The Chocoholic

DAMIEN?

2006-12-05T01:29:00.000-08:00

as u probably know damien leith won aussie idol 06.......... grrrrrrr aneway hes a good singer an everythin BUT i personally am a jess fan...... :) GO JESS!!!

o well.............. bi the way i did 2 posts in 1 nite!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GO ME!

me and mi fellow random friends!!!

2006-12-05T01:23:00.000-08:00

well i did say that in would be posting more often..... well as u can see i lied....... whoops!!!!

eneway...... check out one of mi best friendzzz blogs on randomkaren.blogspot.com

thx mi wonderful readers i love u all equally!!!
xo

another day

2006-11-09T01:30:00.000-08:00

This is one of the poems I wrote last week. Hope you enjoy!

ANOTHER DAY

Why did you go?
Why did you leave?
I want you to stay,
to say here with me,
I know you’re scared,
I know you're angry,
but with me
you'll always have a friend
I know with all my heart
that I will try
to be here for you
to make you feel safe
to help you live another day.

By Ali Holt

camp!

2006-11-03T22:07:00.001-08:00

I have been at camp for a whole week! It was so much fun! although im not going to bore you with the details! So ill show you a few pictures!

1. is alo fooling around on the L O N G bus trip
2. kaz, my faithful bus buddy
3. izzy
4. caleb.. grr
5. shoza givin us peace!
6. the quiet 'holy' place.. really beautiful!
7. such a beautiful lancape
8. we went to a dairy farm in bairnsdale, we saw so much cool stuff but this is the only thing i managed to take a picture of!
9. us on the toona foam... the slowest boat ever!!!

well thats not all, but thats when my photos ran out!!!

Australian Idol

2006-10-12T19:23:00.000-07:00

I love Australian Idol! i watch every episode! I think its a great show because it gives young people who have worked most of their lives to be able to sing really well a chance to share their talent with millions!
Here are pictures of some of my favorites.
>

If you watch the show already then... GO YOU! if you dont next Sunday you have free i highly reccomend watching Idol at 7:30 on channel 10!

Rowing with Reem

2006-09-13T01:26:00.001-07:00

Today I went rowing on the Yarra River. We went with Mum's good friend Reem. It was so much fun. We rowed for over an hour. Nathaniel, Mummy, Reem and I took turns with the rowing. Dad was at work so we texted him pictures just to make him jealous! The rowing was really hard, much harder than it looks, and we didn't really go very fast until we got the hang of the river. It's tiring and I wouldn't like to do it too often. We saw lots of ducks, too, and we fed them some stale day-old scones from the boat.

After we finished rowing, Nathaniel tied the boat up and then we went to The Vegie Bar for lunch. It's in Fitzroy. We had eleven different plates of food that our friend Reem ordered, but I got nachos for myself. They were yummy.

We had a great time! I would love to do it again.

hello.. its been years!

2006-09-06T02:59:00.000-07:00

hello everyone!
i luv u all! i havent written in ages! i have had writers blog! hahahahaha! lol!!
welll from now on u will get more writing from the chocoholic... i swear!
bi bi
ali

Some sad news

2006-07-12T04:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, unfortunately, my cat Aimee died. All I can say is I will miss her very much. I will miss her laying in my bed with me and biting my hair in the morning, calling me to feed her, and having her sit in my lap when I read. She was just a tiny kitten when we first met. And I loved her from the very beginning.

Goodbye Aimee

The Goss

2006-07-11T03:33:00.000-07:00

hey pplz! watzup my homies? im good. oh i just had 2 tell youes thats im converted from a lollyholic to a chocoholic! do i rok or do i rok?? i rok!i just discovered that chocolate is the best thing in the world!! its so sweet and creamy... well, dont get me started on it!
thanx alot pplz!
*muah*, ali, aka chocoholic!!

Holiday in ‘Haven

2006-06-24T17:25:00.000-07:00

The waves crashing against the rocks, the wind whistling through the trees and the faint sound of birds singing a beautiful song. The landscape is majestic. Wherever you go there is always something to explore. The smell of fresh air is wonderful. I cannot believe how lucky we are to have stayed in such an amazing place.

Dad, Nathaniel and I have just returned from a week at a friend’s house in a place called Fairhaven along the Great Ocean Road.

On the first day we decided to take a long walk into the forest and see where it took us. We took one of the entrances nearest to the house and walked up a very large and steep hill. Then we turned left and just kept walking. It was quite a way to the end of the trail so all of us had sore legs. When we got to the end I forgot about my legs and was hypnotised by the view. It was magnificent! It felt like you could see the world.

Another one of my favourite things was feeding the birds. They come around dusk to our balcony. They are called King Parrots and their feathers are a stunning red, green and yellow. If you put some bird seed into your hand the birds will come and perch themselves on your arm without hesitation and eat out of your hand. It was magic! We also fed the kookaburras that came and perched in the tree just by the balcony. We threw little parcels of meat to them and they would catch it. So cool!

Other highlights:

• Watching movies like Mostly Martha, To Kill a Mockingbird and Steel Magnolias

• Having walks down the beach and collecting shells

• The spa!

• Being with my family (but missing Mum)

leTTeR tO whOevEr inVeNteD tHe hOliDaYs!

2006-06-15T03:42:00.000-07:00

To Whom It May Concern,

YAY!
YES!
SCORE!
It’s finally here. Tomorrow, it’s finally school holidays. I’m saved. Thankyou whoever invented holidays! I know you probably up there listening… But remember never doubt your actions… you saved all the good little children… if there were no holidays they would be up there with you… you changed the world. I know this probably makes no difference but I am still going to say… I’m proud of you.

Yours truly and respectfully,

Ali Holt

P.S To others reading this letter of pure respect and thankfulness, I know it is very random and extremely weird. But don’t worry I’ve taken my pills
P.P.S haha

Singin' at the Fed

2006-06-06T03:34:00.001-07:00

On Saturday, the performing choir that I am in at Carey—it’s called Vivace—got the chance to perform at BMW Edge, a very cool performance space at Federation Square. The space is like entering a kaleidoscope. It’s made up of different sized triangles of glass pieced together like a puzzle. The floor and seats are made of shiny deep brown wood. It’s really awesome! Even better, when you look out you can see the Yarra river flowing by.

The event was part of Melbourne Youth Music’s Festival Lumiere. We were performing with five other school choirs and a special choir called Voxsynergy! Everyone, no matter which choir you were part of, had to wear a white t-shirt and jeans. And we had to get there two and a half hours early! It was a LONG day. The performance didn’t begin until 4.30pm and didn’t finish until 6.00. But it was all worth it! Vivace sung three songs among lots of other songs from the other choirs and two combined songs including the finale. It was an amazing experience! I felt very proud to be part of something that sounded so professional. I can’t wait to do it all again!

piccie time!

2006-05-16T20:56:00.000-07:00

here are some cute but cool pictures

My mum

2006-05-16T03:29:00.000-07:00

Last week it was Mother's Day. To my mum, Mother's Day is not a big deal. She says that everyday is Mother's Day. Even though she doesn't think it's such a big deal, Nathaniel and I always make sure that she has a great day!

I wrote my mum a card and a newspaper article describing her and the reasons that I love her. I also bought her some chocolates and we gave her breakfast in bed. Then we went out for lunch with Grandma, Grandad and Uncle Ben.

As my mum was talking to everyone, I started to think if I could come up with a few words that descibe my mum. This is what I think: Extreverted, Passionate, Loving, Worrysome, Protective, Caring, Persistant, Wonderful, Thoughtful, Hardworking, Always giving her best, Beautiful, Daring... AND JUST THE BEST MUM EVER!!!!!

You are a sweet angel!

U ROCK MY WORLD!

xoxo

Suggestions for my birthday

2006-05-03T03:06:00.001-07:00

Dear friends,

As you know already (because you have it marked in your diary), and because you've been counting down the days since LAST May, it's my birthday in just SEVEN more sleeps! But you already knew that, didn't you?

As your good and thoughtful friend, I feel the least I can do is supply you with all of the important birthday information that you will need to make your celebration (of me) a memorable one!

First, birthday messages can be sent in advance, either through a lovely card or perhaps some flowers (and chocolates) couriered to my home. Alternatively, you may want to send me a surprise message on the day itself. Text messages are fine, or emails if you prefer. Or, if you are old fashioned like my Dad, just give me a call on the telephone!

Second, all offers of celebratory hot chocolates at Max Brenners will be treated on a first-come first-serve basis. I can not possibly fit in any more than 12 appointments. Unless of course you suggest a dessert too, and then I'll see what I can do.

Third, I am happy to provide a list of little inexpensive expressions of your love and admiration. Here are my suggestions:

1. a pink convertible with black leather seats
2. a gift certificate for Urban Angel clothing stores, to the value of, say ... $1,000
3. a penthouse in the city, or, alternatively, a night in the luxury suite at the Windsor Hotel
4. dinner at the Flower Drum with 19 of my closest friends

Of course, if you are wanting to spend a little more, just let me know and I'll send you the 'executive package' of celebratory options.

Warmest regards,

Ali
xxxx

42nd Street

2006-04-16T17:08:00.000-07:00

Every year at my school, Carey Grammar, there are musicals performed by the Senior, Middle and Junior schools. This year, the Senior school performed the Broadway show 42nd Street. They practiced for nearly a year and finally released the performance to the paying public only two weeks ago. Our family decided to give it a try.

It was wonderful show, amazing! It was a song-and-dance spectacular full of great acting and songs, and the most amazing dance routines. The lighting was great, the costumes were dazzling and the music was catchy!

After the performance Nathaniel asked Mum “So how many of those actors were professionals?” The fact is, although the show was organised by professionals, every performer was a student from Carey and no older than seventeen!

Overall it was a great show and experience. Well done everyone!

My blog word cloud

2006-03-23T13:19:00.000-08:00

Chugga chugga toot toot!

2006-03-01T00:54:00.000-08:00

It all happened on the day of our school excursion into the city. The plan was for all the Grade Fives to visit the City Museum and the Immigration Museum. It was all to do with our lessons on gold and gold mining.

Not everything went to plan. On the way, at the busy Flinders Street station, we had all gotten off the train. Suddenly, the train doors closed behind us. But, oh dear, poor Mr Del Prete, my lovely teacher (not!) didn’t make it. Somewhere, on the way to the train door he must have gotten lost. Perhaps he saw a feather in the corner! We looked back to see Mr Del Prete looking desperate through the window at us. He looked so frightened, his little nose pressed up against the glass! We all began to laugh hysterically … even Mr Dooley! Still, we had an excursion to get on with. So we watched as the train moved away, with poor Mr Del Prete looking at us like a stunned rabbit. Good bye Mr Del Prete. We’ll miss you!

New school

2006-02-01T00:12:00.000-08:00

Three days ago, I began school at Carey Baptist Grammar School. It’s in Kew and we have to catch a train to get there. The first day was lonely … very lonely! But every day, it just gets better. I’ve now made three friends, and I’m adjusting to the uniform quite well … though I still think it’s daggy! Assembly was VERY different. Instead of just announcements and stuff, we sang hymns and prayed. It felt like church. Instead of just doing sport on the playground, we catch a bus to a special sports facility in Bulleen. It is part of Carey and has a pool, playing fields, and lots of tennis courts. It’s huge! My teacher’s name is Mr Del Prete. He is very funny.

Even though I miss all my friends, I think Carey will be a great experience. I’ll keep you posted!

Home Sweet Home!

2006-01-27T01:02:00.000-08:00

I’m home! And I’m lovin' it! Even though Texas was such a great experience and a lot of fun, I could never live there forever.

I have to admit, I am missing so many people! I made heaps of great friends and Mum’s rellies are wonderful! I'm also missing all of the animals ... especially Papa’s cows! But, like I said, it’s great to be back and to see every one here again!

The Cancer Walk

2005-12-03T18:40:00.000-08:00

On a cold Texas night, I walked to find a cure … a cure for cancer that is. Well, actually, I walked to raise money so that other people could find a cure! Cancer has taken the lives of my grandmother and two of her sisters, not to mention many other friends of our family. So for the Belton Cancer Walk we got together a team of fifteen people, all members of mum’s extended family. We called our team The Southerland Sidekicks. Aunt Sue-Sue was our team leader. She did so much work! We had to put up a tent, have things to sell and share, and have a team member walking around the track all through the night.

We got the local football stadium at around 6:00 pm. Along with all the other teams, we put up our tent and decorated it, then they had an opening ceremony. All the cancer survivors got to do the first lap of the oval, carrying balloons and with hundreds of people cheering for them from the sidelines. They we all dressed in purple. I think that they looked perty! Then everyone else got to walk too. In fact, we walked--at least one member of each team--all through the night. I walked for three hours straight, from 2.00 to 5.00am. It was freezing!

We had lots of funny laps of the track. There was the poker lap (I did that one!), the chicken dance, the purple lap, the backwards lap, the silent lap, and heaps of others too. I had lots of fun, but when I got home I slept nearly the whole day!

The end!

The Latest!

2005-11-15T16:52:00.000-08:00

My school, Sparta Elementary, has a Christmas play every year. This year it’s called The Grumpiest Elf In Town. It’s about an elf who isn’t happy. She’s the head elf in Santa’s workshop. Unlike all the other elves, she’s grumpy. Of course, in the end it all gets resolved: she’s happy again!

All the fourth and fifth grade girls were allowed to try out for the lead role. Of course, I did! Like everyone else, I had to sing a solo and act a bit. After the first audition, there were six girls chosen for the finals, and I got to be one of the six!! This time I had to sing three different solos and act again. I was really nervous. Afterwards I felt sure that I’d missed out. Everyone else seemed to be so talented. The next day, the music teacher, Mrs Dudley, called me over and told me that I’d won!!! I got the lead role as the grumpiest elf!!! Needless to say, I was very happy.

The show is in December. I have 12 pages of lines to learn and five songs. I’m nervous, very nervous, but excited too! I hope it goes well.

Sparta Pride

2005-10-25T05:52:00.000-07:00

Lots of people have asked me how school in Texas is different from school at home. The school I go to here is called Sparta Elementary School. Here are some things that stand out:

1. We don’t have any recess, and we only get 15 minutes to eat lunch.
2. We have lunch in the cafeteria. The food is atrocious so I often bring my lunch with me. Dad makes the best salami wraps (Dad wrote that)!
3. We have LOTS of tests. They are called benchmark tests and they are set by the government. I think we spend more time doing tests than learning anything!
4. We change classes, with different teachers in different rooms.
5. We have a school nurse and a school counsellor.
6. School is one big building with lots of corridors. It seems very big. You never have to go outside
7. We have to say, “Yes sir! No sir! Yes ma’am! No ma’am!” You have to call the teachers Mr and Mrs whatever.
8. We don’t have a snack time.
9. They call excursions field trips, toilets restrooms, jumpers sweaters, and brackets parentheses.
10. We have a school song, and every morning we have to stand up, place our right hands on our hearts and say the Pledge of Allegiance (which I’m still trying to learn).
11. There are no uniforms.
12. Friday is Tiger Pride day and everybody wears red from head to toe. That is fun!
13. Nobody walks to school. There are buses to pick you and take you home. My brother and I thought that was pretty cool. We ride bus 19, but only one day a week when we go to Mamie’s house. Lots of kids get picked up by their parents too.
14. We work much harder, but I don’t think we learn anything more because of it. I hope my teacher doesn’t read this!
15. Girls care a lot more about boys!
16. We have Science and we have Social Studies.
17. We have milk every day. And it’s chocolate!

I really like it here. I have made some good friends and I think my teachers are cool. But I miss my school back home and some of the ways we do things there. I can’t wait to go home!

Camp, God and Me

2005-10-20T05:50:00.000-07:00

Over the summer I went to youth camp, a Christian camp for 10-12 year olds. They call it a pre-teen camp! We travelled there on a bus and I sat next to my friend Emily. It took three whole boring hours, but we got to stay for an entire week. It was great!

When we got to the campsite we took our luggage into our dorms and made our beds. The rest of that first day consisted of eating, resting and, of course, chatting. We were aloud to go to bed at 10:30pm. For most people this was no big deal but for me it was a treat! (Thanks for nothin’ Mum and Dad!). Our counsellor’s name was Mrs. Digby and she was very nice.

The highlight of every day was going to the lake. It was really fun. There were BANANA BOATS, two big inflated bananas stuck together and pulled along by a boat. There were four people on each banana. We had to wear life jackets, of course. Then there was THE BLOB, a huge inflated pillow with someone sitting on the edge. Another person would jump off a diving board onto the pillow and the person sitting on the edge would fly up into the air and fall into the water with an enormous splash. Next there was THE ICEBERG, an huge slippery inflated glacier with handle bars. You had to climb to the top and when you got there you jumped into the water.

In the afternoons, we did other activities, like THE POWER POLE and THE ZIP LINE. The pole was about 20 metres from the ground. You had to climb a ladder, in a harness, and then jump off a platform onto the pole. If you missed, the harness would lower you down slowly onto squishy stuff. Hardly anyone did the pole because it was so scary, but I did! The zip line was like a flying fox, except much more exciting. There were other things too: BMX bikes, rifle ranges and archery. It was SO SO SO fun!!!!!!!

Every night we had worship. We sang a lot and had a lot of fun. We had a special guest speaker for the whole week. He was a ventriloquist, he had puppets and he was hilarious.

The most memorable part of the week was that I decided to become a Christian. It was not an easy decision. Before I went to the camp, I wasn’t even sure if I believed in God. I had decided on our camping holiday last January that I was an agnostic, in other words, I just didn’t know what to think about God. But at the camp, the man who talked to us taught me a lot of things I hadn’t known and made me think differently. Before I went to camp, Daddy told me to listen with my head and my heart. When I got to camp, the man told me the same thing. It felt really good. I still am not sure about lots of things to do with God. I still have lots of questions, but God seems more real to me now and that’s enough.

Lounging by the lake

2005-10-13T06:02:00.000-07:00

I am so glad that the summer is nearly over. It has been stinkin’ hot every day for months. About 105 degrees in the shade. But even though me and heat are not good friends, there is one thing I will miss about summer. And that one thing is spelled L A K E! Camping by the lake!! One of my best summer memories is when Mamie and Papa took me, Nathaniel and my cousins Kloe and Kameron to the lake to camp for a whole week.

The days went like this. After a lazy sleep-in every morning I would wake up to the smell of breakfast a’ cookin’. Papa would usually make breakfast burritos with sausage and egg. Yum! After breakfast we would get ready to go out on the boat, a BIG boat for that matter. First stop: the perfect place to swim. We got to jump right off the boat into really deep, deep water! It was at least 20 metres deep! We had to wear life jackets of course. After a long swim we would hop back into the boat for lunch. But waiting for our lunch to go down before we could swim again was nearly torture! In the afternoon we took up the anchor and found ourselves a private swimming hole in the cove. Of course, we swam all afternoon.

Dinnertime came around, eventually. Sometimes we would have hamburgers on the barbecue back at the campsite. Other times we would go to Jack in the Box, a really popular fast food place here. There we would eat… hamburgers! As you can see, hamburgers were an important part of our holiday diet!

Then every night at 6.00, we got to watch a movie before snuggling into bed for the night. As they say in Texas, it was AWESOME!

My poem!

2005-10-05T13:52:00.000-07:00

This is a poem I wrote for school. I hope you like it.

I WONDER WHY?

I wonder why the sky is blue and why we have to get the flu?
I wonder why?

I wonder why people don’t have homes and sometimes live in Super-domes?
I wonder why?

I wonder why some people are poor with nowhere to sleep but on the floor?
I wonder why?

I wonder why the grass is green and why I have to eat my beans?
I wonder why?

I wonder why people drink beer and get too many piercings in their ears?
I wonder why?

I wonder why I go to school and sit all day and think and drool?
I wonder why?

I wonder why some people smoke and why doctors pry and poke?

I WONDER … ?

By Ali Holt
Reflections, October 2005

Get me out'a here!

2005-09-27T06:56:00.000-07:00

Finally, we are headed to Texas. It means an early morning as we get ourselves to the airport ready to catch our plane. We get there at least 2 hours early because it is only a ‘domestic’ flight (that means a flight within the same country). We arrive to find a long line. No, make that long, long, long, long, long, long, long line! It curls around the whole airport. There are LOTS of very angry people at the end of the line with us! We meet a very nice lady who is right in front of us. She is about 25 and very concerned about missing her flight.

An hour later and we are no closer to the front than when we started. Mummy starts to panic. So do I. What are we going to do? We will miss our flight if we don’t do something. Daddy looks so calm, but he just doesn’t understand our situation. Mum takes off to try and find some help. Finally she comes back and drags us forward all the way to the front. The nice lady in front of us comes along too! But when we get there, the check-in person is very angry with us. She tells us that we have missed our flight and that we should have been here earlier. So she gives us tickets for another flight.

Relieved, we leave to make our way to the gate. But first we have to go through another LONG line to go through security. When we finally get to the front of the line, the security people get very angry. Not with us but with the check-in lady. She put ‘strip search’ instructions on all our tickets, including me and Nathaniel. So one of the security people march us back to the check-in desk and demand that we are given other tickets. They gave other tickets to me and Than, but Mum and Dad have to go through a special security check. Luckily, they didn’t have to take off their clothes!! But they did have to undo some things, but maybe I shouldn’t tell you all about that!

By that time we still have ten minutes to get our flight. We run to the gate, and find that we are now stand-by passengers. Sure enough, the flight is overbooked and we get bumped off! This happens at least six times. And every time we get told to step aside. Until finally there were two seats to Chicago with a connecting flight to Texas. But only two of us can go. We decide that Mummy and I will take the seats and leave Dad and Nathaniel to get on another flight. It is awful, because they may not get on a flight until the next day. When me and Mum get on the plane we are both very upset and nervous. There are even some tears in Mum’s eyes.

To make a long story short, we finally arrive in Texas at 7.00 at night. And that’s after getting to the airport in New York at 6.00 that morning. It was a LONG day! We find out, after a long time, that Nathaniel and Dad did get on a flight much later in the day but will not arrive until 9.30 that night.

Anyway, when get to the Austin airport, Mamie (my Texas grandma) and lots of other people are waiting there for us. It is wonderful to see them all. We are in TEXAS! HOORAY!!!! :)

Nifty in New York

2005-09-22T08:04:00.000-07:00

After ten days in London we leave. This time we fly with British Airways. Although we are in economy (again) I sleep most of the way! When we finally get to New York we go directly to our hotel, the Helmsley. After putting down our bags and checking out the view, we head straight to Times Square and explore.

There are people everywhere pushing and shoving like they are in a big hurry! We finally agree to go to Times Square Church. It is Mum’s idea and I’m not sure, but I soon change my mind. The church is in an old theatre. The entrance foyer has a huge chandelier, the biggest one I’ve ever seen! There are long, red and gold droopy curtains hanging from the top of the stage. The place was so old the walls were crumbling. But it is beautiful!! We decide to sit in the balcony very high up so we can see everything! The church has people of all different colours and cultures. It's great! And you should hear the music. Wow!

After the service (we have to leave early as Nathaniel falls asleep in the middle of the singing!) we find a small deli to eat in. Nathaniel and I share a pizza. Afterwards it is quite late so we decide to go to our hotel but the walk back is fantastic! It is quite dark so all the lights of the city are on!

Back at the hotel Nathaniel and me basically faint onto the bed. It has been a very long day!

In the morning we slump out of bed tired but eager to do everything in our short three-day stay. My dad and an unusual liking for walking are a perfect match, unfortunately, so that includes walking everywhere! We walk to central park, which is the most humongous park you will ever set your eyes on!! Of course, we don’t walk through the entire park. That would take days! The park also has a zoo stuck right in the middle of it. We decide not to go there because it is raining! Instead, we go to a small bookstore nearby the zoo, also in the park. And we discover the one and only BIBLE MAN! He even has a costume! From our point of view he doesn’t look very super! He is screaming very loud!!

By that afternoon our legs are aching. We have basically WALKED over the whole of New York!! We sit in front of the TV watching cartoons on cable. I love America!

My impressions of New York: busy, fantazmagorical, shops, loud, big, Manhattan, people crowded everywhere, hawkers painting pictures, aching feet (thanks Dad!), bagels, shops, walking, fun! I love it!!

Heaven in Hamleys

2005-09-22T07:58:00.000-07:00

One of my favourite places we visit in London is Hamleys: an amazing toy store near Piccadilly Circus. It has 6 levels. The stairwell between each level is filled with Harry Potter scenes complete with eerie sound effects and scary lighting. There is a whole level of Hamleys dedicated to electronics, where you can play with whatever game you want or could imagine. There is also a girls’ level, a boys’ level, a Star Wars level, a Harry Potter level, and another just for stuffed animals. Everywhere I look, an employee is playing with something, demonstrating new toys and inventions. It is like a big fun fare. I love it! We need one of these back home!

The Phantom

2005-09-12T13:02:00.000-07:00

Mum and I have always wanted to see a Broadway show and guess what! We are on our way! We are going to see Phantom of the Opera. I am so excited! We arrive an hour early, and get a programme. We then have time to find our seat. It's way up high. Mum helps me to work out the story before the show begins. It's now easier for me to follow what will happen on stage.

Finally, it starts. The costumes are beautiful. I lean over the balcony with my binoculars. The music is so loud that my heart beats faster. A chandelier drops and shatters. A mask comes off and reveals a disgusting scar. A masquerade performed. I wish I could describe it all. It is wonderful.

Lucky in London

2005-09-12T12:54:00.000-07:00

After a very fun four days in Hong Kong, unfortunately we have to leave. But the adventure is not over yet! We are headed to London on an even longer twelve-hour plane trip. We are flying with Cathay Pacific again, and would you believe it … economy! Once we reach our destination, my Uncle Ben is waiting at Heathrow to meet us. He lives in London. Uncle Ben is one of my favourite Uncles. He is very funny and I love being with him. He takes us with our bags onto a train all the way to where he lives, a place called Maida Vale.

London is a very interesting place and there is so much to explore. First we go to Trafalgar Square, the central meeting place of the city. It is between the British Museum and the Queen’s Palace. There are lots of statues and a big fountain. We also go to the Tower of London. It is amazing. It was built in the twelfth century. It was a place of torture and execution. We also take a trip out of London to the Dover Castle. It is so fun! There is an underground hospital used for the soldiers in World War II. It is kept just as it looked, felt and even sounded like back then. The lights keep going on and off and sometimes it is pitch black. There are real voices coming through the speakers on the walls, about the wounded people and how they will take care of them.

My brother Nathaniel celebrates his birthday while we are here. My dad makes a Hawthorn football cake for him. He loves it. We play Uno Attack and sumo wrestling! Sumo wrestling is where the boys stuff pillows up their shirts and pants and wrestle!!!! It is hilarious!

One of my favourite places we visit is Hamleys, an amazing toy store near Piccadilly Circus. It has 6 levels. The stairs up each level are filled with Harry Potter scenes. There is a whole level dedicated to electronics, where you can play with whatever you want. There is also a girl’s level, a boy’s level, a Star Wars level, and a Harry Potter level, and another just for stuffed animals. Everywhere I look, an employee is playing something. It was just like a circus!

After ten days in London we leave. This time we fly with British Airways to New York. Although we in economy (again!) I slept most of the way!

First stop: Hong Kong

2005-09-12T12:31:00.000-07:00

Five … four … three … two … one … and we’re off! Finally our adventure has begun. We are on our way to Hong Kong, and from there to London, New York and finally Texas. An exhausting nine-hour plane trip is ahead of us. We are flying this part of the journey with Cathay Pacific, in economy, which means, unfortunately for me, no sleeping!

After a long nine hours we finally arrive at Hong Kong airport. We take a so-called ‘limo’ to our hotel. It was actually a black Mercedes Benz. As soon as we arrive in front our hotel, two men take our bags on a trolley up to our room. The room is beautiful. The strangest thing is the see through glass wall that divides the bathroom from the bedroom. Sitting on the toilet has never been the same! We are staying very high up, on the thirty-sixth floor. The view is just amazing!

Once we have settled in, we go out to explore. The streets of Hong Kong are fascinating. There are four words to describe every one of them: busy, smelly, loud and scary. Long strips of road lined with hawkers and their stalls as far as the eye can see in all directions. As I walk down, I cannot even look into a stall without going in. The stall owners drag me in and start talking rapidly in Chinese until they realize that I do not understand them. Most switch immediately into English, apologizing frantically. Others, not many, speak no English, but this doesn’t seem to stop them from trying hard to sell me their items, whatever they are.

In our time there, we use lots of different types of transport: double Decker trams, buses, ferries, taxis and even underwater trains. My favourite is the underwater trains.

Welcome!

2005-09-12T06:16:00.000-07:00

This is the first time I've had a blog. Soon I will start putting my travel diary here and you can read it.

Come back soon!