Tidy Teddy joined us on a big trip to Thailand, which is in Southeast Asia. We had a great time and even got to ride an elephant!
Teddy took an elephant ride and a jacuzzi this morning before saying goodbye. Although he doesn’t get out of the suitcase very often, he’s become quite travel-weary.
While we were packing up this morning to head to our next Thai destination, Khao Lak, he decided to retire on this island. I think he’ll be comfortable here.
This summer, I was lucky enough to travel to Venice, Italy, with Ms. England’s Mom and Aunt. We had a great time. Venice is called “the floating city” because it is an island. The only way you can get there is by boat. There are no cars, motorcycles, buses, or bikes in Venice, and the only way to see Venice is to walk or take a small boat, called a gondola. Even food is brought to the island by boat. There are 150 canals and 409 bridges on this island, with the biggest one called “The Grand Canal.” We visited a glass factory, museums, a vineyard and a small shop where a very kind, older man paints beautiful paintings. We also ate lots of pizza and gelato (ice cream). Venice is a beautiful place to visit!
I am traveling in France right now with Mr. Perkins’ mom, Ms. Armstrong. She is taking a group of high school choir students in a group called Footnotes, who will be touring and performing around different parts of France this week. Today, we visited many tourist locations in Paris, France.
I had the most wonderful holiday vacation, traveling with Madeleine and Douglas Armstrong and their parents and grandmother to India. Do you know where that country is? Look it up on your globe, and you’ll see that it’s halfway around the world from Tennessee. It is a beautiful country, but much different in many ways from ours. For one thing, there are elephants and camels walking in the streets! Cars and carts and bicycles and people have to go around them. I rode on a camel with Douglas out in the country. It was a bumpy ride but lots of fun, even though the desert sands blew in my face.
We rode in a motorboat, too, to see a beautiful palace built on rocks right in the middle of a big lake. Isn’t that funny? Why would anyone do that? It was built by a Maharaja (Indian ruler) for protection from enemies. There are also huge walled cities called forts, built high on hills for the same reason. To get to one of them, we rode on an elephant!
Until the airplane was invented, the only way to get to India from America was by boat. On the waterfront of the port city of Mumbai there is a huge arch called the Gateway of India which welcomes visitors. There are always crowds of people passing through and lots of men, women and children trying to sell you food, clothing, balloons and toys or trying to take your picture. We took our own to send to you.
To see India before cars were invented, you had to travel by train. We did, too, in long railroad cars pulled by a big engine. We had a small compartment with two beds to sleep in at night. The motion of the train lulls you to sleep or sometimes jolts you awake, and once in a while other big trains whistle and roar by you, shaking you in bed. Jai and Mandu cooked breakfast for us in the morning.
One of the most beautiful buildings in the world is in India. It’s called the Taj Mahal and is over four hundred years old – older than any building in the United States. Built entirely of white marble, it gleams in the noonday sun but turns pink in the early morning and late in the afternoon when the sun goes down.. Everybody likes to have their picture taken there.
The state bird of India is the peacock which has bright blue and green feathers. The spots in them are called the eye of the peacock and are thought to bring good luck. Look at the picture of me lying on a peacock fan. I’m wishing all of you good luck.
I hope you like my pictures. Maybe someday when you are older you’ll go on a travel adventure and send me pictures. But you know what? It’s nice to come home, too.
Love,
Tidy Teddy
Kristen, Madeleine, Douglas, and Denni next to an elephant
Madeleine, Douglas, and Tidy Teddy about to ride a camel
Douglas, Tidy Teddy, with some camels
TT, Douglas, Madeleine, and their dad at the Lake Palace Boat Ride
TT and Douglas at the Gateway of India
TT, Madeleine, Douglas, Jai, and Mandu outside the train
Tidy Teddy's Travels 