Travel Blog Posts
January 5th 2009
We are finally home!! We left Shanghai under rainy skies at 2pm Sunday. Arrived in San Fran about 8am Sunday morning, traveling back in time!! Left San Fran at 10:30am and then to Denver and then KC. We arrived home about 7pm. Gus was overjoyed to see us. And everything here at the house was intact. We have a great trip and made lots of memories. I would definitely recommend China to anyone with a sense of adventure. ... read more
January 4th 2009
Shopping again this morning. The Gormans bought two new suitcases, we bought one. The Gormans left today at 2pm so now we are down to 12 of us. Shopping again this PM to make sure we didn't miss anything that we had to have. We are scheduled to leave the hotel tomorrow at 11am. Today was much warmer than the last few. We went to Malone's for dinner tonight. They have great American burgers and a pool table. My brother is on their dart team. Afterwards we went to Jim and Katy's apartment and had a great Japanese cake for my brother's 50th birthday which is March 1st. This trip was actually his birthday celebration but winter break worked much better for the kids than in March. Happy early Birthday, Jim!!!... read more
January 3rd 2009
Some of the guys got up early today (5:45) to go to the Big Bamboo bar to watch the Rose Bowl game - they drank some pints, played some pool and were disappointed in the game results. Then back they came to the hotel for breakfast brunch. They all took a nap after that. We went to the Orient Pearl TV tower on the Pudong side of Shanghai. They wouldn't let us up (see pic). Then walked along the Huangpu river with all its barge traffic. Then took a ferry over to the Bund which is a world famous riverfront walkway of beautiful buildings in a variety of architectural styles. We then walked down Nanjing Road which probably had close to a million people on it or so it seemed. For dinner that night we went ... read more
January 3rd 2009
Happy New Year's to you all. Everyone got a slow start today - we went to a market in the afternoon that was in the subway. Was just store after store in a maze-like atmosphere. We all came away with something. We went to dinner at a Brazilian Steakhouse where they bring spits of meat to the table and carve it off for you. Some of items in the "The Parade of Meats" were beef tongue, lamb chops, prime rib, pork and beef tenderloin, lamb hearts and leg of lamb plus alot of other cuts. Everyone had a good time guessing what kind of meat it was. Not many pictures of today.... read more
January 2nd 2009
Happy New Year's Eve!! We had a wonderful buffet breakfast at our hotel and went off on a shopping trip to a market about 15 min. away. Gucci, Coach, Fendi, Juicy Couture, Rolex, Chanel, etc., etc. You name it they've got it or can get it... Bartering is a sport here and everyone in our group loves it and tries to find the best bargain. That afternoon we went to Yu Yuan Gardens built in the 1500's for an emperor. Was a gorgeous maze of rock garden, pavilions and water features. We attended a New Year's Eve Party at the Marriott down the street. The older cousins who could attend thought this would be a bunch of older people having a boring time but it wasn't. We walked into rap music with a pounding bass. It ... read more
January 2nd 2009
Today we travel to Shanghai. We had the morning to do more sightseeing and went to the temple of A-Ma dedicated to the godesss of seafarers. It is Macau's oldest Chinese temple with parts of it dating back more than 600 years. There were quite a few people praying there and the incense smoke was thick. They had these huge coils of incense lit all over the place. We also saw the Moorish barracks. We had to catch the ferry to Shenzhen where we were flying out of to Shanghai. When we got to the piers they had changed our boat to a slower one making the ferry ride 1-1/2 hours instead of one. We were already operating on a tight schedule with little time to spare. Our frantic trip from ferry to airport bus to ... read more
January 2nd 2009
Everybody visited the same places today but at different times. Some of the highlights were the Ruins of St. Paul which is an icon for Macao, next to it is the Monte Fortress with great views of the city. Also visited was Fisherman's Wharf which is a complex of areas featuring different architecture, restaurants and shops such Portugal, New Orleans, Old Macao. Took to the bus to Cotai between th islands of Taipa and Coloane and visited the Venetian. They had great shopping and food arcade. We found a great new casino game, video roulette. A covered roulette wheel is surrounded by 8 video screens on which you bet. The boys thought they were great fun. That night we went to a neat little Portuguese restaurant and with dinner drank some vinho verde, a very popular ... read more
January 1st 2009
Today is a very foggy day and we checked out of our hotel at noon, hauled our luggage to the MTR and headed for the piers. One hour hydrofoil ferry ride and we arrive in a even foggier Macao. After checking in our hotel, we head to Largo do Senado. This is a large square which has been a hub of Macao for centuries. It was beautifully lighted for Christmas. We had a huge Chinese meal in a fun restaurant there. One of meals was a whole chicken and its' head was included to show it was fresh. The kids didn't have lunch and it was like the locusts landed at their table. They got a couple of the adults' meals and before we could retrieve them -everything was gone. We broke into groups and headed ... read more
December 30th 2008
Today we went to a food festival at The Convention Center. We only saw one other non-Asian person there. It's amazing how many unappetizing things the Chinese eat. We went to the mid-levels where there is the longest escalator in the world. (Don't quote me on that). We wandered among the various street markets there. That night we went to Times Square which is patterned off the one in New York. Was very crowded but amazing. We had dinner a ex-pat place which was broadcasting a Irish soccer game and had a very animated crowd.... read more
December 30th 2008
Today is a official holiday so everybody is out and about. We went to Stanley on the south side of the island today. Another cliff-hanging bus ride. There we spent a lot of time shopping in the street markets. I got Gus a darling Chinese coat. We ate lunch at Smuggler's Inn along the waterfront. That evening, Jim and Katy hosted a Boxing Day dinner at the Veranda in Repulse Bay, a very old British Colonial type of place. It was a delicious 4 course meal - the kids had their first taste of foie gras. Weather is still great in the high 60's. ps I have added some pictures from previous days because I have a faster internet connection. ... read more
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