Day Five: Part 1

I define heaven as aNy place where I am treated like a queen. Silk robe laid out, slippers on stand by, bath waiting, room lit with candles and a specially chosen scent to match my mood wafting through the air. And of course my own personal (for 90 minutes at least) massuere to kneed away all my worries. By that definition, I have just spent the better part of my morning in heaven. Now I am sitting in the lounge sipping (free) bubbly and nibbling (free) treats. The only stress in my mind is knowing that as soon as I post this blog CK will get a copy via email while he is slaving away at work. Sorry dear... And thanks for bringing me to Hong Kong. X

Day Four: Hong Kongs Only Attraction

Shopping, of course.
I set out with a plan... Hit up the designer sample sales, then the Sosa Mall, maybe a few temples and then back to TST for an up and coming HK Designers mall. I have just sat down for the first time after 10 hours of shopping... No lunch, no water breaks and no temples... Just shopping except for the 60 minute semi lost excursion into lands unknown. I've been elbowed, kicked, stepped on and possibly poked in the ribs by little Asian ladies all day. They take their shopping serious. At one point I had a few things in my hands trying to decide on sizes when a woman took both items from my hands and walked away with them. I could have fought or said something but since I was slowly losing my will to live, I just let her walk away.I left the store and head out to ride the double decker trolley... because there is no other way to wipe away your shopping tears than on a trolley.
On I hopped and away it went (clang clang went the trolley), 15 minutes later I was suddenly aware that I had gone the wrong direction. So, off I hopped and then started the journey to the right place... 30 minutes, 2 buses and a subway ride later I was saddling up to mall number 3.
A good idea in theory as it was half way between the last destination, the next destination and the hotel. However, I quickly discovered that Ocean Galleria (or something to that effect) does not cater to my budget. I am pretty sure that only 1% of the worlds population could shop here. The mall itself was teeming with people but the shops (Valentino, Prada, etc) were empty except for security and the shop assistance. So needless to say I was on to the fianl destination rather quickly.
A lovely back alley, 5 story office building that has been gutted and filled with stalls. I had my heart set on designers manning their areas with needle and thread in hand but was disappointed to find most stuff was imported from Korea. The stall keepers were all painfully cool and did everything in their power to make shoppers feel uncomfortable in the stalls.
Not a total wash as I did make away with some bootie. Shoes, cardagian, vest top, jacket and scarf! However, there will be no photos to commemorate the adventure as photography is banned in the malls! Seriously, one snap of a poorly worded t-shirt sent security running from their secret hideaway threatening to take my memory card until I convinced them the blurry image had been deleted. Security told me in broken English that photos of public spaces were a threat to national security. I suppose if you want to inflict maximum damage in HK blowing up a mall would do the trick! Now this blog post will never make it past China censors! Just to be clear I in no way condone blowing things up malls or otherwise.
Tomorrow's plan... Traditional Chinese massage at 10:30 preceded by a ritual bathing to prepare me for ultimate benefit and followed by lounging at the rooftop pool. Closing out the afternoon with high tea at the Peninsula Hotel and then dinner with the hubby. A day of shopping followed by a day of pampering... Folks, you are witnessing the birth of a monster!

Day 3: An Attempt to Escape the Smog

Over (or under if you take the express bus) the mountain and through the semi jungle lies Stanley... More markets, a dip in the bay and unfortunately more smog, too. Most of the photos just look hazy. Hazy: noun, what the locals call the smog in Hong Kong.

Another bus, another country, another adventure

I am sat on the top of a double Decker bus to Stanley on the southern side of Hong Kong Island. Can't help but recall our adventures via bus in Laos and Cambodia. There are differences today; the bus was built in this century, it is not held together with duck tape and there is no thumping of bad techno music to be heard. And, of course, this is a solo bus journey.
I've been fighting the urge to visit the same markets as yesterday. Staying within walking distance of the hotel is appealing. But the thought of missing an adventure is mire than enough to pull me along through the subway, onto the bus and ultimately  wapping 15 km over (possibly under as I've heard rumor of a tunnel) the hills to southern Hong Kong Island.
Typing on a tiny phone on a bumpy bus is less than ideal... so I will end with this... I am a lucky lucky girl and am trying my best to make the most of every possible opportunity.

Day 2: Birds, Fish and Gnomes (Oh My!)

Hong Kong Day 1: In Pictures

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Hong Kong

Thinking back to our trip to Bangkok, I remember thinking this is the land where West and East collide in spectacular fashion. Well, Hong Kong is the land the West consumed and the East is eager to reclaim! I have never seen so many high rise buildings in one place. Nor have I seen so many malls and shops. Around every corner is a Prada, Gucci, Dunhill, Longchamp, Tiffany, D&G, Coach, Valentino... You get the picture... And in-between are every other possible shop you could imagine including door to door malls and gallerias. And I suspect, from what I could see, they are full of people. As I type, it is Sunday night at 10:58 pm and as I look out my 40th story window I can see hundreds of people in the streets, the shops are all open and the neon lights are aglow! Speaking of 40th story, we aren't close to being the tallest building...by a long shot! The main thing reminding me that we are in Asia is the fact that I tower of most of the women and the majority of the men!

I have not fully formed my thoughts on this crazy little island. But I can say with certainty that I am looking forward to getting to know it. Today we wondered around Hong Kong Island, riding the Peak Tram to the top of Victoria Peak, took in the views of the Harbor and the skyline over a late lunch, then road the bus down to Central Pier to take the Star Ferry back to Kowloon and finally enjoyed drinks and dinner while watching the nightly laser light show along the skyline.

The bed is calling me now but I will try to upload photos tomorrow. I until then...

Conflict of Heart and Mind

Since before Christmas we have been plotting the Florida Girl take over of South East Asia. Months of preparation have gone into the trip and we all know what I am like when it is time to plan. I initially told Chris, "let's just go for a few weeks and let the tide take us where it will. No need to plan or stress... just pack a bag and set off." He doubted my ability to give up control... he was right. It started with a few Internet searches and then I insisted on a few trips to various book stores around London. Now I have a calender, it has destinations, I have notes... pages and pages of notes, and I even bought an old school folding map of Laos and Cambodia. I have asked everyone and their friends about where to go and what to do... I plan like a germ-a-phobe washes their hands, without regard for our relaxed 'go with the flow' holiday. Alas, I am who I am and I am a planner. In 8 days, we are off to Bangkok and then to Laos and finally to Cambodia. That gives me 7 days to create daily itineraries, plan out every meal and ensure no stone goes unturned... just kidding, I am not THAT bad ;-)

Florida Girl returns...

After a very long winter and a rather dull London summer, we headed to Rosemary Beach for Labor Day. My dad and Lori drove over from Jacksonville for a night before heading north to Tennessee. Michelle, Matt and trey came down from Atlanta for the end of the week. We had a week of sunshine and amazing heat... which I am dearly missing at this moment! Chris and I were on the beach every single day and if I look closely enough I can still see faint tan lines over 4 months later!

 Me, Chris, Laurie, Mike, Michelle, Trey and Matt

 Our first day on the beach... HEAVEN!

Lori, me and my dad.

Christopher and his toes...

Chris, me and Trey... after a week in the sun.

Trey sporting his Polska t-shirt. 

 I'm at the beach... Woo Hoo!!!

The trick is to jump a little but bend your knees a lot! 

Canterbury Cathedral

Canterbury Cathedral dates back to 597AD. It is the original Anglican Church in the United Kingdom and the first incarnation of the church was built for the Pagan King Ethelbert's wife, Queen Bertha, to worship! In short, it is incredibly old!

The inside is pretty impressive. Although I think we are starting to develop a bit of boredom with cathedrals in general. Seems like if you have seen one you have seen them all. And we have seen some of the greats: Notre Dame in Paris, Koln Dom in Germany, St Vitus in Prague just to name a few. The exception to this might just be the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. 

The church has a ton of history. Some may have heard of Thomas Becket. He was Arch Bishop of Canterbury and was killed in the church by 'order' of King Henry II. Following his death, his tomb became a point of mass pilgrimage as it was believed that miracles occurred there. However, in the 1530's King Henry VIII destroyed the shrine when he overtook the church and declared himself the head of the Church of England. I overheard the guide say that they King's men carted away almost 30 wagons of jewels that pilgrims had left! 

When Matt and Michelle came to visit, Michelle kept saying that everything reminded her of Harry Potter. I bet the Cloisters would have made her say it again! 

Except for the graves in the middle, I could see Harry kicking off for a quick fly about on his broom stick! I wonder if thinking about Harry Potter at such a holy and religious site is sacrilege? 

Following our tour of the Cathedral we walked around the streets of Canterbury and ended our day on a punting boat tour... Until next time! XXX

I Heart Northern Ireland

After the better part of an afternoon in Belfast we headed for Portrush along the A2/Antrim Coast Road. Not sure what we were expecting but were amazed at how beautiful the drive was...despite the rain, snow and hail we encounter along the way!

It was freezing! And windy! But gorgeous!!

The water was crystal clear and when the sun was out it was blue like I have never seen! Parts of the drive reminded me of Highway 1 in California. Every 2 or 3 miles I was begging for Chris to pull over for a photo opportunity... eventually, he just stayed in the car while I froze! But the pictures were worth it ;-)

All these pictures were taken on the same sporadic day. So far we've had some dark clouds and a little rain... still to come heavy rain, snow and hail!

Seems like all our trips within the UK include graveyards and sheep. Now where are those sheep???

Happy Sheep!

And here comes the snow...

This is the view of Portrush Harbor from our B&B. Please note the snow on the roofs.

We got in to Portrush around 5 and met my friend Steven for a quick drink. Within 20 minutes of heading into the pub there was a full on hail storm! Hail the size of marbles was pouring out of the sky for about 2 hours!!! And when we woke up the next morning there was about 2 or 3 inches of snow!

Steven and Ray... on the snow covered beach!

Look at the smile on my face.

A Florida Girl standing on a snow covered beach in coat, gloves, and scarf.

Steven and I.

We travelled to Northern Ireland to see Steven off to Australia. But then he decided to stay in London. I think the whole thing was just a ploy to get us to his hometown ;-)

While the snow made driving and walking a bit treacherous... it sure does make for pretty pictures!

Where is my coat?

Silly Florida Girl, just because the sun is shining does not mean that it is warm!!!

Dunluce Castle. Picture Perfect!

The Giant's Causeway. Built by the Irish Giant, Finn McCool, to get to Scotland to fight the Scottish Giant. The Scot was so much larger than Finn that he was horrified and ran away. His wife dressed him as a baby and when the Scot Giant saw him he thought that it was Finn's baby and that the father must be gigantic so he ran away destroying the causeway as he fled! Or it was caused by the cooling of volcanic lava... whatever.

Whatever or whoever built the causeway, it was impressive. Steven was a brilliant tour guide... he told his own version of local folklore which I found entertaining... even more entertaining was when he heard the more accurate versions at the visitors centre!

The morning after the "Going Away" party, Chris and I headed back to Belfast. Our plan was to tour Bushmill's Distillery and then take the less scenic but faster route back to Belfast. However, Bushmill's had other plans for us so we just retraced the original route but detoured through a forest road. It was a lovely ride but true to my nature I was asleep for about an hour!

Before my nap, we stopped to check out the beach. Try as we might we couldn't find the pot o'gold at the end of this rainbow!! Maybe on our next trip!

An Afternoon in Belfast

About 2 weeks ago Chris and I headed over to Northern Ireland for a long weekend. We spent the early afternoon in Belfast before driving along the coast to a little town called Portrush. Several people recommended a black taxi tour of Belfast that would take us through the history of the "troubles" as well as tour the hotspots. The sky was only slightly ominous...

Apparently back in the 70's when things first started to kick off, people started painting murals as a way of marking their neighborhoods. This practice continues. Our tour guide insisted the murals are now peaceful and positive but the neighborhoods are about 100% segregated and the murals are specific to the neighborhood...

I don't think a man with a rifle in a ski mask is how I would depict a positive and peaceful message! To each their own!!!

The picture to the right is the peace wall. It is one of 6 or 7 walls that divide a Catholic neighborhood from a Protestant one. This one is just about covered in grafiti. Most visitors sign their name on the wall to show their support of the peace process. However, am not so sold on the idea that they have peace. Things are clearly better than they were in the past but the country still has a long way to go to be at peace. The Monday or Tuesday after we got back there was a car bomb outside a courthouse in Newry. The bomb was apparently in response to a decision to return policing responsibility to the capital of Belfest from London...     

                                        

The wall on the left is covered in murals in support of "troubles" in other parts of the world. Irish refer to the fighting as the "troubles."

Downtown Belfast was pretty small and fairly rundown but we did visit a pretty awesome pub. The original plan was to have a pint but since we had a couple hours worth of driving ahead of us so we just took a look around the loos and then headed on our way! The capital was impressive and looked very similar to St Paul's Cathedral in London...they even have their own mini-Eye!

Next post... pics from the drive and Portrush!!!

Until then...

Oktoberfest 2009

Back in September Chris and I achieved a life long dream... we joined 5,999,998 other nuts in Munchen for Oktoberfest! This was one of the first trips we booked upon landing in London back in October of 2008. We rarely plan anything a year in advance but this... well, this was special and required considerable planning. I think about 10 or 12 people were in on the tent hunt, trying to locate a tent with a table for 20+ that didn't require our first born as a deposit. Thanks to our good friend Tim and his American Express Platinum Concierge for getting the job done in the 11th hour! We landed on Saturday morning, made a b-line to the nearest German consignment shop to purchase some traditional Bavarian threads, and spent about 2 hours enjoying the calm before the storm.

Saturday night we headed to the Oktoberfest grounds and made our way into the first tent we found with open doors, Hofbräu Festhalle! I experienced a few moments of sensory overload. Pictures could never do it justice. There were thousands of people, thousands of litres of beer, an oompa loompa band, Bavarian damen carrying 8, 9, 10 litres at a time and... everyone was in dirndls and lederhosen!!! I instantly knew this was going to be a good weekend!

The Hofbräu Festhalle was a bit insane. We arrived just after 9 pm to find thousands of people who had been drinking all day and we were just getting started. We had decided to save our traditional wear for Sunday, thinking it would be a novelty. Little did we know that lederhosen and dirndls are common place in Munich during the fest. We were the novelties in street clothes! After a litre or 2 of beer, we fought over a pretzel. It was a good thing when the lights were turned up and the band played Ein Prosit Gemütlichkeit for millionth and final time. We headed for the door and back to the hotel to prepare for the next day which would be starting sharply at noon!

11:30 am, Sunday, September 27th, post coffee but prior to beer!

The rest of our 25 will be join us inside the Hippodrom Tent.

Prepared for the day in our Bavarian working class threads and our first litres of beer. Das Leben ist schön!

There are probably only about 3 or 4 people in this tent without litres! Somewhere down there smack in the middle is a 18/19 year old German guy wearing a University of Florida hat! I said "Go Gators" to him and he looked at me like I had a second head! Maybe "Go Gators" means something different in German?!?

It was next to impossible to get out entire group into one photo, especially post second round! It looks like about 18 in this picture so we are only missing about 5... not to shabby!

From Hippodrom to Armbrustschützen-Tent (aka Paulaner). We were unsure if we would be able to get 20+ people into another tent but Tommy and I sweet talked the group into the Paulaner tent. Tommy did most of the talking, seeing as how he speaks German, and I smiled and looked innocent. As it turns out, there was no need to sweet talk because they had just opened the doors for free seats. It took a while to find a bench for the lot of us and along the way Chris and I made friends with some very drunk Germans. These guys were so excited to meet Americans and wanted us to take pictures with them. For every picture they would yell "Usain Bolt" and assume the pose. Most of this pictures were blurring because I was laughing hysterically and couldn't hold the camera still! But the picture of Chris above tells the story well enough!

This is the end of the pictures but not of the adventure. It was around this time I decided to put the camera away to prevent it from being broken, lost or stolen. Shortly after the camera was tucked away, Chris made his way back to the hotel. He hadn't bought in to my plan; a litre of beer, a litre of water, a litre of beer, a litre of water... you get the picture. In the end, a good time was had by all and everyone made it to their respective homes safe and sound. The plan worked brilliantly and I was sans hangover on Monday morning!!! Come back soon for Gnew Gnoah Gnomes adventures in Deutschland!

Until then... XOXO