Mondo Verde is... Magnificent!

The weather was behaving (for the most part) today, so we decided to drive over to The Netherlands and spend the day at Mondo Verde. Mondo Verde is a four in one park: world gardens, dinosaurs, zoo, and small amusement part. Put those four things together, and you get one awesome experience. It seems a little expensive at first glance (15 euro per adult to get in), but for only 2,50 euro more each, you get a season pass that lasts through the end of 2011. That's one bargain not many can refuse. Trust me, once you go here... you'll want to go back again... and again...and again... This friendly little fellow at the front gate will give you a hint at the fun that waits for you inside.

Once in the park, we took a sharp right and entered the tropical forests of Brazil. There were lots of amazing sights in there, including a family of flamingos. We spent almost an hour just walking through the winding paths through the tropical forest. It was beautiful... and a tad dangerous as well. We were just about to take a dip in one of the ponds when we spied this warning.

Good thing we did, because the waters were infested with piranha. They were everywhere. There were alligators, too, but I was so busy running for my life that I didn't get any good pictures of those.

We took shelter in an abandoned tree house while we scouted out a path through wilderness to freedom.

Did I mention how gorgeous this place is?

Finally we escaped the jungle and traveled over to the Italian countryside. It's a good thing, too, because all that exploring really had us work up an appetite. We decided to stop at the villa and have lunch.

Fortified with a great meal, we stopped off at the Trevi fountain before heading on to other countries. That's Neptune in the center, riding in a chariot of shells that's being pulled by seahorses and tritons. Legend says that anyone who throws a coin into the fountain will return there again one day. Another legend is that if two lovers both drink from the fountain, their love will be everlasting. The water looked a little swampy, so we passed. You feel free to take part, though. Don't let me stop you.

Onward we traveled, through Japan and on to China.

In China, you'll find walls with holes in them called Dong-men. They not only serve as an entrance to the gardens, but they also let visitors view the different elements of the garden through a "frame".

There were lots of winding paths through the gardens.

It was a very relaxing place to take a break from our travels and relax a bit.

Next on our adventure was a little trip to Australia. It was early afternoon at this point, so the wallabies were enjoying a little nap after lunch.

There was more beautiful scenery to enjoy at every turn. Just past Australia, we entered the Paradise for Birds. This is the largest free flight aviary in Europe.

Inside, you'll find hundreds of varieties of birds, some extremely rare and all quite beautiful.

Once leaving the aviary, we said a fond goodbye to the wallabies and continued on.

This little fellow caught our attention. I'm not sure if he didn't like laying on the grass, or perhaps he was just protesting his lack of an afternoon snack.

We arrived at a lovely pond, fed by a beautiful waterfall.

There was only one way to continue on our adventure. We had to cross... the pond of doom.

Luckily, we had a couple of strong men with us who ferried us across and on to safety. Then they took back the boat so that others could also escape peril. (Wait a minute. Is that Brandon doing all the work while his Dad and big sis relax? I guess there aren't child labor laws on the Pond of Doom.) Little did we know what was waiting for us on the other side...

I know. You thought dinosaurs were extinct, but this is obviously not the case. Russ and Jess decided to feed one and make him their pet. Grandma was very impressed by their bravery.

We passed by the "Scream Turned To Stone". On the upper lip is the inscription Lasciate ogni pensiero vio ch'entrate, which means "Enter and suffer damnation". Needless to say, we quickly passed on. I'm not a rocket scientist, but that doesn't sound like a good thing.

Our path led us to a giant sculpture of Poseidon, the Greek God of rain and seas. Actually, the path went through a tunnel under the sculpture. It was pretty cool.

I was so busy admiring Poseidon that it took me a minute to realize the kids were missing. I rounded the corner and found... that they were making new friends. I explained to them that this little fellow liked to play a little rough, and they wisely agreed that maybe he wasn't the best choice for a new pet. His food bills alone would be enormous, and quite frankly, you don't want to have to explain to him why dinner was late.

Jess soon found another friend she had a lot more in common with. He must be a teenager, too.

This is the front of the Poseidon sculpture. There is an opening to the cave under the sculpture behind that waterfall. Like I said, very cool.

We wandered around in the forest for a while longer, and made a few more friends. Luckily, most of them were plant eaters.

Finally, Brandon stopped someone and asked them for directions out of there. This gentleman was kind enough to point the way to safety. We traveled quickly through Alcazar, Morocco, and Spain. We took a break in Spain to wait out an unexpected downpour of rain. We made the best of it with ice cream. If you have to get drenched, then celebrate it with ice cream, I always say. (Well, I said it this one time and it got me ice cream, so that's good enough for me.)

Our path finally left out of the darkness of the forest, but we weren't in the clear yet. We found ourselves in the company of Kato and Kenia, the parks two while lions.

Brandon found this interesting contraption. It was a heavy braided rope, suspended from around 12 cables. If you give it a hard push, then it swings back and forth like a giant battering ram while you climb down the middle of it.

So of course, Brandon had to do it. Several times. That kid does love to climb.

Just past the swinging contraption was a zip line. This was more Jess' style of adventure, so we took turns gliding over the lake the the other side of a small island, and then back again.

It was a lot of fun.

But this was even better. This ride alone is a big enough reason to come out to Mondo Verde. It's called a Nautic-Jet. And they have two of these babies!

So of course, Jess and her Dad just had to try it out. They both got in a little boat, fastened the safety bar, closed the metal gate and pulled the rope.

The machine pulled them backwards to the top of the incline... and let them go.

You sail down the big slide, go off a small ramp, catch some air, and splash down into the pond. Once you stop, a rope attached to the back of the boat pulls you back onto the starting platform agian.

And it's sooooooooo much fun! They just had to do it again... and again... and again. Did I mention that these rides don't cost any extra? They are included in the entrance to the park.

I fell victem to the peer pressure and gave it a try. See how high you fly off the end? Yep. It's awesome.

It was getting late in the day, so we had to say goodbye to our beloved Nautic-jet and head for the entrance to the park. It was dinner time for the porcupines, so we stopped to say HI and check them out.

It was also dinner time for these little monkeys, so Jess and Brandon fed them some nuts. This little guy not only rocked one awesome hairdo, he also had some impressive choppers. He knew just how to turn the nuts and bite down to crack them open very quickly. He was lots of fun to watch. Just look how seriously he takes this. Complete concentration.

We passed the Fontana del Tritone in Italy just before leaving. Triton (son of Neptune, god of the Sea) was half man/ half fish, and the fountian shows him blowing into a trumpet shell, symbolizing immortality. In all, we had one amazing day at Mondo Verde, and hope to return agian soon for more fun. I'll leave you with a little video of Russ riding the Nautic-jet. When I win the lottery, I'm going to put a lake out behind my castle and add a couple of Nautic-jets. Then I'll be one happy camper. I'm just saying.