Sunday evening, our hosts drove us from Shanghai to Hangzhuo. The freeways were very modern, and not too busy, but the countryside was almost constant with cities and towns. Shanghai went on forever, of course, with its nearly 30 million population! We arrived in Hangzhuo (a smaller provincial city of ONLY 6 million!) at around 6pm. Our hotel in Hangzhuo is a resort hotel on the edge of the famous West Lake. The area is a favorite holiday destination for honeymooners, because of its beauty and tranquility. The area around Hangzhuo is beginning to become mountainous - foothills mainly, nothing really tall. On the hill above the Xizi Hotel is the Lie-Feng Tower, which is a beautiful landmark, light up at night. Immediately after arriving and a short rest (which seems to mean only enough time ... read more

We spent Sunday morning walking to and around the Bund in Shanghai. It is a bit of a contrast in architecture, with very European style buildings, mostly former banks or customs houses, now serving as high-end stores or shopping centers. The Huang Pu River is wide; on the other side was the Oriental Pearl, the tallest TV tower in the world. Neat architecture all around us! On our way to the Bund we walked through a number of market areas where the locals were picking up their groceries - all kinds of similar and different veggies, and quite a few different deep fried selections…! We did a little shopping in the pedestrian mall off Nanjing Road. This is one of the more famous shopping areas in Shanghai, as we walked east from the Bund, and back ... read more

We arrived safe and sound. Checked into our hotel (Salvo Hotel) in Shanghai and will go for a bite to eat in a little while. It has been a LONG day. The flight was almost 13 hours from Vancouver. We are 14 hours ahead of SK/AB time, so it is just after 5 am for you. Thomas watched movies and played PSP most of the flight. I managed to get some work done, also caught up on some movies, and started a new book (reading, not writing). Like I said, it was a long flight! Mom (Grandma) and Auntie Dawn also saw a few movies. From the sound of it, I think I got the most sleep on the plane, so I am sure it will be a easy night to sleep tonight! The trip for ... read more

As you read this (if you are reading this!) we are on our flights home! Very excited about this. The last 24 hours was a bit of a whirl-wind, taking the train from Milan, arriving in Rome, heading out for last minute shopping, then for dinner, a sleep, another train to Fiumicino (Rome’s airport) and now waiting for our plane to Toronto.... After 4 different hotels, each with a pretty extensive buffet breakfast, and a couple of slow trains in both directions between Rome and Milan, we can’t wait to get back to St. Albert, our own beds, and for me, as always after a long trip, an XL double-double...! Kaffe Americano a latte just doesn’t cut it. It has been fabulous, and, as I told Cyd at breakfast this morning, especially nice for me to ... read more

What a shopping day here in Milan! We headed out at 10am, hoping to beat the crowds that we saw yesterday. We were going back down to Piazza del Duomo and the ritzy Quadrilatero d’Oro (Golden Quad) to see what we could find. As we arrived, it was raining, however, so we ducked into the Galleria Vittorio again, and decided to sit and people-watch for a while. We settled into a small table at Zucca, which is one of the famous cafes I mentioned in yesterday’s blog entry. It was opened in 1867, is famous for its art-deco interior, and looks onto Piazza del Duomo, so there is a constant stream of tourists, and on this Sunday morning, we suspected many of the local Milanese would also be around. We had a cappuccino, which Cyd says ... read more