Anika's viewpoint

I have always wanted to go overseas since I was a very little girl. Dad used to tell stories about the four of us on a worldwide trip visiting many exotic places. After that I could not wait. Then was the possibility we were going that very year! It was confirmed, and our flights and passports were organised. The 22nd September came all in a rush and before I knew it we were boarding a plane to Singapore.
I have really enjoyed our trip overseas. We have left Italy and we crossed into France. We spent one night in France and drove back out to Switzerland [which we have already visited] to see a museum for an assignment of Arkady's. Then we drove back into France and tried to find a campground which, however, was proved somehow difficult because most were [and still are] closed at this time of year. Eventually we found one though [yay!].
About a week ago, when we were still in Italy, we did a 10km scenic walk along the coast going through 5 villages. It was very fun, but at times it could be very tiring. There were lots of stairs and the whole walk took at least 5 hours. We didn't start from the start though, so we weren't as tired as we could be. The funny order that we did it in was to start from the second village, walk to the fifth village, catch a train to the first village, walk to the second village then catch a train home. But we still did the whole walk. The best thing about it though was probably the cats. In, near and above every village we saw lots and lots of pussy cats. When we went down to the harbour village, I saw a cat sitting in the doorway of the fish shop. Sure enough, when we returned past it, the cat was nibbling on a little fishie.

At Venice we stayed across the water in a campground called Fusina. There lived two cats whom I called Pussya and Bobcat. Pussya was a tortiseshell and Bobcat was grey and white. Near the toilets there were about 8 tiny, toilet sized buildings. Pussya was found sitting there and under the ''house'' was a container of milk and some scraps on a plate. We had arrived at Fusina very late at night the first night and I hadn't seen the cats yet. Whereabouts on the second night when we came home from Venice on the way back from cleaning my teeth at the bathrooms I looked under to check how Pussya was going and I could have screamed with delight!!! Then I ran as fast as I could to our motorhome and arrived breathless, but still with the energy to say, ''Pussya's had six kittens!''
I ran back and discovered I had left my towel folded up next to the building. Pussya had taken possesion of it and was sitting on it like a proud mother, watching her kittens venturing out of the low hole and falling over their feet. It was about 9:15 when I started watching them but it was at least 10:00 when I left. Mum and Dad stayed and watched, taking photos and movies of them. Two other girls from the campground around my age also watched the kittens. Soon mum and dad left and 20 mins later so did I. Then I realised I had forgotten something [only when mum suggested it]. I had forgotten my towel. Me and Arkady headed out and passed the two german girls on our way. It was quite funny really... We arrived and Pussya had left my towel and was sitting at the corner. When she saw us coming, though, she went and parked herself on it again. Me and Arkady giggled and tried to convince her to move. She wouldn't budge. Luckily one of her kittens [chocolate I think] meowed and she got off. I would have willingly stayed there all night but Pussya and her six pussies [as me and mum called them] were bedding down for the night.

The kittens were really cute. Their fur was short, soft and silky, ranging from a variety of colours; brown, white, tabby, white-grey... There were two white kittens, one with a streak of grey on it's leg. I named the pure white one Snowy and the other Greta. There was a lovely dark chocolate brown cat which I called Chocolate. It was the most adventurous pussy. The two tabbies were the most shy. They came out only as far as the edge of the building, and even then not that often. They were almost identical, though it was hard to tell. There names were Tabitha and Stripe. The last cat only came out once. It was black, with a white nose and white paws.

We're heading ouit of France today and into Belgium , then to Holland and home to Australia on Sunday. Byeeee Anika