26. Laura gets into the spirit of the Year of the Ox
27. The Great Wall: chilly but beautiful
28. Claire makes the very best of the slippery snow
29. On the walk to the railway station: the old City Gate
Friday, February 20, 2009
All things Beijing: Part 6
25. Very cool lobby, like being inside dishsoap
26. Laura gets into the spirit of the Year of the Ox
27. The Great Wall: chilly but beautiful
28. Claire makes the very best of the slippery snow
29. On the walk to the railway station: the old City Gate
26. Laura gets into the spirit of the Year of the Ox
27. The Great Wall: chilly but beautiful
28. Claire makes the very best of the slippery snow
29. On the walk to the railway station: the old City Gate
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Newshangfoundhailand
Welcome to Shanghai, Laura! Air Canada's faulty equipment meant we had two extra hours of anticipation before our gleeful reunion at the arrivals gate. Laura had her first taste of Shanghai culture (ie. shoving/yelling/general chaos) as we fought our way onto the airport bus, but we arrived home safely and with just enough energy left to toast (slightly late) Christmas Number Four. On the menu: wine and goat cheese, as per tradition.
Today I conquered my cheap wine hangover while Laura worked through her jetlag (jetgo? She was ready to hit the town at seven a.m.); we finally made it out the door to Yuyuan, or Shanghai's Old Town - a little touristy but fabulous for shopping and getting a feel of what it might have felt like here before the population hit its current 16 million. Highlights: a giant Year of the Ox display thing, and a motorcycle taxi ride to Nanjing Donglu. Chalk that one up to irresponsible youth.
Tomorrow evening we're heading to Beijing on the overnight train to take in the Great Wall (bien sur), the Olympic Park, and whatever else tickles our fancy. Please enjoy our first round of pics:
1. CLEENK! The Fourth Annual Claire and Laura Christmas Reunion begins
2. All the essentials. Great Wall: the pride of China's red wine industry. Or something. Whatever, it sure packed a punch
3. Yuyuan, or the Old Town... pointy peaks and all
4. The motorcycle taxi driver driving on the correct side of the yellow line. For now
5. Yiiiiiii!
Today I conquered my cheap wine hangover while Laura worked through her jetlag (jetgo? She was ready to hit the town at seven a.m.); we finally made it out the door to Yuyuan, or Shanghai's Old Town - a little touristy but fabulous for shopping and getting a feel of what it might have felt like here before the population hit its current 16 million. Highlights: a giant Year of the Ox display thing, and a motorcycle taxi ride to Nanjing Donglu. Chalk that one up to irresponsible youth.
Tomorrow evening we're heading to Beijing on the overnight train to take in the Great Wall (bien sur), the Olympic Park, and whatever else tickles our fancy. Please enjoy our first round of pics:
1. CLEENK! The Fourth Annual Claire and Laura Christmas Reunion begins
2. All the essentials. Great Wall: the pride of China's red wine industry. Or something. Whatever, it sure packed a punch
3. Yuyuan, or the Old Town... pointy peaks and all
4. The motorcycle taxi driver driving on the correct side of the yellow line. For now
5. Yiiiiiii!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Mom went home :( But at least I can cook now
Well, I'm on my own now for the first time in a month. I'm okay, but it just doesn't feel right making hot chocolate for one, you know?
P.S. Claire's hot chocolate (new recipe): tons of cocoa, a little sugar, extra-creamy milk, and fresh grated ginger. Careful, the ginger makes the milk froth to twice its volume, so be ready to swipe the saucepan off the stove while bleating "Ahh! Ahhhhh!" like I did the first time.
A dash of cayenne is fab as well.
So, Mom and I had a great time in Beijing, Qingdao, Hangzhou, and Xitang. We spent most of her last two weeks in Shanghai finding new cafés, doing in-depth research on local foot massage establishments, and cooking soup. I am now the proud owner of a Westinghouse rice cooker that also has a darling steamer attachment. Rice cookers are amazing! I've been eating brown rice with milk and cinnamon and raisins for breakfast, and stirfry with white rice for lunch. Will experiment with a combination for dinner and report on findings.
I'm going to post my favourite pics from the first part of our trip; Mom, I forgot to get the Shanghai ones from your camera before you left! Oh no!
Thank you to everyone who is still following me after these weeks of erratic posting. Laura and I will be sure to get our pictures up ASAP!
Photos:
1. The beautiful Lama temple, apparently one of China's most important Tibetan Buddhist temples.
2. Beijing duck (the close-up)!! Yummy yummy yummy. You take a little piece of duck and put it in the middle of a warm, thin pancake (plucked from the slightly limp bouquet on the right); then you add hoisin sauce and onion, roll it up, and EAT IT. This was a contemporaryish place, which meant they gave us three sauces and tiny slices of interesting fruit to put in the pancakes. Mmmmmm.
3. Mom dug it.
4. Bug kebabs at the night market. Eughhh
5. Lovely candied fruit sticks. Those I can handle.
P.S. Claire's hot chocolate (new recipe): tons of cocoa, a little sugar, extra-creamy milk, and fresh grated ginger. Careful, the ginger makes the milk froth to twice its volume, so be ready to swipe the saucepan off the stove while bleating "Ahh! Ahhhhh!" like I did the first time.
A dash of cayenne is fab as well.
So, Mom and I had a great time in Beijing, Qingdao, Hangzhou, and Xitang. We spent most of her last two weeks in Shanghai finding new cafés, doing in-depth research on local foot massage establishments, and cooking soup. I am now the proud owner of a Westinghouse rice cooker that also has a darling steamer attachment. Rice cookers are amazing! I've been eating brown rice with milk and cinnamon and raisins for breakfast, and stirfry with white rice for lunch. Will experiment with a combination for dinner and report on findings.
I'm going to post my favourite pics from the first part of our trip; Mom, I forgot to get the Shanghai ones from your camera before you left! Oh no!
Thank you to everyone who is still following me after these weeks of erratic posting. Laura and I will be sure to get our pictures up ASAP!
Photos:
1. The beautiful Lama temple, apparently one of China's most important Tibetan Buddhist temples.
2. Beijing duck (the close-up)!! Yummy yummy yummy. You take a little piece of duck and put it in the middle of a warm, thin pancake (plucked from the slightly limp bouquet on the right); then you add hoisin sauce and onion, roll it up, and EAT IT. This was a contemporaryish place, which meant they gave us three sauces and tiny slices of interesting fruit to put in the pancakes. Mmmmmm.
3. Mom dug it.
4. Bug kebabs at the night market. Eughhh
5. Lovely candied fruit sticks. Those I can handle.
M & C photos, part II
6. Our fantastic hostel in Beijing (in a hutong, a traditional alleyway full of courtyard houses - most of them have been destroyed to make room for highrises etc.)
7. Me wondering if Mom knows how to use the camera at 798, Beijing's biggest contemporary art district
8. The Great Wall! I was in a symbolic mood
9. Mom looking rugged
10. Me looking daring
7. Me wondering if Mom knows how to use the camera at 798, Beijing's biggest contemporary art district
8. The Great Wall! I was in a symbolic mood
9. Mom looking rugged
10. Me looking daring
M & C photos, part III
11. Great Wall ZIPLIIIIINE! There goes Mom...
12. ...followed by me.
13. Me and Allison hanging out on the beach in Qingdao. Too bad you can't see the almost-naked guy in the background going for a jog after he took a little dip. (5 degrees C)
14. The ladies at Chinese New Year's dinner: Mom, me, Auntie Neu Neu (she knitted her own sweater), Auntie Na Na, and AnLan
15. Midnight on CNY: the danger is sooo worth it.
12. ...followed by me.
13. Me and Allison hanging out on the beach in Qingdao. Too bad you can't see the almost-naked guy in the background going for a jog after he took a little dip. (5 degrees C)
14. The ladies at Chinese New Year's dinner: Mom, me, Auntie Neu Neu (she knitted her own sweater), Auntie Na Na, and AnLan
15. Midnight on CNY: the danger is sooo worth it.
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