Nairobi is Busy (and a Little Bit Magic)

My name is Anna, but some people call me Tata or Tutty. I am seven.

Before Nairobi, I flew on a tiny plane to the Mara with my bear Billo. He has been to 12 countries, and he says Kenya is his favourite. I think he is right.

Nairobi is crazy and has loud taxi music everywhere. But I felt safe, happy, and busy all the time. My best meal was pizza at a place called Cultiva. I had Nonna ham on a margarita (I think), and there was a vegetable garden where we could play.

The next day, we went to the Giraffe Centre. The first giraffe was a bit fussy, so I chose a baby, then I fed a very tall one. I named them Poppy and Luna. Their tongues were purplish-blue, slobbery, and bumpy. I felt safe. Their eyelashes are much, much longer than mine.

Daddy LOVES bookshops, so we went to 10,010 of them. While he looked for books, I read one about an angry monkey. He bought me three books. My favourite is The Shoemaker and the Elves. One day, I will read the books my Daddy writes.

Sometimes Nairobi made me a bit tired because there is so much happening all the time, but then something fun would always happen again. Like when Nonna had coffee with her friends, and I got a bit bored, so I wrapped napkins around Daddy’s fingers and made him laugh. That was a very good idea.

At the museum, I met an okapi and Ahmed, the biggest elephant ever. Nonna saw him a hundred years ago. A hippo tried to bite my head, but I just laughed. I also met a caveman family and saw my school bird, the Secretary Bird. I love flamingos because they are pink.

At the snake park, I wore a snake like a necklace. I was not scared, even when it kept moving. I thought it was a puff adder, but my brother said it was a rock python, so maybe he is right. On the last day, I went ziplining and flew through the trees. I felt like a bird, maybe even faster than my brother’s peregrine falcon.

Nairobi is loud and busy and a little bit magic.