One of the things that has given us a little bit of culture understanding in each country we visit is the free walking tour. 

In most countries there are some volunteers who come together to give free walling tours for tourist like me and my family. 

And in Brisbane they call them “Greeters” and we are so grateful for them. 

This time we had our tour guy name Jonathan and he was so patient with us and knowledgeable with the history of Brisbane Australia. So here are a few pictures of our journey…. 

So we start with iur train ride…it was late so we decided to have a photoshoot…

On the train pose 

The tour started at the city hall..this massive building had art all over it. It shows the aboriginals stopping the britsh people from invading their land… 

This potrays when women where given the chance to start voting…

So this place use to be the place to be for arts…like an opera house..but now this beautiful magestic Building is used as an information center…

Thats the inside of the information center…

The morden Briabane arcade 

Before the moden arcade…this picture was in the 1800’s

Kids are intuned to understand the history of Brisbane Australia 

So around the city they have this street lamps with this creatures…bats..I asked if it meant something but guide said no…actuly the bats are not liked in Brisbane…

Some beautiful buildings…thats the treasury building but now its a casino….yeap…still the money  building

Some beautiful arts around queens street mall..

More arts…

Now the new government building 

The nee developement coming up in Briabane which they have closed the road for and it will take 6 to 8yrs

The parliament house…

This exact place infront of the parliament house is called “speakers corner” and anyone is allowed to stand there and speak up and voice out their opinion in either politics or religion…

One of the first roman churches in the city

She was the first Saint…

Art inside thr church made with a tree…

A replica of the Liberty bell

I love this lawyers corner…the street in that area is actually coveredand beautiful buildings 

Anzac square…anzac is the name given to the new Zealand and Australian military that fought for the British…so in Australia they celebrate Anzac day which is on April 26th…

The eternal flame at the anzac square

So in 2011 Brisbane had a major floodand this is a plaque they have showing flood levels in the past years 

Dinner after our tour…

The pose when we miss our bus…

At the bus station and their brother got stuck on the tree

From most countires…it seem like the British colonized lots of countriesand left lots of their mark..like buildings and the culture of tea drinking and many many others around this cities they usually arrive at. 

Thanks to our guide for teaching us so much about Brisbane and Australia as a whole. 
Brisbane Australia Exploration Continues…

Yes the people in Australia is making us fall in love with the land and what it offers. 

The vast playgrounds everywhere for our kids while I get to watch them climb and play and have some exercise throughout the day. 

So south bank area seem to be one of thr fun areas in brisbane with so much to do and look at. And the huge pools and beach like pools makes it extra special. 

Here are a few memories we have created so far…

Just walking on the beautiful streets of Scarborough 

A safe haven for her to draw…beach time 

My birthday celebration in brisbane

He loves height…i dont…

My birthday  selfie

Morning workout at the beach on my birthday 

My beautiful birthday card from my kids

My birthday card from my hubby

At redcliff lagoon pool…

On the bridge that seperates queens street mall from southbank park

Sitting ontop of the world…brisbane life 

He is loving life in Brisbane 

Beach life is fun…has its perks..

Also we found out finding thr right places we can save some herr with free pools and loads of playgrounds for the kids why pay for another activities. 

Like we found a way to get to the northlake mall for all 6 of us for only $5  now thats awesome right…? Bus ride during the weekend is free for kids and adults pay off peak prices. So you see with a little bit of research we can find means to enjoy even the most expensive cities. 

Brisbane Australia  Exploration Continues….

Today our airbnb host came by and she took us to the airport which is close to the city center. 

So from there marcus and I took the train into central Brisbane…and it was a totally different side of australia. Its more of the side I hope to see more often. 

The cost for our train ride from the airport to the city center was about 20min ride and it was $10 usd per person. Now that is expensive right. Well ig we use our go card it would have probably cost use more all because its from the airport. 

So once we arrived at the city center there was so much to do and see…and lots of shopping and walking. 

On our way back out first train ride from the vity center to our area Radcliff. 

Since we took our train during off peak and it was 1 hour 7min train ride we paid $4.77 aud which is about $3.80 usd. That we think is our kind of travels. And once we arrived in Redcliffe we need to get on a bus from there to our home which is about 17min bus ride. So when we got off thr bus we where both eager to see hoe much that 17min bus ride will cost us. But it did not cost us anything. So if thats the case then we are back in travel business for sure. But we will know all that over the weekend when we make that trip again since on weekends all kids are free which is all my kids and its also off peak prices. So you see our weekends will be very busy….

Anyways we really had a great date out just me and hubby exploring the city center. 

Thats the south end park at the back…they will host one of the largest Buddha birthday festival here at thr end of this month april 28th till 30th…

My kids and I will surely be here to enjoy this celebration and seem like it happens every year

He loved this sign 

We are walking on this very interesting bridge…

They have these vast swimming pools at the park with beach sand…pretty fun 

At the Marine mesuem

Walking through thr park with his luggage he got from thr airport 

Thats the walking bridge far away…and the brisbane river…

The Brisbane sign in the city 

Australian Exploration Continues….

So we live in Scarborough which seem like its a small beach and relaxing town. 

We are about 35min from thr city brisbane. We love our new apartment…and its beautiful and right on the beach..

But!! Yes but!! Things are super expensive out here for our family of 6. 

Let me give you a clue 

To take uber or taxi from our apartment to the closest mall which is about 20min drive cost us 25 usd. Now with our large family we neef 2 ubers. So to go to tge mall is 50 usd. And return back home another 50 usd. Now that is 100 usd just to get out and visit the mall. That is a killer there. 

Now lets talk about the same experience in another country like medelling where we had our last visit. It Will cost us $5 usd for both ways or we can even walk to it. 

So you see we are rethinking already if Australia is for our clan. 

I know, we have to do the zoo and all the islands…but after you have done all the zoos in about 20 different countries I think you will agree all lions look pretty much the same. And once you have done islands in palawan Philippines then you will agree we have done great islands. 

But to dive the great barrier reef i think will be our most cherished moment in the aussie land. So I guess this means we will spend our 2 months here in Scarborough finishing most of our school work and when we move yo cairns for our dive we will then be able to complete australia with  a bang. 

Now lets talk about food…its american style dishes here so its super expensive too… and we have priced stuff from 3 grocery stores like Woolworths, coles and Aldi which Aldi is thr cheapest we have found which is about 20min drive also.

Now the people here are amazing…friendly and so nice. 

Our grocery store

Our beautiful apartment 

So after 22 hours of flights and 5 hours of airport sitting. We arrived in Aussie Land. 

The immigration process was super smooth. Took about 3min for all our family to go through immigration system. They seem to have it downpacked. 

Now once you arrive on an international flight into australia you will walk through immigration and then get your bags from baggage claim and then you re check them in and get on a shuttle to the domestic terminal to get on your next flight. So all that went very well. 

Then we got on our flight from sydney to Brisbane and its just an hour flight. 

We arrived and got picked up in our airport shuttle van which take 6 persons and 12 bags. And we had 17 bags total. But it all fit in the van no issues. 

We arrived at our apartment for thr next 2 months such a beautiful apartment right on the beach of Scarborough. Its about 35min from brisbane. 

We really love our new apartment. We then walked on the beach to the towns nearby. 

And we also found out on sundays they close the road in Redcliff to have what they call sunday market. 

With lots of food and arts and crafts it was a perfect experience for us on our first day in nraisbane australia. 

Then the evening came along and the moments change to a mode of me being super mom. 

Had to take Destiny, my oldest to the emergency room. Which remember its 1am and this is a really small beach town so people are sleep for sure. 

Well thank God for uber. It took 23min for uber to arrive but he did and took us to emergency room at 1:24am

 We live 6min drive from the hospital. The nurses there are super nice took us in fast since asthama attack is considered category 1 emergency here since their weather here is an asthma risk weather. 

But since we are tourist and dont have health insurance she told me she will put her on the nebulizer and if that helps then great but if that does not work then she will have to admit Destiny. 

As always God got this one too…so after about 30min on the machine. Destiny breathing was clear and she is back at 99% and ok to go home. 

From what the nurse said health care in australia is super expensive with insurance. And suggest we get a new nebulizer early tomorrow morning since she will need it in this town(we had one but it broke when we hooked it up this morning and its 220v so not sure why)

But we got through the emergency issue and we went home and all is great. 

So over all our experience in Queensland australia is been great. 

Our first meal in Scarborough 

This is us 

We made it 

At the sunday market in Redcliff 

She is loving the weather 

The Bee Gees walking alley…

Marcus singing “staying alive ”

Emergency with my oldest..

At the emergency room
Queensland Australia Exploration Continues….

We are all packed up….yeap…ready to start our 3rd year of global travels. 

We have packed 12 large check in suitcases and 6 carry ons. I think we did great considering thats going to be our luggage for possibly 2yrs. 

One of the hardest things for me when we are in Virginia and about to depart is the detachment process I have to go through with my 4th daughter who is not able to travel with us due to her medical needs. (She has allergies to a lot of things and taking her away from her environment and her doctors is not advisable) so with all our travels she has alwayd stated with her amazing grandparents. When she was a baby it was easier leaving and the process was easier. 

But as she got older (9yrs) she now have some questions for me..like “mommy why can’t you take me ” ? But once I explain she seem to get it. She is definitely an old soul. 

This morning as I put her on the bus…I could not help myself but cried like a baby. And some of my tears is my way of processing the art of detachment. 

And I reliezed all she wanted to do was get on the bus and she somehow feels like we will be back and am always with her. 

But if you are a mother and have sent your kid off you know that feeling inside your stomach and only mothers can feel. But am so grateful that her grandparents love makes ut so easy for both karama and I to detach with love. 

Karama is suoer spoilt by her grandparents and gets all her hearts desires. And this year we got her a phone to call us on tango and skype any time she wants to talk. 
Now where are the Manns clan heading too…? Well we are moving to Scarborough brisbane australia for the next 2 months. Its surfing time for the clan 

And after we will be going up to dive one of the 7 wonders of the world. The great barrier reef in cairns. 

So keep following and sharing our website and stay tuned for our fun and exciting explorations of Australia….a total of 3 months in australia and then will see what country is next to explore. 

Our 12 bags…

Some moments this morning 

Mj’s new life long buddies in Virginia 

My last ride with my son…

Karama going for a ride with her sister aasha 

We will all miss Bassett and our family but as everything else time flies

Our flight leaves at 4pm today 
Brisbane Exploration Begins

In 10 days we will be packed up and ready to start our 3yr of traveling. 

Yes after 2 months of applying for my new zealand  and Australian visa. My new zealand visa came and for some reason they only gave me up till March 31st 2017 before it expires. This makes it harder for us to visit New Zealand since I haf also applied for my austrlian visa and we waiting on it to book our flight. 

Well so new Zealand  visa was a wasted money. Ghana passport needed the visa but American passport font need a visa for 90 days stay. 

Well after 2months of applying for my austrlian visa i decided to call the embassy in DC to see what was going on. But I was told since my passport is Ghana passport and I dont have permanent residence here in the usa my visa application which i applied online as been sent to Nairobi office. You should see my shock..after 2 months and I just got this feedback. 

Well they gave me the contact call nairobi office but due to time differences i have to stay up till 3am usa time to call the nairobi office.

But that night I wanted to wait up for I got a message for me to upload more documents to verify that my husband and kids are American citizens like I stated. 

And within 2 hours that I sent the document on the embassy page I got my electronic visa for multiple entry visa and expires in March 2018. 

Now let me tell you about the power of the American passport…so after I recieved my Australian visa the nect morning at about 7am I decided to go online on VisaHq to apply for my husband and kids visa. And am not exaggerating but it took exactly 2 hours from thr time I opened my laptop and filled out the form online for 5 person and their visa was approved…not because we travel so much but because their passport if blue and has this one there “united States of America ” yeap..they got 1 year multiple entry visa and cost only $69 that includes tax and the service fees. While my Ghana passport cost me $205…talk about developing country…I dont think thats how we are charged when we are applying for stuff…but am truly grateful that all our visa’s are ready to go. 

Now traveling to Australia is exciting but it seem like we are arriving at their peak season…we vould not find apartment that is within our budget or even reasonable. After many nights of looking we finally found on who gave us such a great deal that is right on our budget. So grateful for our new airbnb host in Scarborough brisbane australia. We are looking forward to ecploring this beautiful beach city. 

We plan on exploring this place to the fullest. 

So stat tuned for our 2017 travel explorations of the Manns clan…its going to be super packed and charged year for sure. 

We fly out next…
Brisbane Australia Exploration about to begin 

Yes it about that time again… it has been a long time since I blogged on hiw we are doing. 

We are still in Bassett VA and enjoying everybit of it. No place like home with families you love and adore. 

Kids are having a great time connecting with their grandparents and getting spoilt too.

So if you know a bit about travels it wakes work and lots of organising. And even when worse when you have the Ghana passport. 

So a month ago I applied for my new zealand visa  (which my kids dont need because they have American passport so they dont need a visa for new Zealand). So when I applied I asked for 90 days. But when I recieved my electronic visa they gave me 6 weeks which meant I had to leave for new Zealand asap. But that could not possibly happen so i guess thats a lost visa. 

Now on January 17th 2017 I applied for my austrlian visa and as of today am still waiting on my visa. 

I called the Australian embassy but they said it take 6 to 8 weeks so its not ready. Now for the American passport it will take me 24hours to get their visa. Fill out the form online and done. So we just waiting on my australia visa so we can go on and start our 2017 exploration. 

Now that can be the challenge of travels…it can slow you down. 

Marcus still has been on the move and exploring so i will be able to share some of his pictures in this blog. 

Will also share some of our daily life in bassett… 

Lets start with this all..my 5 blessings on the couch..from the oldest to the youngest

My funeral experience in a beautiful dress..no use to that yet…

Our girls bonding with each other on the fourwheeler their grandparents bought them for christmas 

Florindo, marcus and I adopted mother visited us in Bassett…it was so great hosting her.

I got into paparazzi jewelry…and love them

Made some of my kids favorite dish…fried zucchini topped with feta cheese and honey 

I bought my first  MK red hot boots..

We had lunch at the famous Popeyes chicken spot

I bought a couple of new dresses while in richmond va

My kids tried to convince me to buy them a snake pet…lol!!

We met families and love ones in atlanta…

Had a coupleof homemade strawberry margaritas 

More families in atlanta…it was surly memorable 

Family just rocks 

Visit to Martin Luther King home

I got to hold and spend time with my newest Godson baby Dutch

I enjoyed some of my Ghanaian food while in atlanta 

Our son got his dreadlocks cut off

My son helped his papa rake the leaves 

Marcus went to trini carnival

Our girls visited Life University  where their daddy graduated from

Marcus went diving with sardines in Phillipines…

Some waterfalls on marcus travels…
Really looking forward to sharing more of our roat trips omce my australian visa arrives… this year travels will be awesome with soon to be diving the great barrier reef…

Stay tuned 
Bassett VA Exploration Continues 

I think one of my peeps for homeschooling my kids is the fact that I can pack them up and we can take a long weekday or weekend trip without feeling like i need permission to show my kids the qorld of possibilies. So when you define socialization for Homeshcool kids its really a large market and they go crazy having fun and making new connections and friends every day. 

So this past Thursday I packed up all my 5 kids and my mother inlaw joined us while we took a road trip from bassett Va to Atlanta Georgia. 

We had such a blast…the jouney is about 6 hour and 10min drive. We had the pleasure of being hosted by 2 amazing families. Aaron and Maria Bailey (which i have to show you picfures of my marcus and I newest Godson)..and we also stayed with Kevin and Naa Jamah Crump…they have a son who is probably the smartest almost 4yr old I have personally met. 

The older girls had so much fun and my boy had a brother to explore atlanat with. Thats Dylon who is Naa and Kevin’s little prince. 

I got to enjoy my Godson who is so cute I could not help but just love on him all weekend. Am so honored to be a part of baby Dutch life. 

Now we did a couple of growth explorations like qe visited the CNN studio which is amazing with some tricks they explained to us while we watch the news in our homes. We also visited the Martin Luther king mesuem, church and also his home. Such great experience that no text books can replace or even try too. Am grateful I have the awareness to be able to create these memories with my kids. 

Now let me share some pictures with you so you can really appreciate the fun we had…

Now am from Ghana and this is how we do lunch…when I arrived my friend Maria had ordered this kenkey and fish for me…I dont think I even sat down to eat…thanks Maria

Yeap  all about the food firs…that happens to be goat soup…which I was rasied on but have just decided to stay away from due to the long digestion process of meat…but I did drive 6 hours so I enjoyed every bit of this soup…lol…

And yeap…thats my Godson Dutch and my 2 angels right there…

Met up with our cousin Jzon…great seeing family 

Our fantastic host Kevin and Naa…and their prince Dylon…what a fun family to hang with…

Our cousin JP also came to hang with us…now that night will always be remembered with Aasha trying to retell a movie we watched called self/less

Right in front of Martin Luther King home…

The piano for peace which sits in front of the mesuem for Coretta King…Aasha and her mema enjoying it

History and great memories in the making 

Martin Luther King church 

The reflecting pool 

At the CNN center with my two buddies…Naa the left in the picture and Maria on the right

Family rocks…with Maria and Aaron…kevin and Naa, Erridina and her two handsome boys and our clan at the Cumberland mall…

Getting ready for the CNN tour 

My magnificent mother inlaw…

We just having some fun 

Our oldest

Older girls visit to Life University where their daddy went to chiropractic school

Same place their daddy stood for a picture

The whole clan 

The adjustment pose

2 more yrs before college…

Girls cuddling with their auntie Maria

CNN studio 

Just me and mine…he is my newest and cutie Godson..baby Dutch

Enjoying the CNN Studio tour

Our tour tickets 

Breakfast with Naa at her beautiful home

My adorable Dutch

Really had a great time and super grateful for all our family and love ones. 
Usa explorations continues

Now if you have read most of our blog I am from GHANA and my kids are all born in Ghana. So all I know is sun and more sun…now snow is not part of my life until really since marriage and today I think I have had all the snow any African girl can ask for. Lol!!!

From the help of our 14yr old daugher with late nights research and lots of phone calls she got and arranged our trip to the Appalachian mountain. I had nothing to do with it. Am so grateful that my girls can now arrange and organize stuff like this for our large family. 

So we got to Appalachian ski resort and scheduled a 1 hour lesson and walk we are skiing falling a whole lot but hey we on the slopes…

Here are a few pictures 

Ready to take on the slopes..

Our 7yr old and our 15yr old skiing down the slopes

And that’s me….I look like a pro right…

Papa bear on the slopes 

Our 12yr old enjoying every bit of it 

Our aasha creating a fun snow ski memory 

He loved it…

Yeap fell many times…

Snowboard time

Made a friend while at the ski resort…she is super smart and right there sitting on my lap. Am pretty sure our paths will cross again… and this little Prince is called Jiada. 

We really enjoyed every bit of our first ever ski experience…now I can check that off my bucket list. 
Virginia Exploration Continues