Travelog for: Imperio

Hi Mum,

Today I went to a house party!  It was SO much fun!!

I arrived and HelgaHH invited me and some friends in.


The carpet in her Hostmum's house had been converted to a dance floor and the music playing was some of my favourite tunes, so I danced most of the night.


When I wasn't dancing, I was talking to other TVs, in particular HelgaHH - we have lots in common.


I was also dared to drink some... or rather, a lot...


Which might explain how I found myself like this when I woke up:


Oops...

Oh well, it was a lot of fun!  And when hostmum came back, she had no idea what we'd been up to.  She was quite surprised to see me, of course.  But she said because I've become such good friends with the other TVs she's hosting, and you're a good friend to her, that I can stay and go with her and the rest of the TVs on their holiday, yay!

Love,
Imperio

Hi Mum,

Today was SUCH an early start to the day!  We all had to get up at 3am...  Which is why I'm so tired now.

First we said bye to Niiskuneiti, who left today, she's going back home.


And then... a quick last minute check to make sure we hadn't forgotten anything.  Once we were sure, it was time to be on our way!


I'm now on the cruise ship, we have just left Istanbul.  Unfortunately we didn't really have time to take any pictures... but I promise to take some tomorrow 

Bye!
Imperio

Hi Mum!

Today was such an exciting day!  We’re in Kusadasi in Turkey.  We did quite a lot today.

First we went to visit the Virgin Mary house.  This house is believed to be the last house that the Virgin Mary lived in before she died.  Every year thousands of people (Christians and Muslims alike) make a pilgrimage to visit the house.


They write prayers on pieces of paper, or napkins or anything they can find and put them on this wall.  Look Mum – how many thousands of prayers do you think are here?


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


This is where people in the government went for meetings – kind of like the houses of parliament today.


Here you can see part of the city, with the library in the background.
And this is the theatre, where they held plays and sang.




We also ran in to some fellow Toyvoyagers!  Unfortunately I forgot their names...


Look - these mosaics are the original ones.


We stayed in Ephesus for about 3 hours – it was so hot!  About 38C.  Afterwards, we went and had a look around Kusadasi.  Here you can see me overlooking the town.


Eventually the sun wore us out and we decided to go back to our ship and relax on the balcony.


It’s been a great day Mummy!

Love,
Imperio

Hi Mum,

We spent the day at sea today.  It was fun.  I loved sitting on the deck looking out at the sea.  I really wanted to jump in and go for a swim (I am, after all, a penguin and can swim very well!), but hostmum said no…  Such a shame!


It got a bit hot for me though – it was about 37C, so I spent most of my time sitting in the shade chatting with the others.


Then there was an ice-sculpting demonstration.  That was so much fun!


Can you see the two dolphins he made?  I couldn’t believe that he managed to make it in 15 minutes!


Love,

Imperio

Hi Mum,

Guess where I was today?  In Beirut, in Lebanon!  It was so exciting.

But before we explored the city of Beirut, we went to the ancient ruins of the city of Byblos.  Here I am entering the city.


We spent a good few hours exploring the ruins.




Did you know that the city is over 7000 years old?  And that the Bible is named after this city?




Look – here I am with a lovely view of the coast of Beirut.


Once we had finished exploring the ruins, we went to the caves in Jeita.  Unfortunately we weren’t allowed to take any pictures inside though.


Guess what Mum?  I’ve now seen the world!!


This statue represents the Guardian of Time.


After the caves, we went in to Beirut.  Here I am in front of the parliament building.


This is the main Mosque in Beirut.  In Lebanon, 50% of the people are Muslim and 50% are Christian.


It was a great day Mum!

Love,
Imperio

Hi Mum,

Today our ship arrived in Marmaris, Turkey.


It was quite a relaxed day, with us all taking in the amazing views.








The beaches are lovely – the water is so warm!


We explored some of the little villages.  Each village has about 200 inhabitants and has a Mosque as well as a café.


This tree was in one of the villages and it’s about 1800 years old.  Local legend says that if you walk around it then you will live a happy and healthy life.


When we got back on board our ship, we sat out on the balcony and enjoyed the wonderful view.


Love,
Imperio

Hi Mum,

Today was the last day of our holiday – tomorrow the ship will dock in Athens, where we will catch a plane back to England.

So I made sure to make the most of the day in Santorini. 


In these pictures, I’m on the highest point on the island, and I can see the whole island.




Walking up to that vantage point was quite tiring, so a rest at this little café was definitely needed!


Then we looked around several of the towns.  Look at the view, isn’t it pretty?


And the church you can see behind me is Santorini’s most famous church.


Can you see the ship behind me?  That’s our cruise!


Love,
Imperio

Hi Mum,

What a long day it's been!  We left the ship at about 9am yesterday (Sunday) and have only just arrived back at hostmum's house now, at 1am on Monday.  I'm soo tired...

But before I go to sleep, it's time to say goodbye to Flummi, who is travelling to Germany.


And now, bedtime!

Love,
Imperio

Hi Mum,

Today we all hung out in the garden.


It was a bit cooler than the weather that I've been used to from the meditterranean, but it was still quite hot for me, so I relaxed in the shade underneath this plant.


Look Mum, Snoopy came to say hello to me!


Then I noticed all the flowers that had fallen off the plant... so I decided to have a bit of fun.  Hostmum said that I look very handsome.


Love,
Imperio

Hi Mum,

Today was a sad day, as I had to say bye to HelgaHH.  She had become quite a good friend of mine!  But she's very excited about going to her new host in Finland, and I wished her all the best.


In other news, hostmum says that she has a big surprise planned for us tomorrow.  I'm really excited and intrigued, I wonder what it could be...?

Love,
Imperio

Hi Mum,

Guess what!!  Today I went to an Olympic event!!  The surprise that hostmum had for us was tickets to the women's football in Newcastle. 

Here I am outside St James' Park, the stadium where it was held.




The teams that were playing were America and New Zealand.  Here they are warming up.


And now... let the games begin!






The final score was 2-0 to America.  It was a very good game, and I'm so happy to have seen an Olympic event!

Love,
Imperio

Hi Mum,

Guess what?  Lizzy Lizard had a brilliant surprise for us today - she had made a swimming pool!!  We had wondered where she'd gone, and we came across her like this.


We all thought it was amazing - such a good idea.  And of course, while the others relaxed on the chairs and Sheela played us some music on her drum, I jumped straight in the pool.


I had so much fun swimming.


And floating on my back...


And leaning on the corners of the pool, enjoying the cool water and the warm sun.  Aaah... bliss!


Paula Hip joined me as well, but she didn't want to get wet, so she used the canoe.  It looked like fun - but I much prefer to swim and get wet!


Love,
Imperio

Hi Mum,

Today I said bye to Sheela, who is travelling on to Sweden.


We posed for one final group picture.


And now she's on her way!

Love,
Imperio

Hi Mum,

Tonight was the closing ceremony for the Olympics, so of course we all had to watch that!


All the athletes walk in to the stadium, to celebrate the end of the games and the fact that everyone played so well.  I think they should all be proud of themselves!




Of course, I had to have some popcorn as well!




The winners from the men's marathon came to collect their medals.


Hostmum was thrilled when these children signed the song 'Imagine', as hostmum knows BSL herself.




Russel Brand had a part in it as well.  It looks like so much fun - look at all the colours they're wearing!


And then, the long-awaited Spice Girls reunion!


And finally, we saw Rio take over.  I wonder what their opening ceremony will be like in 4 years time?


Love,
Imperio

Hi Mum!

Today we visited Alnwick Castle, which is pronounced 'An-ik'.  It's quite an old castle, and was home to the lords and ladies of Northumberland.




This carriage was used in the wedding of Lady Katie only last year.




This statue was built in honour of Sir Henry Percy, who won many battles in the 1300's.


Look at the dragon Mum - doesn't it look scary?


Behind me you can see kids learning how to play the Harry Potter game 'Quidditch.  Did you know that some scenes from Harry Potter were filmed here?


Look at all these weapons!


Here I am inside a canon.  It's so big!


Unfortunately, we had to cut our trip short, as it started to rain quite heavily!

Love,
Imperio