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Bongo's Blog
“It’s not what you look at that matters. It’s what you see.' - Henry David Thoreau
My name is Bongo! I am happy to be traveling back to Europe. This time with my mom. Many, Many years ago I was kidnapped from my mom and traveled the world with many different people. Although I was able to give my mom an annual update in the form of a scrapbook with pictures of my adventures I missed her terribly. After 5 years I was able to make it back home to her. Since then we have been living a quietl life. We have both been anticipating traveling again.
Hello
Day - 28 Well it is 28 days until Mom and I leave for Europe. Mom was actually considering not taking me. Seriously!! What was she thinking. Luckily my aunts talked some sense into her. They were seriously questioning if she was on drugs. It will be nice to see Europe again. It has been 20 years.
Day - 28 Tested out my mode of transportation. Pretty comfy. Questioning the color. But what can you do when your mother is obsessed with Pink. Don’t get it but to each their own.
Day - 23 Mom says we are going to have a Rijsttafel dinner on the first night. Not sure what that is. Not sure if I can even say it. But mom says it will be good. Well…..I will give it a try but I am not sure if Fuzzy Stuffed Monkeys tummies will like it.
Day - 12 Mom says we don’t need to take one of these for me. She says Fuzzy Stuffed Monkeys are immune. Less than 2 weeks before we are off. The warm fuzzies seem to be more clingy than normal. I wonder if they know we are going on an adventure without them.
Day - 8 Mom says we have very limited luggage space (one carry on and one day bag). She says I can take only one of my custom made berets (tricot personnalisé par theresa). How is a Fuzzy Stuffed Monkey to decide?
Day - 7 Some last minute education and research. I think this book is broken. It does not tell me how to translate Fuzzy Stuff Monkey into French.
Day - 14 hours Mom says you should relax and have a good meal the night before you fly. Mom worked today and now is cleaning her house so I am relaxing for the both of us.
Day 1 Well we made it to the Netherlands, Mom met her group and went out and explored Haarlem. I decided to just hang out in the hotel. She said the Rijsttafel dinner was delicious. But she didn’t tell me that she was getting Gelato. I wonder if they had Banana flavor.
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Day 2 Mom and I toured Amsterdam today with some really nice people. They all keep talking about this guy Rick Steve’s. Not sure who he is. I wonder if he is as famous as The Man in the Yellow Hat.
I Couldn’t read this sign but I think it was about the big metal room that went really fast. We saw a lot of things. My favorite was the canal ride. I got to to sit next to the window and see everything. We went to this big building were people stood and stared at pictures and things. People were getting really excited about a lady pouring milk. I don’t get it, Mom does that for me everyday. We walked around with a really colorful guide. It was really nice that they renamed an area for me. I don’t know if this was official. It looks a little sketchy to me. We went through an area called the the Red Light District. Mom made me close my eyes though. (I may have peaked once or twice) We ended the day having Crepes. Mom said we needed both Sweet and Savory. But did not realized how big they were so I had to help. They were good but I think the Nutella one would have been even better if it had bananas.
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Day 3 We went the the Netherlands Open Air Museum in Arnhem. We saw lots of cool things. How they use to wash clothes. Some ladies were dying fiber for knitting. A guy was working on this big wooden thing and was actually make cloth. We ate lunch there too. There was this giant pancake with bacon in it. Seriously whole strips of bacon!
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Day 4 We explored the Rhine River today. Mom had to walk up this BIG hill to Rhenfields Castle . I didn’t think she was going to make it. But she did. Yeah!!! We got to do a neat tour that let us see areas that not everyone gets to see. We even went to the dungeon. That was a little scary for a Fuzzy Stuffed Monkey like me. Afterwords we went and looked around St. Goar. Mom got Gelato again. She seems to forget that Fuzzy Stuff Monkeys also like Gelato. I even think there was banana flavored one. Well a least a few were yellow so I would think so. We than took a river cruise back to Bacharach. It was a good day but Mom was tuckered out.
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Day 5 Today was Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany. We got to explore this cute walled city. We saw St. James' Church with its Holy Blood reredos by Tilman Riemenschneider. Afterword we wandered down quaint streets and went into Käthe Wohlfahrt Christmas store. It was HUGE. It just kept going. I was little afraid that I would get left there. We also went into a Teddy Bear shop. (They had other Fuzzy Stuffed animals, not just Teddies.) This store made me sad. I wish they all could have a Mom like I do.
Day 6 Today was Dachau Concentration Camp. Out of respect Mom and I decided we would do no pictures of me.
‘Hatred is corrosive of a person's wisdom and conscience; the mentality of enmity can poison a nation's spirit, instigate brutal life and death struggles, destroy a society's tolerance and humanity, and block a nation's progress to freedom and democracy.’
Liu Xiaobo
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Day 7 Mom and I got up real early today. She said we are going to hike to a special place. It was a really pretty hike. Some of the group even went out swimming in the lake. Mom only put her feet in and Fuzzy Stuffed Monkeys DO NOT LIKE water. We walked for almost 5 miles and made it to Neuschwanstein Castle. However, Mom decided to walk up the hill instead of taking the shuttle. What was she thinking. She almost DIED. The castle was really neat but unfortunately, they do not allow photographs inside.
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Day 8 Today we left Germany and headed to Venice Italy. We traveled through the Dolomites. Mom ate lunch at a wonderful little restaurant. Mom had Spaghetti Bolognese. But again she got Gelato and didn’t get any for me. Seriously Mom our guide Andy even explained how to spot real banana Gelato. We than went on a water taxi. Mom made sure I was secure in my backpack so I wouldn’t fall in the water. It was breathtaking. Tomorrow is going to be all day in Venice. Mom and I may go out to the island of Barono where they make lace.
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Day 9 La Serenissima - Today was Venice. We had a great guide who showed us all around. We saw how REAL Venetian masks are made. Mom even found one that would fit me. After the tour mom and I went out to Burano. That is one of the islands out in the lagoon. Mom figured out how to do it and didn’t even get us lost. We had fun seeing all the colorful houses. Mom bought a pretty handkerchief with Burano lace on it. Again, mom with the Gelato. When are you gonna figure out I want some!
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Day 10 We made it to Florence. After checking into our hotel we headed out for an orientation walk. We saw these really big buildings all covered in marble. They were beautiful. For a second I was scared because I thought these dogs were going to eat me but mom said I was okay they were just pretend. Next we went, to the Accademia Museum and saw some really neat things. We saw a violin actually made by Stradivarius. It was really beautiful.
We then continued on and came across a statue. Everybody was taking pictures and standing around. He was naked. I thought I would have to close my eyes but mom said it was OK because it was art. Couldn’t they have put a fig leaf on him or something? Dave you know your naked, right?
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Day 11 I am sure tuckered out. We got up early and walk to the Boboli Gardens today. We had to go up a big hill and we finally got there. It was beautiful and very big. Those Medici’s really knew how to spend money. Not sure why you’d want a fat baby riding a turtle but to each their own.
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Day 12 All Roads lead to Rome. We have made it to Rome. We first went to the Vatican museum and the Sistine chapel. It was amazing but unfortunately we couldn’t take pictures inside it. But we took some others. After the Sistine Chapel we did a walkabout. We came across this big fountain and there were lots of people around it. They seem to be chucking money into it for some reason. They weren’t even looking where they were throwing it. I don’t understand humans sometimes!
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Day 13 Today was a very busy day. We started out early and went and saw Saint Peter‘s Basilica. I don’t know how to describe how HUGE this place is. It was magnificent. We then went on to ancient Rome and saw the Colosseum. They used to have gladiator fights here. They even used to hunt animals here. The histories have never mentioned that they hunted fuzzy stuffed monkeys so I think I’m safe. We then went on to the Roman forum and ended at the Pantheon. I was one tuckered out fuzzy stuffed monkey.
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Day 14 We left Rome today heading for the Cinque Terre. Along the way we stopped at a hill town called Orvieto. Mom got this really pretty ceramic ornament. It was really nice to walk around this quaint little town. We made it to the Cinque Terre in time to drop off laundry and head off for some dinner and gelato. Mom still doesn’t get that fuzzy stuff Monkeys also want gelato!
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Day 15 Today was a free day in the Cinque Terre. Mom took a train to Vernazza it was real quick. She’s always wanted to see Vernazza and she was very happy. We wandered around and explored all kinds of alleys. We watched people jump off into the water. I wanted to try it but mom said we forgot my bathing suit.
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Day 16 Arrivederci Italy! Headed out to Switzerland. We arrived at Lauterbrunnen and Mom and I went for a walk with a new friend from the group. It was beautiful. No words can really describe it. Mom is both looking forward and not looking forward to tomorrow. She says that she’s going to be scared but that’s she going to do it.
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Day 17 Just call me BOND…GO. Today we went to the Schilthorn. Mom was very scared. We had to take four gondolas to get there. They call them cable cars like that makes a difference. I guess they filmed a really old movie here about a guy named James Bond. We explored for a while and then took the cable car back down two stops to Mürren and hiked the rest of the way back. Mom had fondue for dinner with the group. She also got to have some ice cream. Yet again I wasn’t included in that!!!
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Day 18 Bonjour from France. Today we visited Hotel-Dieu Des Hospice Civils De Beaune. Mom says it wasn’t a Hotel but a hospital for the poor. It was vey beautiful. It started raining on the way back to the hotel. Mom got soaked but she made sure I was okay. She shoved me into her backpack and zipped it. It was a little uncomfortable but I stayed dry. My mom loves me.
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Day 19 We made it to Paris!! I’m totally dressed for this. We visited the Louvre Museum. We tried to get a good picture of this little painting but it was nuts. Why do people like this painting she doesn’t even have eyebrows. We then went and saw this big tower and while we were waiting it lit up and was all sparkly. I liked it I could do a lot of swinging off of that tower.
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Day 20 Today we explored the Latin Quarter and the Île de la Cité. We saw amazing stained glass at Sainte-Chapelle. It gave me ideas for coloring in my coloring book. We also saw Notre Dame from a distance. It was sad to see the devastation from the fire. But it looks like repairs are well underway. We than took a cruise on the Seine River followed by our tours final dinner. Mom actually ate escargot. I wonder if mom realizes those are snails!
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Day 21 Versailles was our adventure today. With skills we learned from our trip mom figured out how to get us to Versailles taking the underground and a train. Wow this place is humongous. We toured the rooms and this giant hall that hard all these mirrors. We then went out into the Gardens you could’ve been lost there forever. Mom’s favorite part was the Queens Hamlet. This was our last adventure for our trip and it was well worth it. I am one tuckered out fuzzy stuffed monkey.
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Day 22 Finally made it home. After a 5 1/2 hour delay at the airport. For a minute there I thought I would have to fly us home. Well it’s been one big adventure for a fuzzy stuffed monkey. Mom and I are off to bed.
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