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We set alarms to get up a bit earlier, not entirely successful but we were out just after 9. We headed the metro having decided it was probably the quickest way to get to the zoo, although we had seen the free bus also goes that way. We ended up waiting nearly 15 minutes for the train to arrive so it took a bit longer to get there than we had thought. We eventually arrived just before 10 and headed straight down the Asia Trail for the Pandas. Last time we were here, we had been unable to see the giant pandas so this time we wanted to give ourselves the best chance. We were in luck, having checked the live feed screens that show the 'Panda Cam' we saw one of the pandas outside playing with a ring. He was right at the back of the enclosure initially with his back to us, but he did get up and move around a litle bit before heading back inside. We decided to head on and see some of the other animals.

We started by revisting the earlier parts of the Asia Trail that we had skipped enroute to the pandas. The red panda was no where to be seen and the clouded leopard was asleep at the back of its enclosure, we moved on. We saw the American Bison, and then had a bit of a break on some benches, stopping for some water and cookies. From there we went to look at the Elephants and visited the small mammal house where they had a range of species including a sloth, some tamarin, and naked mole rats amongst others. We headed back up the Asia trail as it was getting on for feeding time for the Pandas so we thought we might get a better luck. When we arrived we found one of the pandas slobbing about on a hammock chewing bamboo, it was really close, which was awesome. Feeding time consisted of a frozen fruit so we stood for a while watching the Panda scoff its way through it and then walked along to the other part of the enclosure to see the other panda that was also out - amazing!

We stopped by the Panda Plaza for some lunch sharing pizza and crisps and then cracked on to see some more of the animals. We went in the Great Ape House to see some of the Apes and then walked on to the big cats. The tigers weren't out unfortunately and the male lion was asleep but the female lions were a bit more alert and moving around so we stood and watched them for a while before moving on. We headed back up the hill through the American trail looking at the sea lion and stopping for an ice-cream. Continuing on, we saw the American Eagle, and the river otters, but that was about it as we werent able to see the bear, the wolf or the beaver. Before heading out, we decided to revisit the bison, Dani had spotted a small yellow bird when we there earlier in the day, but I hadn't managed to get a photo, we didn't really expect to see it again, but suprisingly it was there, I guess they must be nesting nearby. There was a mention on some signs about the zoo within the zoo as birds, insects and other animals that aren't part of the zoo are attracted to the site. We did infact see a range of butterflies, birds and chipmunks on our way around. 

Feeling a bit tired we decided to call it a day a bit after 5. Despite not seeing everything, it really is a great day out and incredibly, free to visit, the enclosures are well designed and I would highly recommend a visit if you get a chance. We decided to catch the free bus back which went from just outside the metro station about a 10 minute walk from the zoo entrance. We had a bit of a break at the hotel, before heading to Nandos for tea, it's our last day tomorrow! 

This is just a quick one to wish Dani a very Happy Birthday. Hope you had a great day at the zoo and enjoyed the cake! 

We had a car rental collection booked for 9am at the airport today, so after gathering our stuff we nipped down to Subway to grab some breakfast and then caught an Uber taxi to the airport. Getting the car was nice and straight forward and we were quickly on our way. We'd paid for a GPS which was handy as we stull don't have data on our phones. As it turned out getting the car from the airport was probably easier as we didn't have to navigate out of a city, instead we were quite quickly on the interstate. The journey was fairly staightforward following the same road for the majority of the trip, so cruise control came in particularly useful. About an hour in to the trip, still in Canada we got stuck in some traffic, there had been an accident and it added an hour to the journey so we crawled on for quite a while. We eventually reached the boarder crossing and as we were British, we had to go inside, so we pulled the car over to the place that had been pointed out and then looked around for how to get in to the border office, which eventually involved clambering over some rocks and going in what looks like a side door (a bit dodgy).

We had to pay $6 each for a border waiver which was duly fastened into our passports with the warning that it must be removed at the airport otherwise we may be consider illegal aliens. The border patrol officer was asking if we were going to a redsocks game whilst in Boston, but we said the only game was tonight and we didn't think we'd make it in time, he told us it was easy Boston is only 4 hours away ... famous last words.

Back on the road we seemed to be the only car traveling down the highway. Vermont was very green with lots of trees and not a lot else to see from the road. We did follow a sign for some services, but never found them, evenutally ended up at a McDonalds about 20 minutes out of the way. Had a bit of lunch and whilst there got some petrol from the petrol station next door. Continuing on the rest of the journey went fairly smoothly until we were a couple of miles out of Boston, and then we got stuck in traffic, crawling into town very slowly, adding another hour to the journey. Finding the drop off point for the car was far from simple, but after a bit of a panic we made it. We dropped the key and then walked our stuff over to the hotel, it was pretty warm and took about 20 minutes, eventually arriving about 7.30pm we were pretty shattered. We made it to a Burger King for a bit of tea, before dragging ourselves back to the hotel. We're close to Boston common and walking back through it on the way back we found hundred of people sat watching a free performance of Shakespeare's Cymbeline, apprently it's on for the next few nights, so after taking a few photos we headed back to the hotel feeling tired.