Travelog for: Bella

My name is Bella and I'm a baby girl hippo living in Miskolc, Hungary.
Today I decided to become a ToyVoyageger.
I'm very tiny and always happy, so it'll be very easy to host me! I'll be a good girl, I promise!
Now I'm looking for my first host... I'm very excited!!!

Hi mom!
Just arrived in Greece!

I met Skippy Kangaroo, another TV! He is my first TV friend! Here we are together .

It's rainy here today but Vicky says we'll go for a walk later and get some photos! We might go to the mall and get me a nice dress...

Until later
Bye mommy!!!

Here I am again, drinking a hot chocolate by the fireplace with Skippy.

We just came back from the mall! Outside it's raining but we had a wonderful time. So here I am at the fountain...

here is a Carousel they have outside the mall, it was cold and we decided to avoid the ride.... 

Oh! this is a nice one! We met a huge snowman there! Here I am sitting on his carrot nose!

Vicky says we might go skiing this weekend! I am so excited!

Bye!

Hi again from Seli,  the beautiful Ski resort.
Seli is a village and winter sports resort located in the Vermion Mountains of northern Greece.
It is located at a distance of 95km from Thessaloniki, where my host lives!
So today we went there!
We had a great time riding the sleigh, playing with the snow and snowboarding!

I am having a great time! I'll write to you soon!
Bye mom!

Hi mom!

Sorry for not sending you my news for so long! So I am gonna write you a lot today

Vicky and the kids are trying to find me a new dress since it's one of my life missions. I've been trying a lot of dresses... I can't seem to decide which one to get, so i'll keep on trying ....
Take a look...

I've decided to show you some photos of a typical greek food!
Greek food is following the Mediterranean diet, which means a LOT of olive oil, vegetables and fish.
I've taken a lot of pictures all of these days so here they are.

Picture1 : here we are cooking ... with a BIG bottle of olive oil!
Picture2: octopus.... it's soooo tasty!
Picture3: fried meet balls
Picture4: fried shrimps with feta cheese and tomato sauce
Picture5: on top "dolmadakia" which are grape leafs stuffed with rice and on the bottom "papoutsakia" which are aubergines stuffed with mince and bessamel sauce on top
Picture6: and for desert "baklava" with walnuts and syrup

Enjoy

Hi there!

It's been raining here for many days and we didn't have the chance to go sightseeing.
So I thought I should introduce the family that hosts me... and what is a better way to meet them that see what they are doing in their spare time! So here are some photos of their hobbies!
Mom is into scrapbooking, cardmaking ans jewelry making, dad is into electronics, and the kids are into... playing! What else?! They are huge fans of Winnie tha Pooh!

Hey Mom!

I am learning Greek! It's an interesting but very difficult language!
They even have another alphabet!
Take a look!
Today I wrote "Good morning from Greece! How are you?"

This morning when I woke up, I had a nice cup of coffee ...



and then I played the keyboard


the flute


the kids trumpet


the ocarina


and the castagnettes

Today was a very fun day.

The weather was great so we decided to go for a walk by the sea side with the whole family. Mom, dad, the kids, and the toys (me and Skippy).
Thessaloniki is the second biggest city of Greece (after Athens) and is build by the sea.

This is me overlooking the sea and in the background is a view of the city


Here I am in front of the Concert Hall


Take a look at some photos we took by the sea side






we walked by some tennis and basketball courts,


some fountains and artificial waterfalls,


many playgrounds (we had to stop to each and everyone of them for the kids to play...) Take a look at this rather spooky one! 


... while in the sea there was a sailing contest


What a great day! Hope you enjoyed my photos 
If the weather is as good tomorrow we'll go sightseeing again!

Love Bella

Hi again from Thessaloniki!
I had a great day on Sunday because we went sightseeing. The weather was really bad, it was snowing and freezing but we went to the city center.
Normally there is always a traffic jam there, but because it was Sunday morning and all the shops where closed it was quite nice!
So here are a couple of pictures of me and Skippy, driving to the city center.



This is the main square of Thessaloniki. It is called "Aristotelous Square" named after the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle.


We had to stop in Starbucks (love it) for a hot cup of coffee to keep us warm, and for a sweet snack!


Then we went to see the "White Tower", the symbol of the town.
It used to be a notorious prison and scene of mass executions during the period of Ottoman rule. It was substantially remodeled and its exterior was whitewashed after Greece gained control of the city in 1912, turning the former "Tower of Blood" into the present-day White Tower.
Take a look at the Greek flag in the middle, the blue one with the white stripes.


A fountain in the city center


and the statue of Alexander the Great, king of Macedons (336–323 BC). He was one of the most successful military commanders of all time and is presumed undefeated in battle.



Did you know that Thessaloniki is named after Alexander's sister "Thessaloniki"? It is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of Macedonia, the nation's largest region.



This is me in a real size "sarissa".
The sarissa was a 4 to 7 meter (13-21 feet) long pike used in the ancient Greek warfare. It was used in the traditional Greek phalanx formation as a replacement for the earlier dory, which was considerably shorter. The sarissa, was very heavy for a spear, weighing over 5 kg (12 pounds).
Can you find me in the photo?





Then we went at the marina to see the sailing boats



Sunday is a day for family gatherings, so grandma invited us for lunch. Here we are driving to go to her house.... can you see the snow outside the window?


Oh, take a look what we had for lunch
-souvlakia (meat on a stick)
-kefte (mince balls)
-salads (potato salad and cabbage/carrot/spinach salad)
-sardines in the oven for those that prefer to eat fish





Did you know that it's the carnival season in Greece?!
More updates are coming soon....

Who am I?

It's me! Bella!!!! having a great time!
It's the carnival season here in Greece.
So my hosts are wearing their costumes and they are going to parties!
I thought it would be fun to try some of the kids costumes!

Ladybug


princess

Hi from the beautiful town of Volos! It is a coastal port city situated at the center of the Greek mainland, about 215 km south from Thessaloniki.
We are here for an extended weekend and we went for a walk today! Because it's the carnival the coastline is decorated with colorful ribbons.Take a look!

some yachts ...


Volos University


Overlooking Volos.... such a wonderful place!









Spring is in the air!



Look I found a new friend! A ladybug!








A Greek Orthodox church


Have a nice day, I'll update again soon!

Hi again from Volos.
We went at the beach and had some great time! The weather was nice and we even flew a kite. This was the last weekend of the carnival season and flying a kite is a custom on this weekend.
So take a look!

Hi mom!
Today it was sunny and warm, so we went to a suburb of Thessaloniki, called Thermi.
It's a small town and there is a dam there. The place is so calm and the ducks are so friendly!

Take a look at the photos!















Take a look at the path around the lake





I also smelled a lot of flowers! Oh I love spring!







And here I am with the whole gang at the slider of the playground.
You know Skippy Kangaroo... the other four toys in the middle are new ones that my host is getting prepared for their first adventure in the Toyvoyager world!



Love
Bella