Travelog for: MiniMoo

Hi from Trinidad & Tobago!!!

I'm MiniMoo!!!

I'm just about 1 inch tall and ready to travel about like my TV friends!!!
I can fit in your bag, your pocket, anywhere!
So take me everywhere!!!

I love everything and everyone!!!]

Yayyyy!!!  I'm on my way to South Africa to have adventures with Katara!!! 

I'm so excited to be on my very first trip!

I know my mommy is excited too!
I can't wait to show her all the fun things I will do!

See you in South Africa!

Hi Mommy 

I had a safe journey, and I'm now in Pretoria - the administrative capital of the Republic of South Africa. Katara doesn't live in the city, but the area that she lives in falls under 'Pretoria'. Pretoria is about 60km from Johannesburg.

Today I helped Katara prepare a vegetable soup with carrots, leeks, celery, turnips and parsley.





We chopped up all the vegetables...



We placed it in the pot on the stove with a little butter, and allowed the veggies to 'sweat' for a few minutes. Next we added in some boiling water and vegetable stock, brought it to the boil and let it simmer until the veggies were soft. We then blended the soup and we enjoyed it with some soft rolls. It was delicious!



Greetings from South Africa,
MiniMoo 

Hi Mommy,

Today is a public holiday in South Africa, "Woman's Day". You can find more information about this important holiday here.

It was quite cold in the morning - with some rain... But guess what Mommy?? I saw a beautiful rainbow!  Unfortunately it's not to clear on the photograph - but it was really pretty!



For supper we ordered a pizza - It's a double pizza i.e. a pizza with two pizza bases. The bottom layer had vegetables, as we ordered a 'vegetarian' pizza and then it is covered with another pizza base, that contains cheese, tomato and feta cheese... It's very filling though - so one can only eat a slice or two 



Greetings,
MiniMoo

Hi Mommy,

Today we visited the Irene Village Mall.







Unique sculptors and artwork can be found throughout Irene Village Mall.



Here you can see "The udder side" (the "buried" cow) in the background... I had to giggle because it's a sculpture of a cow, and I'm a little cow too! Tee hee!



Here is a close-up of the sculpture





and this is a 'leaping' fountain...



We had lunch at "Figo's" - a cafe at the Irene Village Mall

We looked at the menu



I tasted a 'Red Cappuchino' - a cappuchino made with Rooibos Tea instead of coffee. It was very nice!







We ordered the "Chicken Tortilla" and it was delicious!!



I had a GREAT day today!

Lots of love,
MiniMoo

Hi Mom,

Today, Hugo Hippy (a TV visiting from Minnesota, USA) and I helped Katara make burgers!

First we chopped and friend some onions, and then we added some beef mince and herbs. We also added a little tomato paste...





Next we got the buns, grated cheese, avo, and some tomato and onion mix.



We shaped the mince into patties and fried them



We put the patties onto buns together will all the toppings...



And had a burger feast!

Hi mom

Today we went to "Simply Asia" - a Thai food and noodle bar, for lunch.

Hugo Hippy and I shared a mocktail...



And for our meal we ordered "Khao Phad Phong Khari" (Thai Yellow Chicken with Salsa). It's tender pieces of chicken marinated and fried, drizzled with a diced mint salsa and served on a bed of Jasmine rice wokked in coconut milk and yellow curry flavoured sauce.



At the shopping centre was another cow statue...




*Cows are a theme at the malls in Irene, because the area used to be a big dairy farm, and a small part of it still is. 

Hi Mom,

Today Hugo Hippy and I helped Katara prepare dinner. First we gathered some fruits, to make a fruit salad.

There was pineapple, apples and papaya.



We cut up the fruit...



and added some fruit juice to make a delicious fruit salad 



For dinner we had 'haddock en croute' together with some brocolli.





Lots of love,
MiniMoo

Hi Mom,

Today Hugo Hippy and myself helped Katara prepare a lemon tart!

First we crumbed some biscuits to make the base...



Hugo and I decided to taste a biscuit. I t was yummy and tasted of coconut!



We added a little spice to the biscuits, as well as some melted margarine to form the base



Next we gathered the other ingredients to prepare the filling...





We placed the tart in the refrigerator overnight and ate it the next day for dessert with some strawberries and cream...

Unfortunately it was very hot, 32C, so the tart started to melt...



It was very tasty though! 

Hi mom,

Today Katara and her husband had some business to attend to in Pretoria so Hugo and I went along for the drive.

Pretoria is the administrative capital of South Africa, so as we entered the city we were welcomed by a plethora of South African flags...



Unfortunately we didn't go into the city centre, but here are some photos we took along the way...

Pretoria is known as the "Jacaranda City" because the streets are lined with Jacaranda trees, and they will be in full bloom soon...









Here is a church...



I'm missing home mom, but so far I am enjoying my stay 

Lots of Love,
MiniMoo

Hi Mom,

Today we attended the birthday of Katara's little nephew. Hugo and I had a great time playing around!









Look at the pretty birthday cake!



We even 'jumped' on the jumping castle, but we had to be careful because there was a mommy and her baby on the jumping castle 



We also ate a lot of sweets!! 



We had a FUN day! 

Hi Mom,

Today we attended a "Nikah" - a Muslim wedding reception.

On our way to the wedding venue we passed Johannesburg. "Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Joburg, Joni, eGoli or Joeys, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa. The city is one of the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the world, and is also the world's largest city not situated on a river, lake, or coastline.

While Johannesburg is not one of South Africa's three capital cities, it is the seat of the Constitutional Court, which has the final word on interpretation of South Africa's constitution, and is the provincial capital of Gauteng. The city is the source of a large-scale gold and diamond trade, due to its location on the mineral-rich Witwatersrand range of hills". [From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannesburg]

Here you can see a little of Johannesburg CBD.



And this was after we passed the city...



We took some pictures along the way...

Maropeng is the official visitor centre for the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site.



The Sterkfontein Caves are also situated in this area...



We arrived at the Wedding Venue after driving for 1h40min. The venue was beautiful and the 'Nikah' was performed outdoors







After the 'Nikah' we moved to the reception hall for Lunch... 

Indian cuisine was served. Here on the table behind me you can see 'poppadoms' - it is kind of like a big chip that you eat with pickles and sambals.





The wedding favours were very pretty!

With the favour came this note: "Our gift, a thank you for sharing this day with us, comes to you from India. These inlay boxes are made of Indian marble called Sangemarmar. Each of these boxes is hand made and is inlaid with semi-precious stoves. Mughal designs adorn the boxes and are replicas of the carvings on the Taj Mahal, the symbol of eternal love."







I had an awesome day, and it was a great experience to have been able to attend a "Nikah".

Lots of love,
MiniMoo 

Hi Mom,

Today we celebrated "Heritage Day and National Braai Day". It is a public holiday in South Africa. Needless we "braaied".



We also made a salad with some Avocadoes and Strawberries, and we made some 'Polenta' (gritz). We ate the Polenta with some sour cream and grated cheese. 

Hi Mom,

Today we went for a Cream Soda float at "Wimpy".



The float was delicious! 

Hi Mom,

Today we went to "work" with Katara - We didn't have to travel very far because Katara works from home  She makes clothes for Monster High dolls for a little extra money.

First we met some of her 'models'



They were very friendly 



We got all the supplies ready...



And Katara told us that today we would be making the pink jacket that Ava was wearing



We got all the cut-out fabric pieces together so we could start sewing them...








We did a little sewing and then it was time for tea 

We had some Matzoh and cheese spread



I was delighted to see another cow 



After tea we went back to work, and Hugo and me kept messing about when Katara wasn't looking 





Eventually it was time to call it a day. We helped Katara make 10 jackets in total, so she was very happy!