Aaron Perkowitz, Dajue Temple, Beijing, China

kessalia Posted Mar 26, 2015, 5:23 pm	Hello!  I'm here safe with Mel, though a bit confused by everything still!  But the weather had been spring-like and we have been going exploring.    My new best-friend Arn is moving on soon I hear, I;m sure I will miss him but there is still fun to be had here! We walked a park near Mel's mom's house, it is called Pottawatomie Park.  The name is the name of the local Native American tribe that lived in the area. Before it was a park, it was a Boy Scout camp names Camp Pottawatomie.  Now it has ball fields, play areas and picnic shelters! Arn and I checked out the football pitch of course. And then we went to the water, which is Pottawatomie Bayou.  There were ice fishermen out there just last week, but the ice had become far too thin, as you can maybe see!  They can fish from boats again soon.  We thought the colors with the white ice and blue water was very pretty.  Back at Mel's the next day, we looked around her new house for the first time seeing it without snow!  We found the first crocus flowers of the season, just coming up!  Yay!  Spring is here at last!
kessalia Posted Apr 19, 2015, 1:28 am	Mel has been working a lot, so we were well taken care of, but not online much!  Sorry!  I have a nice long post now though! We went for a walk to enjoy the first really warm day of Spring!  We walked a nature trail along the Grand River, which is the longest river in Michigan.  It is much wider than you see here because that land on the other side is just an island. There was a lunar eclipse that we could see part of from Grand Haven!  It started early in the morning, so we were all still at the hospital, since Mel was working the night shift all month.  Mel and the nurses woudl sneak out to see the moon though, when they weren't busy!  Sadly our photo did not come out that well.  When Mel's shift ended we drove back to her home past the beach, and we could still see the moon, still eclipsed, just before it set!  It is hard to see in this picture so I circled it for you.  As you can see it was almost daylight. It was still cold and windy at the beach, so we didn't go any closer to the lighthouse, and you can see they still have fences up to keep the snow and sand from blowing around too much.  Mel says we will go explore the pier and lighthouses soon!  When the weather makes it safer;  you can't go on windy days! Mel's niece had her Spring Break from school, so Mel had her spend the night once.  We walked down to the local bookstore, because we had a gift certificate from the nieces birthday!  We all had ideas about what looked the most fun to read. Do you know I looked all through the Sports section of magazines, and there was not ONE for proper football?  Americans are strange!  Remember when I posted with the very first flowers or spring?  Lots of flowers are up and blooming now!  And the trees are full of buds and should bloom soon!  We are all glad that the winter is over at last!
kessalia Posted May 23, 2015, 10:41 pm	Mel's camera was dead!  But now it is fixed, so we can get to our old photos, and also take new ones.   Finally! Weeks ago, we took Mel's niece home to her own house, and we stopped on the way at a park to look around.  It is one of Mel's favorite parks because it has a waterfall!  It is a man-made fall, because there used to be a mill here.  The mill is long gone, but the falls are still there.  Tthere is also an old train track, high up over the river, that isn't used anymore either. There were people fishing along the river, these are along the millrace.  We aren't sure what they were hoping to catch. When we got to Mel's Sister's house, they were out working with their horses!  They have two.  This one is Cappuccino.  I got to pet her!  She was very nice. On the way home, we saw a football game!  The players were children, but they were having fun.  Mel let me stop and watch for a bit!  More in just a moment mom, while I get caught up!
kessalia Posted May 23, 2015, 10:53 pm	What a busy weekend and it's just starting!  Thursday night, we went to the High School's gradation ceremony.  Mel's cousin Emma was graduating!  She is Class of 2015!  The matching band played and there were a lot of speeches. Then friday after Mel had a doctor's appointment, we met a friend of hers downtown.  He was giving her copies of the book she is in, to sell at the markets in the park she goes to.  But while they were there they also decided that it woudl be a great day to take us down to the lighthouse!  We walked along the river.  It was a gorgeous day! It looks like a long walk, but it is a nice path with things to see all the way along the river.  This is the Grand River, that we walked along before!  This is it's mouth, where it flows into Lake Michigan. We re almost there!  We can see the lake and beach from here...  Sunshiney and I posed together. The weather was nice, so we could walk right on the onto the pier without worrying too much about big waves.  There was a memorial to all the people who had died by drowning by the pier though, so it is not this safe all the time!  In bad weather, the water can sweep people right off into the lake! This is looking south.  The place where we watched the eclipse from is far in the distance.  Some people were there flying kites! And this is looking north.  There is another smaller lighthouse there to mark the other side of the river channel.  You can see some of the sand dunes to the north.  Mel says we might get to go there soon? We made it to the end!  Wow, is it bigger than it looked from downtown!  All of the concrete helps it stand up to winter storms. The, of course, we had to walk all the way back!  Mel took a nap when we got home
Emjay Posted Jun 15, 2015, 12:19 pm	Hi everyone! It was a long journey from the US to The Netherlands, but it went super quick! I came by rocket, although I couldn't see it, because I was inside an envelope. When the envelope was opened, I saw a few friendly faces and the bright orange bear said to me: "Welcome to Delft!" I saw a nice girl, so I hugged her first
Emjay Posted Jun 15, 2015, 12:21 pm	So here are my new friends, from left to right: Gozer (which means "dude"  ), Minnilotta and Hollandia. Later on I met another TV, called Pieksi, but he isn't in this photo.
Emjay Posted Jun 15, 2015, 12:23 pm	Here I am on my first outing. This is the historic center of Delft. The church is called "Old Church" (Oude Kerk).
Emjay Posted Jun 15, 2015, 12:25 pm	Delft is famous for it's blue ceramic, called "Delft Blue". Yeah, that's a logical name for it  Even the lampposts are made of Delft Blue!
Emjay Posted Jun 15, 2015, 12:27 pm	Let's look what is behind this gate.
Emjay Posted Jun 15, 2015, 12:28 pm	This is strange! Am I in Paris all of a sudden?
Emjay Posted Jun 15, 2015, 12:29 pm	Just kidding! This shop proofs I'm still in Holland.
Emjay Posted Jun 15, 2015, 12:30 pm	These kind of fancy fences you can see all along De Oude Delft. That's the oldest street in Delft. "Delft" means something like "canal" or "ditch".
Emjay Posted Jun 15, 2015, 12:32 pm	This is the leaning tower of... Delft. You saw it once before, but from this point you can see how much it leans.
Emjay Posted Jun 15, 2015, 12:40 pm	We're at the market square now. In the first picture you see the town hall. I like the red shutters. The second picture shows the New Church (Nieuwe Kerk). It's being renovated. And in the third I'm sitting at the balconny of the town hall. Behind me is the huge square. It is said to be the biggest market place of The Netherlands. Also you can see the steeples of the Maria van Jesse church.
Emjay Posted Jun 15, 2015, 12:43 pm	What a nice statue! This is "the Milkmaid" sculptured after a picture of Vermeer. The sculptor is a multi talented guy. Among other things, he is the Dutch voice for Ernie and Bert in Sesame Street
Emjay Posted Jun 15, 2015, 12:45 pm	This is said to be the oldest house in Delft.
Emjay Posted Jun 15, 2015, 12:46 pm	This is the East Gate (Oostpoort). It features in Emjay's profile picture. There used to be four gates, but this is the only remaining one.
Emjay Posted Jun 15, 2015, 12:48 pm	Today my friend Pieksi and me went for a walk in the neighbourhood park. We found these tiny strawberries.
Emjay Posted Jun 15, 2015, 12:50 pm	On the plaque there's written something about the geographical location of Delft. I couldn't understand.
Emjay Posted Jun 15, 2015, 12:50 pm	Everything is so bright and green!
Emjay Posted Jun 15, 2015, 12:51 pm	Pieksi is such a tiny guy. I put him on my shoulder.
Emjay Posted Jun 15, 2015, 12:53 pm	We stuck a daisy behind our ear. But that is a bit girlie. So after a while we threw them away  That's it for now, folks! Speak to you later! Aaron
Emjay Posted Jun 26, 2015, 6:53 pm	Hi mum! I'm out and about again, taking my little friend PieksiHH to town. First thing I saw was a sport's shop. They sell soccer balls. I should've bought one! Pieksi and me stopped at the "blue heart of Delft". Why blue? Is Delft sad? No, it's because of Delft blue ceramics, off course  The fence with paintings on it is hiding the ugly scaffolding on the Nieuwe Kerk.
Emjay Posted Jun 26, 2015, 6:56 pm	You remember this building? It's the town hall.
Emjay Posted Jun 26, 2015, 6:58 pm	Pieksi and I are practising our cowboy skills. Yeeeeeha!
Emjay Posted Jun 26, 2015, 7:00 pm	The people living here have to be extra careful when they step outof their backdoor. Not only there's a birds nest at their doorstep, but also a canal! Speak to you next time! Aaron
Emjay Posted Jun 29, 2015, 12:33 pm	Hi folks! We're doing grocery shopping today in the biggest supermarket of Delft. At the entrance is the name of the supermarket and I pose on the A of...
Emjay Posted Jun 29, 2015, 12:33 pm	Here we go on the escalator. Nothing in the cart, yet.
Emjay Posted Jun 29, 2015, 12:34 pm	Emjay choses some clothes. Not very interesting for me.
Emjay Posted Jun 29, 2015, 12:35 pm	This is more my cup of tea!
Emjay Posted Jun 29, 2015, 12:36 pm	These are a bit smaller, but still too big for me to play socces. If Emjay finds a ball in my size, she will buy it as a present for me.
Emjay Posted Jun 29, 2015, 12:37 pm	The Oriental section.
Emjay Posted Jun 29, 2015, 12:38 pm	And the Dutch section. Say cheeeese!
Emjay Posted Jun 29, 2015, 12:40 pm	Checking out. We bought a lot, also for Emjay's mum and the cats. Tonight I will assist Emjay with preparing dinner. I'm a good chef, as you know!
Emjay Posted Jul 7, 2015, 9:41 am	And this is the result of our groceries shopping! Pieksi and me will make filled portobello's with backed potatoes and a salade. Pieksi looks quite the chef with has hat on!
Emjay Posted Jul 7, 2015, 9:42 am	I'm about to kick the tomatoe, but Pieksi shouts: "No! Don't mess with the food!" Ok, I'll slice it then.
Emjay Posted Jul 7, 2015, 9:45 am	In the meantime Pieksi filled the portobello's with creme cheese and I put a slice of tomatoe on top. I'm glad I wore an apron.
Emjay Posted Jul 7, 2015, 9:46 am	Pieksi put another layer of creme cheese on top and then the whole thing goes into the oven. We had to wait for 30 minutes.
Emjay Posted Jul 7, 2015, 9:48 am	In the meantime we prepaired the salad and backed the potatoes.
Emjay Posted Jul 7, 2015, 9:49 am	Dig in, guys! Everyone thought it was yummy.  Speak to you next time! Aaron
Emjay Posted Aug 4, 2015, 3:39 pm	Hi mum! How are you? I'm fine! Today Emjay put up a little tent in the garden. "So you can practise," she told us. Hm? What does she mean? Anyway, Pieksi and I camped out in the garden and had a good time!
Emjay Posted Aug 7, 2015, 7:59 am	Hi mum! Well, this is why Emjay told us to practise our camping skills: we went on a camping trip in England! Here we are in front of our BIG tent in Bexhill.
Emjay Posted Aug 7, 2015, 8:02 am	But first things first. We came here through the Eurotunnel. In case you don't know: that's the tunnel between France and England underneath the Channel. Emjay drove the car onto a train and the train went through the tunnel. It's just like riding a tube. After only 20 minutes we were in England.
Emjay Posted Aug 7, 2015, 8:05 am	On our first day we visited Battle, famous for The Battle of Hastings in 1066. There was a Scarecrow Festival going on. They didn't scare us one bit!
Emjay Posted Aug 7, 2015, 8:06 am	As we found out, Battle is a beautiful town with lots of flowers and historic houses.
Emjay Posted Aug 7, 2015, 8:08 am	And this is the Abbey, built by William the Conqueror. Well, not by William himself. He had his staff to do that for him.
Emjay Posted Aug 7, 2015, 8:10 am	We tried to call you in an oldfashioned telephone booth. "Hello, mum! Hello? Hellooooo?" I guess we got disconnected.
Emjay Posted Aug 7, 2015, 8:12 am	And then we sat down in a pub to enjoy a nice glass of local cider.
Emjay Posted Aug 7, 2015, 8:15 am	Country road, take me home to the place I belong tralalala! Anyway, this is this nice country road leading to our camping site.
Emjay Posted Aug 7, 2015, 8:17 am	Here we are at Rye Bay Natural Park.
Emjay Posted Aug 7, 2015, 8:18 am	Overlooking the English Channel.
Emjay Posted Aug 7, 2015, 8:19 am	I was born outof a cabbage, you know.
Emjay Posted Aug 7, 2015, 11:08 am	My hair looks a bit like the grass.
Emjay Posted Aug 7, 2015, 11:09 am	Or do you think my hair looks more like this?
Emjay Posted Aug 7, 2015, 11:11 am	In the wetlands behind me live a lot of birds.
Emjay Posted Aug 16, 2015, 4:54 pm	Rye is a beautiful historic town. It's an English Heritage site. Not a World Heritage site, though. Most buildings are dark brown and have orange tiles.
Emjay Posted Aug 16, 2015, 4:56 pm	Just to remind you I'm in the UK
Emjay Posted Aug 16, 2015, 4:58 pm	We're at the seaside in Bexhill. It looks sunny, but it was way too cold to have a swim.
Emjay Posted Aug 16, 2015, 5:00 pm	The cliffs at Beachy Head are just as white and steep as the ones at Dover. The wind was blowing so hard, Emjay had to hold on to us very tight!
Emjay Posted Aug 16, 2015, 5:02 pm	We're in Shakespeare's birthplace. In fact, here he is: the master himself!
Emjay Posted Aug 16, 2015, 5:05 pm	This is the street where Shakespeare lived. We're posing with a statue of "The Fool", a character who has an important role in some of Shakespeare's plays.
Emjay Posted Aug 16, 2015, 5:08 pm	This is the church where Shakespeare is buried. Emjay took a picture of his bust. She had to use her zoomlens, so I'm not in that picture, otherwise I would be very blurry!
Emjay Posted Aug 16, 2015, 5:12 pm	We're in the town where Worcester sauce comes from! The cathedral has a rich history. Among other celebs King John (from the tale of Robin Hood) is buried here!
Emjay Posted Aug 16, 2015, 5:14 pm	A little walk through the country side.
Emjay Posted Aug 16, 2015, 5:16 pm	We're on a camping site in Glastonbury, famous for it's music festival and it's link with King Arthur. Near our tent we meet a very friendly rabbit.
Emjay Posted Aug 16, 2015, 5:19 pm	This is the St. Benedict's church in the center of Glastonbury.
Emjay Posted Aug 16, 2015, 5:22 pm	This hill is called "The Tor". On it is a famous tower. It's been built on the remains of King Arthur's castle. From the hill you have a great view. We could even see Wales.
Emjay Posted Aug 16, 2015, 5:26 pm	Wow, mum! One of my life missions is fulfilled! I'm in Bath today, one of the World Heritage sites! I have 1 outof 7 now. Could you change that for me? It's a beautiful town with lots of historic buildings. One of the buildings is the famous Roman Bath. It's a museum nowadays, but we didn't go there.
Emjay Posted Aug 16, 2015, 5:31 pm	Here's one of Glastonbury's mystical sites: the old oaks Gog and Magog are said to be the last trees that remain of Sherwood forest.
Emjay Posted Aug 16, 2015, 5:39 pm	We've moved and staying in Hele now.
Emjay Posted Aug 16, 2015, 5:41 pm	As the weather hasn't been that good, Emjay decided to hire a caravan for a while.
Emjay Posted Aug 16, 2015, 5:43 pm	While we were staying in Glastonbury, we met this nice fellow. His name is Thumbles. He looks familiar to me... He's traveling with us now.
Emjay Posted Aug 16, 2015, 5:45 pm	Pieksi and me explore the camping site and Hele Bay.
Emjay Posted Aug 16, 2015, 5:47 pm	We've taken up rock climbing. Pieksi climbs even faster than me!
Emjay Posted Aug 16, 2015, 5:47 pm	My new hairdo. Do you like it?
Emjay Posted Aug 16, 2015, 5:52 pm	Next day the weather was fine. We walked to Ilfracombe.
Emjay Posted Aug 16, 2015, 5:57 pm	In the 19th century some people decided to make tunnels, through the rocks, leading to the beaches behind them. Because it was the Victorian era, men and women weren't allowed to bath together. So three tunnels were built: one entrance tunnel, one tunnel leading to the Gentlemen's beach and one to the Ladies beach. Before we go into the first tunnel, I read these "etiquettes for boys" carefully!
Emjay Posted Aug 16, 2015, 5:58 pm	A view to the Ladies Beach.
Emjay Posted Aug 16, 2015, 6:00 pm	But we are gentlemen, so we visit Gentlemen's Beach! Usually Gentlemen's Beach is closed for visitors, because a lot of private parties (like weddings) are hosted there. But today we were allowed to go there. Cool!
Emjay Posted Aug 22, 2015, 12:06 pm	We're walking between Lynmouth (situated at the coast) and Lynton (up on the hill).
Emjay Posted Aug 22, 2015, 12:07 pm	Up, up, up we go!
Emjay Posted Aug 22, 2015, 12:11 pm	On our way we pass the funicular. It was opened in 1890 and it's operated by a hydraulic system. One cable car pulls the other one down, if you know what I mean. We wait untill we see the cars going under the bridge that we stand on.
Emjay Posted Aug 22, 2015, 12:16 pm	The weather kept changing over and over again that day. When we were at a place called "Valley of the Rocks" at was raining and it looked like at was 10 o'clock at night.
Emjay Posted Aug 22, 2015, 12:17 pm	Emjay forgot to take pictures of us in Lynton, but we were really there! This is on the way down again.
Emjay Posted Aug 22, 2015, 12:23 pm	We're staying for a few days at a very nice B&B called Greencott. If you ever visit Landscove and you need a place to stay: we can recommend it! It is run by a lovely lady called Sue and she cooked us a full English breakfast each day. Yum!!!
Emjay Posted Aug 22, 2015, 12:25 pm	Here we are at Salcombe, a nice town with a busy harbour.
Emjay Posted Aug 22, 2015, 12:27 pm	Yay! Congratulations! A couple has just been maried in the chuch behind me.
Emjay Posted Aug 22, 2015, 12:28 pm	Have you ever seen pink sheep? Well, here they are, at the Agricultural Show.
Emjay Posted Aug 22, 2015, 12:30 pm	Behind us the "Miss Sheep" contest is going on
Emjay Posted Aug 22, 2015, 12:35 pm	We're at the sea again, in Dawlish. But the weather is kind of grey. Still, we enjoy ourselves! Look at the impressive castle we built! After that we didn't have the strength to write our whole names
Emjay Posted Aug 22, 2015, 12:38 pm	At the end of the afternoon we went to Shaldon for a quick visit.
Emjay Posted Aug 22, 2015, 12:46 pm	Wow, mum! We're at a very special place and one of my Life Missions is about to be fulfilled! Maybe you can guess where we are when you see the huge stone behind us...
Emjay Posted Aug 22, 2015, 12:51 pm	Yeah, you guessed right: we're at Stonehenge! From this spot we can't see the stone circle yet, but we'll walk towards it through the fields. In the landscape you can allready see some traces of the ancient civilisation. To be honest: we couldn't discover the "cursus". Maybe you can only see is from a plane.
Emjay Posted Aug 22, 2015, 12:52 pm	This is an ancient burial mound.
Emjay Posted Aug 22, 2015, 12:52 pm	Here they are! Great, isn't it?
Emjay Posted Aug 22, 2015, 12:54 pm	Yay! One more Life Mission is fulfilled! I'm at the World Heritage Site of Stonehenge!
Emjay Posted Aug 22, 2015, 12:55 pm	Well, mum, this is really impressive!
Emjay Posted Aug 22, 2015, 1:03 pm	Next day we visited yet another World Heritage Site! The stone circles are in the middle of the village, so you can walk among them. That's cool! And another of my Life Missions is fulfilled!
Emjay Posted Aug 22, 2015, 1:06 pm	The holiday is coming to an end now. We're at the last camping site of our journey. Next to it we discover this remarkable house. It's an oast house and it used to be a storage place for hop.
Emjay Posted Aug 22, 2015, 1:08 pm	There are a lot of orchards in the area. I'm sure the orchards will produce many apples to make cider! Careful, don't fall in, Pieksi!
Emjay Posted Aug 22, 2015, 1:10 pm	This is the life!
Emjay Posted Aug 22, 2015, 1:13 pm	Just relaxing and climbing trees.
Emjay Posted Aug 22, 2015, 1:15 pm	Our last night in the tent. Here we are in our hammock.
Emjay Posted Aug 22, 2015, 4:09 pm	Before we go to the Channel tunnel in Folkestone, we pay a short visit to Rye. There's a flee market along the harbour, for all kind of good causes. It's nice to be here on such a sunny and festive day. It's a happy ending of our holiday in England! I hope you liked my story and the pictures of our "roadtrip" through England. We were in six different county's: East Sussex, Warwickshire, Somerset, Devon, Wiltshire and Kent. I think England is a beautiful country! Bye for now, mum! Aaron
Emjay Posted Aug 23, 2015, 10:41 am	Hi mum, We're back in the Netherlands and Emjay takes us for an afternoon to the capital. This is Dam Square. In the first picture you can see the national monument for the victims of World War II and in the other picture you see the Royal Palace. The Royal familily isn't living there, though.
Emjay Posted Aug 23, 2015, 10:45 am	The Canal District of Amsterdam is another World Heritage Site! You can't see it in this picture, but it is built like a circle. That's why the district is called "canal belt" (Grachtengordel) in Dutch. A lot of famous people live here, but we didn't meet any of them. Here's a short article about the Grachtengordel I found on the internet: Grachtengordel (English: The Amsterdam Canal District) is a neighborhood in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The seventeenth-century canals of Amsterdam, located in the center of Amsterdam, were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in August 2010. The area around the city's main canals - Singel, Herengracht, Keizersgracht and Prinsensgracht - is an international icon of urban planning and architecture, that is still intact after four centuries. The area is known for its small bridges going over the canals and 17th-century canal homes. The Anne Frank House is located in the Grachtengordel neighborhood.
Emjay Posted Aug 23, 2015, 10:50 am	Here is one of the small bridges, mentioned in the article. It's actually called "Magere Brug", which means "Skinny Bridge"
Emjay Posted Aug 23, 2015, 10:51 am	Actors and entertainers love to perform in this famous theatre: Carré. When you can make it there, you'll make it anywhere!
Emjay Posted Aug 23, 2015, 10:54 am	This is the Munt tower. The tower was originally part of the Regulierspoort, one of the main gates in Amsterdam's medieval city wall. The gate was built in 1480. Well, this was our history lesson for today  ! Bye, mum! Aaron
Emjay Posted Sep 5, 2015, 10:52 am	Hi mum! On a rainy day we visited Den Haag a.k.a. The Hague. This is not the capital of the Netherlands (as you know!), still it's the political capital where the parliament is situated. First stop we made, was at the Binnenhof (Inner Court). Here are the parliament buildings where the ministers and other politicians work.
Emjay Posted Sep 5, 2015, 10:58 am	This is the Buitenhof (Outer Court), another part of the parliament buildings.
Emjay Posted Sep 5, 2015, 11:01 am	Outside the two courts are flags of all Dutch provinces.
Emjay Posted Sep 5, 2015, 11:03 am	What a colourful flowers!
Emjay Posted Sep 5, 2015, 11:05 am	These are the parliament buildings from the outside.
Emjay Posted Sep 5, 2015, 11:07 am	Some monumental trees along the Hofvijver (Court Pond).
Emjay Posted Sep 5, 2015, 11:09 am	This building is called "prison gate". As you can gather, it used to be a prison  Nowadays it's kind of a spooky museum, displaying torture instruments from the Middle Ages.
Emjay Posted Sep 5, 2015, 11:21 am	It is a bit confusing. When we were in Amsterdam Emjay told us: this IS the capital, but not the political capital. And the Royal Palace at Dam Square is NOT inhabited by the royal family". Hmm  Anyway, this is the real Royal Palace. Allthough it's only the working palace of King Willem Alexander. On our way there, we suddenly saw prime minister Rutte walking in the street! Emjay had her camera, but she didn't have the courage to take a picture. Would have been fun: us ToyVoyagers posing with the prime minister of the Netherlands!  Bye, mum! Aaron
Emjay Posted Oct 4, 2015, 11:36 am	Hi mum! It's been a while since I wrote to you, but now I have time to show you what I've been up to. First a picture of my new friend. He's a frequent visitor of Emjay's garden. Pieksi had a little chat with him. He was a bit shy, though.
Emjay Posted Oct 4, 2015, 11:38 am	This could be the last sunny day of the year, so we're taking advance of it! We go to the beach by tram.
Emjay Posted Oct 4, 2015, 11:40 am	This is the Pier. It used to be a popular attraction, but nowadays it's a bit run down. You can do a bungee jump from the tower. Well... maybe next time!
Emjay Posted Oct 4, 2015, 11:42 am	We walk along the shore line and see a lot of seagulls, shells, nice apartments and beautiful clouds.
Emjay Posted Oct 4, 2015, 11:50 am	Behind us is the famous Kurhaus hotel. The first picture is taken from the seaside and the other one from the street. It was built between 1884 and 1885 and was designed by two German architects. Some famous guests stayed here, like Winston Churchill and Aurdrey Hepburn. Once the Rolling Stones gave a concert at the Kurhaus. But the public got frantic and the Stones had to flee the building!
Emjay Posted Oct 4, 2015, 11:54 am	We visit an open air museum called "Sculptures at sea". Most of the sculptures are scenes from fairy tales. This one is Hansje Brinker. He saved the Dutch people by sticking his thumb in a leaking dike. Many thanks, Hansje!
Emjay Posted Oct 4, 2015, 11:55 am	This isn't a fairy tale, but someone eating a raw herring the way Dutch people like to do.
Emjay Posted Oct 4, 2015, 11:59 am	Some of the sculptures are gigantic and some of them are more ToyVoyager seize.
Emjay Posted Oct 4, 2015, 12:01 pm	The wellknown musical "Billy Elliot" is playing in Scheveningen. Emjay has been there. She says it was great. Maybe I can audition for it!
Emjay Posted Oct 4, 2015, 12:06 pm	Emjay has a figtree in her garden and believe it or not: the figs are growing like mad! We pick some to make jam. First we have to peel them.
Emjay Posted Oct 4, 2015, 12:07 pm	Pieksi is smoothes them with a blender.
Emjay Posted Oct 4, 2015, 12:10 pm	So, what do we have to do next? Let's read the package. The problem is: it's in Dutch! Well, let's put the whole package in and stirr it well.
Emjay Posted Oct 4, 2015, 12:12 pm	Now we have to cook the stuff. And... Emjay puts in her secret ingredient. Then we just have to be patient.
Emjay Posted Oct 4, 2015, 12:14 pm	Okay, the jars are filled. They have to stand on their heads for a while. Don't ask me why! The jam tastes great! I wish you could taste it too, mum!
Emjay Posted Oct 4, 2015, 12:21 pm	Do you remember our trip to The Hague? We saw the working palace of King Willem Alexander. Well, here it is again, on television. Today is an important day for the Dutch people called "Prinsjesdag". The king speaks to the Dutch Senat and House of Representatives. This speech sets out the main features of government policy for the coming parliamentary session. (I had to look that up in Wikipedia  )
Emjay Posted Oct 4, 2015, 12:25 pm	King Willem Alexander, queen Maxima, prince Constantijn and princess Laurentien appear at the balconny. But they didn't stay out long, because it was raining cats and dogs!
Emjay Posted Oct 4, 2015, 12:32 pm	As you may know, Emjay is very interested in and envolved with theatre. This year she was co-producer of a Shakespeare play at the Rietveld Theatre. Pieksi and me were at the first night. It was a real red carpet event. Even the mayor and his wife were there. Emjay couldn't take pictures, but a professional photographer took some excellent shots. The next day we watched them at Emjay's laptop. Here are some of the pics.
Emjay Posted Oct 4, 2015, 12:34 pm	A standing ovation for the cast!
Emjay Posted Oct 4, 2015, 12:41 pm	Here are my BIG relatives! Once a year all Beanie Bopper dolls from Emjay's mum and the dolls of Emjay herself have a reunion. It was a nice, sunny day so we relaxed in the sun. That was my latest news. Bye for now, mum! Aaron
Emjay Posted Nov 4, 2015, 11:15 am	Hi mum! Your pictures from Tibet are awsome! I've been a little lonely since Pieksi moved on  I went for a walk in the neighbourhood park, the one Pieksi and me went to when I first met him. The autumnleafs are everywhere. Mostly on the ground
Emjay Posted Nov 4, 2015, 11:17 am	The weather is so nice. I can hardly believe it's autumn! The trees look great with their golden leafs.
Emjay Posted Nov 4, 2015, 11:19 am	I climbed a pile of branches to have a better view.
Emjay Posted Nov 4, 2015, 11:20 am	The white berries are called "snowberries" in Dutch. You can't eat them. Unless you are a bird
Emjay Posted Nov 4, 2015, 11:22 am	Help me, mum! I'm in prison!
Emjay Posted Nov 4, 2015, 11:25 am	Don't worry, it's just the fence of a soccer field! I miss playing soccer. Maybe a can join the local Football Club "Delfia".
Emjay Posted Nov 4, 2015, 11:26 am	Uh-oh, there's a ball floating in the water. We tried to safe it, but it was too far away.
Emjay Posted Nov 4, 2015, 11:28 am	We are in Den Hoorn now, a village attached to Delft.
Emjay Posted Nov 4, 2015, 11:30 am	Let's have a look inside the church. There's an old icon and people can light a candle in front of it.
Emjay Posted Nov 4, 2015, 11:33 am	I bet you can read this, mum! Dutch people love Chinese food. Well, not the food we eat in Beijing. It's adapted to Dutch taste. Still, the noodles look good. Makes me want to dig in!
Emjay Posted Nov 4, 2015, 11:37 am	We're on our way back. Most autumn leafs we saw, were yellow. But I found a few red ones.
Emjay Posted Nov 4, 2015, 11:39 am	Some people just leave their mess behind. Awful!
Emjay Posted Nov 4, 2015, 11:40 am	One last look at the park.
Emjay Posted Nov 4, 2015, 11:42 am	You're never too old to play! Bye mum! Have a good time in Tibet! Aaron
Emjay Posted Nov 11, 2015, 11:05 am	Hi mum! Happy Halloween!!!
Emjay Posted Nov 11, 2015, 11:09 am	I told you a was feeling a little lonely since Pieksi is gone. But I have a date with a nice girl. I met her at the reunion of Beanie Boppers, a few weeks ago. Her name is Milly and she comes from the USA. I asked if she would go through the Tunnel of Terror with me, so I wouldn't be scared
Emjay Posted Nov 11, 2015, 11:10 am	At the entrance we saw a gigantic spider! Milly was brave, she just stepped over it. Hey, what's that light in the distance?
Emjay Posted Nov 11, 2015, 11:12 am	Ooooo, spooooky! It's an orange skull!!! Must be a Dutch skull, I guess. We passed it and then we saw another light.
Emjay Posted Nov 11, 2015, 11:15 am	The other light turned out to be a friendly goast. We were smiling, cause we weren't scared at all. But all of a sudden...
Emjay Posted Nov 11, 2015, 11:17 am	A hand came in and grabbed us! Wow, that was scary!  It was Emjay playing a trick on us!  My date with Milly was cool! I hope I'll see her again. Bye, mum! your Aaron
Emjay Posted Nov 24, 2015, 9:46 am	Hi mum! Right after Halloween some children in the Netherlands celebrate "St. Maarten". It's much like "trick or treat": children go to the neighbour's houses and ask for candy while they sing a special St. Maarten song. They carry a selfmade lantern. So I thought I'd give it a try. I made a lantern from the flower of a plant. Looks nice, don't you thing?
Emjay Posted Nov 24, 2015, 9:52 am	I learned a St. Maarten song by heart. It goes like this: Sinte Sinte Maarten De koeien hebben staarten. Geef mij een appel of een peer dan kom ik dit jaar niet meer. (Saint Saint Martin the cows have tails. Give me an apple or a pear and I won't come back this year.) Emjay's neighbours were very nice. They didn't give me an apple or a pear, but a lot of candy! It was a nice surprise for Millie!
Emjay Posted Nov 24, 2015, 9:55 am	It's always a good thing to share your candy with a friend! That's what it's all about at St. Maarten's day.
Emjay Posted Nov 24, 2015, 9:57 am	I offered Millie a lemon flavoured candy and she gave me a chocolat. At the end of the night we were stuffed! We didn't even finish all the candy.
Emjay Posted Nov 24, 2015, 10:01 am	Today a package arrived. All Emjay's TV's came to look what is in it. Maybe it's Dutchy the Lion. We heard a lot about him and his travels.
Emjay Posted Nov 24, 2015, 10:03 am	I picked up a letteropener and opened the envelope. Yay! It's Dutchy! I helped him out.
Emjay Posted Nov 24, 2015, 10:04 am	Woah! I've never been hugged by a lion before!
Emjay Posted Nov 24, 2015, 10:06 am	Dutchy gave everyone a hug and showed us his presents. He had brought some candy, a fridge magnet and a lovely card.
Emjay Posted Nov 24, 2015, 10:09 am	I got my candy out as well and we had a little party! Dutchy had a lot of travel stories to tell. That was my news, mum! Bye! Aaron
Emjay Posted Dec 6, 2015, 12:53 pm	Hi mum! Hope you are doing fine! I'm having a great time with my new friend Millie. I like her a lot... and I decided to make a nice treat for her. In Dutch it's called "borstplaat". But I call it "sweet heart". This is how it's made. I use the receipe of Emjay's gran.
Emjay Posted Dec 6, 2015, 12:55 pm	And now I give my sweet heart to my sweetheart!
Emjay Posted Dec 19, 2015, 11:19 am	On the 5th of December Dutch people celebrate the birthday of Saint Nicolas. They call it "Sinterklaas". Chocolate hearts (like the one I made for Millie) are a traditional gift. St. Nicolas brings candy and toys to all children and grownups. Much like Santa does. Only St. Nicolas arrives with a boat and he rides around on his horse. Maybe St. Nic brings Millie and me some presents too... But first of all Millie has a surprise for me!
Emjay Posted Dec 19, 2015, 11:20 am	Wow! It's a soccer ball! I want to kick it, but Millie keeps saying: "Be careful! Don't kick too hard!" But why?
Emjay Posted Dec 19, 2015, 11:21 am	Oh, I see... the ball is made of chocolate! That's sweet!
Emjay Posted Dec 19, 2015, 11:24 am	We have some other Sinterklaas treats as well: chocolate St. Nicolas figurines and potatoes, carrots and sausage made of marzipan. And look, there are some presents waiting for us!
Emjay Posted Dec 19, 2015, 11:28 am	One for Millie and one for me. Millie opens her present first. She got some Christmas clothes. I bet she'll look wonderful in them!
Emjay Posted Dec 19, 2015, 11:31 am	I opened my present. It was a new shirt. Well, I'm not too sure about that colour! Anyway, I didn't want to be disrespectful to St. Nic so I said "thank you". Millie liked it, though, so I will wear it for sure!
Emjay Posted Dec 19, 2015, 11:33 am	And there's also a present for the both of us. We're opening it together. Millie did it very neatly, but I tore off the paper. What is it?
Emjay Posted Dec 19, 2015, 11:35 am	It's a mini soccer field! That's awesome! I'm glad Millie likes soccer too.
Emjay Posted Dec 19, 2015, 11:39 am	Here we are with all our presents. What a great St. Nicolas Day!
Emjay Posted Dec 20, 2015, 10:21 am	After the Sinterklaas celebration it's time to buy a Christmas tree. We went to the gardencenter in Pijnacker to choose a nice one. After we decided which tree it would be, we got a ticket with a number. We can shop around first and later pick up the right tree, all wrapped up neatly.
Emjay Posted Dec 20, 2015, 10:24 am	The shop was decorated in Christmas style. They even had an English telephone booth, like the ones I saw when I was on holiday.
Emjay Posted Dec 20, 2015, 10:27 am	We're at home with our tree. Come on, let's unwrap it!
Emjay Posted Dec 20, 2015, 10:30 am	That's better! Emjay gets all Christmas decoration from the attic. Let's untangle the lights first.
Emjay Posted Dec 20, 2015, 10:32 am	Yay! They work!
Emjay Posted Dec 20, 2015, 10:35 am	Millie and I decorate the tree. That's one of my life missions! And having Millie around to help me makes me very glad!
Emjay Posted Dec 20, 2015, 10:37 am	I climb up the tree to put the red bow on top.
Emjay Posted Dec 20, 2015, 10:40 am	This is Emjay's favourite Christmas bauble, so we have to be very careful with it! It is handpainted and she bought it in Cologne a few years ago.
Emjay Posted Dec 20, 2015, 10:42 am	The tree is finished! Do you like it, mum? And now we're having a well deserved rest on the tree branches. Romantic!
Emjay Posted Dec 26, 2015, 1:15 pm	Hi mum! Just a little note to wish you a Merry Christmas! Or as they say in Dutch: "Vrolijk kerstfeest!" We couldn't find any mistletoe, so we used something else. Well, any excuse to kiss  a pretty girl is a good one!
Emjay Posted Dec 31, 2015, 12:18 pm	Hi mum! I'm getting behind on my updates to you! I haven't told you yet about the ballet Millie and I went too. (Don't laugh mum  ) We had tickets for the first night of "The Nutcracker" on ice. It was a real red carpet event. We went there by train and tram. Here we are waiting for the tram to take us to the theatre.
Emjay Posted Dec 31, 2015, 12:21 pm	Here we are at the Luxor Theatre. It was totally dressed in Christmas style and a choir was singing Christmas Carols in the foyer.
Emjay Posted Dec 31, 2015, 12:28 pm	The ballet was spectacular! Even I was impressed  We had excellent seat. We were not allowed to take pictures during the show, so this is afterwards.
Emjay Posted Dec 31, 2015, 12:29 pm	Look, here's a ToyVoyager size of the Luxor Theatre!
Emjay Posted Dec 31, 2015, 12:32 pm	Before we walked to the tram stop, we took some pictures of Rotterdam by night. The bridge is called "Erasmus Bridge" and is also known as "The Swan". It was a great night out. And doesn't Millie look fabulous in her new clothes? Oh, and I'm wearing my new shirt. Do you like it, mum?
Emjay Posted Jan 2, 2016, 1:08 pm	On first Christmas day Emjay's mum and mother-in-law came to visit. Emjay was busy cooking and entertaining the two mums, so she forgot to take pictures! No worries: Christmas is two days. So on second Christmas day Emjay took pictures of the Christmas dinner. It was a romantic dinner for two. Another of my life missions is fulfilled! Yay!
Emjay Posted Jan 2, 2016, 1:11 pm	On third Christmas day we went to the theatre, again... But now we had an official duty: we tended the bar. After all theatre guests were gone, we had time to take some pictures of the foyer and back stage. Being in an empty theatre feels kinda weird. Like the phantom of the opera is secretly watching us!
Emjay Posted Jan 2, 2016, 1:19 pm	This is the dressing room. There's some writing on the wall: performers have left their autographs or poems. There are also some words which resemble "toy". It's "toi, toi, toi" meaning "break a leg".
Emjay Posted Jan 2, 2016, 1:26 pm	Every year between Christmas and New Year Dutch national radio broadcasts the 2000 most popular records ever. Listeners are allowed to vote. And the records vary from Frank Sinatra to Nirvana. This year's number one is "Imagine" by John Lennon. For a long time it's been "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen. Anyway, it is a radio show, but you can also watch the deejays on tv. People can visit them at the Top 2000 café in Hilversum. This is how it looks like.
Emjay Posted Jan 2, 2016, 1:27 pm	This is Emjay's favorite news reader: Carmen Verheul. Yeah, she's cool!
Emjay Posted Jan 2, 2016, 1:30 pm	What a great show! Millie and I send a picture of us to the studio, saying: "ToyVoyagers love Top 2000 too". And guess what? They showed it on television! Emjay tried to take a picture of the screen quickly, but it was gone too soon. Well mum, you have to believe me on my word then!
Emjay Posted Jan 2, 2016, 1:33 pm	The final day of 2015, mum! Kamille calls us together. She received a package and she's hopes her little sister is inside!
Emjay Posted Jan 2, 2016, 1:37 pm	Yes, it's Dille! She's back from Russia to celebrate the last day of the year with her sister. She brought some sweets to share with all of us. I like her already!
Emjay Posted Jan 2, 2016, 1:42 pm	We're celebrating "Old Year's Eve" together. At twelve o'clock people light fireworks and we had a great view in the attic.
Emjay Posted Jan 2, 2016, 1:48 pm	It's a tradition to eat "oliebollen" (literaly "oil balls") at Old Year's Eve and New Year's Day. We have our own ToyVoyager version. Have a  happy new year, mum! your Aaron
Emjay Posted Feb 15, 2016, 10:04 am	Hi mum! Just to wish you a happy Valentine's Day! I miss you! And Millie misses you too, although she hasn't met you yet. I've told her about you. Only good things, off course  I hope we will see you soon! Love, Aaron & Millie
Emjay Posted Feb 15, 2016, 5:12 pm	And this is how we spend Valentine's Day! I brought Millie flowers, off course. And afterward she gave a present to me: a heart shaped box with strawberries! Nice! But strawberries are still more delightful with whipped cream. Yummy! Emjay gave us a present too. A chocolate cake. Wow, it was Death by Chocolate! Chocolate is more a girl thing. Still, I enjoyed it too!
Emjay Posted Feb 24, 2016, 2:08 pm	Hi mum! Just a quick note to tell you that we are enjoying an early spring together. We hear you are in Thailand now! Great! Emjay has been there some years ago. Have a good time! Millie and me hope to see you soon. Love, Aaron
Emjay Posted Mar 2, 2016, 12:14 pm	Hi mum! Millie and I have decided to come home! I'm looking forward to introducing her to you, mum! She is such a sweet girl. But not toooo sweet! I mean, she's not a girly-girl. She likes soccer, just like me! So here are our last pictures from Delft. I will miss the place and Emjay. I had some great adventures, including visiting Stone Henge! Our friends prepaired a great farewell party for us. They had some Dutch sweets called "drop". It's an acquired taste, I must say! But Millie and I were brave and ate some. Very salty!
Emjay Posted Mar 2, 2016, 12:22 pm	After the "drop" party I showed Millie her new hometown: Beijing. I used the pictures you took of Emjay's TV Slowly-Slowly. Millie thought Beijing looks beautiful. And she says she will feel at home right away. Especially when I'm with her. Isn't that sweet? We'll see you soon, mum! Big hug, Aaron & Millie
goomymia Posted Apr 14, 2016, 6:52 am	I finally got home with Millie! Today is the second day of Qingming holiday, it's a bit like the Hollaween of western Qing Ming is traditionally a time for families to travel to the family tomb to sweep, clean and place flowers or other memorials on the grave site. A day of commemoration for dead ancestors, Qing Ming also celebrates the oncoming spring. So it’s a day about remembering the past but also celebrating the future. So Aaron and I decided to go to a temple and watch flowers blossom! According to a stele at the temple, Dajue Temple was first built in 1068 during the Liao Dynasty and called Qingshui Temple, after a stream that ran through the temple grounds. It was later renamed Lingquan Temple, and after being rebuilt in 1428 during the Ming Dynasty, was given its present name, "Dajue Temple."The temple went through renovations in 1720 and 1747. It contains three main halls, a gate, a pagoda and various side halls. Here are the photos we took.

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