Made it home

Sorry there haven't been any updates...mainland China blocks some internet access...including our blog. 

We're 2 minutes from home, but we'll update with the rest of our trip over the next week or so!

A Day In Hong Kong

Macau - Day 4

We spent Saturday exploring more of Macau.  We went over to the Venetian to catch a shuttle up the the border gate.  There isn't a whole lot to see up there except a huge building behind a little gate monument.

We ventured our way down from there to the red market area.  There were lots of fruit and vegetable stands, bakeries, flowers, clothing, shoes and housewares stands.

We had some "fun" with the bus that afternoon trying to make it back to Diana's apartment.  After finally making it back, we rested a bit, then headed out for the evening.  We took another bus to Coloane where we first stopped at Hac Sa beach, a black sand beach on the bay.  It was a nice quiet getaway from the buzz of the city.

From there, we went into Coloane village.  It is a quaint little town along the water with a delightful, laid back atmosphere.  Diana had recommended a place to eat called Cafe Nga Tim.  April & I enjoyed a nice, relaxing anniversary dinner together.

That's all for now.  Off to bed for a busy day tomorrow.  Heading to Hong Kong tomorrow with lots to do and see!

The Little Things

We found a yummy snack the other day at the grocery store that the three of us haven't been able to stop eating...

Macau - Day 3

Friday we had a big day of adventures!  We started out in southern Macau.  Our first stop was A-Ma Temple.  When we started out, we thought it was a just a little area, with one Buddha idol.  It turned out to be this whole area that you kept climbing up steps... one shrine after another.  Chinese characters carved into rock, different kinds of incense burning everywhere.  It was amazing and heart breaking to see the droves of Buddhists coming in to worship these idols.

Then, we meandered our way north looking for an Inner Harbor area that was supposed to have some good eats.  But, we never found it.  The maps are not great, and the streets are not marked well, so that is not a good combination.  We continued on in what we thought was the right direction to our next destination, and stumbled on a very clear sign pointing us in the right direction!  Our next stop, the Ruins of St. Paul and the Senado Square area.  Since Macau belonged to Portugal before it was Chinese, there is still a good bit of Portuguese influence here.

Ruins of St. Paul's

St. Dominic's Church

Senado Square

Enjoying a Macau famous egg tart

We were exhausted after our exploring, but the fun day was not over yet!  We went back to the apartment and got ready for our evening at the Venetian.  We saw the Cirque de Soleil show, Zaia, from the control room booth reserved for family and friends.   

 Then, we had a backstage tour from our Diana.  Very Cool!!!

Diana at her work station

Jeremy & Diana on the catwalk above the auditorium

April's favorite act of the show were these lions

A shot of the fly rig used over the auditorium

After the show was over and Diana was off work, she took us to her favorite sushi place, Jockey Sushi.  What a great night out!

Pictures Updated

The previous two posts have been updated with more pictures.  Today's post will have to wait until tomorrow because it is late and we are exhausted from today's adventures.

Macau - Day 2

Today was a fairly leisurely day.  After a good night's sleep, we started our day with some Chinese torture at Orchid Valley.  We had a 2-hour couple's massage to try to get rid of the aches and pains from our long flight.  It worked, however, we just have a different kind of ache and soreness now!
Then it was back to the apartment for lunch and a nap.  Around 5pm, we ventured out on our own (Diana was at work) to Macau Tower, which reaches 1,109 feet at its highest point.  We spent some time on the observation deck (764 feet) taking in the sights of Macau, Taipa and mainland China. 

Taipa (where we are staying)

Macau

Bridge connecting Taipa and Macau and mainland China

Standing on the glass floor at the top looking down

Tonight we met Diana at Imperial Dim Sum at the Venetian for dinner.  Dim Sum is like tapas, or "small plates".  We had spring rolls, BBQ pork, fried rice with chicken and salted fish, black pepper beef dumplings, xiao long baos (pork dumplings) and steamed choy sum.  It was delicious and good times were had by all!

Day 1

We managed to stay up all day today. The goal is to crash hard now, and be ready for tomorrow.
After a brief trip to the market to pick up a few food items,

we went over to the Venetian to see the ice sculpture exhibit. 

Then it was off to Little Sheep for dinner, where we met up with some of Diana's friends from her church here.  On the menu: hot pot, which is kind of like fondue.

Now it's off to bed for a long night's sleep!

We Made It

After leaving our house at 7pm Monday night, we finally made it to Diana's apartment around 8:30am on Wednesday local time (8:30pm Tuesday eastern time).  Both April and I agreed that the flight wasn't as bad as we anticipated (we did get some sleep on the flight), but by the time we got out of the airport, found our way to the ferry terminal, bought tickets, and rode the ferry over, we were very ready to be done traveling.  Diana met us at the ferry terminal in Macau and a quick cab ride took us to Diana's apartment.  It's hard to believe that we're finally here, it's so great to be able to spend some time with Diana!  After a few hours of stretching out, relaxing, showering and lunch, we're ready to go do some exploring! 

April & Diana relaxing!

The view from Diana's apartment.