flat people explore south america

after recovering from jet lag...the flight from tokyo to sao paulo took its toll on flat people and 3-d people alike...the flat penners delighted in the fresh air and green grass found in parque do ibirapuera. they especially enjoyed climbing a huge tree with roots that hung to the ground from its branches.


the flats were a bit disappointed when we reached the top of corcovado hill in rio de janeiro and cristo redentor was covered in scaffolding. seeing their sad faces, the construction workers offered to stop what they were doing and pose with the flat penners. then there were smiles all around :)


flat jane and flat owen spent an afternoon with uncle jason at the football museum in maracana stadium. they learned that football in south america is actually what canadians call soccer...so what do they call football?


uncle jason spent hours at the pool making friends with pedro the parrot at our hotel in huacachina, peru. but uncle jason was quickly forgotten when the flats came out to play. pedro loved to play peek-a-boo with flat owen.


pedro didn't play nice with everyone though. he nibbled uncle jason's ears and nose and then started in on flat hannah's hair. some people's pets...sheesh.


the flat petroffs were very impressed with how the incas could build their homes on top of a mountain. flat jane asked the tour guide how many people used to live at machu picchu. apparently over 1000 people used to live here over 600 years ago. the incas were probably wiped out by small pox and the city was lost to the world for the next 400 years.


if you look closely (imagine the picture above turned 90 degrees counterclockwise) you can see that the mountains have the shape of a person's face. the biggest mountain is the nose and from this view it is like you are looking up it. the tour guide explained to the flat penners that the profile of the nose is just like the nose of the inca people and is characteristically peruvian even today.


and then there were 2...no, no, no...the llama didn't eat flat ellie! she just decided that she really liked machu picchu. she was so interested in the history and the story of the incas so she has become the youngest, smallest, and flatest tour guide in all the world! i guess we're not the only ones that have learned to follow your dreams!


how can you visit peru and not have your photo taken with a llama? well, that's what flat jane said anyway. luckily, this llama was on its best behavior...no spitting!


the flat petroffs enjoyed a day of hiking in yosemite national park, california with auntie corina, uncle jason and their travel buddies, ron and ali. this waterfall was the lower of two stacked on top of each other called lower yosemite falls.

we hope you have enjoyed the adventures of the flat people! they are now safely tucked into the camera bag for our flight home tomorrow...except for flat ellie who we hope to see again the next time we are in machu picchu.

see you all soon,
corina and jason

flat people continue their tour of asia

when last we saw the flats, all those weeks ago, they were chillaxing under the sun of thailand. they had a few more opportunities to feel the sun on their laminated flat faces when we took them out in cambodia and vietnam but once we hit japan the mitts and scarves came out to stay.

here we have the flat penners posing in front of the famous angkor wat at sunrise. the early morning was hard on auntie corina and uncle jason but since the flats had spent the previous few days sleeping in the camera bag they were raring to go.


its common in cambodia to find randomly discarded shoes and sandals. this beach on bamboo island was no exception. on this island however someone turned the broken flip flops into tree art as colourful as the flat people.

we entered into the year of the tiger with the flats in ho chi minh city, vietnam. flat jane and flat owen chose this paper tiger as their favourite.


everyone was excited to leave the heat behind for a blissfully cool week in tokyo, japan! flat hannah, flat ellie and flat sasha had to sneak behind the guards for this photo op at the imperial palace.

flat jane and flat owen played it safe and took their photo outside the gate of the imperial palace.

the flats enjoyed a traditional japanese tea ceremony in this tea house near shimizu, japan.


it was too cold to swim under this waterfall but the flat petroffs were lucky to see a rainbow...but not lucky enough to find the pot of gold.


the gardens in tokyo were beautifully manicured and peaceful places to sit and rest after walking through the bustling streets of tokyo. many japanese people had their photos taken under this umbrella and so the flat penners did too. well, you know, when in tokyo do as the tokyo-ers do...

sayonara,

flat penners & flat petroffs

chillaxing flats

after the hustle and bustle of visiting 3 cities (dubai, hong kong & singapore) within 12 days, the flats were more than ready for some beach time. they had a great time lying on the beach mats with auntie corina and uncle jason. when they got bored of that they swam in the ocean (good thing they are laminated!), built sand igloos and ate the local cuisine.

from left to right: flat owen, flat sasha, flat ellie, flat jane, flat hannah showing off one of their sand igloo creations in pulau penang, malaysia.

the flat petroffs wishing it was their turn to fly into the sky and look over batt feringhu. uncle jason said, "no way! it's too dangerous for flat kids to parasail on their own and there is no way i'm going up there with you." they pouted for awhile but auntie corina promised banana roti for dessert and they forgot all about parasailing :)

the flat penners enjoyed sharing auntie corina's veggie pad thai in koh chang, thailand. flat ellie went crazy for the local specialty thai iced tea with milk. she sucked it down so fast that her flat belly started bulging! flat hannah warned her, "slow down before you burst!".

flat owen was getting a bit rangy after all this beach time and lying around. flat jane thought it'd be a good idea to go tree climbing and to get out of uncle jason's and auntie corina's hair. they agreed!

a favourite stop for everyone, flat and real, was koh mak, thailand. reading by the pool, drinking ice cold beer (cokes for the flats & a. corina) on the pool edge, playing catch with friends in the pool...good times.

flat owen and flat jane catching some rays on the colourful lounge chair set out on the long pier. the perfect way to end a sleepy day on koh mak.

sawadtee-ka from the flat girls

sawadtee-krap from flat owen

the amazingly adaptable flat people

...from ancient caves to modern cities the flat people can handle it all!

the flat petroffs decide that these cubby holes found in goreme, turkey are the perfect place to play tic-tac-owen.

flat hannah is the clear winner in a game of queen of the cubby holes although ellie almost made it just as high.

flat sasha may look like she's smiling in front of this ancient goreme cave house but on the inside she's thinking to herself, "more stairs? didn't we climb enough in pamukkale?"


flat jane and flat owen think it's time for an extreme makeover on this old run down cave house! where's flat ty when you need him?


the flat petroff feel right at home in dubai's indoor ski slope...i mean, it's below zero, there's skiing, sledding and man-made snow...much closer to the reality of home than the +30 degrees C outside.

flat sasha was encouraged by flat hannah to do her best snowman impersonation. flat ellie couldn't stop giggling as usual.

flat owen and flat jane were asked to help guard hong kong's botanical garden with this chinese lion. apparently his partner on the other side of the gate really needed to pee.

obviously the flat penners didn't listen to their flat parents' advice to never play ball with hong kong lions...someone always loses an arm!


the flats practise their hovering skill above hong kong's famous skyline. miraculously flat hannah and flat sasha recovered from their run in with the lion.


the merlion in singapore's marina was a big hit with uncle jay. he was so excited to see a mermaid and a lion statue (and what's with all the lions in asia anyway?) that he literally forced the flats to pose with it. after all it's famous. good excuse, i suppose.

gule gule, baai baai, see ya
from the flat people who are now going to sleep...it's way past their bedtimes and they had a full day on the beach in penang! (pictures to follow)

flat travellers on the loose again

well, for those of you that are closely following our blog...i know, i know...that's all of you...there is no need to introduce our flat nieces and nephew. but just in case we have some newbie followers i'll tell you a bit about each of them. our real live nieces jane, hannah, ellie & sasha and nephew owen drew pictures of themselves for us to take with us around the world.

the real live jane is an avid reader, she loves to sing and play piano and we love her impromptu performances at family get togethers. the real live owen is jane's little brother who isn't so little anymore...he's 5! he's rambunctious, his laugh is infectious and he can charm anyone. the youngest of the family, the real live yohan, was only a month old when we left so we don't have a flat version of him with us but we still think of him often. we hope to make a stop in vancouver on our way home to see him.

jane and owen just before we left in july 2009

the real live hannah is also an avid reader (is this a result of both being the eldest?), plays piano and loves to dance. we've had a few chances to see hannah's ballet performances and can't wait to see her progress. the real live ellie loves to be silly! she's squishy, goofy and fun...the life of the party :) the real live sasha is sweet and shy...but only until she feels comfortable with you and then watch out! the stuff she comes up with...innocently enough i'm sure...hilarous!

hannah, ellie & sasha (l to r) at our goodbye party in july 2009

who knew we all came from families of chess players. not sure who won this round in geneva, switzerland.

the famous jet d'eau in geneva shoots water 140 meters into the air. both flat penners and petroff were so impressed they insisted on having their photos taken with it.

this is the photo we got in trouble for taking in front of the parthenon in athens. who knew that flat people were symbols and not allowed to be photographed with the ancient ruin. luckily the guards didn't see us take it and the bossy greek lady didn't turn us in. phew!

after the fiasco with the flat penners, the flat petroffs decided to play it safe and had their photo taken in front of the theatre of the acropolis instead. uncle jay wanted to be in the photo too but i wouldn't let him...somehow he still managed to get his arm in the picture.

all of us were disappointed when we got to delphi and the main attraction was closed due to technical difficulties. we had questions for the oracle but we were turned away. the only decent ruin to have in the background was this athena pronea temple. kinda cool...it looks like camouflage.

this is flat owen on the train to turkey. the real live owen likes trains and has always wanted to go to turkey. this is in our 2 bunk berth before we put the beds down for the night time train ride from thessaloniki to istanbul.

we are in the blue mosque in istanbul. we didn't have head coverings for the flat girls but that's ok because you don't need to wear one until you are a teenager. they only let tourists in when there are no prayers in session. the call to prayers can be heard throughout the city five times a day...before sunrise, midday, afternoon, sunset, and late evening.

flat owen and flat jane are pretty brave...they are standing on a tomb in the ancient necropolis near pamukkale, turkey.

flat hannah, flat ellie and flat sasha loved playing in the theatre. this photo is taken after they ran down to the bottom and back again. whew! they sure were sweaty after all those stairs...

hope you are glad to see that the flat people are still alive and kicking ;p we'll keep you posted as they break out of the camera bag on more adventures...around the world. next stops are in asia.

güle güle,

corina on behalf of the flats