Travelog for: Thomas

Dear everyone!!

Thomas has been asking me for ages now if he can travel the world, just like all those cool toys he sees on Toyvoyagers and postcrossing. So, today I finally gave in; Thomas can leave for his big trip around the globe.

He is a bit of a fearful teddy so he would like to stay with some reliable people who would be willing to keep an eye on him and make some snapshots of him now and then. (he is too small to hold the camera by himself) If you can help him update his log that would be great.

Thomas is easygoing and would like to tag along everywhere you go, to work/school/home or a day of sightseeing. He doesnt mind sleeping on the couch and doesnt eat very much. Travelexpenses are low since he is very small.

Thomas has always been dreaming about going to famous places and meeting people everwhere he goes. He also has some specific things he would really love to see and do, maybe you can help him? Maybe you can take his picture at one of these places and decribe his experiences in his blog. You would make him very happy. Some of the places he would like to see and things he would like to do are:

To do:
-Sit on a horse with a cowboy from Texas
-Drink vodka with someone in Russia
-Drink a German beer with a German in Germany
-Ride the swanboats in Boston, MA
-Have my photo taken with someone dressed in Geisha-clothes
-Pose for a photo with a random person on the street in Alabama, US
-Go on a fishingtrip
-Join a typically Polish holiday/party/dinner/game
-Eat pasta with a family from Italy
-Have my picture taken in front and inside of any Wall Mart store
-Visit a church in the US
-Eat an icecream with my host in a warm country
-Go to an American Football game with an American host
-Join a family anywhere in the world for a boardgame
-Go to an icehockey match
-Visit someone's grandparents
-Pose for a photo with a random person from Australia
-Have a snack from a vending machine at a railway station
-Meet a German Shepherd dog
-Watch the view from the top floor of a very high building
-Dance a traditional dance
-Go to a bookstore in Finland
-Pose somewhere outside with the flag of the country I am in
-Have my picture taken with a policeman or anyone else in uniform
-Meet another Toyvoyager along my travels
-Make some new friends in the zoo
-Meet girls dressed in Harajuku fashion


To see:
-The London eye
-Christmasmarket in Germany
-Chinese wall
-New York City
-Petronas twin towers, Kuala Lumpur
-The most beautiful sight in Denmark (according to the opinion of my host)
-Leaning tower of Pisa
-Route 66
-Changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace
-The northern light
-Surfers on the beach



Thomas would love it if you would join him in the photo(s) but thats ofcourse whatever you prefer.

Info
Thomas is very small and will fit in a regular size envelope
Thomas weighs hardly anything and will cost the same amount of postage as a regular letter
Thomas can and wouldnt mind to travel in your bag or the pocket of your jacket (leave the zipper open a bit so he can breathe!)
Thomas would greatly appreciate it if you take good care of him and will make sure he arrives safely at his next destination
Thomas does not carry a notebook, he would like you to make his notes and post his pictures in his log

Thomas would like to see so much more of the world than just the earlier named places. Where can you take him or who can you have him meet?

Who would like to host Thomas?

Thomas made it here (Gatineau, Quebec, Canada) today December 7, 2009.  We will start taking lots of photos later on and he's going to a Hockey game (NHL - Canadians vs Senators) tomorrow night We will add tons of photos.

Thomas arrived here today in a red envelope. He immediately met another Toy Voyager named Wolle who is permanently staying with me.

Thomas is so glad to have escaped the ice storm in Canada that was raging when he left. Now he's enjoying sunny California.

They're already talking about doing some adventures together.

Hallo, this is Thomas. Today, I had a little night adventure. First we went to church. It was too dark inside the chapel, though, so that the picture with me didn't work out  But we made two pictures outside. There were some lights, so that was better. On the first one, you see me in front of these stairs, they go four stories up. Looks quite beautiful and there are some little crosses attached to that building on the outside.
The second picture shows me with the Worship Center in the background. Swan told me that's really big, we didn't go inside today, though. She promised me to take me there another time. Today, we were in the chapel, which is a smaller, older building.
The church is called Lake Avenue Church.

The third picture show us on the way home. Oh, I have to tell you more about that bridge later, when we can make better pictures during the day.

We also cross the Historic Route 66 when we walk to church or back to Swan's home. That's me with the street sign on the last picture.

Oh, it was so exciting to have this pre-view during the night. We'll go to all these places again some other day when the sun shines and we can see better 

As promised, we went back to the church the next morning when the sun was shining.

The first picture is me outside the chapel that we visited yesterday night.

Then we found a flag pole with a US flag. I was happy since I like to take a picture of me with the flag of the country I'm visiting. You can't see much, because there's no wind, but that's the flag, I promise 

Then, as we strolled along, there was another building. Oh, this campus is so big, I was glad I had a guide. This building has the stairs next to it that are so pretty at night.

And finally, I'm outside the big worship center. There's a patio in front of it and even nice big trees. Today, we had to leave, but we'll go inside before I leave here.

On our way back, we crossed a large freeway with so many lanes, it was fun to watch the cars from above.  Right after we crossed the bridge, we had another look at the church.

To celebrate my visit, Swan's husband was so nice to invite me to a really nice bufftet. The seafood was so yummy. I had never had an oyster before. Oh, and the dessert    And after that dessert, paella with seafood. I was sooo stuffed at the end, it was really good. 

Now I show you the surroundings where we had this nice meal. There was a great view of the town below (with a freeway).
We also made a picture of me and my host Swan looking up from below. Do you see us waving? She's the one with the red sweatshirt, I'm the handsome guy in her left hand, hehe.
We even had life music in that place. They only played near other tables, though, until right before we left.
When we left, we also saw these interesting yellow and blue birds, parrots or something, they had a big cage. When we had arrived, they were there, too, but we only had a short look because we were hungry.

In the middle of the week, I think it may have been Thursday, we went to the post office. The post office is on Colorado Blvd in Pasadena. This part of the street is part of the Historic Route 66. Mostly, it doesn't look very special now, though it is still a major city street, but this motel called Vagabond in might have gotten its name way back when this was still the busy Route 66.
In the first picture you see the sign of Michaels, the craft store where Swan likes to shop sometimes. Then there is the motel next to it. On the third picture, we're on the other side of the street, Wolle and I hanging out on a newspaper box while Swan is taking a picture.
The last picture shows the post office, the darker grey part of the building next to my right antler.

Look at what else we found. Red roses in the middle of January. It's winter, but here in Southern California, often the plants don't know it, they get confused and bloom in the middle of winter. 

Another weekend and we are again at one of those fancy places. My hosts assured me, they don't do it every week  I even got a picture with Swan's hubby.
The food with the bone sticking out between the cucumber salad and the mushrooms is lamb. It was really yummy and tender. 
The two views of the buffet don't even show everything.
Outside there was this beautiful artificial pond. I set on the bench for a while and relaxed.

You remember when I told you I'd show you the inside of the Worship Center at Lake Avenue Church? Today we went inside. It was the time between the two Sunday services, so not so many people were there. The orchestra is getting ready, though. We didn't use the flash in order not to disturb anyone. Swan told me that about 2000 people can sit in there.

The place we ate at today wasn't so special, my hosts say they know a place that's better for the same price. I believe them, because the desserts all tasted the same here, just sweet.

But because we were already close by, we went to the Alpine Village in Torrance. It's like a little German town inside the city. We looked at and inside the chapel and went into a few stores. I was dreaming among the fairy tale books and I met a funny Yoda nutcracker. I even tried to read a German magazine about JFK. In the last picture, you can see our green parked car, by the way, and in the background the store that has all the German food.

I'd like to show you the nice view we had of the skyline of downtown Los Angeles. I had a really good view from the front of the car.

We ate at an Afghan restaurant. Mmm, the eggplant was yummy, it was soft on the inside and crispy on the outside. And they had really nice paintings in the walls. I'm feeling like an adventurer just looking at this.

The adventure continues, I'm now off to my next destination. Byebye, Pasadena and Swan.  My next destination is Finland. I'm traveling in a comfy envelope.