WOOF, my faithful canine followers! I’ve taken a very long break from my travels; Bubba was homesick. Plus, I really wanted to be home with my best buds Dylan and Cole while they enjoyed a break between filming “Kings of Appletown” and starting production on “The Suite Life on Deck.” While it was good being home, watching them play Super Smash Bros. Brawl all day got kinda boring after a while. It was time to hit the road again…

So I took the great advice of loyal Sprouse Bros. fan Mackenzie and now I’m in Toronto, Canada enjoying the early days of Spring. It’s still pretty chilly here, but that’s what I have this cool fur coat for, right? Mackenzie sent me a HUGE list of places to visit which was quite helpful. After filling up on a big breakfast of protein-rich kibble, my first stop was Paramount Canada’s Wonderland, the largest theme park in Canada. Paramount Wonderland has more than 180 attractions and 50–yep, I said 50!–thrilling rides; I had a total blasty blast. Wonderland also has Canada’s only suspended roller coaster and the largest outdoor wave pool in the country. I dipped my paws in but didn’t go for a swim. Can you believe I forgot my arm floaties in Los Angeles? Safety first, kids!

On my second day of my trip I decided to visit some animal pals and cruised to the Toronto Zoo. One of the largest zoos in the world, the Toronto Zoo has over 5,000 animals representing over 460 species. Oh yea, and over six miles of walking trails. Six miles! If I had a tail, I would have walked it clean off! I tried to feed the straw colored fruit bat but it wouldn’t come out of its tree, so instead I went and growled at the Canada Lynx, a furry little cat I’m pretty sure I could have taken in a fight.

After all the animal bonding, I visited the CN Tower, the world’s tallest building. It stands over 1,815 feet tall. Now might be a good time to tell you guys Bubba-love is afraid of heights. But I braved the elevator ride to the Sky Pod, a viewing deck 1,465 feet up. I inched my paws to the window to check out the view and quickly ran back to the elevator with my nub between my legs. Yea, so I was scared. Want to make something of it?! I tried to calm my tummy with a bite from the award winning 360 restaurant which slowly spins around near the top of the tower, but got a doggy bag to go and am now resting comfortably four floors up at my hotel.

In the hotel hot tub tonight some lovely Canadian ladies told I still need to hit up the Ontario Science Center and some pretty sweet skate parks in the area. Maybe I’ll get to those tomorrow. For now I’m just going to lounge here, belly in the air, tongue wagging, paws firmly on the ground… WOOF!

PS–Did you notice the sweet new slideshow live now on sprousebros.com? The subject matter is fascinating, if I do say so myself. Woof!

Woof, my loyal travel readers! Pretty obvious from the picture where my latest adventure has taken me: to the happiest place on Earth, DISNEYLAND!

I know what you’re thinking, too. “Bubba, that’s not a trip for you! You live in Los Angeles.” I beg to differ. If you’ve ever been to Los Angeles and tried to get somewhere in the traffic we have, you’ll understand. Though it took Bubba almost two hours to get here, it was so worth it! This place is magical. The fun rides, the juicy hamburgers, the entertaining shows, the sweet churros, the parades, the tasty ice cream…my tail was wagging almost as much as my mouth was watering.

If you have the chance to visit, be prepared to walk a lot. My poor paws are still tingling from the miles logged on them but it helped work off all the churros I ate (and believe me, I ate A LOT of them). First I had my picture taken with my old pal Goofy and then together we growled and barked at Cruella de Ville as she strolled by. She doesn’t like dogs, can you believe it?! After that I headed over to Space Mountain where I zipped through outer space so fast drool was flying out of my mouth. A quick dip in the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage helped calm my nerves and ready me for Pirates of the Carribean! If you’re a fan of the movie, you gotta check out this ride. As my favorite humans would say, it’s sick.

There’s so much more to tell you guys about my day at the park I can’t possibly fit in all in one blog. Just go for yourselves; you won’t be sorry. A special WOOF of thanks to Kate from Idaho for the great travel tip. Be sure to send me your ideas and when I make it to your neck of the woods, I’ll be sure to send a special “WOOF” your way.

Howdy, y’all! I’m in Texas, the Lone Star state, hanging out on the set of my best buddies’ (that’s Dylan and Cole for our new readers) new movie, Kings of Appletown. Do I have a Southern accent yet? So far this trip has been the cat’s meow (grrr, cats!). I’ve been traveling to the set with Dylan and Cole everyday which is a pretty long trip. Who knew movies were filmed so far away from restaurants and dog parks? When I’m not sleeping in the trailer, I’m usually hanging around craft services just waiting for someone to drop a morsel. Movie set catering is delicious, mmmmm.

I’ve loved spending time along the Guadeloupe River and have been going out on the river in speedboats any chance I get. I even dared to jump in a few times which scared Dylan and Cole to death! They’ve since learned their beloved Bubba is a very good swimmer. It’s also funny to see how many fans I have. At the end of every day, Dylan and Cole sign autographs for the fans watching from afar, and it never fails: people know who I am! A few have even asked to get their pictures taken with me. I love my fans and am happy to hang with them whenever I can. A big WOOF WOOF to all of you who keep supporting me, my travels and my pals Cole and Dylan!

If you want to see more behind the scenes action, check out the latest podcast. Unfortunately the director decided to cut me from all the scenes, but it’s a good one even without my handsome face.

My paws are itching for more adventures so be sure to send me any travel destinations you suggest I visit. Who knows, I just may end up in your city and will have you to personally thank for it. Until then, I’m off to the craft services tables; they’re serving BBQ today! Woof!

Woof, my beloved blog readers! Today my journey takes me to Petra in the country of Jordan. Now, I came here not only because it’s the very last stop in my travels to the new Seven Wonders of the World, but because it has a word in its name that is near and dear to my heart. Can you figure it out? That’s right: “pet”! Now, Bubba boy doesn’t really fancy himself a pet as much as a faithful canine companion/pup of many talents, but I digress. Regardless of its catchy name, Petra is awesome! Located in southwestern Jordan and famous for having many stone structures carved into the rock, the long-hidden site was revealed to the Western world by the Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt in 1812. You may recognize it as the Holy Temple where the Holy Grail is located in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Back in the day (we’re talking way back in the day, people—sometime around 6th century BC), Petra was first established by the Nabataean Arabs, a nomadic tribe who settled in the area and started a commercial empire that extended into Syria. Petra is about 3-5 hours south of modern Amman, on the edges of the mountainous desert of the Wadi Araba. The city is surrounded by towering hills of rust-colored sandstone which gave the city some natural protection against invaders. The color of the rock ranges from pale yellow or white to rich reds and the darker brown of more resistant rocks.

From the official entrance to the site, called the Siq, is a dusty trail that leads downwards along the Wadi Musa (The Valley of Moses). Situated in small rock outcrops to the left and right are some small Nabataean tombs, carved into the dry rock. Beyond these, walls of sandstone rise steeply on the left, and a narrow cleft reveals the entrance to the Siq, the principal route into Petra itself. The Nabataeans were amazing hydraulic engineers, a.k.a. really good with water flow. The walls of the Siq are lined with channels to carry drinking water to the city, while a dam to the right of the entrance diverted an adjoining stream to prevent it flooding. Once inside, the Siq narrows to little more than five metres in width, while the walls tower up hundreds of metres on either side. The floor, originally paved, is now largely covered with soft sand, although evidence of Nabataean construction can still be seen in some places.

The best-known of the monuments at Petra, the Khazneh, is also the first to greet the visitor arriving via the Siq (this is what you saw in Indiana Jones and my lovely picture above). The facade, carved out from the sandstone cliff wall, is 40m high, and is pretty well preserved, probably because the confined space where it’s built has protected it from the effects of erosion. The name Khazneh, which means ‘treasury’ comes from the legend that it was used as a hiding place for treasure. I looked and I didn’t see any. In practice, it seems to have been something between a temple and a tomb, possibly both at once.

I only hope my limited dog vocabulary can express how amazing this place is. I’ve been to a lot of cool places and seen a lot of cool things (and climbed a lot of steps) but Petra has to be one of my favorites! While my paws got pretty sore walking around (and pretty dirty from all the sand), I give Petra two woofs and a shake of a nubby tail. Woof!

Woof, woof! Thanks to all of you who sent me birthday wishes last week. It makes my tail wag to know everyone cares so much about little ol’ me! With all the birthday bones I ate, I was in need of some serious rest and relaxation. But I’m back on the road and made a stop at Machu Picchu in Peru this week! One of the last remaining stops on my tour of the newly designated Seven Wonders of the World, is a pre-Columbian Inca city located on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru. Machu Picchu is probably the most familiar symbol of the Inca Empire and is often referred to as “The Lost City of the Incas”. In 1983 te site was designated as a World Heritage Site and was described as “an absolute masterpiece of architecture and a unique testimony to the Inca civilization.” Woof wow, huh?!

Constructed around 1450 at the height of the Inca Empire, Macchu Picchu was abandoned less than 100 years later, as the empire collapsed under Spanish conquest. Although the citadel is located only about 50 miles from the Inca capital of Cusco, it was never found and destroyed by the Spanish, as were many other Inca sites. Over the centuries, the surrounding jungle grew to enshroud the site, and few knew of its existence. Lucky for me, in 1911, Yale historian and explorer Hiram Bingham rediscovered the “lost” city. Bingham and others believe the citadel was the traditional birthplace of the Inca people, while curators of a recent exhibit here speculated Machu Picchu was a royal retreat.

All of the construction in Machu Picchu uses the classic Inca architectural style of polished dry-stone walls. The Incas were masters of this technique, called ashlar, perfectly cutting blocks of stone to fit together tightly without mortar. Many junctions in the central city are so perfect that not even a knife fits between the stones. The Incas never used the wheel; how they moved and placed enormous blocks of stones is a mystery, although the general belief is they used hundreds of men to push the stones up inclined planes. Macchu Picchu is composed of 140 constructions including temples, sanctuaries, parks and houses with thatched roofs. As seems to be a theme in my recent travels, there are steps…lots of steps! My poor paws. More than one hundred flights of stone steps are completely carved from a single block of granite. There are also many water fountains which are interconnected by channels and water-drainages perforated in the rock which were designed for the original irrigation system.

Because of my birthday and pre-booked plane tickets to my next destination, I didn’t have much time to explore other parts of Peru but it’s on my list of places to come back and visit. Speaking of visits, thanks to all of you who sent me ideas for where to head on my next adventures. I’m keeping a doggy journal (I’m a pup of many words) of your ideas so keep sending them! Who knows, I could be heading to a city near you soon! Woof!

Woof, everyone! After taking some time off to hang with my best buds Dylan and Cole in good ol’ New York City during their promotional trip to support Sprouse Bros. 47 R.O.N.I.N., my endeavor to see all the newly selected “Seven Wonders of the World” continued with a trip to the Pyramid of Kukulcan at Chichen Itza in Mexico. Chichen Itza, Yucatec Maya for “at the mouth of the well of the Itza”, is a large pre-Columbian archaeological site built by the Maya civilization located in the northern center of the Yucatán Peninsula.
The Pyramid, or El Castillo (the castle) as it’s often called, is a massive step pyramid with stairways up each of the 4 sides to the temple on top. Along the northern staircase are great sculptures of serpents. Probably the coolest thing though is that on the first days of Spring and Fall when the sun rises and sets, the corner of the structure casts a shadow in the shape of a plumed serpent - Kukulcan - along the side of the North staircase. The shadows totally look like a snake slithering down the side of the pyramid! How cool is that?!
It turns out El Castillo is actually two buildings built on top of each other. The Mexican government excavated the site in the 1930s and discovered a staircase under the north side of the pyramid. By digging from the top, archeologists found another temple buried below the current one. Inside the temple chamber was a Chac Mool statue and a throne in the shape of jaguar, painted red with spots made of inlaid jade. They also discovered that each side originally only had 91 steps but the additional floors brought the total number of steps to 356 per side which archeologists believe proves the pyramid was linked to the Mayan people’s interest in astronomy and calendars.
My little paws were barking by the time I reached the top of the pyramid (hey, stairs are hard when you’re legs are so short), so I hung out and enjoyed the excellent view of the surrounding area of Chichén Itza. I also roamed through the upper temple which is full of images of Chaac, the Maya rain god. Lucky for me, no rain came this fine day!
I can’t believe there’s only two more of the Seven Wonders of the World left to see! Where should I go next? If you’ve got some great plans, send them my way. Have passport, will travel! Woof!

WOOF! My travels to the newly selected Seven Wonders of the World continue with a stop in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and tour of the statue of Christ the Redeemer. The statue stands 130 feet tall, weighs 700 tons and is located at the top of the 2,296 foot Corcovado Mountain overlooking the entire city and surrounding waterways. How’s that for an impressive view?

The idea for the statue first came up in the mid-1850s but the actual statue wasn’t erected until 1931. After considering many different designs including a cross, a statue of Jesus with a globe in his hands, and a pedestal symbolizing the world, the statue of Christ the Redeemer with open arms was chosen. Local engineer Heitor da Silva Costa designed the statue and it was sculpted by French monument sculptor Paul Landowski. A group of engineers and technicians studied the design intensely and decided to build the structure out of reinforced concrete instead of steel, which was more suitable for the cross-shaped statue. The outer layers are soapstone imported from Sweden. Construction of the statue took five years and cost $250,000. That’s a whole lot of dog treats!

After a tour of the monument my poor paws were aching and I was in need of some rest and relaxation. So I headed to Copacabana beach, one of the most famous beaches in the world (thank you very much, Mr. Barry Manilow), to catch a nap and some rays. Rio’s population is estimated at 11 million people and with the weather so warm right now, it seemed like everyone in Rio was on that beach. Woof wow!

I definitely want to come back to Brazil during Carnival, a HUGE festival season held during February or March. Carnival typically involves a parade combining elements of a circus and public street party. People dress up or masquerade during the celebrations and from everything I’ve heard, it’s a raucous good time! Maybe I can get my old pals Dylan and Cole to come along. I’m sure they’d love the beach and the babes… I know I sure do. Woof-Woof!

Grrrrr! Woof! WOOF! Woof-Woof!! Grrrrrrrrr! Hey it’s Bubba. I’m practicing my gladiator dog fighting techniques. Just came from the Roman Colosseum. Now picture this! The crowd sits in silent excitement, waiting for the world’s greatest gladiator dog to enter the arena. The Emperor nods his head and out comes Bubba! The crowd goes wild!!

OK, so it was humans who were the gladiators and not the dogs, but when I walked into the Colosseum, I could hear the roar of the crowd in my head. I guess I have a pretty wild imagination. That’s what Dylan and Cole tell me anyway. That and I have a wild appetite.

Other than the gladiator battles, they also hunted animals in the Colosseum. The Romans would bring in animals from other places (mostly Africa) and would hunt them. They’d make a big production of it with huge set pieces like in the theatre and fake trees and everything. Being an animal myself, I can’t say I’m too keen on this whole idea but those Romans sounded like they were sometimes pretty bloodthirsty folks.

This great amphitheater in the centre of Rome was built to give favors to successful legionnaires and to celebrate the glory of the Roman Empire. Its design concept still stands to this very day, and virtually every modern sports stadium some 2,000 years later still bears the irresistible imprint of the Colosseum’s original design. Today, through films and history books, we are even more aware of the cruel fights and games that took place in this arena, all for the joy of the spectators.

The Colosseum was used to host gladiatorial shows as well as a variety of other events. The shows, called munera, were always given by individuals rather than the state. They had a strong religious element but were also demonstration of power and family prestige, and were immensely popular with the population. Another popular type of show was the animal hunt, or venatio. This utilized a great variety of wild beasts, mainly imported from Africa, and included creatures such as rhinoceros, elephants, giraffes, lions, panthers, leopards, and ostriches. Battles and hunts were often staged amid elaborate sets with movable trees and buildings. Such events were occasionally on a huge scale; Trajan is said to have celebrated his victories in Dacia in 107 with contests involving 11,000 animals and 10,000 gladiators over the course of 123 days.

I wonder what kind of food they had at that crazy long celebration? Mmmm, food. It’s time for me to eat! When in Rome right? WOOF!

WOOF!! It’s Bubba keeping up with my mission to see all the new wonders of the world. Just got back from the Taj Mahal. WOW! Did you know it’s all made of white marble and it took 22 years to build it?

While visiting, I found out why the Taj Mahal was built which is kind of a sad story. See this Emperor, Shah Jahan, got real upset when his second wife Mumtaz Mahal died during childbirth. Mumtaz Mahal was his favorite wife (I guess in some places, especially a long time ago men had more than one wife). Anyway, nothing could make him feel better so he had his people start working on the Taj Mahal as a mausoleum for her.
Construction of the Taj Mahal was begun soon after Mumtaz’s death. The principal mausoleum was completed in 1648, and the surrounding buildings and garden were finished five years later.

The Taj Mahal (sometimes called “the Taj”) is generally considered the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements of Persian, Turkish, Indian, and Islamic architectural styles. While the white domed marble mausoleum is the most familiar part of the monument, the Taj Mahal is actually an integrated complex of structures. In 1983 the Taj became a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was cited as “the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world’s heritage.”

After a long day of touring the Taj, I was ready to get my grub on so I headed into the city for a traditional Indian meal. Indian cuisine is characterized by its extensive use of spices and herbs as well as many different dishes and cooking techniques. It all equals yummy to me. Plates of lamb kebabs, tandoori chicken and fish curry later, I’m ready for a good belly rub and a long nap. WOOF!

WOOF! Just came down from the Great Wall of China! That was something. I sure do love all I’m learning on my travels. The Great Wall – well - a lot of it has been falling apart on account of it being built back in the 5th Century. It’s now the 21st century so that means that it was built…well…now let me think, 500 subtracted from 2,100…no wait, it’s 2007, so…mmmnn….well, it was a really really long time ago.

Anyway, in China, they been rebuilding and repairing a lot of the Great Wall. Looks to me like they’re doing a heck of a job. It has to be pretty tough, because that Great Wall is about 4,000 miles long. It goes from Shanhai Pass all the way to Lop Nur. Silly me, I thought I could walk the whole thing. Even if it was all in one piece, that’s a heck of a long way to go! Whew!

I headed to Mutianya that’s about three hours outside of Beijing. Some local humans told me that was a good spot to climb the Great Wall. They had cable car to take you up to the top of this one section, but I’m a young dog. I figured I could climb it myself. It was tough. It was a lot steeper than I imagined, but I made it.

I tell you, there’s something about strolling up a wall that folks walked on hundreds and hundreds of years ago. I looked out into all the trees and bushes and imagined being a Chinese soldier scoping out my territory for Mongol invaders. I thought about looking for fire signals from top of a watchtower, so I’d know everything was all right with my buddies who were guarding other parts of the wall. I think I would’ve made one heck of a guard dog. What do you think?

Anyway, I best be getting back home. I gotta get to LA by this weekend cause it’s my Dylan and Cole’s birthday. Nothing, not even the Great Wall of China could stop me from missing that! WOOF-WOOF!!