from the back of the car and sat down inside. We had a nice ride in the little car and we even felt the wind blowing through our fur a little bit, too! |
Bart Posted Apr 12, 2012, 8:18 am |
Today my hosts took me and the other Toy Voyagers on a beautiful drive along Bush Highway, just outside the Phoenix suburb of Mesa, Arizona.
The beautiful mountains along the highway are very rocky and jagged! A lot of people come to this area for access to the Salt River. Tubing down the river is a popular activity during warm weather. While we were stopped by the river we saw people riding horses. Saguaro Lake Ranch is just down the road and they offer horseback riding and cabins for rent. The ranch was built in the 1930s and is quite popular due to the beautiful scenery and serenity of the area. Next, we drove to Saguaro Lake. Saguaro Lake is one of four reservoirs that were formed by dams along the Salt River. The four lakes, Apache Lake, Roosevelt Lake, Canyon Lake and Saguaro Lake are owned and operated by SRP (Salt River Project). The dams along the Salt River generate power for the Phoenix Metro area while the reservoirs serve as water storage for Phoenix. The lakes also serve as recreational centers offering fishing, boating and other water sports. It's a beautiful day at a beautiful lake! There's a dock on the lake, too. A lot of people go fishing, boating and jet skiing on the lake. Here they are again! More bright yellow wildflowers along the lakeside. These wildflowers seem to be everywhere we go in the desert! Aren't the bright yellow flowers pretty?! There are lot of high cliffs and rocky mountains along the lake! On our way back to Phoenix we drove by Usery Mountain where a giant arrow and the word "Phoenix" are painted on the mountainside. In the 1950s, as a community service project, a group of Boy Scouts whitewashed rocks they used to form the word “Phoenix” on the side of Usery Mountain. At the time the area was open desert without any real landmarks, so the intention was to direct pilots to the Phoenix Airport. Today the Phoenix metro area extends beyond Usery Mountain, so the sign is now obsolete. Last painted in the 1990s, the sign will likely never be painted again since the public has complained about defacing the natural scenery. We drove to two different areas to try to get a picture of me with the Phoenix sign, but we couldn't seem to get a real clear picture of me and the sign together. Either I was in focus or the sign was, never both (drats!). Here's the series of pictures we took of me with the sign. Since we couldn't get a clear picture of both me and the sign, we zoomed in to take a clear picture of just the sign so you could see what it looks like. This mountain is near the mountain with the Phoenix sign on it. The mountain's official name is "Pass Mountain", but it's often referred to as "Scarface Mountain" because it looks like the mountain has a scar across it. We had a great time! It was a beautiful day, for a beautiful drive, into the beautiful mountains! My hosts said they sometimes forget that all this amazing scenery is practically in their own back yard! |
Bart Posted Apr 14, 2012, 9:54 am |
Today my hosts took me to Gilbert Town Hall in Gilbert, Arizona. Gilbert is a suburban town (it’s not officially a city even though it has more than 220,000 residents and encompasses 76 square miles) in the east valley of metropolitan Phoenix. From 1990-2003 Gilbert was the fastest growing municipality in the United States and it’s currently the fourth fastest growing. In 2008 Gilbert was listed in Money Magazine as one of the best places to live in the United States.
As soon as we got out of the car we saw some pretty flowers on a tree! In the front of Town Hall we saw a bunch of Saguaro Cactus. It was almost like a forest! We also saw a little waterfall. The sound of the flowing water was very serene. As we walked past the waterfall we came to Gilbert’s 9/11 memorial. Following a three year quest, an 8-foot steel beam that once held up the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City, was given to Gilbert Town Manager, Collin DeWitt. His goal was to create a tribute to the 3000 lives lost on 9/11/01 during the worst act of terrorism on United States soil. DeWitt, along with Gilbert's Fire Chief, drove to New York City to collect the beam. They drove the beam to Arizona, giving it the same honor and respect given to fallen soldiers. The beam rests on a pentagon shaped slab of granite. The memorial is surrounded by four granite walls that contain the names of those lost in the attacks, on planes, the World Trade Center Towers and the Pentagon. Six granite benches also surround the memorial. Although the memorial was unveiled to the public on September 11, 2011, the 10th anniversary of the attack, my hosts had never seen the memorial before. They were very touched by it. They said they’ve seen many memorials in the past, but this one held such significance for them because the tragedy happened in their lifetime. It was a beautiful memorial, but I felt sad for all of the people who lost their lives and all of the families that lost loved ones. May all of those who lost their lives rest in peace and may their loved ones find peace and happiness in their memories. We will never forget. |
Bart Posted Apr 14, 2012, 10:09 am |
After leaving the Gilbert 9/11 memorial we had to go Mr. Henry & Miss Dottie's house (my host, Bart's, family). We took a little side trip and drove through downtown Phoenix. This is the first time I've seen the actual city!
We drove down Central Avenue. There are lots of cars... ...and lots of tall buildings. We didn't have time to stop and see anything in Phoenix this time, but it was nice to at least see a little of what the city is like. Hopefully I'll get to see more of downtown Phoenix bedore I leave Arizona! |
Bart Posted Apr 14, 2012, 10:42 am |
My host, Bart, has family in several areas of Phoenix. Bart lives with Mr. Henry and Miss Dottie most of the time, but he also stays with other family members in Phoenix, too. Since Bart is hosting Toy Voyager guests right now, Bart stays in the east valley with us Toy Voyagers.
So, today after visiting the 9/11 memorial and taking a quick drive through downtown Phoenix, we went to the west valley to see Mr. Henry and Miss Dottie. It was very nice to meet them and other members of Bart's family. They're all very nice! I decided to gp exploring in Mr. Henry and Miss Dottie's back yard. They have some very interesting plants in their yard! I really like this Palm Tree! It looks very tropical. I saw some bushes that have some large berries on them. They are called Pyracantha berries. They are often thought to be poisonous, but they really aren't, they're just bitter. They are edible if cooked and they are often made into jelly. It smelled very nice in the backyard because the orange trees and grapefruit trees were bloomimg! The orange trees didn't have any fruit on them yet, but the grapefruit trees did! Those are some nice big grapefruit! I bet they are very delicious and so fresh! There are lots of pretty flowers here, too! These flowers are very colorful! It's been a busy day. I think I'll just lay back in these pretty flowers and take a little nap by the swimming pool! After my little nap we had a little party to celebrate Mr. Henry's and Bart's birthdays. They were both born in March, but if you remember, we had a little celebration a few weeks ago for Bart. Miss Dottie is so nice! She bought some chocolate bear lolipops for Bart's birthday and she gave each Toy Voyager one! It looks delicious, I can't wait to eat it! It's been a very fun day! |
Bart Posted Apr 14, 2012, 10:54 am |
Today was a rare cold, stormy, rainy day. Phoenix, being in the desert, doesn't get much rain. The annual rainfall averages only 7 inches.
Today it rained for quite a while, and then suddenly white stuff started falling from the sky! It looked like snow, but it wasn't, it was hail. It hailed for almost 10 minutes. My host's said it was very strange to see their courtyard practically covered in hail! Too bad there isn't less rain and a little more hail, then maybe I could make a cute little "Hail man" out there in the courtyard! Oh well, I guess I'll just stay inside where it's dry and warm. Cool, rainy days are always the perfect time to take a little nap. |
Bart Posted Apr 17, 2012, 1:46 am |
Today my hosts took me and the other Toy Voyagers to see some indian ruins at Pueblo Grande Museum.
But, before we got to the museum, much to our surprise, we found ourselves right by the Arizona Lottery offices. My hosts said that now that they know where the lottery office is, they hope to return one day with a winning ticket and claim a really big prize! They buy a ticket whenever the jackpot gets really large, but so far they've never won anything. These are some really big lottery balls! Graham, Lilac and I posed together on number 6! After a few quick pictures, we got back in the car and continued on our way to the museum. The museum is in Phoenix, not far from Sky Harbor International Airport. It’s a National Historic Landmark. ] It’s believed that the Hohokam Indians migrated north, out of Mexico, around 300 BC and that they lived in this area until approximately 1450 AD. The Hohokam were often referred to as the “Canal Builders” because of an ingenious, elaborate irrigation network they built using stone instruments. Some of their original irrigation canals are still being used in the Phoenix area today. The Grand Canal, located along the museum grounds, is one of the original canals still being used today. Here are the tools they used to build miles of canals. Amazing! Here’s a map of the extensive canal system created to distribute water from the Salt River for irrigation. Here we learned a little about Indian pottery. Here’s some of the pottery. This is what a Saguaro Cactus looks like inside! That’s quite a skeleton! This is a picture of what they believe the village, Pueblo Grande, looked like when the Hohokam lived in it. After looking at the displays inside the museum, it was time to go see the village ruins. Here we are in front of the big “Platform Mound”. It’s believed that this was the ceremonial and administrative center of the village. This sign explains that in the early 1900s they did some excavating on the Platform Mound. This is the area where they did the excavation. The Hohokam may have used light and shadows in a special "Stargazing" room to determine the summer and winter solstice, as well as when to plant and harvest. This is the "Stargazing" room. Here's another room in the Platform Mound. We had to get home because family was coming to visit from Connecticut, so unfortunately, we didn’t have time to see the rest of the ruins along the trail. What we saw was very interesting, though. It was amazing to see something so old! I’m also amazed that the Hohokam lived here almost 1000 years ago, yet, they were extremely innovative. They were clearly, very intelligent people! |
Bart Posted Apr 17, 2012, 1:58 am |
Today my host took me and the other Toy Voyagers to lunch at In-N-Out Burger. Graham's big brother, Spac, was hoping Graham would get to visit In-N-Out Burger. Spac will be happy to know that not only did we see it, we ate there, too!
In-N-Out Burger originated in California and is famous for their small, simplified menu and high quality, fresh food. It's hard to imagine, but this fast food restaurant even cuts their own french fries onsite, right before they fry them! I can't wait for lunch! I can smell the burgers and fries already! It was a nice, sunny day so we decided to go outside to eat our lunch. They sure do give you lots of food! There's plenty here for all three of us to share and it's so delicious! This chocolate milk shake is so creamy and delicious! My host said that every In-N-Out Burger she's seen has two palm trees that are planted to form an X. She was curious why they do that. She found out that it's an allusion to founder Harry Snyder's favorite movie, "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World". In the movie, individuals look for a hidden treasure and find it under "the big W" made by four palm trees, with the middle two trees forming an 'X'." I wonder if there is hidden treasure under this X? After lunch we made a quick stop at the grocery store to pick up a few groceries and 10 Mega Million lottery tickets. The drawing is tonight and it's the largest jackpot ever, over $600 million! My hosts know where the lottery office is now, so they'll know exactly where to go when they win. They're thinking positive even though the chances of winning are 1 in 176 million. I'll keep my paws crossed for them! |
Bart Posted Apr 17, 2012, 5:24 am |
Today my hosts took me to the Desert Botanical Garden. My hosts wanted to see the butterfly exhibit. They've never seen it before and were excited to see all of the beautiful butterflies.
In May 2009, my hosts came here, to the Desert Botanical Garden, to see "Chihuly:The Nature of Glass". Dale Chihuly is a talented artist who creates amazing glass art. He created some beautiful glass sculptures to be placed at the garden's entry, specifically for the exhibit. He calls the sculptures, "Desert Towers". Though that exhibit was temporary, the Garden received donations totaling $774,000 so they could purchase the Desert Towers sculptures. The sculptures now have a permanent home at the Garden's entrance. Aren't they beautiful? The Desert Botanical Garden and the Phoenix Zoo are located in Papago Park. Papago Park is known for it's unique red sandstone formations. As we learned when we visited Pueblo Grande Museum, it's believed that the Hohokam Indians used openings in the rocks and sunlight to track the solstices. You can see one of those red rock formations behind me. It's spring and many of the cactus' were in bloom. Here's a cactus with beautiful orange blossoms. We're on our way to see the butterflies! As we were walking to the Butterfly Exhibit, a Garden Guide told us that we should take a short detour because there was something very special to see. He was right! There, in all their glory, were five incredible white cactus blossoms. This particular cactus blooms only at night and the blossoms usually close in daylight, but for some reason, today they were still open for us to see! They were gorgeous! We're about to enter the butterfly area! We saw so many beautiful butterflies (two even landed on my host!), but sadly, this is the only picture of me anywhere near a butterfly. I wish I had more photos of me and the butterflies, but they move so quickly and it was too hard to try to get both me and the butterflies in the picture. My host ended up taking some really beautiful pictures of just the butterflies though! Look, I'm a caterpillar! That's a very pretty pink blossom! We saw lots of interesting and colorful plants. This plant looked like a giant string bean plant! Of course, since this is the desert there were lots of cactus, too! That big round cactus in the front is called a Barrel Cactus. It was getting really warm outside (almost 90F/32.2 C) and it was almost time for lunch, so we decided to go to Arizona Mills Mall. Arizona Mills Mall is the largest mall in Arizona. The mall is unique in that it offers both regular stores along with outlet stores like, "Saks 5th Avenue OFF 5th" and "Neiman Marcus Last Call". The mall was really busy. We weren't there to shop though, we were there for lunch, so we headed to The Rainforest Cafe. We found it! It really does look like a wild place to shop and eat! There was an elephant waiting to pose with us! First things first...let's order some lunch! It's very dark in the restaurant so the pictures didn't turn out too good, but there are lots of fun things here. They have lots of aquariums with lots of fish in them. Here's a better, close up picture of us by one of the aquariums. There are all kinds of animals here. Every 30 minutes it rains, thunders and lightnings in the restaurant and the animals make a lot of noise. We didn't get wet from the rain though. While waiting for lumch, we learned how valuable rainforests are and that we need to preserve them. Rainforests once covered 14% of the earth's land surface; now they cover only 6% and experts estimate that the last remaining rainforests could be consumed in less than 40 years. We also learned that if we lose the rainforests, nearly half of the world's species of plants, animals and microoganisms will be destroyed or threatened. That's really sad. It's also dangerous because as the rainforest species dissapear, so do many possible cures for life-threatening diseases. 25% of Western pharmaceuticals are derived from rainforest ingredients, but less that 1% of the tropical trees and plants have been tested by scientists. Boy, I came here to eat lunch, I had no idea I would learn about something so important! All I can say is, spread the word, save the rainforests!! Lunch should be here soon. It's here! Ummmm...it looks and smells so good! Lunch was delicious and the Rainforest Cafe was a fun place to eat! As we were leaving we stopped to take a picture at the bar. It's an aquarium and what fun, unique bar stools! Before we leave the mall, we need one of these nice big gumballs! What a fun adventure! I saw some beautiful things today, learned some really important things and had some delicious food! |
Bart Posted Apr 17, 2012, 6:09 am |
Today is a bit sad. Puppy Graham is going back home to his family and we'll miss him very much.
It was a beautiful morning so we all ate breakfast outside in the courtyard. We shared a bowl of Cheerios. After breakfast it was time to say good-bye and wish Graham a safe journey home. Good-byes are always so hard! "Bye, Graham. I'm so glad we got to meet and spend time together. Have a safe trip home. I hope we see each other again one day. I'll miss you!" "We miss you already, Graham! Take care and safe travels! We'll never forget you! " We all escorted Graham to the UPS store where he'll begin his journey home. Godspeed, Graham. After Graham was off on his journey it was time for lunch, so we went to Taco Bell. We went to the Drive-Thru and ordered some Nachos to take home for lunch. Then we drove home. And we ate our Nachos. It was sad to see Graham leave, but he'll be happy to be home and I'm happy for him. |
Bart Posted Apr 17, 2012, 8:11 am |
Today is another day of good-byes. Lilac is leaving to go home to her family in California. She's been visiting in Arizona for six months. That's a really long time!
Bart, Lilac and I took one last picture together. Then it was time to say good-bye to Lilac and wish her s safe trip home. "Good-bye Lilac. It was so nice to meet you and spend time with you. Have a safe trip back to California. We'll miss you! I hope we see each other again one day.". "Bye Lilac! We'll miss you'!" Bart and I escorted Lilac to the UPS Store where her journey home begins. Safe travels, Lilac!! After sendung Lilac on her way, we stopped at the store to buy a gift and some flowers. We're going to a housewarming party. Aren't the flowers pretty? |
Bart Posted Apr 30, 2012, 11:32 pm |
Today I went along to the office with one of my human hosts. She had lots of work to do and I told her I would help!
When we got to the office I noticed that my host has very lovely views of the mountains from her office! Oh, look! The Date Palm Tree outside of the window is growing some dates! The phone is ringing, I'll answer it! "Hello, this is Sweetie. How may I help you?" I need to put that order in the computer system, but the mouse is bigger than I am! This might not be so easy! With a little help from my human host, we got the order in the computer! It looks good to me! Time to pay a few bills... ...and file a few things! It's getting hot in here...I'm going to turn on this fan! Aren't all of those sparkly lights pretty? This is a picture from a job that my host's company did. It looks like I'm at a rock concert, but I'm not. It's just another picture from a job my host's company did! I'm getting hungry! It's time to buy a little snack! What a busy day! After all of this work and my snack, I'm getting a little tired. It was fun to see what it's like to work at an office, but it's very tiring. I think I'll take a little nap until it's time to go home. |
Bart Posted Apr 30, 2012, 11:51 pm |
It's getting really hot here in Arizona! Today was the first day this year that the temperature reached 100 F/38 C. It's only spring, so it really shouldn't be this hot this early in the year. It was too hot to go outside, so we just stayed home. Thank goodness for air conditioning!
|
Bart Posted May 1, 2012, 12:33 am |
This morning, before it got too hot, my host took me to one of the parks in the housing community they live in. It was a lovely morning and the park smelled of fresh cut grass!
I sat on the bench for awhile and watched ducks float by. They are difficult to see in this picture, but there are white ducks on the grass across the pond. There were some pretty white flowers on a plant by the pond. There's a dock on the pond, too. People can fish from the dock, but this is a "catch and release" pond, so if they catch a fish they must release it back into the pond. It's very peaceful here with this pretty pond... ...and large trees. This park also has lots of fun things to do, too! There's a swimming pool, and here is a "splash pad". You can stand on the splash pad and get sprayed with water. But, as you can see, the water wasn't on, so we didn't get splashed! It also has a playground with lots of fun things to climb on! It has a slide, too! I think I'll go down the slide! Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee! There's also a basketball court and volleyball court, but no one was playing. It's Monday, so most people are at work and school. As we were leaving we saw these colorful flowers! They're so pretty! It's getting very warm here in Arizona, soon it will be more than 100 F/38 C every day. I've really enjoyed seeing so many things here in Arizona, but I think it's time for me to travel somewhere where it's a bit cooler. So, Mom, please let my host know if you want me to come home to Slovenia or if you have another host for me to visit! Maybe I'll see you soon! Hugs, Sweetie |
Bart Posted May 12, 2012, 1:39 am |
Bart just told me that he heard from my Mom that I have a host waiting for me in Florida, so I'm packing up and leaving Arizona today. That's happy, yet sad news!
I'm very sad to say good-bye to Bart and my human hosts. I've had a wonderful time here in Arizona. It was fun learning about the old west and seeing so many beautiful things. It's hard to say good-bye! It's probably a good thing that I'm leaving though, because it's going to be 104F/40C degrees over the next few days. That's too hot for me! My human host said it's very humid in Miami (she's been there several times), but it should be cooler! After breakfast I went outside to get some fresh air before my long journey to Miami. I saw some pretty purple flowers! Then I decided to climb a tree to get some exercise! I played on the grass in the sun for awhile. It's going to be dark in my travel envelope, so I thought I would enjoy the sun as much as possible! Then, sadly it was time to go inside to say good-bye to Bart and my human hosts. Bart is sending some Arizona postcards with me to my new host in Miami. I hope she likes them! Bart and I took one last picture together. "Thank you for being my host, Bart! I had a great time and I'll miss you!" "We'll miss you, too, Sweetie! I'm glad we got to spend time together and show you a bit of Arizona!". |
Bart Posted May 12, 2012, 1:51 am |
My journey to Miama, Florida begins here. I hope I get to Miami really fast! I'm getting really excited! Maybe I'll get to see the Atlantic Ocean and South Beach!
Safe travels, Sweetie! Have a wonderful time in Florida! We're excited to see and read about your adventures! Take Care! - Bart |
tarepanda Posted Jun 14, 2012, 4:15 am |
My host is really apologetic. She thought she journaled my arrival already but apparently she forgot. She is very sorry to make you all so worried.
I've taken some pictures of my stay here, but my host is busy with her work right now but hopefully in a week you will see the pictures!! Don't worry, I am just chilling out with my new friends here! |
tarepanda Posted Jun 26, 2012, 6:22 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 Jun 26, 2012, 7:34 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. We go around to visit the shops. There are quite a few shops and restaurants in the complex. The architecture is again very typical Florida style, with the tropical palm trees and Mediterranean influence buildings. Look who we bump into! |
tarepanda Posted Jul 1, 2012, 3:43 am |
Today we learn to make Vietnamese style spring roll. I don't get to visit Asia yet but at least I get to try an Asian dish!
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 am so small Orange helps me hold the spatula. 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, 8:00 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. We try to do chin up, but I am too small!! 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 10, 2012, 5:27 pm |
Today we go to try out some food trucks. It is really popular now.
Let's check them out! This one sells burgers. This one has tacos. This one has arepa (corn pancakes) with cheeses. Ah we find what we are looking for, Ben and Jerry 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. 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, 5:20 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! Hi mom can you find me? Wow I meet a lot of friends. 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 Jul 31, 2012, 4:35 am |
Today we visit the Miami History Museum.
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. 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? Over time, the styles evolve somewhat. They also make guayabera for women, children and dogs too!! I wonder what they carry in their pockets? Next we go upstairs for a historic tour of South Florida. AT the stairs, is a flamingo statue dedicated to the Heat Basketball team. |
tarepanda Posted Aug 9, 2012, 4:11 am |
We start from around 8000 BC. These are fossilized bones of mammoth, mastodon and bison.
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! These are tortoise shells. These are arrow heads made by hunters, from the Paleo-Indian age, from (15,000 BC to 7,500 BC). They also unearthed a canoe along with a paddle. These are different types of tools made from shells. These are some potteries. These are a collection of beads, pendants and more made from bones and beads, found in South Florida. We read about the Miami Circle. 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. 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. Here's a model of what we imagine life to be like in those days. The next part of the exhibit talks about the demise of the Native American culture with the arrival of the Europeans. These artifacts were found on Spanish ships wrecked in the 1700s. This pistol was made in England around 1715 and recovered from San Jose, wrecked in 1733. This beautiful sword is from a Spanish Galleon that was wrecked in a hurricane in 1622, when sailing from Havana to Spain. The Spanish also shipped back many of the gold and silver products they found in the new world. They are still very beautiful after so many years. More sadness to the history, as slaves from Africans were sent to work in America. This section is about the Native American culture in South Florida. This is a typical Seminole dress from the 1890s. With the availability of sewing machines in the 1920s, the dress became an increasingly colorful patchwork. Picture of the huts they lived in, called a chickee. These are some items they traded. Alligator skins, egret feathers and more. Now we find out about the lives of the white pioneers in South Florida. This is a typical style of house built by them. A group picture of the pioneers. 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." Guess what this is? It's a laundry beater. And look what kids found when they went fishing in the pioneer days... I am happy I live in this day and age! The pioneer days are too scary! Let's move on to more modern times. This is a trolley. In the 20s and 30s, there was a trolley line in Miami. Ah, the beach was popular as it is now! Here's a picture of a diner in its 60s. Pan Am was a big airline that was based in Miami. A model of SS Norway, the largest cruise ship in 1980. 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. 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. Now I learn quite a bit more about the history of South Florida! |
tarepanda Posted Aug 11, 2012, 5:46 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, 5:55 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! I am so small, so I decide to be the director. Okay okay, pull now! To the left, a little bit... yay we get a leg out! Oh 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. So he takes a long time to arrive. He surely looks tired. To cheer him up, Genoveva takes out some German candies to celebrate. Yay!! |
tarepanda Posted Aug 26, 2012, 10:56 pm |
I am so excited! We are travelling again! We arrive at the airport. Let's check our flight info.
We are on the airplane now, getting ready to take off! Yay we are taking off! Woosh, up we fly! Look at all the clouds!! |
tarepanda Posted Aug 27, 2012, 2:04 am |
We are in Raleigh, the capital of North Carolina!
Let's see where we should go today. We decide not to wander too far. We start by exploring the neighborhood. We come to a shopping square called Cameron Village. The "living wall art" is quite beautiful. Here's another one. Let's check out the shops. Penzey Spices? A spice shop! That sounds interesting. Wow I didn't know there are so many kind of spices! They have some beautiful gift sets too. Mmmm this smells really good! These hats are very interesting! And what a cute doggie made from crepe paper. We find a frozen custard shop! I say it's dessert time! 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. See how thick it is? Yummy! Look this shop turns a cooking wok into an UFO! Very interesting sculptures! There is an art gallery showcasing local art. Ooooh.... a cupcake shop! This one, Ten Thousand Villages, sells fair traded handicrafts made by people in other countries. They have a lot of neat things. We buy a few items. It's dinner time. We stop by a place called David's Dumpling and Noodles Bar. My host knows that I want to go to Malaysia. As she cannot take me there, she orders a Malaysian curry noodle so at least I get a taste of Malaysia. Can you believe they service us extra hot sauce in case the curry is not spicy enough? No, thank you very much, but I guess I learn a bit about their culture - they like very spicy stuff? |
tarepanda Posted Aug 27, 2012, 3:55 am |
There are a lot of these monument plaques around town. During the civil war, a lot of battles were fought around here.
Today we will visit downtown. Let's wait for the bus. Look, the bus is coming! We arrive at the main station. The City Square is part of the Moore Square Historic District. 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. 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... We walk around downtown. It's very beautiful. Let's see, where should we go first? We agree that lunch is first! Hmmm everything sounds so good, what should we get? 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!! Now we are ready for some sight seeing! Here's the capitol. The North Carolina State Capitol was completed in 1840 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. I know this guy! He is George Washington! Worth Bagley was the first American naval officer killed in the Spanish-American War in 1898, hence the engraving on the monument, First Fallen. This is the WWII monument. This is Christ Church, established in 1821, the oldest Episcopal congregation in the Raleigh area. Isn't this a nice house? It's the Executive Mansion, where the governor of North Caroline lives. It is designated as a U.S. National Register of Historic Place. What a pretty home indeed. |
tarepanda Posted Sep 2, 2012, 3:59 am |
Today is another day of sight seeing. We are going to visit a museum.
This is not a shark. It's a magatooth shark, a 42 foot long ancestor of the great white shark! While we cannot make it to the beach, here's a display of how the North Carolina seashore looks like. Look, a puffer fish! 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. When they grow up they like to eat jellyfish. This is the skeleton of a manatee. And here is a blue whale. and its tail... This one looks totally different, and is a sperm whale. They are very huge animals!! This is a eel. 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. The beaver is very friendly and invites us to join him for dinner. But I don' care for chewing wood. We learn about endangered animals. The passenger pigeon, once numbering over 5 billion, was wiped out in 50 years due to hunting and lost of habitat. How sad. Are they real? I hope not, but they are!! Gaaaa! I don't know if it's trying to come over to say hi or to eat me!! Next we learn about the gemstone and quartz found in North Carolina. These are gold nuggets! 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. Quartz can be clear. If they are purplish, they are called amethyst, pink, rose quartz and yellow ones are citrine. Now we will go back in time to see some dinosaurs!! This egg will make a lot of breakfasts! 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! Urgh this guy has a really ugly head. It is believed that the thick skull is used in battles for territories or courtship. This creature is a giant sloth. 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. The scientists found two sets of fossilized footprints, so they recreated this scene of Acro attacking another dinosaur. 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. |
tarepanda Posted Sep 4, 2012, 4:25 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. This statue is of a Saura tribe woman. Does this look familiar? It is from Renoir's painting. 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. These are sweet sorghum and peanuts. Sweet potatoes! And this one is cotton. 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? This is a canoe from almost 3000 years ago, along with a reproduction of paddle and fishing spear. This ceramic mug is the earliest surviving complete European style ceramic made in America, made around 1700. Settlers from different European countries bring in their influence to lives in America. The British bring along their love of tea. The German, their craft and trade, such as bread baking and woodwork. The Africans their farming and maritime skills. The Scots and Irish, with their hard working spirit, became pioneers for many land. North Carolina is the 12th state of the U.S. This is an early version of the American flag, when there were fewer states in the country. Old money! The ten dollar bill is from about 1800! It must be worth a lot then. This is the army uniform from that era. This house is the fourth oldest known dwelling in North Carolina, built in 1742. The house is very well preserved. Some of the wooden wall panels, flooring and nails are original! 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. Here you can see a loom, and a butter churner, among other items. This guy is Giorgio Washington... or rather, this is a Roman style statue of George Washington made by an Italian sculptor. We read about gold mining. This exhibit is about the American Civil War. This is a Confederate Flag that was surrendered in 1865. We learn about the major industries in the state. The first is furniture, a skill brought in by the Germans. As there are many cotton plantation here, textile was a big industry. Tobacco is another very valuable crop. We learn about the country's involvement in the First World War, "The war to end all wars". The Great Depression is a very sad time in history. Then we move onto WWII. Today we decide that we should try some dish that NC is famous for: barbecue. 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. 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 19, 2012, 8:08 pm |
Today the weather is very nice so we go to the park. It will be the first time getting outdoors to enjoy the beautiful South Florida weather!
I see people running and exercising. The palm trees are very beautiful here. There is a dog park where people can unleash their dogs and let them run around inside the fenced area. Hello, are you having a great time like me? We find this little palm tree. Look there are some palm nuts. We catch a glimpse of the ocean. I spy a bridge. Where does it go? It is a vista point for the bay. The bay connects to the Atlantic. You can see all the boats anchored there. These are the mangrove tree. They are very important, ecologically.The roots hold on to the soil, and slowly increases landmass. It also acts as barrier to protect against hurricanes. Now people know about its importance they no longer cut them down. Wow looks like the wind is really strong here. Help! I am being blown away! We find a gym playground. Let's get fit! Phew we are tired. Time to sit down for a rest. |
tarepanda Posted Oct 21, 2012, 4:11 am |
Yay today we are visiting the beach! The very famous Miami Beach!
We pass by the W Hotel. Look who we see? Hello Kitty. But why is she crying a bucket of tears? Hello Miffy! And My Melody. We continue on to the broadwalk. Someone is making jewelry to sell. Great, we are on the beach now. It's a beautiful beach. What a lovely day it is. I am at the Atlantic Ocean now. On the other end is Europe. I am missing home a bit! Looks like someone is trying to build a sand castle. Let's offer some help. Hmmm, life is good. The sun is a bit strong. I think this cabana is perfect. |
tarepanda Posted Oct 23, 2012, 2:12 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. The storm has caused a lot of damage and death in Haiti already. It's rather scary. Weather in the island of Key West, the southernmost part of Florida, looks rather bad as the reporter shows us. 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. See how windy it is? This house looks prepared! This one too. Looks like this owner takes a break while installing the garage shutters. Look, this little wind wheel here is going crazy! 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 Oct 23, 2012, 3:12 am |
Yay the hurricane has passed and the sun is out again. Let's enjoy the sun and go outdoors. We decide to visit the Botanical Garden.
They have a variety of trees. Hmm what is that hanging from the tree? Looks like some weird fruit. Oh, it's some glass decoration! They have a Japanese garden inside. I feel like I am in Japan. This gazebo is very nice to rest in. What a weird looking little tree. We better stay away from these spiky ones. This one looks like a bad hair cut. Look at this statue in the pond! It gets big feet!! |
tarepanda Posted Oct 26, 2012, 7:31 pm |
Tonight we go and visit a chocolatier. We get to see how chocolates are made and make some ourselves! How exciting!
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. This is the machine where they melt and pull the chocolate. This one is for making white chocolate. The owner gave us a brief introduction about how chocolate is made. We dip marshmallows, pretzels and strawberries into chocolate and sprinkles. 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. I thought someone painted them by hand! Wow. Look at all the varieties. The gift baskets look very nice. The chocolatier makes a lot of chocolate in different shapes for different occasions. 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. This is how the lollipops get such wonderful colors. We get to take everything home to enjoy! |
tarepanda Posted Oct 31, 2012, 3:05 pm |
Today we decide to make some laksa noodle. I've never tried it before! 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. 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. 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. We fried some garlic slices and set it aside. Now we cook the onion with some curry paste. Then add the chick'n in. We add the broth, as well as other seasonings. It's almost ready! We put the noodle and bean sprout into a bowl. Now add the onion, chick'n and broth. Sprinkle the garlic on top. Mmm mmm, it looks delicious! And sure tastes so too! |
tarepanda Posted Oct 31, 2012, 3:50 pm |
Wow today we go to the airport.
We are strapped to our seat as the plane takes off. I wonder where we are going? I ask Mocha but he just says that it will be a fun place I've never been to before, a place I want to go. Hmmm? I am so excited. It's so beautiful, the clouds. It feels like you can walk on them. |
tarepanda Posted Oct 31, 2012, 4:00 pm |
We arrive in a place called Newark. But that's not our destination. Now we check for our next flight. Hmmm, where are we going???
Here's our next plane. It looks really big. I think we are flying far, far, away. Could it be to Asia? |
tarepanda Posted Oct 31, 2012, 4:19 pm |
It was a long flight indeed though I slept very well.
We have landed. Hmm, what are all these weird characters? I can't read them! Oh gosh! We are in Hong Kong! It's part of China! Mocha tells me it's very far from the Great Wall but maybe we can go see some temples. |
tarepanda Posted Nov 16, 2012, 4:09 am |
Let's try some local food now we're here!
Dim sum is a popular way to enjoy breakfast or lunch in Hong Kong. The food is usually small bite-sized pieces of dumpling, meat or sweets. You can see in this picture here some of the varieties. We sit by the window so we can enjoy the scenery. Hong Kong has a lot of tall buildings! You can see the Victoria Harbour. We check off the dishes we want to eat and give it to the waiter. We want to try everything! The hot dishes come out in little bamboo steamers. Let's walk around after lunch. We walk along the harbour on the "Avenue of Stars". It's a tribune to the movie industry in Hong Kong. We are on the Kowloon side, which connects to mainland China. Across the harbour is the Hong Kong Island. You can see the many tall buildings there. Right by me is the Convention Center. And here you can see IFC, the tallest building in Hong Kong. This cute little bus is a food stall. Ready, take one! Get the reels rolling! Looks like a lot of people wants to be a movie star. There are a lot of hand prints along the way. Look, this is Jackie Chan's! |
tarepanda Posted Nov 16, 2012, 2:34 pm |
Today we take a visit to the Chung King Mansion, known as where the Indian residents and visitors congregate!
There is an Indian restuarant here for a more formal meal. But of course it is more fun checking out all the unfamiliar food. Hmm I get hungry looking at all the food! Look at all the desserts! But our host says we are going elsewhere for food. There are many different stores too, selling things from Indian, videos and music, clothing and more. Later that night we go for dinner with our host for her high school reunion. Does this scene look familiar? Yes, we are in the same building as yesterday's lunch, but a different restaurant. There are about 12 restaurants in the same building, serving various cuisines, a set up quite popular in Hong Kong. The night scene is very beautiful. It's time to take the bus home. It's a double decker so we get on the upper deck. Woohoo it's fun! Look they even have TV to keep you entertained. Time to get off, let's ring the bell. Stop please! |
tarepanda Posted Nov 19, 2012, 4:23 pm |
Today we first have another round of dim sum for lunch.
Then we go take the subway, called MTR in Hong Kong. Hmmm we figure out the fare and get our ticket. Next we pass through the gate. And arrive at the platform. According to the sign, the next train is coming in a minute. There is a glass panel that keeps people away from the track. Across the track there are a lot of advertisements. Sometimes they even play movie trailers. Wow it's getting crowded. Train has arrived! We get onto the metro. Checking the map again to make sure where we are getting off. Time to get off! We are now at the Causeway Bay station. Let's see, which way do we go? They have very good directory and map here. Okay, follow me, this is the way! We take the escalator up. This is an ad for mooncake. It's a pastry with egg yolk inside. Traditionally it's eaten on the Mid Autumn Festival, when the moon is supposedly the fullest and brightest in the year. Here's another ad for milk powder. There seems to be a lot of ad everywhere inside the MTR. Causeway Bay is a very busy district for shopping and eating. This big ad of sushi makes me hungry! This is Sogo, a Japanese department store. They have a Forever 21 here too! Ahh, David Beckham bodywear. That looks hot! 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. We see a food stall where people are enjoying kebabs of different types of meats and veggies. 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.) This shopping center is called Times Square. It has shops on 9 levels and restaurants on the higher. We continue on the street. And find the place we are looking for. 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. Our host 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 take along some books to release. It has a nice bookshelf. We even find some books in German. Look, we find a card on the shelf. It is addressed to us? Hmm there is a card inside! It is from the owner, thanking us for visiting and letting us know we are welcome to enjoy the books. How very nice. Afterwards, our host takes us to try a dessert we haven't had before. 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. So many to choose from! We are trying a shaved snow or snow ice. It's 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! |
tarepanda Posted Nov 24, 2012, 2:01 am |
Today we are back in the Tsim Sha Tsui area. This is the clock tower is at the southern tip of Tsim Sha Tsui, by the harbour. It is the only remnant of the original site of the former Kowloon Station on the Kowloon-Canton Railway, which connects to China. The Kowloon-Canton Railway was inaugurated on 1 October 1910; but construction was delayed due to the advent of World War I, so the station and the Clock Tower was not completed till 1915. The clocks have run ever since except during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong during World War II.
Where it used to be the station, now is the cultural center, art museum and a garden. The boardwalk leads to the Avenue of Stars which we visited a few days ago. The station is right next to the ferry terminal. You can see the Hong Kong island and the harbour. This is the outside of the Tourism Office. 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. We check out some of the shops. This one sells teaware. Look at these cute turtle bread! I want one! Our host is taking us to see an exhibition. What is this? It is a celebration of 100 Years Before Birth of Doraemon. What does it mean? 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. This is Doraemon and mini-Dora. 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.) But she forgets what most of these gadgets are. This Mood Band can change your mood by the music it plays. This purse allows you to pull out things you leave elsewhere. Be careful! If the ink hits you, everybody will dislike you. This angel will lead where you wants to go. But she hates detour! This lamp has a genie inside, but of course your wishes don't quite come up as you expect. There is also a cafe. This is a scene of Nobita marrying the girl he likes. Guess he grows up to be a better man. |
tarepanda Posted Dec 1, 2012, 4:54 am |
Today we go to the Ladies Market. It is the most well-known street markets in Hong Kong, where various kinds of products are available for cheap prices. It sells a lot of clothes, handbags, accessories and stuff, but now it has everything from toy to cell phone covers to souvenirs. They also have fake name brand stuff and licensed products. The prices are very cheap and you can test your bargaining skills. Be warned though, don't expect great quality.
This stall sells different type of watches. These Chinese style dresses are pretty. This one has toys and more. Handbags and magnets. Want some blue hair along with a hat? We have it! Cell phone covers? Some are just US$1 or 2. Gucci or LV handbags? Most certainly! T shirts of any character you may like: Superman, Batman, Spiderman, Spongebob, Doraemon, Angry Bird, Princesses... only a few dollars each! If you want some souvenirs this is a nice stall to visit. And here's more. Nice cell phone covers! Aren't these slippers adorable? Do you recognize all the characters? Look at all the toys!! It is crowded but sure a fun place to visit. |
tarepanda Posted Dec 2, 2012, 4:24 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. 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. In 1888 the funicular tram started service. This is the Peak Tower, a shopping and entertainment center. You can take a peek of the reservoir through the trees. As Hong Kong is famous for its shopping, naturally there will be shops here. The focus is on Hong Kong style products and brands. Panda t shirts. 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.) This is how mailboxes used to look, all lined up on the ground floor for mail to be delivered. This is a model of a tram. This pastry shop sells popular Hong Kong pastries like the egg tart. 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. 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. Our host says she has a pair too. These are cards for tourists, with popular names written in Chinese. Lots of souvenir shopping again. This is a shop that specializes in embroideries on shoes. I like the panda one. Hmm hmm, very beautiful. This Two Girls brand is the first local cosmetic brand, selling Florida Water, Face Cream and Hair Oil since 1898. This is their products. Very cute packaging. |
tarepanda Posted Dec 3, 2012, 1:58 am |
Today we go with our host's mom to the market to shop for dinner.
At the entrance they have a poster suggesting ideas for what to make for dinner. You can tell from the sign that this is the area for fish and vegetables. The live crabs are keep in tanks. I hope they don't escape! Their crabs are tied with water weeds. Inside the aquariums there are different kind of clams and shellfish. The fish look really fresh! I recognize the eggplants and broccoli and bok choi, but some of the vegetables look funny to me. I see some beets, cabbages and lettuces. Onions, potatoes, garlic, chestnuts... and the carrots come in orange as well as green! I know these! Corn, carrot and tomatoes! These are different types of dumplings and meatballs, make from beef, pork, fish and even squid. A lot of eggs! We also see packages of different beans, cereals and nuts, like almond, barley, kidney beans and more. The sign says that they have local pork. People usually prefer local pork over imported ones which came frozen, or the ones from China which may have more chemicals and antibiotics. You let the butcher know what you want and he will cut it for you. I think we are all set for a nice dinner! |
tarepanda Posted Dec 3, 2012, 9:33 pm |
Tonight we visit the Mong Kok area again. There are several streets there close off to traffic and at night it becomes very festive.
This is the Ladies Market we pass on the other day. Hey there is a Kentucky Fried Chicken shop! This monk has a sign that says that he is from Thailand and he uses kung fu to break bricks, lie on glasses and do other dangerous things. One of the artists is doing filigree the other some drawing. There are also street performances. This is a banner for a maid cafe, where cute, young waitresses dress up like French maids (and mostly target young men). These banners are for some face cream and a hotel. There are a lot of shops. We spot a Body Shop. And a Swatch. Do you think this is a movie poster? Wrong! These are ads for tutor schools. To make sure they get good grades and enter top univsersities, high school students often take extra classes after their regular school to study harder. The tutors need more than qualifications. They need to be good looking as well to get the teenagers to sign up their classes! The balloons look very colorful. This is another one of our host's favorite dessert shops. They are famous for their mango desserts. They also have desserts made with watermelon, aloe vera, coconut and more. I have to say, they all look very delicious. |
tarepanda Posted Dec 3, 2012, 10:30 pm |
It's lunch time again! Let's see what we will try today!
There is a Cambodian restaurant. This one is for Northern China cuisine. They specialize in dumplings and noodles. This Japanese place has tonkatsu (fried pork chop) and sushi. Mmm mango desserts! That's the place we saw last night! Too bad we can only pick one. We end up going to a Taiwanese restaurant. The decoration inside is quite nice. Our drinks arrived. We get a bubble milk tea and a Taiwanese herbal tea that is kind of like passionfruit flower and hibiscus. Here are the food! Taiwanese stew beef noodle is very famous, with tender beef and rich broth. This is a soy sauce marinated mix of eggs, tofu, chicken wings, beef shank and more. After lunch we visit the post office. We help our host mail some of her packages. We weigh the packages, buy the stamp, and now have to lick and put them onto the packages and post cards. I hope my postcard arrives soon! We also see this cute bag for sale in the post office. |
tarepanda Posted Dec 5, 2012, 4:01 am |
I wonder where we are going today? We ride on the double decker bus.
Cross Harbour Tunnel? We are actually going to go under the harbour!! We are now under the sea! It's so cool! I can't see the fishes though. I think we see light at the end of the tunnel! We are now on the Hong Kong Island side. Looks like we are heading to Causeway Bay. Causeway Bay was a fishing village in the past and the bay was a typhoon shelter for boats. Today you can still see boats anchored here. We are hungry! Let's eat first. Like many shopping centers here you have a lot of choices. You have Shanghai, Cantonese, Korean, Steak House, Vegetarian, Teppanyaki, Tempura and more. We end up eating Japanese ramen. 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. Hmmm which one should we get? 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. 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! Now we are full, we will do some shopping. We come to this new shopping center, Hysan Place. It looks very beautiful. Look at this shoe made of flowers! Shops here look very trendy indeed. 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. 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. Let's check out the bestsellers. I find a copy of The Life of Pi in Chinese! They also have a nice tea shop inside too. Check out the restroom! Even the sign is done so stylishly. See the lights? This is a cool restroom! Is it time for some afternoon snack? Hmmm... I like these restaurant directories. This is a French patisserie. They specialize in macaroons and make them in some very Asian flavors like oolong, jasmine, lychee and sesame. We also get a chocolate mousse because we want the ramekin. Delicious! |
tarepanda Posted Dec 5, 2012, 5:31 pm |
Our host knows that I 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. We come to the first gate. This is a protector of the temple. Oh, we see some statues of the twelve animals from the Zodiac signs. I can recognize the dragon and the rabbit. and the rooster. Mr. Piggy is here too! The goat, the horse, and the rat. Now we pass the main gate. There are some dragon cravings on here and this gate is modeled after the similar ones in Forbidden City. We come to the main altar. It's very colorful! Along the side are craved stone pillars. We spot a fairy a general and a man on a tiger! They are all fairies in the Taoism mythology. A lot of people, young and old, male and female, come to say prayer and give thanks by offering incense. 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. 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. The number on the stick refers to an oracle. You can get a copy of the oracle here. 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. On the side of the main altar are shrines for minor deities. This one is for the God of Fortune. The God of Medicine And this old couple is the God of the Land. They protect your home and bring blissfulness. Here is the Three Saints Hall. Hmm, a very fancy office! The Door to the Confuscius Hall. And guarding it a scary lion! Look how beautiful the ceiling is! This is the Confucius Hall. Now we visit the Good Wish Garden by passing through this circular door. Oh wow this is so beautiful!! There are lots of fishes and turtles in the pond. Can you see them? This is the Yin Yang Symbol meaning a well balanced universe. 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! What a lovely garden. Although the tall buildings behind do spoil the scenery a bit. What is this? A cave? Let's go exploring! We come back up the other side of the temple. 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. 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. 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. A lily pond, but not with real lilies. The baby lions seem to be doing circus acts. Good boy! Another lion! We go to the souvenir shop to pick up some souvenirs. They are building a stage with bamboos. 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! |
tarepanda Posted Dec 9, 2012, 3:22 am |
Dessert time again! (Do you think I look fatter in the photos? I haven't weighed myself but I am worried!)
The newspaper clippings on the wall says that this dessert shop has been around for over 10 years. Let's check out the menu. Mmm, everything looks good. We decide to have another one of those shaved snow. But which one? We want them all! This time we pick the plum flavor with marshmallow, dragon fruit, coco jelly and banana. It looks very pretty in pink! |
tarepanda Posted Dec 9, 2012, 3:43 am |
Our host 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. Hmm... I wonder which ship are we taking? I am so excited we will be heading somewhere new! We are boarding. This is the bow of our ship. It's a hydrofoil, which means that it kinds of float on top of water when it travels, so it can go faster and no bumpy. The seats here look very comfy. Much better than the airplane. Good bye Hong Kong. After an hour, looks like we are entering a port. Yup we are docking. This ship looks like ours. We line up to pass through immigration. Lots of people! Macau welcomes us! |
tarepanda Posted Dec 9, 2012, 5:12 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.
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. 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. Enough history lesson. Let's sit down and eat. First we got served tea. He he we are getting like pro as this. Next step is to mark down what we like on this piece of paper. We have the Shanghai style cold meat, drunken chicken (chicken cooked in wine) and soup dumpling. 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. 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. 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. |
tarepanda Posted Dec 17, 2012, 11:39 pm |
Today our host 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. 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. The signs are bilingual in Chinese and Portuguese, because Macau was a Portuguese colony. We pass by some nice looking buildings. These are casinos and hotels, which we will go later. Here is the border to China. After passing immigration you will walk into China! But that is not on our itinerary this time. we get off at a park. Ah, this is a cute panda statue. We see another one. Wow, lots of pandas around! 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. 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! Looks like they are having lunch. Hey come back, don't be shy! Ha ha looks like he is taking a nap. Back to snacking. I think panda eats like pig! Do they do anything besides eating and sleeping? Looks like he is really enjoying the bamboo! Good bye my new friends! Be happy! |
tarepanda Posted Dec 18, 2012, 5:40 am |
After saying farewell to our panda friends, we travel on to visit downtown Macau.
We take the bus and cross the bridge from the island. It feels funny not to be able to read the signs at all. Can you see a colorful tricolor building? That's the MGM casino. This little octagonal building is the first library in Macau. First stop... you guess it... something sweet! This place is famous for its pasteis de nata, which originates from Lisbon. Yummy, they are very delicious. 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. 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. 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. 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. At one end of the square is Leal Senado, which was the seat of Macau’s government during its colonization. The building is neoclassical style, showing its Portuguese influence. These tiles are called azulejo, and is very popular in Portugal. What a beautiful garden! This is a statue of Camoes, a famous Portuguese poet. This is the St. Dominic's Church. The street signs here are very unique. We pass by some souvenir shops. There are people walking around with samples of almond cookies. It is a specialty here that tourists like to take home. Here you can see the bamboo baskets used to bake the cookies. There is even Turkish ice cream! We would have tried some if we are not so full already. For restaurants not on the main street, they hire people to hold signs telling walker-bys where to go for food. This statue signifies the friendship between Chinese and Portuguese. What is that up there? It is Macau's most famous landmark, the St. Paul's ruin. The cathedral was built in 1602 and destroyed by fire in 1835. Only the southern stone façade remains standing. What is that next to the church ruins? It's a tiny little temple! 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. This stove is for people to burn their offerings. Incenses are made in a large coil so they can burn for a long time. All that walking leaves us a bit thirsty. We stop by to get a drink. We get a rose tea with basil seeds. |
tarepanda Posted Dec 25, 2012, 6:56 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. The shopping arcade here is very beautiful. We go there to see a new circus show called Dancing Water, similar to Cirque de Soleil, with beautiful stage and exciting acrobatic acts. The stage looks very beautiful! Wow it's exciting! Next we go to the Venice Resort. It's very beautiful here. We feel like we are in a palace! There are some ladies performing traditional Chinese music. We are indoors but the ceiling is painted to look like the sky. You can even take a gondola ride! This is modeled after the San Macro square in the real Venice. |
tarepanda Posted Dec 25, 2012, 8:02 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.
I meet a new friend on the bus. His name is Giraffe and he is really jealous when I tell him of my travel! But he says his boy is too young now so he has to take care of him before he can go travelling carefree like us. Hmmm, Macau street names always seem like a mouthful. This is Casino Lisboa, the oldest (and used to be the only) casino in Macau. This is its new wing. If you stand in the right spot you can actually see your reflection in one of the mirrors. 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. The restaurant specializes in different type of noodles, freshly made. We can watch them make it in the open kitchen. 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! 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. 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. Lunch is ready! Enjoy!! |
tarepanda Posted Dec 25, 2012, 11:40 pm |
Today we are returning to Hong Kong. Before we leave, first we have breakfast in the hotel.
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. Another very popular breakfast dish is the congee, a rice porridge. This one has eggs and meat in it. Afterwards we walk around the hotel a bit. This is the lobby. It is a Japanese hotel so the decoration looks a bit Japanese. This is the outside of the hotel. It has a man made beach. As the Mid Autumn Festival is nearing, there is an exhibition of lanterns. This one is huge! The Chinese believed that there was a rabbit in the moon, so rabbit is a popular theme. This one is very intricate! 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. Oh oh we are getting hungry again! |
tarepanda Posted Dec 26, 2012, 2:03 am |
We are now boarding the ship to get back to Hong Kong.
There is another Hydrofoil going to Hong Kong. We pass by the Sands casino. We can see the Macau Tower and the tricolor MGM casino. This is the bridge we have passed by several times. Goodbye Macau! We are out in the sea now! It's kind of stormy! Look, that's the hydrofoil we saw at the dock! You can see how it's floating on the water. We see some unhabitated island. This is Lantau Island, one of the outlying islands in Hong Kong. We are now back in Hong Kong. You can see all the tall buildings now! Hey the boat is now heading back to Macau. Remember IFC, the tallest building? and the convention center on left? 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. We check the dishes we want to order. 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. The food arrives. We have beef, corn, oyster... but they are all raw! We get fish and ribs too! And they are raw too? Oh! We are supposed to cook it ourselves in the pot. That is fun! |
tarepanda Posted Dec 26, 2012, 9:53 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!
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. We are in Chicago! We are on our way back to Miami. What a fun trip it was to visit Asia! I am so glad I get to see the temples, and try many new things. |
tarepanda Posted Dec 27, 2012, 5:08 pm |
Today we have a new visitor!
His name is Micky, a little mouse from Germany. Genoveva and Big Foot are happy to have a baby cousin, and Fidibus too very much enjoy the German chocolate Micky brings along. |
tarepanda Posted Dec 27, 2012, 5:12 pm |
We decide to take our new friend to try some Chinese food, because, he he, we start to have some cravings after our wonderful trip.
We have some hand made noodles with beef, and a steamed bun. For dessert there is some sweet bean pancakes, and some sweet tofu pudding. I have to say it's not as good as the food in China. Ah, guess we have to make a trip back! |
tarepanda Posted Dec 28, 2012, 3:53 am |
Today another box arrives!! Hmmm, what is it? Hello? Anybody there?
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 lemurs visiting... 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... |
tarepanda Posted Dec 28, 2012, 4:50 pm |
Our host bought this by mistake last week when she shopped for some beets. We did not know what it is, but we helped her figure out that it is a rutabaga. We decide to make a soup out of it.
First we cut it up into pieces. We also cut some potatoes and carrots. We brown some onion in the pot. When it's ready we put the root vegetables in as well. We throw in some herbs, bay leaves and pepper and some water. Now it's time to put everything in the blender. We put the puree back into the pot, add a bit of wine, salt and pepper to taste. Let's a final touch, of scallion and shredded asiago. Doesn't it look good? It's very delicious! |
tarepanda Posted Jan 6, 2013, 10:51 pm |
Cooking time again! We sure are fattening ourselves up for the winter.
Today we come baked pork chop rice at home. First we have to marinate the pork chops. Next, we chop up the tomatoes and onions. It's not easy work! We prepare the rice by stir frying it, adding a little egg and sausage. We grease the bottom of a pan. Then put the rice in it. Now we fry the pork chop. We lay them nicely on top of the rice. Next up is the tomato and onion! We add tomato paste, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and sugar to make the sauce. Cook till it's thick and bubbly. Once we pour the sauce on top of the pork chop and rice, it's ready to go into the oven! We sip a glass of wine while we wait for the dish to cook. Is it ready? Is it ready? We keep checking the oven. Finally, it is! Now we can enjoy a wonderful dinner! |
tarepanda Posted Apr 26, 2013, 5:07 pm |
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!
We go to the counter to place our order. This is a Brazilian burger and steak place. Then we find a table. Look at all the giraffes on the wall! We are number 73. We first get our drinks and the cheese bread, which are round little balls. This is the quinoa salad. It's delicious! 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. We have a good dinner together. It's sad saying goodbye, but we promise to stay in touch. |
tarepanda Posted May 9, 2013, 10:42 pm |
Wow looks like we have another TV joining us! Who's he? Who's he?
Oh it's not a mouse, but a moose. Mocha is very happy to finally see another moose friend. He says there are too many rats and mice in the house. He is joking of course. Anyway, we give Jasper a good welcome party! Mocha He proudly introduce Jasper to his grandpapa, Cappuccino. His Grandpapa is too old to travel but he loves having visitors. Then he can tell his stories all over again. (Not that he doesn't repeat his stories with us... |
tarepanda Posted May 23, 2013, 9:23 pm |
This weekend we visit Tarpon Springs. It is a small town on the west coast of Florida. It used to be famous for its sponge production back from 1880s. Back in 1950s the sponge industry made millions of dollars a year. Nowadays, due to the high costs and water condition, very little sponge is produced and the place is mostly a tourist attraction. However, the town continues to have the highest percentage of Greek American in the whole country, many descendants of the divers who immigrated during the sponge industry boom.
First on the agenda: visit a Greek restaurant to try some Greek food. We are ordering the gyros. It is a sandwich, with some grilled lamb & beef wrapped in a pita bread, with some tomato, cucumber, onion and tzasiki sauce. Look at all the pita bread! Can you see the roaster where the meat is grilled? Our gryos has arrived. We also have a lamb souvlaki, similar to gryos but with lamb inside. They are both very delicious. |
tarepanda Posted May 23, 2013, 10:16 pm |
Today we visit the Sponge Dock.
There is a statue memorizing all the sponge divers who had lost their lives when sponge harvesting. This is an example of a sponge boat. Maybe we should go and try harvest some sponge? Or maybe not. I don't want to be shark dinner. It's safer to go to check out the shops. What do they have? Lots of sponges!! This one is called finger sponge. This one is your plain old yellow sponge. And the sign says it's harvested locally! And these are vase sponges! These are called sea biscuits but I don't think they are very tasty. And these are sand dollars. You can find them on the beaches, though usually not as complete as this. They are the skeletons of sea urchins, although in folk legends, they were thought to be the coins lost by mermaids or people of the Atlantis. Ah, I know these! Star fishes! Next we go to a Greek bakery. There are many kind of sweet pastries, like bavlaka. Our host gets some of her favorite, diples. It's a roll made from a thin sheet of fried dough and drizzled with honey. |
tarepanda Posted May 31, 2013, 12:54 am |
Today we are going on a trip to Tampa, on the west coast of Florida.
Look there is a bridge coming up. 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. We come to visit the Cigar City Brewery. 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. Here is the star of today! The special brew, Hunahpu, which is available only on this day of the year, which we come here for. Each person can buy only 3 bottles at $20 each. 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. There are some food trucks here, because we all love some food to go with our beer! This one called Oki Doki, sells Okinawan food. We take a peek inside the truck. They are very busy cooking! Everybody seems to enjoy themselves, walking around with a beer in hand. Some people bring their own chairs, coolers filled with beers, and food to just enjoy a nice day out here. They chat, drink beer, and listen to the band playing. There is a booth selling cigars made in Ybor City. Hmmm... I guess big cigars need a big lighter? Let's check out the tasting room! Look at all the beers on tap!! What a selection! Most of them are local craft brews. Wow look at the stack of cups. The brewery has won a lot of awards, which they proudly display. Before we leave, we check out the shop so we can buy some souvenir. |
tarepanda Posted Jun 5, 2013, 11:36 pm |
Today we go to an arts fair.
These metal plates are very beautiful! These paintings are really cute. These are photographs of the islands in Florida. Looks like paradise indeed! There are some food stalls. This one sells popcorn and lemonade. There is also a music band playing. This one has Chinese style paintings on gold paper. This artist creates interesting pieces with metal. This one displays South Western inspired artworks. |
tarepanda Posted Jun 6, 2013, 8:06 pm |
Today we go to visit a Free Little Library. These are the books we are bringing. We register them on BookCrossing first. BookCrossing is like toyvoyagers, every book gets an ID number and it travels around the round. By reading the book's journal you can find out where the book has gone and what its readers say about it.
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. 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? |
tarepanda Posted Jun 6, 2013, 9:30 pm |
Today we go to see an outdoor screening of the movie The Life of Pi in Miami Beach. In the winter time, when weather is not too hot, various places in South Florida will host free outdoors movie screenings. People will bring their chairs, blankets, as well as picnic food, to enjoy a nice, inexpensive evening out.
Lots of people are here already. We set up our chair and get our popcorns ready. Yay movie is starting! We enjoy the movie a lot. It's about a boy who is lost on the sea and spends the time with a tiger on a small boat. I am glad I am not on that boat! |
tarepanda Posted Jun 7, 2013, 4:09 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.
Mmmm these cupcakes and lollipops look GOOD!! This stall sells different types of french fries, wrapped in newspaper-looking grease paper. Machu Picchu is the "Lost City of the Incas". So this must be a Peruvian restaurant! It's a rather hot day and great for some snow cone. Which flavor would you like? 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. Hamburger, anyone? You can also get some delicious and healthy smoothie. There is a band playing music. There is also a line of food trucks, for even more options. It's not easy at all deciding what to try!! When you eat so much your clothes feel tight, you can do some shopping here as well! There are also some games for children. 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!! |
tarepanda Posted Jun 11, 2013, 10:20 pm |
Today we go to see something very American!!
No, I don't mean the Hard Rock cafe or casino, though that's very American... 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 have 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... There is no big prairie here, the dancing are done inside a stadium. We see them all dressed up ready to dance. First they say a prayer and then introduces the little Miss and Mister Seminole. Next all the dancers come out in a parade. It's leaded by the warriors. Following behind are the little Miss and Mister Seminole. Look at the beautiful outfit!! The face paint makes them look very fierce!! The ladies look very graceful in their buckskin dresses. Do you see how the little toddler is dressed up like his father? The drummers sit in a circle. I can't imagine how they can sit down in their outfit! They have competition where different dancers were performed. This is the Southern tradition. This one is called Grass Dancing. The head dress makes us think of moth antennae. There are many stalls at the pow wow. Look at all the moccasins! These jewelries are very beautiful. There are some paintings. The traditional Seminole clothings are very colorful. These pendants are made with tiny beads. Mickey Mouse moccasins! There are also books and CDs. |
tarepanda Posted Jun 13, 2013, 5:41 am |
Today we receive a package. It feels soft and bulky, so it must be a toy! What animal can it be?
"Who's in there?" "Hello?" "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!!" I am so happy to meet a new friend. His name is Mr. Lumpi. |
tarepanda Posted Jun 13, 2013, 6:00 am |
Big Foot the rat will be leaving and travelling to Germany. To say farewell, our host 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? 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. Next, we get a screwdriver and a hammer. Yes, you read that correctly. Make sure you clean the screwdriver first. With the help of the hammer, we use the screwdriver to make several holes around, like a dotted line. Then we pry it open. It takes only a minute or two! 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! Don't forget to enjoy the tender meat as well! Our host 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. |
tarepanda Posted Oct 25, 2013, 1:59 am |
Today we are very excited, as we are going to see a favorite author of our host.
Yes, we are going to see Neil Gaiman! As we wait, we check out his books. I see Stardust, Coraline, and many of his famous titles. We are allowed to get two books signed. One is the new one, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, and my host's favorite, Stardust. We sit a bit far back but can still see Neil Gaiman as he talks. Afterwards we line up to get his signature. We wait over two hours but looks like we are getting close!! I am so excited to be standing right by the famous author! |
tarepanda Posted Nov 10, 2013, 3:55 am |
Today is Independence Day, so we are going to celebrate. It's popular to celebrate with barbecue, but as we don't have a grill, we go to a BBQ restaurant instead.
Let's see what they have! First we get some fried okra as appertizer. Everybody is so hungry the food is almost all gone before we take a picture! We have chicken wings. Then some really traditional American barbeque: beef brisket with black eye peas and collard green, ribs with sweet potato souffle and french fries. Then we go to a near by park to watch the fireworks. When we get home we turn on the TV to watch the celebration at Washington DC the capital. Everybody looks very excited. There is a concert. Wow there are so many people. You can see the Licoln Memorial in the background. The army plays the national anthem. The Capitol is in the background. Firework is on! You can see the Washington Memorial, a very tall obelisk. I enjoy watching the spectacular fireworks. |