Sunbathing

We had a bit of fun outside on the lawn at Quebec. It was nice and sunny, and really relaxing during our time there.


Bill and I tried to get rid of our white bellies and get a bit of a tan.


We did a bit of spooning in the sun, and promptly fell asleep again.

Sleeping Quebec

While Mom and Dad were out wandering around Quebec, Bill and I slept a lot. It was very resting, as traveling makes us very tired. Sometimes we played Yahtzee while Mom and Dad were gone.


When we weren't actually sleeping, we also played hide and go seek for hours around the B&B. It was a lot of fun.


While we were sleeping, Mom and Dad went to the Quebec Citadelle, where Mom found this stuffed version of Batisse, the regiment's goat mascot. She wanted to take him home, but Dad said that the love of a panda and a platypus should suffice, so Mom did not get him.

Day Out in Quebec City

Bill and I spent a lot of our time in Quebec sleeping and resting up. But we did manage to go out one day and see the city. However, in order to go around the city, we had to be jammed into Dad's backpack all day. Bill kept squashing my face!


Bill and I don't like to be ordinary tourists, who only see the sights and never meet the people. So we made friends with some of the natives here in Quebec.


This is the largest hotel in the city, Le Chateau Frontenac. Mom really wanted to stay there, but they did not accept pandas and platypuses as guests, so we had to settle on a smaller B&B. Because Bill and I felt personally rejected my this affront, we refused to look at it during the pictures. Besides, you wouldn't get to see our adorable faces if we were looking the other way.

Long Journey to Quebec

After four days, we left Toronto and headed to Quebec. First we had to take a bus to Montreal, then we transfered to a train in Montreal. Here we are waiting for the train in Montreal station with Mom.


The train had really big comfortable seats to sit on. It was much nicer than the trains we have taken in England. Strange Panda and I spent most of the time looking out the window. Everything outside the train was moving so quickly. Altogether we spent over 9 hours traveling that day. We were really tired when we finally arrived in Quebec.

Toronto

We started out our Canada trip in Toronto. Toronto has the largest structure in the world right in downtown. It is supposedly 4256.4 platypus tail lengths tall (553.33 meters for you humans), but when I got on top of Strange Panda, I could nearly touch the top of it, so I think it is not really that tall. Mom and Dad went up it and they said it was really tall, but they didn't take us up, so I am not sure if they are telling the truth.


The best part of our time in Toronto was the bike ride around the Toronto Islands. It was a lot of fun, and the weather was great. You can see the Toronto skyline in the background here. There were lots of boats but we couldn't go on any of them but the ferry, as Mom said they were other people's boats.


Mom looks really happy in this picture! That's how fun the bike ride was around the islands.


Here we come, in the first of the bike action shots Dad took.


Here's the close-up as we cycle next to Dad.


You can see my tail poking out from the basket as we cycled past Dad and down the boardwalk.

The Great Canadian Beavers

My favorite part of the whole trip was when we saw the beaver swimming around the Biodome in Montreal. It must be a relative of mine, as we look similar and like to swim in the water. Dad took a video of it so I could watch it again when we got home.

Bike ride in Canada

Starting in July, we took a trip to Canada for a month. It was great fun and Bill got a bit of a tan. I am, sadly, as white (and black) as ever. One of my favorite parts is that we got to take a bike ride around the Toronto Islands, which are islands just off the main part of the city. Dad even captured a video of us riding the bikes.

Eiffel Tower photo shoot

I set Dad's camera on timed photos and tried to get Bill to pose with me in front of the Eiffel Tower.

And then we tried again...

But none of the pictures came out that well as Bill kept pushing me and trying to hog the whole picture with his large snout.

Me and Mom's new waterproof jacket

Here are some old photos of me and Mom when she bought her waterproof red jacket.

Going out with Mary

Mary wanted to play with Liono, since he does not get a chance to leave the house much. Normally he is on guard duty with Rabbito.

Mary kept sneaking me sips of the wine from her glass.

Obviously the alcohol had an effect on both of us.

Time with Sarah

Sarah came to visit us again, so we got to play with her a lot. That was very fun, so I hope she will come again soon.

Sarah likes to sneak rum-filled smoothies to Strange Panda because she is very naughty.

Bill sleeping as always

As usual, Bill was sleeping while I was playing dress up. During the floods in Sheffield we mostly lay around sleeping and watching tv. Not much else for us to do really. Bill wanted to go swim in the water, but Dad said it would be too dangerous because of the currents.

Not much to do

We haven't gotten to go on a trip recently, so we don't have many pictures. Bill and I have been looking through the computer for any pictures we might have missed.

Since we were a bit bored, I decided to reenact The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

I make a lovely caterpillar I think. It also gave me a chance to eat lots of food.

A Visitor

We had Kitty, a visitor, come for the weekend. Helen from work left him there by accident, so he came home to visit us, as we are not far from the office. He got along well with Big Cat in particular.

Sayonara Paris

Tuesday evening we said goodbye to Paris in French ("Sayonara") and headed back home to Sheffield. Bill and I had a comfy ride in the backpack.

Department Store Shopping

Unfortunately, we kept sleeping all through Monday, so we missed a whole day. Tuesday was our last day, so we went shopping in the famous department stores of Paris. This was taken from a walkway in Printemps, which overlooks a cute street.

Bedtime

After such a long day of walking around Paris, Bill and I were definitely ready for a good sleep.

Vegetables for Dinner?

Strangely, Mom and Dad were having vegetables for dinner. I don't think it's natural for pandas to have vegetables to eat: we were made to eat junk food instead.

Dinner Time

That night I had my first taste of French food. I found out that French food tastes a lot like British food.

Nissim

Nissim met us at the Luxembourg Palace gardens. It was very pretty there, so we just sat and talked and talked until the sun went down.

Notre Dame

Notre Dame is a famous church where animals of all shapes and sizes come to visit. It was very crowded that day, so we just took a picture of it from the outside with Mom.

The Louvre

After having hot chocolate, we visited the Louvre, which was once a famous prison, but is now a little-known art museum. It is famous because no one ever escaped from it, although it seems like it would've been easy to me. Strange Panda and I could fit right through the bars. I guess they never had any panda or platypus prisoners: we're just not into criminal behavior like humans are.

Yummy Hot Chocolate

I got to drink some of the hot chocolate, and it was yummy. It was very rich though, just like melted chocolate in a cup.

Angelina's Cafe

On Sunday morning, we went to a fancy cafe called Angelina's which Nissim and Sarah had recommended as having the best hot chocolate.

Town Hall

We made it to the Paris Town Hall after a long walk (it's the building on the left). Apparently the first mayor of Paris was a panda. I bet that's not something many people know. You can also see Notre Dame in the center-back.

Le Fromage - No!

While Bill was stuffing his face with cheese, I found the good stuff hidden away on the other side of the picnic blanket, and it was all mine!

Cheese and Matzah

We had a picnic in a park on Saturday, and it was great. There were all sorts of weird cheeses to eat. I think there was cow cheese and goat cheese, but I didn't see any cheese made from platypus or panda milk: how strange.

I tried matzah bread but I didn't like the taste. I did like the cheese with lots of blue/green bugs hidden in it. That one was the best, on account of the bugs.

Bill the Pillow

Mom got tired after eating all that cheese, so she lay down on her bag. She didn't notice Bill was there and fell asleep right on top of him. I think he got a little squashed.

Pictures with Mom

Mom was taking lots of pictures of us with the Eiffel Tower since we are so attractive, and it makes us look even better.

Earthquake!

There was an earthquake while we were in Paris, and the Eiffel Tower started to fall down. I didn't want it to be like the Leaning Tower of Platypuses, so I jumped on Strange Panda's back, and held it up until the earthquake ended. And that's the story of how I saved the Eiffel Tower from destruction.

The Eiffel Tower

On Friday we went into the center of Paris to see the Eiffel Tower, one of the most famous landmarks of Paris. What Strange Panda doesn't know (Dad told me to keep it a secret), is that this monument is even more famous than Sacre Coeur, and it is to celebrate platypuses. The long, sleek, and attractive design is very indicative of a platpus's body. It's amazing. We didn't get to go to the top though, because so many people wanted to visit it.

Panda Memorial

Mom and Dad went off and visited a Panda memorial today. It was called Sacre Coeur, which Dad said means Sacred Panda. Now I wish I had gotten up to see it instead of sleeping all day.

Apparently a long time ago the city of Paris was threatened by invaders, and the giant panda in the zoo chased them all away. In thanks, the citizens built a giant white and black building to commemorate his kind act. I think that's a wonderful story of how great Pandas are. I hope they will make a Hollywood movie about it soon.

Sleeping Again

Despite the morning sunshine, I convinced Bill that we should go back to sleep and let Mom and Dad go into Paris. I had a bit of a cold, and was exhausted from my Eurostar trip. Panda's aren't made to go underground.

Good Morning Sunshine

This is the room we stayed in in their flat in Paris. It was messy because Bill was throwing all the covers around. Look, Mom is doing some exercises.

Paris!

Mom and Dad took us to Paris for a week-long holiday. We stayed with Dad's friends Nissim and Sarah. They had a daughter named Natasha. She was a cat. I think she might be doing a poo in this picture.