Travelog for: Ladomar

Hi everyone! I am Ladomar the Lion and I just got activated.  I am looking to come and visit anyone at anyplace in the world!! the other TVs that live in this house have been telling me all about their travels so now I am ready to go!! Please send my mom a PM if you want to host me!!

Hi mom!
I have arrived to Greece! My hosts are so happy to have me and they say we are gonna have a great time together!



They send you a big "THANK YOU" for all the things I had with me!



So this is me with the rest of the toyvoyagers here!
That's Skippy Kangaroo who has been with this family for a couple of months and he is getting ready to travel to his next host, and Kunigunde the little pig that arrived today with me!



So I guess it's time to introduce you to the family.

Vicky is the mom, she is a computer teacher  but apart from computers she loves anything crafty!



Aris, the father is a computer programmer and he loves anything that has to do with electronics and music



Maria is the 3 years old little girl, she plays all the time with her toys and she is a big fan of Winnie the Pooh and Mickey Mouse.



Konstantinos is the baby boy of the family, just 10 months but he is walking!! He loves to play with cars and to destroy everything that comes in his way! LOL



I have to help Vicky to cook a typical Greek lunch, so I'll update later today.

Take care
Ladomar

Hi again,

today we have helped Vicky to prepare lunch. She cooked a typical Greek food, using Greek olive oil of course.
So here is what we did to make stuffed zucchini.

First she washed them, cut them in two and made holes!



Then she prepared the filling using onion, rice, mince, olive oil, salt, pepper, parsley and dill



After that she stuffed the zucchini with the filling



and then in the casserole with water and olive oil



So this is the finished food, with a lemon sauce



One for each one of us



... so tasty !

Hi mom! Today the weather is great
take a look at the sky



and since it is Saturday we had the chance to go sightseeing with the bike.





We went at the park, where we had the chance to lay in the grass, smell the flowers and enjoy the sun











The park is next to the marina, so we went to see the yachts and the sailing boats. Oh mom I wish I had one of them to go sailing in the Greek islands! But Vicky says we might go this summer, well if I am still here!















Hey! Look what I found at the marina mom! The American flag!



On our way back we also saw this small orthodox church. White walls and blue doors is usually the style of churches and houses in the Greek islands.



Oh it's been a great day!


I'll update soon
Hugs and kisses
Ladomar

Hi again mom,

on Sunday we visited a small town in the suburbs.
There is an artificial dam there and a lake full of ducks.
There is also a park close to the dam, where there is a nice playground for the kids and other facilities such as tennis and football courts.
well take a look...






















Take care
Ladomar

Hi mom,

this is a quick update just to show you the neighborhood. We had a small walk this afternoon so take a look...





A new toy has also arrived, SunnyHH. But we had to say goodbye to Skippy Kangaroo who is packed and ready to go tomorrow! 



I'll write again soon

Ladomar

Hi mom,

today we made some preparations for Easter. As I told you before here in Greece they celebrate easter this Sunday, because they are orthodox Christians.
One of many things they do is to dye eggs.



They always dye them red, to symbolize the stones they were thrown to Jesus and they were red by his blood.
On Easter Sunday they have a very funny custom involving the eggs (no egg hunt) ... you'll see on Sunday!!!

So if you are into organic and biological foods here is a traditional natural way to dye red eggs!!!

You boil water with skins from dry onions.



and there you have it! Red dye!


A traditional way to make designs on the eggs is by placing flowers and leaves on the eggs, hold them in place with net fabric and tie the fabric with thread.













so here is the result! not bad for a totally natural way don't you think?!



Well we also used red dye from the market for others...

We also helped Vicky to prepare "tsoureki". A traditional sweet bread they make for Easter. There is no house in Greece on Easter without "tsoureki".

So here we are preparing the yeast



making the dough





... while we were waiting for the dough to raise we went outside in the balcony, it was warm and sunny (always is in Greece)



Oh look! The dough is ready!



So Vicky made some with "nuttella" inside and some simple







Yummy!

All packed and ready to go on a 5 days trip, with mom, dad and the kids!!!!



Tomorrow morning we are going for a 5 days trip to Volos and mount Pelion. Grandmother lives there and we are visiting her for Easter!
Pelion is one of the must seen places here in Greece after the islands! We are gonna have internet access so I'll keep my updates coming with some great sightseeing photos!!!

Take care!

Greetings from beautiful Volos, we are here for vacation and we love it!
Take a look at the photos!

At the park by the sea












here are some strange statues.... i think they look like trees...



This tree is called "Salt tree" or "almiriki" in Greek because it grows by the sea and it's roots are in the sea!





If only it was a bit warmer... I'd love to swim on these clear blue waters!



A Greek orthodox church at the city center, in the main square



The weather was so nice and since it's Easter, everyone was out drinking coffee, walking and enjoying the day









Laying on the daisies

Dear Mom,

Today we visited Afissos! It's a small traditional village at Pilion.
Take a look at some photos when we were driving to get there...







This is Afissos! Beautiful and traditional little village!



This is the village center









Take a look at this yard



A lemon tree! can you see the lemons?!



Here we are laying on the beach!





The whole area is full of olive trees!



And this is a photo of all of us, at the summer house the family has there! You can see us together with some fish bones and other nautical staff!

Hi there!

Today we welcomed a new toy in the family! Etwas is here!



So in order to welcome him we have formed a music band and we went crazy playing all the songs we could think of!!!
Here I am playing the xylophone.



Then we had some fun playing with the kids toys....







Things have been quite around here lately but .... 1st of May is a day off so there is a loooong weekend ahead of us! So we'll surely update then.

Take care mom!
Ladomar

P.S: I've send you some postcards from mount Pilion and Volos, I hope you get them and enjoy them.

Today Vicky took us to the city center.
She doesn't like to go there, too many people, too much traffic and it takes an hour to get there from home by bus, with all the bus stops and traffic lights.
She says we have to come on a Sunday when everything is calm and we can enjoy the squares, monuments and museums. We'll do that soon.

Well for now here are some photos we managed to get while we were there.

This is the Aristotelous Square, it is the central square of the town.  It is named after the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle.







This is Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) church. It is one of the oldest Byzantine churches in that city still standing today.
Hagia Sophia is part of Byzantine Monuments of Thessaloniki on the list of World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.



And here is a photo form one of the open shopping centers

On Sunday the family that hosts me is christening their little boy.
A custom in Greece is to give to the guests before they enter the church a little cross to put on... it could be a pin...or a bracelet in our case!



At the end of the ceremony it is common to give a favor, a little toy, always together with "koufeta". Well "koufeto" is an almond in chocolate and sugar. They always give koufeta here in Greece after a wedding or a christening. So here we are helping Vicky to make all the little bags with "koufeta".





I hope one of the extended family member or a good friend will take me to the ceremony on Sunday and get some photos to post, because Vicky wont be able to do it.

Today was the christening day for the baby boy of the family!
And guess what mom! I was invited! An uncle of the baby was kind enough to take me with him and get some photos, since both the parents couldn't take me with them obviously!

Here are some photos of the little church the christening took place, it was in a small village called Trilofos, at the suburbs of Thessaloniki.







(translation: "for the poor")






For the sacrament of Baptism (Christening) the godparents must bring the following items to the church.

1 small white towel
1 large white towel
1 large white oil sheet
1 set of baptismal undergarments
1 large white candle
1 bottle of olive oil
1 bar of soap
1 baptismal outfit for the child
Martirika - Christening witness pins
A gold cross and chain
A baptismal box

So here they are!





And this is the baptismal Font where the baby was immersed thrice in the blessed water and pure olive oil was hallowed and administered to the various members of the baby's body.



Well it was a nice experience, something different from what I've seen! After the ceremony we went on a party with food and drinks and had a really great time!
Oh and the baby was so cute! He really enjoyed it and didn't drop a tear!

Love
Ladomar