Travelog for: Sheela

Hi Mum!

Today another package arrived.


Inside there wasn't one, but TWO toyvoyagers!  Niiskuneiti and HelgaHH.


We all made them feel very welcome.


There's so many of us now - 8!  We thought it would be fun to play a game, so we played Disney Trivial Pursuit, with a twist.  If a player lands on a question that could give them a cheese, then they're asked a question from the normal Trivial Pursuit.  We didn't want to make things too easy!


But first, we had to choose what colour we wanted to be.  I was orange.


It was a lot of fun.


Do you know the answer to this question Mum?  Which daughter of a former Blue Peter presenter charted with 'Murder on the Dancefloor'?


The answer is Sophie Ellis Bextor.  Hostmum played the song for us - it's quite catchy.

In the end, I didn't win.  It was a fun game though, and I learnt a lot of new things.


Bye,
Sheela

Hi Mum!

Today I saw the Olympic Torch - it was pretty neat!

We arrived early to make sure that we got a good spot to see it.  Luckily we had brought a seat with us, so we could just sit back and relax.


Then lots of police started to show up.


And then we saw it - the torch!


It was an exciting day.

Bye,
Sheela

Hi Mum!

Today we went to Derwent Resevoir.


It's quite a big resevoir - just under 5km wide.  It can hold up to 11 million gallons of water, and provides water for almost half of the North East of England.


There's almost 7km of coastline around it.  We all enjoyed seeing it very much.


And look Mum, when we were exploring we saw this pretty river that feeds into the resevoir.


Bye,
Sheela

Hi Mum,

This past week I have been in Essex.  Snamoen's Nana has just been released from hospital, so Snamoen went down to help out around the house.  This means that I haven't had a chance to explore, but don't worry, I've been keeping myself occupied with all the animals that Snamoen's Grandparents have!

Here I am with Summer.  She's such a sweetie, she loves to play and have her belly rubbed.


This is Honey.  She's very mischevious and loves to play.


This is Tosca.  He has to be the fluffiest cat I've ever seen!  He loves to go outside and explore his domain.


Here I am with Jessie.  She's quite an old lady (she's 15), so she likes to spend her time relaxing in the sun and being stroked.


And finally, here I am with Mr. Pickles, the tortoise.  He's a great little character and is very cheeky.


So as you can see, I'm having a great time with all the animals here!

Bye,
Sheela

Hi Mum,

We arrived back in Hexham early Sunday morning.  And today I said goodbye to two new friends, who are continuing in their travels. 

First I said goodbye to Huhn.


And then I said bye to _Mishuta_.


It was sad seeing them leave, but I bet they have a great time at their new hosts'!

Bye,
Sheela

Hi Mum!

Guess what?  We threw a house party last night!  Hostmum and her family went out, so we had the place all to ourselves.  So of course, we took that opportunity and threw a big party for all the toys in the neighbourhood.

But first, we had to get the place ready.  I helped Niiskuneiti and Paula get the snacks ready.


Then toys started to arrive.  We used the carpet in the lounge as the dancefloor, while music played in the background.  It was great!


I soon got chatting to a guy called Belgian Bear.  We had so much in common, that we ended up chatting all evening.  We may have had a few drinks as well...


Which would explain how and why I woke up like this this morning!!


It was a fun night (don't worry, Belgian Bear was a true gentleman!), and we managed to tidy everything up before hostmum came back.

I think we may have gotten away with the houseparty...!!

Bye,
Sheela

Hi Mum,

Just a quick update before I go to bed - it's been a very long day!  We were all up at 3am, as we had a plane to catch.

But first we said bye to Niiskuneiti, who is going back home.


Then we quickly made sure that we had everything we needed, and we're ready to go!


I'm now on a cruise ship - but haven't taken any pictures yet.  It's been a very long day travelling.  I'll make sure to update later, with more pictures.

Bye,
Sheela

Hi Mum!

Today was such a fun day! 

First we drove to the Virgin Mary house.  It is believed that this is the last house that the Virgin Mary lived in before she died.  Every year thousands and thousands of people (Christians and Muslims alike) make a pilgrimage to visit this house.  Even the Popes come here.


People write prayers on pieces of paper, or napkins or anything they can find and put them on this wall.  There are so many prayers!


Then we went to the ancient city of Ephesus, which was built in 2000BC.


This is where people in the government held their meetings, to decide how the city should be ruled etc.


These are the original mosaics.


In this picture you can see part of the city, with the library in the background.




And look – we ran in to other TVs!


This is the theatre.  It wasn’t used for gladiators to fight in, instead they held plays and concerts.


After visiting Ephesus, we went and had a look around Kusadasi, which is the town where our ship docked.


Eventually it got so hot that we decided to go back to the ship and relax on the balcony.


Love,
Sheela

Hi Mum,

Today we have been at sea the entire day.  It’s been very relaxing.  I’ve spent most of my time sunbathing, and watching the sea.


Then when it got too hot – it’s 37C – we all relaxed in the shade.


There was also an ice-sculpting demonstration.  It was pretty fascinating to watch. 


Can you see what it is?  Two dolphins!  Can you believe he made it in only 15 minutes?


Love,
Sheela

Hi Mum,

Today we docked in Beirut, Lebanon.  It was a great place to visit, but I’ll get to that later.

First we went to the ancient city of Byblos.  Here I am at the entrance.


It was such an interesting place to visit.  I mean, this is the city that the Bible was named after!






Can you believe that it’s over 7000 years old?






Here I am with a beautiful view of the coast of Beirut.


After we had visited Byblos, we decided to go to ‘Jeita Grotto’ – the caves of Jeita.  They were beautiful.  However, the security wouldn’t let us take any pictures, unfortunately.


This statue is in front of one of the entrances to the caves, it’s called the ‘Guardian of Time’.


Look Mum!  Now I can safely say that I’ve seen the entire world!


After we had finished exploring the Jeita, we had a wander around Beirut.  Here I am in front of the parliament house.


This is the main Mosque of Beirut.  Did you know that 50% of the population of Lebanon is Muslim and the other 50% is Christian?


As you can see Mum, it’s been another great day!

Love,
Sheela

Hi Mum,

Today I’m in Marmaris, which is in Turkey. 




It’s a very picturesque place with stunning views.






The beaches are lovely – the water is so warm.  It’s like stepping in to a bath.


We visited some little villages.  In most of the villages there are only a few hundred people that live there.  Each village has a Mosque (99% of Turkish people are Muslim), which you can see behind me.


In one of the villages there was this tree, which is just under 2000 years old.  According to local legend, if you walk around the tree then you will be blessed with a healthy and happy life.


When we got back on to our ship, we relaxed on the balcony, just enjoying the wonderful view.


Bye,
Sheela

Hi Mum!

Today was our last day on the cruise.  Tonight we sail for Athens where we will disembark and catch a plane back to hostmum’s home.  But today, it was still holiday.  We were on the beautiful Greek island Santorini.  This is Santorini’s most famous church.


Here I am on the highest peak of the island, and from this point, I can see the entire island.




It was quite a trek up to the top of that mountain, so a quick stop at a café was definitely called for.  Here I am enjoying a delicious iced coffee.


Look at the view out to sea, isn’t it beautiful?


And look Mum – that’s our boat!


Love,
Sheela

Hi Mum,

It's been a very long day.  We've been travelling from 9am yesterday morning, and only arrived back at hostmum's home at 1am.  I had a quick nap, and then it was time to say bye to Flummi, who is continuing in his travels.


I'm still pretty tired from the journey, so think I might go back to bed!

Love,
Sheela

Hi Mum,

We've been taking things easy these past few days, as hostmum has had a lot of unpacking and washing to do!  So we've been relaxing in the garden.


I've especially enjoyed lying on the sun-lounger and getting a bit of a tan!




Love,
Sheela

Hi Mum,

Today HelgaHH has left us as she's travelling to Finland.


It's been another quiet day.  But hostmum says she has a surprise for all of us tomorrow.  Hmm... I wonder what it could be?  Guess I'll just have to wait and find out!

Love,
Sheela