Haribo

Hello,

Near our apartment (about a 5 minute drive) there is a interesting, fun and yummy land mark  called HARIBO museum, were we stock up on lollies every now and then with a little help from relatives (not mum and dad who tried to get rid of some L).   I think that we want to just skip around the museum and get to the lolly shop at the end were we can get lollies. HARIBO came from a man called Hans who made lollies in his laundry and his wife delivered them on bicycle.   Hans took two letters of his first name (HA) , two from his second (RI), and two from him hometown Bonn BO HARIBO. Sadly enough he died before his company got big so his sons took over his work for him.  At the end there is a lolly shop were you buy all the products but since they give you so many free samples throughout the museum we did not get a lot and if we had of been with Dad only then I’m sure that we would have got nothing but thanks to Mum, Pippi, Helen and kate we managed to get past Dad alright. Next to museum is a lolly factory, but sadly the do not give tours because they say that they are “working”  but if you drive past you will think that they make all their money from the museum or that Uzes (Haribo) has a lot  of public holidays.

Their motto is:

Haribo c’est beau la vie pour les grands et les petites  

 That Translates in to :

Haribo it is a good life for the big and the tinys.

Flipping and flopping

Hey,

Last week we went to a fun park and boy was it fun. Dad bought 30 tokens to use though some rides cost two. The first thing William and I went on was a jumping castle. There were stairs to climb up and a platform and there was another platform on the other side in-between the platforms was a hole 1 meter deep and on the floor of that hole it was more bouncy castle we would bounce on one platform, jump and fall in the hole and bounce back up and then do flip but William only got to bounce down and back up - no flip. Then we went on a sort on trampoline.  We would bounce on the trampoline while being tied to elastic bands, meaning that you would bounce extra high. On every turn you had 2 super bounces and you would go so high that it felt as if nothing will keep you failing down. You can do for flips, backward flips and double fling.

After that we went go kart racing, and my kart crashed 4 times so Will won it instead.

Then we went on a ride with Xavier it was a bouncy castle but with a big hump in the middle. We went bouncy trampolines again. It was tiring.

After lunch, we went on a long walk down to our local park. We followed a path and got a bit lost. There were lots of courses to do. We did some but struggled with others. William, Xavier and I got tired and cranky so Dad decided to go home which was a shame because there were lots to do.

Let's pool fence Venice

Ciao,

After Paris we headed to Turin, part of the home of pizza and pasta and gelato, with our cousins Santi and Holly.  Tania’s husband Giulio showed Xavier and Will Santi’s battery power quad bike which Xavier took a liking to straight away.  Giulio’s pasta will always have a place in our tummies. We have had gelato a lot and I had a granita. 

In Venice, we had to take a boat as a bus every day! Our hotel has two rooms a bedroom and a bathroom (no kitchen). Mum says its normal for a hotel room but I think it is an outrage. We have pizza for dinner nearly every day. I was very worried because Xavier was very close to the water’s edge so I wanted to put pool fencing around the whole of Venice but Dad said it was not possible.

In Pisa, we spent two hours on the way to Genoa. We stopped at the leaning tower and it was really leaning.  I stopped the tower from falling, and then we went to pray so that we could get into the church without paying or waiting in a queue.

In Genoa, we stayed in a bed and breakfast for 3 days. We went to the aquarium. I really liked the dolphins doing tricks and flips, and the chameleon (At the top of the screen in the photo below, who reminded me of my netball team, the Camberwell Chameleons.). On the second day we went to the Citta dei Bambina which is like Scienceworks.  There were lots of things to do including a bubble area, a climbing wall and a real turtle. The bubbles were my favourite because you could blow really big ones.

It's a long way to the top if you want to rock and roll.

Hi,
I have decided that I will climb (or take the lift) to the top of the Eiffel Tower.  The boys visited a war museum called Les Invalides while Mum, Xavier and I were in the queue.   Will and Dad finish their visit before we even start climbing the Eiffel Tower so Mum and Dad let Will jump in the queue with us!  Mum and I stayed in the line for 2½ hours and William does not even have to wait 30 minutes - how unfair!
When we get in the lift William gets upset because he is tired and he thinks the 1^st floor will be cold and scary and he is right, so we quickly take some snaps and hop back in the lift and go to the top.  We look at the view and come down to the 1^st floor in the lift, then we walk all the way down to the ground.

We also go to Le Louvre museum, but the queue is too long so we don't go inside.  We do look around the outside and touch the top of the very tall entrance pyramid.

Parc Asterix - near Paris

Yo,

Will and I are going to Parc Asterix.  We can’t wait but we have to anyway.  It takes a long train ride (11 stops) followed by a bus ride. When we get in the Parc there is a lot of noise (mainly screaming but some laughing).  Our first ride was a little ship that sails in a circle and goes past many parts in the books of Asterix.  When we get off we go to an entrance of a roller coaster.  Will and I are just big enough to go with an adult and there is nobody at the entrance - but when we go in we see the end of the line, which is curved and long!  We end up waiting over an hour.  This is the first roller coaster ride for both Will and I, and it goes very fast.

 

 

After the big ride we have lunch which is a fizzy drink and a baguette.  Then Will and I go on Le Chaises Volants (see picture) and I go on the rocking ship and another roller coaster on my own.  We then go and see dolphins swiming under water (see photo).

Then we go into a haunted house.  The first part is nothing but a corridor but after that there is a train ride.  I give my jumper to Will to wear over his head.  I did not want to because it is my favourite and I have been wearing it every day in France.  As we go through I see fake dead people, a lot of blood, and a prisoner with a hand on the bars.  it was creepy.  When we get out I hug Mum very tightly.  On our trip home I play games with Xavier to stop him from screaming his head off or whacking somebody with the sword that he got.

 

Airport and Air

Bonjour,

I’m so excited. We’re in the airport and we have so many bags that we cannot carry them all. So we get a trolley. We sit in the lounge eating a delicious dinner that consists of jelly, fruit salad, fish cakes and rice. When we get on the plane Will sits next to me and the window, and I sit next to Will and Mum. Who knew it can be so difficult to get to sleep on the plane? I get to sleep at around 2:00am  and wake up at 5:30am Melbourne time. Mum says that we cannot watch our screens until 6:30 but it’s easy to bend the rules.

So excited

Hi all,

Only 3 ½ more days till I hit that plane!!!  I’m so excited I haven’t been able to sleep a wink.  I’m super sleepy. There is so much work to do before going such as packing, cleaning, visiting, saying goodbye and everything in my everyday life.  Any strategies for not losing the plot would be greatly appreciated.  Should I exchange some of my money into Euros before I go to France? But I do not know how much money to exchange. Or should I wait till I’m in France and that way I can  get as much as I need but that way I will have to do it I my free time? Any more ideas on what to pack?