Socks in South Africa

A long time ago, Ally met a girl named Lauren Bryans. She was from South Africa and moved to Canada for her dad’s work. Can you believe it, all of the way from South Africa? After a couple of years she had to move back. Sadly, Ally and Lauren couldn’t chat as much as they were used to. One day, when Mrs. Mitchell was on Facebook, she received a message from Lauren’s mom saying that she heard about our trip and was wondering if we would be going to South Africa. It wasn't originally part of the plan, but after a bit of convincing on both Ally and Laurens part, it became part of the trip. I was excited to go to South Africa because I would get to meet Lauren who Ally had been talking about constantly, and it would be a whole different experience.

                  When the day came that we were leaving for South Africa, everyone was ecstatic. I was so excited that I even packed Meghan’s bag for her. As we were leaving for the airport, I poked my head out of Meg’s bag and waved good-bye to London, at least for a while. We landed in Port Elizabeth on time and I am happy to report we were all ok.

                  After a couple days of lying in the sun at Lauren’s house, we headed out on a camping trip. Ally and Meghan had told me about camping before, but I had never been. After a day of driving, we set up camp in Oudtshoorn.  We tucked into the tent, and Ally, Meg and Lauren talked and told stories about when they were little. The next day we went to a cave system called Cango Caves and learned about who first explored them. One of the chambers was so big that they used to hold concerts in it. We also went to an ostrich farm. An ostrich is a very big bird that you do not see in Canada. Ostrich eggs are big and very strong. We could stand on them and they would not break. They were even bigger than me. We continued on to Cape Town and by far my favourite part was taking the cable car up Table Mountain and getting pictures of the beautiful scenery. At our last stop, we went through a difficult maze and did zip- lining through the trees. After our camping trip we went back to Lauren’s house and enjoyed our last days in South Africa.

I feel very privileged to have meet the Bryans because I had the chance to see and do many things other monkeys would not be able to. I hope to bring my family back here one day so they can experience the different culture.

South Africa reunion

A long time ago before I existed Ally met a girl named Lauren Bryans. She was from South Africa and moved to Canada for her dad’s work. Can you believe it all of the way from South Africa? After a couple of years she had to move back. Sadly, Ally and Lauren couldn’t chat as much as they were used to. One day when Mrs. Mitchell was on Facebook she received a message from Lauren’s mom saying that she heard about the trip and was wondering would we be going to South Africa. It wasn't originally part of the trip but after a bit of convincing on both Ally and Lauren's part it became part of the trip. I was excited to go to South Africa because I would get to meet Lauren who Ally had been talking about constantly, and it would be a whole different experience.

Ally and Lauren

When the day came that we were leaving for South Africa everyone was ecstatic. I was so excited I even packed Meghan’s bag for her. As we were leaving for the airport I poked my head out of Meg’s bag and waved good-bye to London, at least for awhile. We landed in Port Elizabeth on time and I am happy to report we were all ok.

New Years Eve party 

After a couple days of lying in the sun at Lauren’s house we headed out on a camping trip. Ally and Meghan had told me about camping before but I had never been. After a day of driving we set up camp in Outsourin.  We tucked into the tent, and Ally, Meg and Lauren talked and told stories about when they were little. The next day we went to a cave system called Cango Caves and learned about who first explored them. One of the chambers was so big they used to hold concerts in it. We also went to an ostrich farm. An ostrich is a very big bird that you do not see in Canada. Ostrich eggs are big and very strong we could stand on them and they would not brake. They were even bigger than me. We continued on to Cape Town and by far my favourite part was taking the cable car up Table Mountain and getting pictures of the beautiful scenery. At our last stop we went through a difficult maze and did zip lining through the trees. After our camping trip we went back to Lauren’s house and enjoyed our last days in South Africa.

At our camp site

I feel very privileged to have meet the Bryans because I had the chance to see and do many things other monkeys would not be able to. I hope to bring my family back here one day so they can experience the different culture.

Italy

Bonjurno and hello from Italy. We stayed in ltaly for two weeks and visited many cities’ including Venice, Florence, sienna, Pisa and Rome. As a monkey, I usually only eat bananas but since we were in the country of food, I thought why not try something different. My favorite food of those I tried was gelato.

            After a long drive in Meghan’s bag from Switzerland, we finally were in Italy. All of my monkey friends that had been to Italy told me how amazing it was.  I was so excited. We first went to the city of Venice. Did you know that Venice is an island? There are canals that run all through the city and there are boats and gondolas that can bring you where you want to go. Meghan explained to me that the gondolas are fancy wooden boats with one man standing up with an ore paddling.  They are famous in Venice. We walked all around this wonderful city and went to the Saint Mark’s Square. I was told about the Italian delicacy gelato so I was eager to try some. Even though it was a cold and rainy day, nothing stopped me. I think they should add something to monkey’s diet of bananas. I think that gelato would be a marvelous meal. Venice was a great start to our Italian experience.

The Gondolas 

            The next stop was Tuscany, Florence, Sienna and Pisa. We were staying in a little Tuscan villa with an amazing view of the countryside. One the first day, we ventured into the city of Florence. The day started with a warm cup of hot coco and a scrumptious cream filled pastry, yummm! Then we ventured to a leather factory that a family friend had recommended. In Venice, I noticed there were a lot of leather stores, so I was very interested to see how they made the various items. My people family love to go to markets, to see the local crafted items. To top the day off, we went out for a traditional Italian meal.  I enjoyed some bruschetta, pasta and gelato. I had a perfect day in Florence and I bet all of my friends are jealous.

The girls enjoying there meal

            In sienna, we went to the famous zebra stripped Duomo. A Duomo is a church. There were no animal’s allowed in the church, but Meghan snuck me in. I was amazed by all of the detail put into the church. The entire floor was inlayed marble and there were statues of all of the popes. If you have ever been in a church, you know how much detail they put in the altar but in this church, there is that much detail in everything. I was so impressed with this church. We also visited a square where they used to have horse races. Sienna was well worth the stop.

Inside the Duomo

            We also visited the city of Pisa.  This is the home of the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa. When we walked around the bottom of the tower, I was afraid it would fall and crush my little monkey body. Luckily it did not. I am glad we were not there in the summer time because it would be so crowded. I really enjoyed Pizza I mean Pisa.

The leaning tower

            The last stop on our Italian adventure was Rome. We were met by our hosts Franca and Maro and they treated us to some more Italian food. The olives, cheese and toasts were delicious. Sadly, the first two days it poured rain, so I stayed tucked into the little camper trailer with my bananas. Finally, on the third day, we went out and explored the city. We visited the Forum and the Coliseum. I was amazed by the effort that was put into the Coliseum It must have been so difficult to make it so big without machinery. We also went to a church service lead by Pope Francesco at the Vatican.  Even though it was not in English, I could understand some parts. It was much different than the church services I have been to before.  After the service we visited an amazing gelato store called Geolitti.  The gelato was so delicious and on the top, they put a scoop of whipped cream. I thought the other gelato was good but nothing can beat Geolitti. They even had a banana flavour!  We liked it so much that we went back three times over the next week. I didn’t know that one place could have so much history.

The Coliseum 

            I had an amazing time in Italy and can’t wait to go back. I wonder what adventures are to come in Spain.

Warmer Weather

Hello, and welcome to the world traveling monkey blog! The last leg of our journey took place in Italy. I still don't think I ate enough gelato! We sure will miss all the delicious food available in this wonderful country. In this episode, I am going to tell you all about our amazing adventures in the beautiful cites of Barcelona and Marbella, Spain, as well as the unique city of Tanager in Morocco.

After leaving Italy, we had to find a way to get all the way to Spain. If you look at the map below, you can see that the two countries are pretty far apart. Do you think we drove all the way from Italy to Spain (route 1), or do you think we took a ferry across to Spain (route 2).

If you answered route 2, you are correct. We decided instead of wasting many hours in a car twiddling my monkey thumbs, we were going to take another overnight ferry! I love overnight ferries! Looking out the window and only seeing water for miles gave me feelings of excitement. Also, I heard that this ferry had a swimming pool. Sadly the pool was closed because it is winter. After traveling across the Mediterranean Sea, we finally reached Barcelona.

The first word I said, when entering the city was WOW! Barcelona was one of the prettiest cities I have ever seen. There were palm trees everywhere and a huge beach, right near our apartment! Have any of you been to Florida? Barcelona is like a newer Florida. The streets were very clean and there were new structures everywhere. We spent three days wandering around and seeing the sights. My favourite part about visiting Barcelona was seeing a HUGE church called Le Sagrada Famillie. This church was created by a Spanish architect named Gaudi. The church looked modern even though it was started almost 100 years ago! The most amazing part was, that it is not complete and still has anywhere for 30-80 more years until it is done. The church will be absolutely stunning when it is done, and I will have to remind myself to come visit it.

The next stop on our journey was Marbella, Spain. Marbella was also a very beautiful city. We spent most of our week relaxing and visiting the many beaches along the seashore. One day we decided to go over to Morocco in Africa. The tip of Spain almost touches Morocco, and the ferry ride is only 14km. One of the highlights of our day was watching a snake charmer. Do any of you know what a snake charmer is? A snake charmer is a person who can charm snakes using music. We saw a snake charmer dancing a cobra. It was pretty scary, but also very cool. Another highlight of our day here was riding a dromedary (which looks like camel but with one hump). Have any of you ridden a horse before? That is what riding a dromedary feels like, but you sit much higher up! I can’t believe I actually got to ride one!

Well, I better get back to my family, they will wonder were I have been. We have to get packed and ready to drive to Portugal!