Travelog for: Hedgie

Hi Mum,

Today was a gorgeous sunny day and we took a walk along the river. From here you could see the place where we were yesterday, the top of that rock wall in the background.



At one point we managed to scramble down the bank and took a picture from the middle of the river .



Before going back home we visited the front yard of a little church built on a hill near home. The church itself is not anything interesting, but the view over the valley is really beautiful .

Hi Mum,

Who ever said that Italy is a sunny country? It’s been raining for the last two days ! Since we were getting a bit bored, today we explored a bit the house where we are staying. First sammino introduced us to some of his friends here. There is a big bald eagle...



...and two equally big owls. They were a bit upset that we woke them up in the middle of the day , but they let us take a picture with them.



Later we met this interesting frog: apparently his job is to sit on the floor and croak whenever someone enters the door.



Then we found this old atlas. It must be old indeed, it still says that this part of Italy is part of the Austrian Empire .



At the end of our exploration we found this clock: sammino told us that it’s been broken for ages and there is no plan as yet to fix it: pity, it must be creepy hearing it at midnight .

Hi Mum,


The weather did not even slightly improve over the last couple of days so we are still stuck at home . So, today we decided to entertain ourselves with a bit of gambling by playing the roulette . That was good fun.



Later we wanted to engage in something more challenging and we organized a checkers tournament. It was a real battle of minds and, of course, I was the best .



After so much playing we needed some food , so we had a typical Easter cake. It’s called colomba: that means “dove”, I guess due to a supposed to be bird-like shape...maybe with a lot of imagination . Anyway, it was delicious .

Hi Mum, Happy Easter from a very rainy Italy!

Although we are still waiting for news about the sun , today we had good reason to celebrate: there was a special  Easter egg just for us TVs .



Reaching the chocolate was a bit of a challenge: we laboured our way past the wrapping just to find another layer of it .



But, eventually, me managed to get the egg open .



It was delicious !

Hi Mum,

Today the sun reappeared in the sky after almost a week of rain , so we decided to go out for a tour around town. First we started up the slopes on the side of the valley. Here you can see  “Trento’s mountain”: it’s called Monte Bondone, and the ski slopes lying on the other side of it can be reached from town in about 20 minutes drive.



While here we were looking north up the valley.



As we drove by we saw some secondary valleys and more mountains in the background.




At one point there were only steep forested slopes and rocky peaks above our heads .




By some kind of magic  we emerged back in the main valley a few km south of Trento. Here we could take a look at this nice castle (it doesn’t look like, but it is actually very big).



Before heading back home, smaug took us up a little road on the opposite side of the valley from which we could have a look at the vineyards on the valley floor....I wonder if we’ll have a chance to taste some of the wine .

Hi Mum,

My (wet ) Italian holiday is coming to an end. Today we helped smaug preparing his luggage and tomorrow early in the morning (very, very, very early in the morning ) we will start heading back to Calgary.



See you soon .

Hi Mum!

It was like Christmas this week ! Yesterday Pepita (one of smaug’s TVs) arrived back home to rest for a few days....and she brought a lot of lovely sweets with her .




And today a new guest arrived: Spooky, a nice dog from Japan !




I guess we’ll have plenty to chat about for a few days .

Hi Mum!

Today the weather was quite nice (after the blizzards of earlier this week ) so smaug took us out for a short walk in the woods . We spent most of the time under the trees encouraging smaug while he was labouring his way in the fresh snow .



But when he stopped to rest we played a bit in the snow by ourselves .



At one point we found a place with a good view over the valley.



But those clouds in the distance were a bit concerning, so we decided that it was enough for the day and went back to the car.

Hi Mum!

Guess what? It’s been snowing again for most of the week, and we are in May !



But today the weather was a bit better, so we went out for another short walk in the woods . Some sections had plenty of fresh snow.



On the way we found a couple of nice spots where we could take a photo.

Hi Mum!

Today we said goodbye to Pepita who is travelling to her next host, so we wished her a safe journey .

Hi Mum!

Today smaug came back home and told me that I have been invited to a trip to Fiji and will leave tomorrow to make sure I don’t miss my flight. So tonight I picked up my tag and travelling hat and said goodbye to all my friends here .



After travelling together for such a long time it was a bit hard to say goodbye to Mortimer_, but maybe we'll meet again in some other part of the world .



And sammino gave me a big goodbye hug wishing me great fun in Fiji .

I have arrived at Abby's!  I was met by Nasse and SunnyHH.  SunnyHH is also going to Fiji.  Abby was very pleased that I brought my own hat.  She says I will need it.

Before I leave for Fiji, Abby wanted to make sure that I saw some of Vancouver.

This is Waterfront Station.  It used to be just a train station, but now many different methods of public transportation end here.



The inside is very pretty.



Gastown is the oldest part of Vancouver.  Most of it was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1886, and now it is mostly stores for tourists and the shops of independent clothing designers.





This is the statue of 'Gassy Jack', who is considered the founder of Gastown.  He ran a saloon that was destroyed in the fire.



This is the famous Gastown Steamclock, a huge tourist attraction.  It runs on steam and was the first of its kind in the world.  It chimes every 15 minutes and steam pours out.



This is Victory Square, Vancouver's main war memorial.



This building is apparently haunted.  The architect who designed it killed himself before the building was completed, and they say that his ghost haunts the central staircase.

Next, I visited Chinatown.  This is the Millenium Gate, or the Gate of Thousands' Happiness.  It marks the beginning of Chinatown and was unveiled in 2002.



A lion guards the gate on each side.  Originally they each had a ball in their mouths representing prosperity, but they have been stolen.



This is the Jack Chow building, the narrowest building in the world.  It was built by a man known to Vancouverites as Sam Kee.  At one point he owned more land in the area, but the city demolished his building to widen the road, leaving him with a strip of land just under five feet in width.  Rather than sell what remained of his property for practically nothing, Sam had another building built, one that fit into the strip of land.  For years the building belonged to a silk merchant, but now it's leased by an insurance company.



This bell, called the West Han Dynasty Bell, is in Chinatown to commemorate Chinese history in Vancouver and marks the first Chinese settlement in the area.  It was a gift from Vancouver's sister city, Guangzhou in China, and it was modelled after a bell found in Guangzhou.



I visited the Dr Sun Yat Sen garden.





Many animals live in or visit the garden, like these giant fish.  Can you see the turtle?









SunnyHH and I played in the bamboo for a while.

I went for a walk along the sea wall.  This is Canada Place, and it is one of the more iconic buildings along the harbour, due to the giant sails.



This is the convention centre and it is huge!  During the Olympics this is where most of the international media was based.



This sculpture was at the front corner of the building.  It is called The Drop.



Here is Vancouver Harbour.



Stanley Park is the largest park in Vancouver.



On the other side of the convention centre was this huge orca sculpture that looked like it was made out of blocks.



This is the Olympic torch.  Because the Olympics are over, it is no longer lit.



Near the convention centre is the Marine Building.  At one point it was the largest building in the British Empire and it is the best example of art deco architecture on the West Coast of North America.