Travelog for: Mira

My host had her second exam today. It was about English Morphology, whatever that may be As long as my host knew what it was about. Ceryni and I got to come with her this time. On the way back from the university to the railway station we took these pictures. This is me in front of the statue of Rembrandt. He was a famous painter who was born in Leiden.

And this is an image of him.

Here I am in front of a Dutch windmill and a bridge. The windmill is still in use, though not right now

My host says she always loves this view. It's so Dutch with these boats and the houses around it. I thought it was very pretty.

This is a car where you can buy fish during the daytime. It was closed now. My hosts always walks past it very quickly, because it smells like fish and she doesn't like that.

Okay, let me explain why the next picture is here and why you don't see anything. This is a busstation. Usually there are many buses over here, all day long. But now the bus drivers are on a strike. They have been on a strike for a couple of weeks now. First they would still drive during rush hour, but since last week they don't drive at all. My host doesn't really mind, because she hardly ever uses the bus, but many people are dependent on them and for them it's very inconvenient. Imagine all the people living in the smaller villages where they don't have the train! I hope they'll reach a solution soon.

And here's the proof I actually was in Leiden

Last Thursday my host went to do some last shopping before the vacation and I tagged along! Well, most of the time I spent in her bag, but we did stop for a cup of coffee. Here you can see it.

Today a new TV arrived! He's a little dog and his name is Moony! He is just in time for our trip to London, so he's a very lucky guy!

Here's our group picture. Well, tomorrow we're going to pack and then on Monday we'll be flying to England! How exciting!

Today is the big day! We're travelling to London, England! This plane is not the one we were flying with, but it is a nice Dutch plane here at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam.

The flight went very smoothly. There were no delays and no turbulence. The plane was very full and it was impossible for my host to take any pictures. So this is where we arrived: London, England!

We were pretty early at the hotel, like 12 in the afternoon, so my hosts decided to go for a walk through the city. We went to the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, the Big Ben and the London Eye.

Westminster Abbey:




After that we walked to Buckingham Palace.




That was all we had seen the first day. My hosts were both very tired from the trip and from walking around, so they went back to the hotel early.

On Tuesday we first went for a walk through the park in the Kensington Gardens. There we met this squirrel. He wasn't what you would call shy or anything.

On the other side of the park was the Royal Albert Hall. This is me in front of the statue in front of the hall.



My host saw this bus coming by with this lovely advertisement. Isn't it impressive?

We went to Piccadilly Circus by Underground. Here's the proof



This is just a random spot in London.

After that we walked to Trafalgar Square. This is the National Gallery on Trafalgar Square. We didn't go in there today, but we did so on Saturday, allthough we weren't allowed to take any pictures in there.

Here I am on Trafalgar Square.


Here I am in front of one of the phone booths in London, according to one of my life missions.


Here I am in front of the Tower Bridge. Lovely picture, right?

This is quite an exceptional building in London. Its nickname is the 'Gherkin'. It was one of my secret life missions to have my picture taken with this building. We couldn't get any closer unfortunately, but it definitely is me with the building



That was all we saw on the second day of our trip to London

This day we went to the Tower of London. This is me in front of the building where they keep the crown jewels.

Today we went to the British Museum.

There were many interesting statues there.

My host said she just loved these Greek statues. They were very impressive.


This isn't Greek, I know, but Egyptian, but still very interesting to see it for real.

The architecture of this building is also very special.

On Thursday we only visited Westminster Abbey, but we weren't allowed to take any pictures there, so there's just this picture of the Big Ben of that day.

On Friday we went to the Tate Britain museum. Again, we weren't allowed to take any pictures there, so there's just this picture.

In the afternoon we went to the Museum of London. This is me outside the museum. I know it says 'Useum of London', but the 'M' is just hidden behind the tree

After our visit to this museum we walked to St. Paul's Cathedral. It was really close by. We didn't go in though, so we only took these pictures from the outside.



When we came home (in the hotel) that afternoon my host wanted to take pictures of the hotel room, and of course we wanted to be on these pictures. This is us in the bathroom.

The bathtub looked really big and comfortable, but since I'm a dog, I didn't want to go in there, even without the water. Maybe some other time...

Our host Charda found this British bear in a souvenirshop and she decided to adopt him. He was all right, a bit posh maybe.

Our last group picture in England!

On Saturday we flew back home to the Netherlands, to our host's home that is of course. This is me on the train from Paddington Station to London Heathrow Airport.



The plane on this next picture isn't our plane, because we were inside ours, but it was of the same airline.

And this is the view from the airplane while in the air. Cool huh, all those clouds.

So now we're back in the Netherlands. As you can see, we had a great time in England!

Okay, here's a really short update. All of us have arrived safely in the Netherlands today. We had a great week in London and we have seen quite a few famous landmarks. Our host says she'll update the pictures within a few days, but that might take a while, because there are so many
Here's all of us in the hotel room. We'll talk later!

Ps: I do have a picture of me with the Gherkin. It's not the best picture ever, because we didn't come that close, but it's a nice picture anyway.

Today we had a typical Dutch meal: andijviestamppot with bacon and cheese. It looks good, doesn't it? 

Today was my last day in the Netherlands. It was a sad day for me, because I really had a great time here, but they all assured me that my next host will be just as kind and will also take very good care of me.

This was the last thing I saw before I entered the envelope.

Now I'm off to my new host!

Hey, it's so hot here!!! Where am I?



There are some travelling friends here! A cute doggie called Woezel  and a happy pig named Rally



First I'll send a message to my Mom, to let her know I arrived safely.



See you soon! 

Today there was sunshine and not too hot, a perfect day to go to the park.



This water looks refreshing!





There too, to have a nap. 



If I get thirsty I can drink something... better be a Coke or juice, I don't like beer - yuck!



I see more water from here! It's a lake with a jet of water.







There's also a replica of Macao's old church!



I was more interested on having fun on the kids park.













Great day, can't wait for the next trip! 

A day in the city, enjoying the sun and the heat. The Tagus river looks so blue! 






A quick visit to the church of S. Vicente de Fora. Too bad it was closed and I couldn't go in...




There goes a tramway!


Maybe I'll rest a bit under this tree... it's really hot here!


And he water fountain has no water to fresh me... 


Well... got to go now. Walking again!



quaqua, some ducks!




Finally arrived at the Panteão Nacional. Cool building!


Closed too, I checked...


So, a quick look around! 




Bye! There's more to see!

The rest of the afternoon was less active, just a small walk around...











In the next days I'll be in the countryside! I can't wait! 

I arrived yesterday night at Bogas de Baixo, a small village lost in the interior of Portugal, not too far from the spanish border.

First thing I did this moorning was going to the upper part of the house to see the view.





The house where I stayed, that belonged to my host's grandparents, is made with stones like these:


There is a small apple tree there, I played a bit amongst the tiny apples. 



Behind the house there's the forest - it looks scary for a small dog like me! 


See what I mean?! Look at the size of the pine cone! It's bigger than me! 


It's all so dry this time of the year...


I found some weird old stuff. This one looked like a small house for me but in fact it's an old chimney:


I must get out of here! This old axe is looking at me with a strange look on its blade... 


Fortunately inside the house the objects were less threatening! This old petroleum lamp looks cool.


I left the house and look around, to check the place where the village's Summer Festivals are taking place.







The bushes here are different from my country!


On the afternoon I saw traditional portuguese dancing. I don't have any pictures cause I was helping my host at the bar. 

Hi Mom!

Today I went to the Lisbon's zoo. The first animals I've seen were some black ducks.


I wanted to say hi to these poneys but they were more interested in their food! 


The donkey was not much talkative either...


I didn't have more luck with the buffalos!




FINALY someone who wants to chat!  A suricate! Hey, do you know Timon? 


The camels were resting too. Lazy animals!!!


Let me check the giraffes...


They were nice!


The elephants were too far away, I've just seen them from here.


I saw some cool flamingos!


No wonder this midget hippo is so fat, he doesn't stop to eat!


I had to rest for a while, it was hot!


The leopards were resting too.


WOW! What's that inside the water?! A sea lion or a seal? It was too fast to check...


These guys I'm glad they are far, far away from me! 


The big hippos were eating too.


I was so interested in the bears! I stood there for a while but unfortunately they seem to be shy and hide behind the tree protections all the time... 



The marabu is big but didn't scare me! He looks very calm... (the fence helped my self confidence  )


On the other hand, the pelicans were too active, they even tried to catch me!


The zoo also have some garden areas and some beautiful flowers.




It was a great day for me, seeing so many animals!