Good-bye Thulani

Hi all :)

It seems as though Thulani has fallen in love with Ireland and is refusing to come home :( Initially we got hold of his host family in Ireland and heard that there was illness in the family which prolonged his stay. However, over the past months we have tried to get hold of them with no response.

I'm truly sorry that Thulani never got to finish his journey! But thank you all for the effort that you put into this little project! It is much appreciated!

Kind regards xx

Thulani in the Isle of Man Part 3

Today Thulani visited Port Erin and sat in the rock garden with Bee and CJ, Thulani met Willow and had a rock in her chair.

We then went to The Calf of Man, this is a small island detached from the Isle of Man hence the name Calf. It is home to some seals and wildlife. The Calf of Man has one house situated on it that is used as a holiday home. The Calf has no electricity gas or oil, so candles and torches are used of an evening when holidaying their.

 

The next day Thulani requested to go tomorrow to the Manx Grand Prix starting line; this is a motorbike event that happens once a year here. The Isle of Man is known for the famous TT races around the world so Thulani took a ride around the TT course with the boys on their bikes.

Thulani also went to Tynwald Hill were our government sit each year.

Thulani in the Isle of Man Part 2

 

Today Thulani went to the Kipper factory in Peel. This is where all the Kippers on the island are processed. Kippers are a natural source of our diet. Thulani sat on the window to view the boats in the bay. Thulani also went into kipper the shop and met Jules at the counter, she thought he was cute.

Thulani and lola, the English bull dog, then spent the morning at Fennella Beach, Thulani declined to go swimming with lolla and thought sitting on the sea weed rocks was so much nicer, he also took photos of the Castle and lolla swimming, off tomorrow to see the museum and fleece museum.

 

Tuesday 14th this is where lola goes swimming every morning so Thulani joined lola. Then we took him to Peel Castle and on to the Fleece Museum and Local Fact Museum.

Thulani in the Isle of Man Part 1

 

 

Thulani arrived on my birthday so he was there to open my cards and presents. We took him out to the creek for an evening meal and then Thulani watched the sun go down.

 

 

The next day Thulani came for a ride in the doggie car to take the dogs for a walk to the beach we then came back and Thulani met the farm cat Millie Moo.

 

 

 

 

On Saturday we took Thulani down to St Judes to the riding school where he met Morgan and the girls.

 

On Sunday Thulani decided he would like to come with me to the greyhound rescue sponsored walk at the Point of Ayre he met the very friendly dogs and the special staffardshire bull terrier called Sheldon.

He also jumped into the teddy basket while I had a cup of tea and had a snooze we had walked 4 miles

Thulani shows you the details of the wildlife stretch at the Point of Ayre with Cory and Beth.

Thulani back in Dorset

DORSET ENGLAND:

Day fifteen: Sherborne

Abbey:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherbornehttp://www.sherborneabbey.com
Today I took Thulani and Mlle Lapin to Sherborne as they were keen to see where the Queen had been to visit only a few weeks earlier. I think he was quite sad to have missed out on meeting the Queen of England as she took her special jubilee tour. And just after that the Olympic torch passed through Sherborne as well! Thulani and Mlle Lapin enjoyed looking at the exquisite architecture and were especially impressed by the fan vaulted ceilings.

I think Mlle Lapin is getting very hopeful that Thulani will propose and he certainly doesn't seem to be averse to the idea as you can see from the photo!

Day sixteen: Fish buying.
My eldest son is a keen animal lover and has a passion for fish keeping. His current tank count is six!

Today we purchased three new Siamese fighting fish. They are all male and have to be kept separately or they will kill each other. They are very pretty little fish that can breath air as well as having gills. This is as they sometimes have to survive in extreme conditions when water is in short supply and may end up living in a small puddle until heavy rains come. They live a short life and breed prolifically in the wild and are quite hardy as fish go. they come in various colours, ours are red blue and a sort of silvery/purple.

Thulani holidays in Crete

CRETE:

Day seven:
We Arrive at villa Truli. We have been coming here for about eight years, to this beautiful secluded villa in the hills of Stalos.

Day eight: A day to relax by the pool. Thulani takes Mlle Lapin boating.

Then late afternoon we all go karting where Thulani, Mlle Lapin and Sophie meet a few locals! Then everyone gets ready to race putting on not so glamorous hairnets before donning crash helmets! Joe and Thulani in the lead followed by dad and Rufus. Thulani and Joe win the race and Mile Lapin is very impressed.

Day nine: Lake Kournas
Located in western Crete, Lake Kournas is the only lake the island has to offer and is well worth a visit. It is easy to get to by car located between the towns of Chania and Rethymnon.

The lake is stunning; a sapphire blue teardrop with edges of turquoise, surrounded by vegetation. It's a hub for wildlife, especially turtles and it's not uncommon to see eagles circling high above.The lake itself has a shallow area closer to the shore, while the more adventurous can hire a pedalo and paddle to the center of the crater.

We had a great afternoon at the lake, there are a number of lovely tavernas overlooking the lake where you can have a lazy lunch or an ice cream and some freshly squeezed juice. I (Karen) took Thulani and Mlle Lapin to my favorite taverna overlooking the lake and read a book stopping occasionally to look at the scenery whilst sipping a refreshing drink. Thulani and Mlle Lapin cuddled and admired the view.

Alastair meanwhile took the children on a pedalo with slide and they had a fabulous time until they were all worn out. He then peddled them round the edge of the lake spotting the local wildlife. The lake is amazingly clear, they saw fish, eels and birds. In previous years we have seen terrapins too! The water level was the highest we have ever seen it due to heavy winter rains, maybe this was the reason for the lack of terrapins as there was hardly any beach.

Day ten:A relaxing day by the pool then in the evening, then out to a taverna for supper and fun at a mini adventure park.
Mimi and Thulani loved the carousel and also the bungy trampolining. Joe was impressed that Mimi and Thulani could do somersaults as he could only manage to bounce up and down.

Day eleven: This morning we got up early and went for a delicious breakfast in Chania after which we took a horse drawn carriage to the market. Our horse was called Rambo and he certainly lived up to his name.

The local market is fascinating with lots to see. I love to smell the fresh herb stalls and look at all the locally grown vegetables and the children loved looking at the chickens and baby rabbits, that was, until I explained they were not pets but for cooking! There were lots of bags of snails too but I just couldn’t persuade the children that they might make a tasty supper.

Chania Khania or Xania (I have seen it spelt many ways) lies on the north coast of west Crete and is the capital of Chania Prefecture(district) Chania Prefecture covers the western most end of Crete and features a combination of many beautiful beaches, small fertile plains, high mountains and deep gorges, such as the Samaria Gorge. Chania Prefecture is the greenest part of Crete island, as the range of White Mountains ensures the highest rainfall in Crete.

Chania is one of the oldest cities in Crete, with a rich and tumultuous history. it is a city which has preserved its traditional architecture and most of its monuments from Venetian and Turkish times. The Venetian harbour with its lighthouse and the old town in the centre have given Chania the reputation of the most picturesque city in Crete and has thousands of visitors each year.

The heart of Chania is still the old town, with its narrow, labyrinthine alleyways and listed buildings dating from different periods. Many of these buildings have been turned into small hotels, restaurants, shops or homes.

The old town stretches out parallel to the Venetian harbour, from Firkas Fortressand the maratime museum to the Gate of Sand to the east of the arsenals. This is the part of the town within the Venetian walls and includes Byzantine Chania, once enclosed within less extensive walls.

The Byzantine walls protected the fortress of Kastelli, the hill which was first inhabited in the Neolithic period.

We then left the old harbor area of Chania and headed for a pretty beach called (Kalives)Kalyves. There we met our holiday rep Ray, who we have known for a good few years for a drink and also to try out a nearby taverna he had mentioned to us. We had a delicious fish and chip lunch there overlooking the crystal clear sea while the children paddled in the river of icy cold water that had run down from the white mountains (still snow covered in parts) to the sea which was lovely and warm!.

Photos of Simpsons hotel called GK Beach (hmm would like to come back here with just hubby ).

Day twelve: We just relaxed by the pool today read and admired the view while the little ones swam and played.

Then we headed in to Chania for our supper at an Asian restaurant. We sat in a beautiful secret courtyard full of lush vegetation and heady scents of beautiful flowers. We ate satay chicken skewers with peanut sauce, peking duck pancakes, tempura prawns and chilli dip, and spicy prawn thai soup, ribs, noodles, rice and chicken in black bean sauce. After that we did a bit of window shopping as we were all so full after the wonderful feast.

At the restaurant Mimi was fascinated by the vegetable flowers.

Day thirteen: Dad and Children go to a water park, whilst Mum, Thulani and Mlle Lapin prefer to stay at the villa and rest.

Day fourteen: We travel home and again I forget to take photos as on the journey outward. Although I think it was probably wise as I would hate to have lost Thulani and Mlle Lapin along the way. Keeping tabs on five people and luggage was quite enough of a task as it was let alone two extras as well!