More October Vacation: Kisantu Botanical Gardens, Continued

This was one of my favorite parts of the garden! (Aside from the quiet) My (fake) face upon seeing the 'Crocodile Pond' sign, which I thought was super old and totally a hoax:

And then we got to the 'Crocodile Pond' and had a LONG debate about whether he was real or fake... until he BLINKED! He was REAL! And can sit extremely still for long periods of time. For some reason his mouth open made him seem more fake to me... but he was apparently just trying to be as cool as possible (it was very humid).

Also on our walk, we found this interesting fruit which I immediately christened "Butt Fruit" and then could not stop laughing at my own ridiculousness. Perhaps I am actually a 1st grader?

After regrouping at our rooms, we went for a walk toward the river and found a Doughnut tree!!! (Clearly making up our own names for the plants was more fun than trying to remember the real ones, although it was fun to read the scientific names on the signs.) We are going to be rich! Not sure they taste as good as they look though, unfortunately.

Our walk past the doughnut tree led us to this gorgeous view of the Inkisi River. So pretty.

We ate an early dinner and walked a bit more before playing games and turning in for the night.

October Vacation: Kisantu Botanical Gardens

Greetings to all - Sorry for my prolonged absence. School is, as usual, insane, and I am feeling like all the pictures I could take and comments I could make would just be the same as last year at this time... so no overly inspired. Please ask and I will try to work on posts more regularly.

This past weekend, the beginning of our October break, I traveled with two fellow teachers on a road trip south west of Kinshasa. Originally we had intended to go to the beach, but that started to seem far so we decided on some more nearby destinations. On Sunday morning, we headed out in a 2 car convoy to the Kisantu Botanical Gardens. Aside from one joker trying to scare our pants off by pulling out in front of us, we had a pleasant and lovely drive to Kisantu, about 2 hours away, maybe a little less. (It's a ways out past where you turn to go to the Bonobo Sanctuary that I wrote about last year)

We arrived, figured out our accommodations (part of the dormitories for students of the horticulture school located inside the gardens) and started walking. I was flabbergasted by the QUIET and incredibly beautiful sights. First, the lily pond at the entrance. Oh how lovely.

Then, the monkey arm branch trees with their super-cool long pine cones.

As was pointed out - we had now spent 10 minutes and been approximately 20 yards. Everything was so cool.

There were these really cool covered areas with roofs made from vines... and in them, some hanging gardens including this cool orange flower.

I loved these super spiky plants - you would think in a garden where everything was labeled, I would know their names... but it got a bit overwhelming... and I was still just completely blown away by the quiet!

We saw just GORGEOUS Eucalyptus trees - like impressionist-painted trees!

And these trees with roots that looked like sleeping dinosaurs to me!

We came to an Impatiens looking tree, as well as a pretty banana tree!

We also got transfixed for several minutes playing with the touch-me-not plants... it's addictive (though probably not nice to scare the plants like that!)

That's all the internet will upload for now (or all I have the patience for the internet to upload for right now) but I will post more. These pictures are only from like the first two hours! 

Vacation Post #4 - England (and Briefly Belgium)

On Monday morning we headed out through the Channel tunnel to NATALIE! Brief walk around Latimer Road (not a street, just a Tube stop, or the Tube stop and the street are not near each other, or something...) and Notting Hill but not much doing that day. It was at this point that I had gotten sick and exhausted and spent the next two days (aside from a lunch outing to the Russian embassy with Natalie) flat on the couch while Lat roamed the city streets unaccompanied. We spent Tuesday evening at The Lion King, one of the best things I have ever seen. Ever. (Even though my ticket is upside down.)

And Wednesday evening cooking (or watching Lat cook) spring rolls before heading to York Thursday morning to see Emily and Dan. We had a lovely tour of York, it's minster (not cathedral), grocery stores, and the wall surrounding the city that you can tell is very very not American because there are no guard rails to be seen! Fish and chips for dinner, up the next morning to briefly glimpse Emily's castle (Conisbrough Castle to everyone else) on our way to Roche Abbey where Emily was working for the day. She VERY kindly bought us a guide book and we wandered through the ruins figuring out what the crazy monks did in each "room." ie square grassy area enclosed by some stones. We also walked in the woods around the Abbey and were kindly fetched by Emily's parents mid-afternoon to head on another outing to see the Major Oak in Sherwood Forest and find Robbin Hood's special cows... of course! Here lies the last photo I took! (Not sure what keeps their horns from growing into their noses?) 

Lovely dinner eating early-anniversary savory pie and panna cotta and birthday breakfast for Emily's dad before we headed to the wedding. Jonny and Rosie were married in a gorgeous ceremony in a gorgeous location where we played word games & croquet, ate and ate and ate, danced and tented out... overall a great time. Sunday morning we boarded an ill fated train to London... and after about 5 hours of 'this platform, no that platform, no this platform' we finally arrived, the only travel hiccup of the whole trip. We said our goodbyes and I boarded a train to Brussels to stay with another friend Emily for tea and ice cream before heading out early the next morning. Safe and sound and arrived in America, we certainly have an epic trip to look back on! I spent a lovely summer at home and arrived back in Kin on July 29th to prepare for two weeks of teacher orientation, new teachers and then all of us. It has been busy! Just catching my breath after the first week of school. 

Vacation Post #3 - France

Lat's idea of 'constant vigilance'... catching up on zzzzzzzzzzs before the loud talker got on the bus!

We arrived in Lyon EARLY in the morning and headed to our hostel on foot (not exactly close, but what else were we going to do at that point in the day? "I believe I was misled on how far this was" said a grumpy Lat who had listened to LOUD Arabic phone conversation all night...) where we were welcomed very warmly even considering that we were sleep deprived, cranky and smelly. The hostel let us shower, leave our bags and eat breakfast even though we were not technically paying customers until that evening. We headed out to see some lovely early morning sights in Lyon. Up the stairs of course. (Elephant Church below, no we did not see Sparky the pigeon Natalie) 

It was gorgeous but it didn't change the fact that we were exhausted. 

Attempting to find the kayak rental place on the river was a fail, so we walked back to our hostel and conked out. Post-napping kebabs and boggle made for a nice evening. 

The next morning we got up for Lat to have an early morning fiddle concert in the Roman amphitheater.. up the stairs AGAIN... then we boarded the train for PARIS! Greeted by large vans of gun wielding policemen on both ends of the street leading to our apartment, we were forced to speculate that we were staying at the site of (a) a VERY unsubtle stake-out or (b) the residence of someone important. After an eventful time trying to figure out which apartment our keys went to, we headed out for some walking (Lat) and laundry (me). After Lat attempted to get back in the apartment and was questioned by MORE police (undercover this time) we got groceries and stayed indoors!  

Saturday, June 27th was spent on an epic (4mph) walking tour of Paris. Courtyard of the Louvre:

Arc de Tripmphe

Eiffel Tower (Stairs! I was expecting it by that point)

Napoleon's Tomb

June 28th was spent as a museum day! Musee d'Orsay and Musee de l'Orangerie were both very pleasant and worth the visit. (I have been to Orsay when it was under construction and underwhelming, not the case this time!)

France was lovely! Tiny lofted apartment was a little hot but very suitable, good location and a good fan to cool off the loft. We ate yummy falafel, saw lots of parades and interesting people watching, and had a good time.

Vacation Post #2 - Italy

After debarking from the ferry (debarking the ferry?) on June 20th we entered the small city of Brindisi by bus and located our gorgeous B&B where we deposited our bags. We spent an afternoon trying to deal with confusing bus boarding directions (Brindisi tourism department, while VERY well meaning, didn't have the most fluent English speakers as employees) and I was about ready to throw in the towel, but Lat was very persistent and we managed to make it to the SEA!

Where we observed banana hammocks and ridiculous jetskiers (in photo above) and played BOGGLE!

The next day, Sunday the 21st, we boarded a train to take us to our Roman apartment. It was HUGE and very pleasant, with his and hers bedrooms and a large living room. Lat played some mind games (and electrical games) with the washing machine, but other than that we really enjoyed our accommodations. 

We took a mammoth walk the next day to take in the sights, starting with, of course, some Roman walls (and pretty flowers and clouds, you would think I had never seen clouds before) 

The Colosseum (I know I should have made it so there was sunlight on the building but otherwise I like the picture. Colosseum on the right, obvs) and more clouds...

The Pantheon - I had been there but never been inside and overall was underwhelmed by the decor but the round hole in the top is insanely cool. 

And Piazza Navona, where I was very excited by the bird on this guy's head...

The next day, Tuesday the 23rd, we headed to the Vatican (early!) and climbed all the stairs to the top of St. Peter's Basilica for this view: (bugs me now that I did not center myself - or the camera?!? we were marveling at how far the symmetry goes.)

And then down to look back up at where we had been standing:

And then inside where we combined Lat's love of marble (or whatever stone this is?!?!) with Ellen's love of taking feet-standing-places pictures: 

And (gee this is a lot of 'and') admired the baldacchino (and the dudes cleaning it: "What did you do today honey?" "Well I got into my safety harness and was lifted to the top of the 98 foot baldacchino to do a little light dusting.")

It looks like wood but according to Wikipedia is actually bronze.

We spent our afternoon eating all-you-can-eat sushi and (hilariously) making the rounds of Italian post offices and Mailboxes Etc.

The next day, the 24th, we began what I think Lat would call the longest bus ride of his life... with short old wavy haired driver and his assistant (though this was much debated) the taller younger short haired driver (goodness it would have been simpler to ask their names!) We endured at least one if not more life-and-death our-bus-driver-thinks-he's-in-a-race moments and arrived in FRANCE at 5am Thursday the 25th. Lyon doesn't have a lot going on at 5am.... but that is for the next post.

Vacation Post #1 - Greece

Lat (friend from Enosburg) and I were in Athens for three days, June 16, 17, and 18 we spent them in a lovely small Air-B&B apartment (only quirk being the lack of shower curtain) overlooking Mount Lycabettus and a hilarious demolition site that provided hours of amusement. You would only have to see Lat's pictures to know just how amusing it was.

June 16th was arrival day, and then on June 17th we hiked Mount Lycabettus (rather quickly)

to look out over the Parthenon as you can see below. I thought the "trees" were cool.

On June 18th, we went to the Parthenon - I was very taken with the clouds and attempting not to get other tourists in photos. Success? In a nutshell: It was pretty, and old, and pretty old.

We then walked down and entered the Agora near the Acropolis to find this building, the Stoa of Attalos, which made all the parts of me that are obsessed with logic and order and uniformity (a lot of parts of me!) sing with joy.

As the skies darkened, we headed down the hill to Temple of Zeus the where this toppled column made me (a) hungry for pepperoni (b) impressed with the craftsmanship of these insanely old and still super perfect structures. Apparently that fell over in 1852 and has just been hanging out there since then! 

Lightning started threatening as we entered the Panathenaic Stadium, but that did not stop us from climbing all the way to the top and then making our way down to run around. (Complete laps for both of us! Not like the other lame tourists who just ran a short portion for photo ops!) It was built in marble in 329BC (just a few years ago, you know) and had it's fair share of ups and downs before being reconstructed to host the first modern Olympics in 1896. With seating exactly like Centennial field before the new seating upgrade.

We got inside (mostly) before it started to rain. (Some of the only real rain we saw the whole trip.) Later we headed to the ocean in Athens (which turns out to be just a whole lot of ferry boats, including the boat filled with bajillions of our closest friends who had been on the Parthenon tour with us earlier in the day.

Overall, I enjoyed Athens... so much good fruit, relatively cheap prices for food (keep in mind I was arriving from Kinshasa) and attractions (we bought one ticket for the Parthenon that also got us in to the Agora and Temple of Zeus, the Stadium was a bit more but not bad),VERY nice guy who showed us into and out of our apartment, EXTREMELY lovely bakery near our apartment with amazing olive bread, fun food market near our house where we got good cheese and sausages, helpful man who pointed us toward the bus station, (relatively) cheap metro tickets, resulting in an overall very pleasant impression of the city. Greek is difficult (it really is all Greek to me) but with Lat and his trusty hand written alphabet, we were all set.

Midday on June 19th we boarded a bus to travel north (looked a lot like Corsica) to Igoumenitsa to catch our ferry that night. I was very very taken with the chimney toppers that everyone seemed to have... I thought they looked like birds, but I imagine they are made to funnel the smoke a certain way?!?!

We played a LOT of boggle over milkshakes and sandwiches and boarded our ferry at 2am June 20th to head for ITALY!

Pagne Fashion Revue (Some Vacation Preview)

Realized that since my first picture of my first purple skirt with matching bag, I have not documented any of my pagne clothing on the blog. After this, I think I will put up some (more) vacation photos.

Purple star fabric shirt (with friends at a birthday party)

Bubbles fabric shirt (with pink on the back, Athens photo by Lat)

Purple matching fabric dress (bus from Athens to Igoumentisa, photo by Lat)

Blue/Yellow/Orange and Blue/Purple/Green dresses (same pattern, Rome photo by Lat)

At a friend's wedding in Britain while on vacation:

 Looking altogether too serious for the occasion?!?!? And that hair...:

Both photos taken by a friend of Rosies, I was much too tired for photos by that point!

There are also two more skirts and many bags in all kinds of different makes/models. Will need to get more fabric hung on the wall and more ideas in my head for new projects. Christmas will be upon us soon....