Bun and Bud's Excellent Adventure!

54 days 21 countries 574.3 km walked Countless planes, trains and automobiles.  A magical, unforgettable summer. Until next time... 👋

Mama: We had an early day at the Louvre! Spent a while with Mona Lisa - we checked and she followed us all through the room. Very cool. Then we looked around the Louvre until the kids hit their limit (as seen on Bun’s face). Then we went to the zoo for a pick-me-up. It turned out to be a bigger day than expected. Dada really had to put on a full-court press to get us out for dinner. I suggested McDonalds, but got shot down! Dada persisted and got us dressed and out for pictures and a nice dinner to celebrate our 10th anniversary! And our last night abroad. Homeward bound tomorrow!! Bud: We got to go to an amazing museum full of art and we got to see the Mona Lisa. She follows you with her eyes. Then we went to a zoo and saw lizards and lions and elephants and rhinos.  Bun: We saw a Lisa painting and another great Sphinx and got heart lollipops. And we saw animals at the zoo! Chanel Flagship store on Rue Cambon is under construction! Otherwise I totally wou...

Mama: We woke up and went straight to the Eiffel Tower! We walked up to the second deck and took the lift to the top. Then had a quiet afternoon and went back out for a beautiful sunset river cruise and sightseeing tour. Still trying to shake off the sickies! 🤧 Bud: We got to climb the Eiffel Tower and play at a playground. Then we went on a boat.  Bun: Some men were selling Eiffel Towers.  How I envisioned our few days in Paris: What happened instead! 🤧🤒😷

Mama: We flew to Paris! Hey. Clichés are cliché for a reason. It’s stunning here and romantic and despite the fact that all of us are absolutely dog-sick (only Bud is still in denial), as soon as you see the sky in Paris, something comes over you. And you’re in love! Even the drastically chic and beautiful native Parisians looking at my Birenstocks and scoffing with detest is  parfait ! (Maybe tomorrow I’ll wear Dada’s backpack, my fannypack, flip sunglasses and walk around whilst holding a map, just to feel it again, but more intensely. 🤤) We only walked around briefly in our ‘hood in the 1st Arrondissement and then bought a bunch of medicines, ate bread and chocolate for dinner and went to bed early - an authentic Paraisian evening! 🤣 J’ai de l’espoir pour demain! Bud: We flew to Paris and got to go to an amazing park. I bought a Formula 1 race car. And we went down a really fast slide. When you pull my car back, it goes really really fast! Bun: We got to see some water ...

Mama: Last day in Monaco before moving on to our last country!! Now that home is in sight, I’m ready for it. And I have to say, I am THRILLED to be back amongst the non-smokers of the world. That is one thing that is just horrendous about Europe - people smoking everywhere. Bun: What did we do again today? 🤔 Oh right. We had breakfast and went to a mall and I got a Pepa Pig and then we went to the pool and saw the great Sphinx! Bud: We went to the pool and a got a toy Rider for free! And I got four cars with a launcher. Then we had a nice family walk along the beach and then we played a nice family game of Uno. 

Mama: It took two tries, but we toured around Monaco today. We got beat by the heat the first try! It’s definitely unbearable... We went to the Oceanagraphic Museum, which was pretty cool. I’m actually impressed by the active role that the princes of Monaco are trying to play in healthy and sustainable oceans. Then we took a trolly tour and saw the WHOLE country, border to border, in about half an hour. Other than the Vatican, Monaco is the smallest country in the world. Then we stopped at the Monte Carlo for a picture for Thatha and then went for a fancy Indian dinner to celebrate Dada’s birthday!! Bun: We found the same flowers that are on mommy’s watch. And we saw ones that were pink and red and purple too. And we got to see a rainbow fish. We also saw a crab that had an orange for a shell and we touched a giant clamshell.  Bud: We got to go to the aquarium and see dancing swinging princesses. We saw an octopus and a rainbow fish and a black tipped reef shark. We got to...

Mama: After a day at the La Palma Aquarium, we took the late flight to Nice, then taxied into Monaco, arriving on the dot at midnight! We had some sleepy travellers. 😴

Mama: We rented a car and drove inland to some beautiful little villages. Then we came back for a dinner pirate show. The kids LOVED it and were picked for a little game before the show. Think we’ll have to check out some stage west shows when we get home.  Bun: We got to see Black Beard. We also got to on top of the stage and play a game. We were on Black Beard’s team.  Bud: We got to go see a pirate show and we got to go backstage and see the performers and then we got to go on stage to play a game. We came in second and won gold pirate chocolate. It was so cool. 

Mama: We had a chill out day at the beach and a walk around in the shops. We managed to go in dozens of shops, despite every store selling the exact same thing. Love it! Bud: Bun got me an amazing rainbow car and track. It’s the best ever.  Bun: Bud and Dada bought me a beautiful flower necklace! And mama and I made a sand castle. 

Mama: Hopper flight to Mallorca! The family-friendly version of Ibiza. We arrived to rain, had a rest in the room and then the skies cleared enough for a beautiful rainbow and a play the sand and surf. The water is super warm and the breeze is divine!! Bud: Today was travel day. We got to go to the beach and get some sand toys and a ball. I also got to see minnows and build a sand castle.  Bun: We got to see a rainbow and I played in the ocean and built a sand castle. The rainbow was so so beautiful!

Mama: Clearly Joey Tribbiani has never been to the foothills of mount Tibidabo. We decided to hike instead of take the funicular. It was supposed to be 20 minutes, but with the unmarked path and useless Google directions, it was closer to 90!! But there was some stunning views. We went to the Tibidabo Amusement Park and then home to get ready to leave.  Bud: I got to go on the bumper cars! And we got to hike up a mountain and we got candy. The bumper cars were so fun! Bun: We got to go on Farris wheel. It was so fun! We even got to go on a merry go round. Me and daddy did a bubble hairdo for Bud!

Mama: The kids and Dada went to the beach while I tried to shop, but everything was closed for Assumption Day. Then we went to Sagrada Familia Basicilica - there’s just no way to describe this place! It’s cray. This is probably blasphemy, but I think it looks like it’d be a Scientology Church. Infer what you will from that! Then we watched Messi score a goal and Barcelona win the soccer match.  Dada: You mean BarTHElona.  Bud: We got to go to a castle and look inside of it and there were neat cool windows that were painted rainbow. It was so pretty. And the 18th tower should be built by 2026 on the 100th anniversary of when the architect (Gaudí) died. And we got to go to a soccer game and they scored two goals in the first half and one in the second and we got popcorn.  Bun: Me and Bud found a rainbow shell. It was really beautiful. And we wanted to show it to our lovely mama. And we also went to pool and had some races. And me and Bud made a sandcastle.  ...