Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

A huge thank you to every one of you who have hosted my travels! I love my expeditions and have met so many wonderful people and shared so many special occasions, thank you all. I hope you all had a very Happy Christmas and wish you the very best for 2012.

I had a lovely time, fully kitted out in my Mother Christmas outfit. My outfit was Haute Couture none the less (designed and made by my Auntie Susie) who took me on her travels to Washington earlier in the year.

Didn't I look fabulous?!!

Here I am exploring the present pile



Checking out my stocking



Chatting up my new friend, Mr Mini-LindtBear. (What every girl-bear wishes to find in her stocking!)



And eyeing up the pudding (I didn't eat it all - honest!!)



Merry Christmas to you all!

If you would like me to visit you in 2012, please click here for details.

My next Hollibob

I'm on my way to sunny Spain! Yey!



Wait for meeeeeeee Miss Vanessa! I'm on my way!

Our last day in Washington

I went to NIH to meet another very charming bear



while Auntie Susie had a meeting with Dr Marston Linehan. That's him in the white coat, I dunno who the other guy is...

Just Chillin'

I spent the rest of the afternoon chillin'



and swimmin'



and er, more chillin'



then back to the hotel for a quiet night in.

Here's the science

We went to the Space Museum. On the way in, I met an old man, who wanted to tell me about his relatives.



Never mind, I met a most charming pilot when we got to the early aeroplanes.



And I rubbed my little paw on a piece of the moon! How cool!

The Mall

Blimey! 84 degrees! Catching a few rays before we carry on.



And at the bottom of the Mall is the Washington Tower. It looks tiny eh? They say it's 555-foot-and-a-bear tall! That's 555ft, 5 and half inches - honestly!

More Sights

er, excuse me just a mo - someone needs my help!


Nope! It's OK - it's just an ancient monument



Oh dear, the climbing of which is apparently an offence, but I can turn on the charm when I want to!

And on our right as we walked down the Mall, is the National Archives.

Downtown DC

Well, they call it Capitol Hill, but they obviously haven't been to Wales. 'Capitol Gentle Slope' I would call it.

Washington DC - We've Arrived!

Well, it was a long flight, and it was quite late by the time we got to our hotel, so we had room service bring us some light refreshments, and we went straight to bed.

Big day tomorrow!

On our way home, a cheeky devil asked if I would pose for a photograph with him. Ahhhh, the price of fame, have to keep my fans happy I suppose, although it's a very tiresome business. Ho hum, long flight tomorrow, I'm going to get some sleep.

Well, I've arrived at Miss Susie's ready for my next adventure.
A bit of last minute shopping today, and we stopped off to see some friends. Big Bear was especially sweet, but Molly Spaniel just hogged the limelight. Grrrr

Wedding Bells

I have had a very exciting couple of weeks and Karen and Jon have been very very busy so I haven't had much time to get on the computer to update my blog.

I arrived in Carmarthen in South West Wales just in time to help Karen with the last minute preparations on the run up to their wedding on the 27th August. It was a very exciting time. One of my first jobs was helping to make the favours



I made two new friends, Poodle and Ted who live with Karen and Jon



We went on a walk around the local area and I saw this huge monument



I couldn't pronounce some of the words on the signs though




I had a sneaky peek at the rings before the wedding rehearsal on the Friday night when I gave them to the best man




We went to the church for the rehearsal and there were more words I didn't understand on those signs too



I made another new friend at the church, he is called Cosmo the Christ Church Cat and Canon Patrick has written books about the mischief he gets up to in the Church.



Then it was Saturday morning and the day of the wedding. Karen was in such a rush she forgot to take me to the hair dresser with her so whilst she was out I tried on her veil for size but it was a bit big



I even had a really really good look at her dress



I had some very important jobs to do during the wedding. I helped Karen carry her flowers and looked after them during the ceremony for her



She had some very famous wedding guests in the chuch



I had the best view ever for the cutting of the wedding cake at the drinks reception after the service




And the best seat in the house for the reception too!!!



It was a very busy and tiring day so Karen let her children take me home early to bed whilst they stayed up very very late celebrating

The children (and some adults) made some fantastic models with the plasticine Karen had put on the tables at the wedding



And on my last day in Carmarthen we went out for a farewell meal.



All in all I had a very busy and exciting time in South West Wales. I think I need a bit of time to recover from all the excitement now.

Who knows where I'll end up next?

Been a busy bear!

I haven't been able to update my blog each day so I'll tell you what I've been up to all at once.

16/07/11
I’ve come to stay with Emma and Alan again. I remember staying with them before and we went on a big ship – I hope we’re going on one again.

Yippee! Here I am in Ocean Terminal in Southampton, waiting to get on the ship. Can’t wait!!

The beds here are just as comfy as I remember – aaaaahhh.

18/07/11
We’ve been sailing for quite a while and have landed in Norway. It’s a very pretty place indeed. Here I am by the fountain in Stavanger.

19/07/11
Today we’re in a little place called Eidfjord. It’s lovely here with lots of big mountains and a fast river.
You do take your life in your hands here though. First I nearly got eaten by a cat, then I had a tussle with an eagle!

At least the walruses are friendly.
20/07/11
We are in Olden today. Here I am on the banks of Nordfjord with the ship in the background.

21/07/11
Phew, that was exhausting – so many stairs! It was worth it for this great view of Bergen though. It’s a lovely place and the fish market is very exciting.

I’ve really enjoyed my time in Norway and have even made some new friends.

We’re heading south to France now – I’m not sure if I’ve been there before but I’ve been studying some of the language to prepare myself. Au revoir for now!
26/07/11
Well how very rude! Emma and Alan went off the ship to a lovely place called Honfleur the other day and forgot to take me with them. Humph! They came back with cakes, calvados liqueur and biscuits and everything. You can go off people, you know.
Luckily they remembered to take me to La Rochelle with them today. Here I am at the entrance to the harbour.

It’s warm today so I decided to indulge in a spot of topless sunbathing in the privacy of the balcony.

27/07/11
It’s a special day today – Alan’s birthday – so we all went down to the coffee shop for a coffee and a cake to celebrate. Nom!
We’re in Spain now so after the cake we got on a coach to Bilbao. It was a very big place and a bit scary for a small bear but we didn’t get lost.

28/07/11
Phew, what a scorcher! Wall to wall sunshine today in La Coruna. Here I am on the beach. It was a very strange beach because it’s made of granite so it’s quite tough on your paws.

29/07/11
Today is a very special day indeed as it is Emma’s 40th birthday – and she doesn’t look a day over 39. I didn’t see much of her during the day because Alan paid for her to have some spa treatments. She seemed very smiley when she got back. At night we went to the posh restaurant on the ship and sat outside overlooking the back of the ship it was lovely.
Ooh what shall I have – it all sounds delicious.

Bellinis – yum!

Even the bread is fab – and what a view!

All this just for me?! Peaches poached in Prosecco – I’m stuffed!


Well it’s the last night of our holiday today so time to finish packing and head home *sigh*
31/07/11
Emma decided she wanted to carry on celebrating her birthday a bit longer so today we’ve come to a place called Hazlewood Castle for Sunday lunch. It’s got very pretty gardens...


A grand staircase...


And lily ponds full of big fish.

02/08/11
Back to work for Emma today – oh no, look at all those emails.


Well it’s time for me to pack up my things and head off to my next family.
Is that wedding bells I can hear in the distance...