San Francisco adventures no1

On Tuesday we dropped Tom off at preschool and met his teacher who is very kind and nice and then we went to Dianna’s Bakery where I had a hot chocolate and meringue which had nuts in so I didn’t like it. We walked down the fault line which is a walk where the ground crosses over and the earthquakes start. We didn’t walk that far but we found a bench to eat and we looked at the lake infront of us. Behind the lake was a forest and apparently there are supposed to be mountain lions there. There was once a toddler walking with it’s parents and a lion came out and dragged the baby off but they got him back.

fault line panorama

After that we got burritos for lunch which are from Mexico and is a wrap that you put meat and rice and cheese in and then you put it all together and warm it up so it tastes amazing. We picked and Tom and took home the burritos which I enjoyed and finished very quickly.

eating burritos

I went to pick up Annie with Louise and she showed me round the school because we decided to take a picture of me in Annie’s classroom and school.

Annies classroom

outside school

Then we went swimming which does not take that long because we are right near the pool and hot tub which had a very different temperature. The swimming pool was quite cold and the hot tub had bubbles and it warmed you up. The swimming pool was quite nice and good but after going in the hot tub it was freezing but I got used to it.

hot tub

sun bathing 

We had yummy chilli con carne before I went to bed.

Monday 23rd in San Francisco (second time)

Because of the time difference we have had to live the day again because we have gone back in time. Living the same day twice was quite exciting because we had such a big time difference in between the countries – it was raining when we left New Zealand but when we got here Louise told us that there was a drought here so it never rains. It is 60-80 degrees all year round here.

On Monday we arrived at about 10 o’clock in the morning and whilst we were lining up for customes the queue went from 2 and a half times across the whole room to being full. We got our passports checked and got our bags before meeting Louise and Tom at the airport.

Next we drove back to their house and it is amazing. After that I went on the iPad and watched some things on BBC iPlayer. When Louise got back from picking up Annie we borrowed some bikes so we could ride to Tom and Annie’s soccer club and back home again. Then when we got back to the apartment we had stew for dinner and went to sleep.

We are staying with Louise, Dan, Annie and Tom and we know them because Louise worked with Mum a lot in Wales about 8 years ago. They live in Redwood Shores and they have an apartment instead of a house because it is very expensive to live in a whole house. There are three bedrooms. One is Annie’s which we are sleeping in, another is Tom’s and the other is Lou and Dan’s. The window we look out of all you can see is other apartments and at the back you can see a river from the balcony and planes coming down. Lou even saw our plane coming down.

I feel like I’m happy to be here because it feels like I’m at home because there are three rooms and a kitchen and a living room mixed together. The people make me feel happy as well because they are so lovely and I am with children and it makes me feel nervous that I might break things.

Monday 23rd (1st time)

We woke up, got a taxi into town, dropped our bags off and got our breakfast. Then we walked to the Sky Tower which is a very tall building in Auckland. We got a lift up to the 1st deck and looked around then went up to the next deck and saw someone bungee jumping. I thought that was crazy. 

Next we got on a bus to the Auckland Museum and we saw some Maori dancers. They did some dances and loads more things that  Maori people do. They do the dance to end the war before it is even started by sticking their tongue out and having wide eyes to make them scared.

We walked around and got another bus back to pick our bags up and got a candy-floss ice cream that I really liked and then we got on the air link bus to the airport. When we got there we checked in our bags and went through customs. Me and mum got dinner before we went to our gate and started boarding. 

Then we got on the plane and started watching films and had another dinner which was quite nice. I watched 4 films before I went to sleep and I woke up and watched some TV shows. The flight was 11 hours 54 minutes.

Auckland

On Saturday it was very rainy so instead of walking up to Mount Eden we drove to the top. Mount Eden is a volcano which does not erupt anymore and the crater looks quite deep and shaped in a circle covered in grass. I expected it to be black and all burnt. When we were up at the top we stayed in the car for a bit because it was raining so heavily then got out at the car as soon as it stopped being so heavy and walked around the crater.

After that we drove to the Winyard Quarter and Viaduct Basin in the harbour and we had coffee and stopped to talk to some people that Terence and Bronwen knew. We saw some men with tattoos on their faces which is a tradition in Maori New Zealand that tell people what family they were in and their family's history. The women had it on their chin. The kids were doing a thing with balls on the end and wrist flicking and mum tried it and wasn't that good.

Then we got a gelato and came home to have a chicken dish with aubergine and a side of salad.
                          

Today we had Brunch at the Officers' Mess in Takapuna where I had bacon, sausage and tomatoes which were very nice together. The weather looked like there was going to be a shower but there wasn't and it seemed to turn out even warmer than when we arrived.

After that we went to the tunnels at North Head, Devonport but before we started we found some pieces of cardboard and found a hill that you could slide down. You did it by holding onto the cardboard and scrunching up your legs so that you could get moving without having to move at all. I had a go and I had even more fun that Mum and Terence because all they were doing was screaming. It was so so fun.

Then we did the walk which was quite long and quite hot because it had got very warm when we were walking and we didn't have any water to drink. We went in tunnels where they would hide and keep their guns when there was a war. 

We walked back to the car and got into our togs (swimming costumes/swimmers) for a swim. The sea at Cheltenham Beach was very cold and quite shallow because I could stand up and I was out quite far to be honest. It was nice and refreshing because it was so hot. 

I felt a bit dehydrated so we drove to Takapuna Beach where we had a hot chocolate, lots of water and an ice cream and walk. We went to where the rock pools were and I found out that this area used to be a forest. The volcano erupted behind it and all the lava came and burnt the trees down about 200,000 years ago. There is another volcano on an island opposite which was formed about 600 years ago and the name translates to blood sky.

Then we went to the fish market and bought a coke for me and some oysters for Mum and Terence and some mussels and fresh fish for dinner. Mum and Terence ate their oysters while we were there while I drank my coke.

Supper was rice, vegetable sauce and fish which were all yummy and tasty. Then we played Pit and spoke to Granny on Skype and had to say goodbye to Bronwen and Terence because they have to go to work tomorrow.

Thanks for reading I will be arriving in San Francisco

tomorrow so won't be posting more on tuesday 

!!!! :-)  

20th in New Zealand

The house where we are staying has a very amazing view and the people who own it, called Bronwen and Terence are very nice too. You can see the Sky Tower and most the amazing landmarks around. If you walk somewhere then you will be able to see the bridge. It looks quite like Sydney Harbour Bridge.

On Friday we woke up and had breakfast and then Bronwen and Terence drove us to the Honey Centre near Matakana and we tasted some honey which made me feel sick because I had so much and it was so sweet. We were looking at one of the hives behind the glass but didn't find the queen bee because she was hiding.

Next we drove to Matakana and met some people called Tony and Penny who live on a hill just outside the town. You can see the sea from where they live from both directions and you can smell the salty sea air. They have loads of flowers are very very pretty and smell like roses and the tomatoes taste amazing. We had lunch and I had salami, tomato and fish salad and they were all very delicious.

After lunch we got in our cars and drove to Tauwharanui Beach which has a cave which I really liked. We bobbed over waves, swam under them and body surfed. The sea was a bit colder than some of the other seas we've been to on holiday but it was fine and it started getting a bit choppy.

Then we went for a walk where we were looking for a takahe bird but we didn't see it because we thought it might have been having a nap. We did see a pukeko bird and a thrush and we heard lots of tooey birds.

When we got back to Penny and Tony's house we realised it was Tony's birthday and went out for dinner in Matakana. In the pub there were some really annoying people who were playing music and it was annoying. I had beer battered fush and chups which was extremely yummy. When I say fush and chups it is actually fish and chips but in a New Zealand accent it sounds like that. 

Thanks for reading, more later today.

last day in Australia

Yesterday we woke up and went for Mum to have a haircut and I had my fringe cut too then we went to buy me two pairs of new Converse All Stars which were blue and purple and we got two pairs because when I grow out of the blue ones I can go into the purple ones which are bigger. We also bought me some clothes which were a jumpsuit and a dress which are both very nice.

After that we drove to Lone Pine koala sanctuary which was the most amazing experience I have ever had. I cuddled a koala and fed kangaroos. We saw a duck billed platapus, a wombat moving and Tasmanian Devil. 

Mum had a koala hug too but I had a scratch on my back from their claws. It was called Vinny and was so cute. Taylor Swift had cuddled one because we saw on the wall that said which famous people had been around. Also Mariah Carey, Ed Sheeran (the “ranga”) and Nicky Minaj. There were about seven koala enclosures in total and all of the koalas were so cute. We also took selfies with kangaroos.

After Lone Pine we went to a market and got some juice that was very tasty. And we bought Ellie an orchid to say thank you for letting us stay and giving us such a wonderful time. Then because we had forgotten it was Shrove Tuesday on Mum’s birthday we had pancakes which Mum made and they were very yummy.

It is Thursday now and we are getting ready for our first plane ride without Dad and have had a moustache photo before we left Ellie, Stan and Bog. 

Now we are on a plane to Auckland.

Mum's Birthday

Tuesday was Mum’s birthday and we went to the free zoo in Ipswich which was very nice. We saw some Bilbies which are basically big mice but have larger ears.

They are endangered because the rabbits are coming in and taking all their food for themselves. We saw a sedated wombat that we thought was having a running dream because it was asleep and moving it’s arms and legs around.

We had lunch in a very very nice café and then we went to the park where I went on a zip wire and swing. Mum and Ellie went on the zip wire too. 

When we got home we got ready to go to Ellie’s friend Melinda’s house. She has a daughter called Eve and a son called Jack and a husband from Northern Ireland called Gary. We had a hamburger which was delicious and very tasty. We went swimming in their swimming pool and buried each other in pillows and blankets. 

The adults just sat there and chatted and Gary played his guitar and we sang Happy Birthday to Mum who blushed quite hard.

Mum had a lovely birthday.