Well we hit a minor snag with Paris that had me midly panicking. First off, Justin's business trip to Brussels was cancelled. Since I had already purchased my (non-refundable) ticket Justin was able to get the time off and come too. We just cut Brussels out altogether and will spend all 6 days in Paris. Which gives us 2 extra days to see everything (no 20-minute Louvre run, Mom!). Second snag - the Rugby World Cup is going on right now in France and France is playing Ireland while we're there in Paris. So...no hotel rooms. I've been frantically surfing the web and most places are available the first few days, but not Saturday night (the night of the match - which, I actually looked at getting tickets but they're minimum is 595 Euros each ($825) so that won't be happening. Maybe we'll just go to a bar and watch the match. Well today I finally got a place that had availability so WE'RE OFFICIALLY BOOKED! We'll be staying at the Daunou Opera Hotel which is right in the middle of the city near the Louvre, the Place de Vendôme & L'Opera. I even booked us a shuttle to/from the airport to make it simple. Now I just have to map out what to do!!! Thanks for the suggestions - keep them coming!!!
The weather has started to ease up a bit (or I'm just adapting better). Justin and I got caught in a downpour in Wan Chai with no umbrellas the other night (we didn't see it coming - it was cloudless all day!) So we ran under awnings until we caught a cab - at which point a prostitute tried to get in the front seat and then smiled at us and said, "ooops, sorry!!!" and giggled on the sidewalk with a bunch of her friends. Cute.
I saw "Hairspray" on Tuesday and love-love-LOVED it. I kinda spazzed out a bit that night when Justin got home and knocked over a water bottle and banged the ceiling doing my dance moves. What can I say? You can't stop the beat!
I started reading "Middlesex" also this week - and its really interesting. Its about a hermaphrodite and it won the Pulitzer Prize in 2005 for Fiction.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Its not easy being green...
Justin and I went to Sunday Brunch and really just wanted a little something simple to cure our "slight" discomfort from drinking the night before. So I suggest La Frouchette which was still serving breakfast at noon. She hands us the "Sunday Frog Menu" which had several brunch-y items on it - a platter of smoked salmon, shrimp & avocado, seared ahi, egg salad, charceuterie, pate, lavash, and breadsticks - Caesar salad - frog legs sauteed in herbs & butter (wait, what??) - and then the omelets and eggs Benedict, steaks, fish, chicken, etc. I actually wanted Fish & Chips but it was technically on the kids menu. Justin said that's okay - I'm a kid at heart so they probably would give it to me - maybe if I had thrown a temper tantrum when they said no...
I was curious about the Frog Legs, but my stomach was saying, "I dare you" and I wasn't feeling that brave so I stuck to simple - mushroom omelet and orange juice.
So first they bring us our drinks and then she brings us a Caesar Salad and the platter of salmon, shrimp & avocado, etc... "Uh...Oh." we say to each other just by looking wide-eyed across the table. We must have ordered the prix fixe brunch - which means....(hint: ribbit)
We steadily procrastinated through the platter which was enough food for both of us for brunch (and quite tasty actually) and salad trying to postpone the inevitable. I make up my mind that I'm going to try them no matter what even if I was afraid to order them. Justin basically says, 'hell no'.
And then they came...(insert "Jaws" theme music)
They actually were pretty good - my stomach didn't protest too much - it was pretty much in my head I think. I hate to say, "they taste like chicken" but that's the best way to describe it. But slightly different. The consistency is the same, the flavor is really close - I think it just depends on what you cook them with. I mean, I came here for an adventure, right? So I dove right in. There were 12 - I ate 2. :) I had to save some space for the 2 bites of omelette that I only had room for.
After we walked into Wan Chai and took in the rain and Sunday open air market - cheap trinkets (Umbrellas for $1 US - we bought two!), fresh meat hanging from racks, fish being beheaded and sliced open before your very eyes and aaaahhhh the smells of it all. I found its actually less muggy when its raining - so my new strategy is to go out while its raining and it may help me acclimate. I think I'm going to hit the pool this afternoon as its looking nice outside.
OH WAIT - I almost forgot! I'm going to PARIS! Justin's got a trip to Brussels on September 25 that we're extending with a long weekend in Paris - I am so freaking excited that I can't stand it. My first trip to Europe - I always wanted it to include either London or Paris. We almost planned to do Amsterdam until I brushed up on my European geography and saw how close Paris is to Brussels (1hr 20min by train). So I'm going to fly in & out of Paris through London from Hong Kong, and take the train to Brussels and meet Justin. We'll take the train back to Paris for the weekend and I'll fly out of Paris/London to Hong Kong. Justin will likely fly in to Brussels through Frankfurt & out of Paris the same way since his company is arranging everything for the business meeting. So I'm told to drink lots of Belgian beer - and no one had to tell me about Belgian chocolate - so other than that I'll be looking for Jean Claude van Damme! Anyone who's been to Paris can offer their suggestions!
I was curious about the Frog Legs, but my stomach was saying, "I dare you" and I wasn't feeling that brave so I stuck to simple - mushroom omelet and orange juice.
So first they bring us our drinks and then she brings us a Caesar Salad and the platter of salmon, shrimp & avocado, etc... "Uh...Oh." we say to each other just by looking wide-eyed across the table. We must have ordered the prix fixe brunch - which means....(hint: ribbit)
We steadily procrastinated through the platter which was enough food for both of us for brunch (and quite tasty actually) and salad trying to postpone the inevitable. I make up my mind that I'm going to try them no matter what even if I was afraid to order them. Justin basically says, 'hell no'.
And then they came...(insert "Jaws" theme music)
They actually were pretty good - my stomach didn't protest too much - it was pretty much in my head I think. I hate to say, "they taste like chicken" but that's the best way to describe it. But slightly different. The consistency is the same, the flavor is really close - I think it just depends on what you cook them with. I mean, I came here for an adventure, right? So I dove right in. There were 12 - I ate 2. :) I had to save some space for the 2 bites of omelette that I only had room for.
After we walked into Wan Chai and took in the rain and Sunday open air market - cheap trinkets (Umbrellas for $1 US - we bought two!), fresh meat hanging from racks, fish being beheaded and sliced open before your very eyes and aaaahhhh the smells of it all. I found its actually less muggy when its raining - so my new strategy is to go out while its raining and it may help me acclimate. I think I'm going to hit the pool this afternoon as its looking nice outside.
OH WAIT - I almost forgot! I'm going to PARIS! Justin's got a trip to Brussels on September 25 that we're extending with a long weekend in Paris - I am so freaking excited that I can't stand it. My first trip to Europe - I always wanted it to include either London or Paris. We almost planned to do Amsterdam until I brushed up on my European geography and saw how close Paris is to Brussels (1hr 20min by train). So I'm going to fly in & out of Paris through London from Hong Kong, and take the train to Brussels and meet Justin. We'll take the train back to Paris for the weekend and I'll fly out of Paris/London to Hong Kong. Justin will likely fly in to Brussels through Frankfurt & out of Paris the same way since his company is arranging everything for the business meeting. So I'm told to drink lots of Belgian beer - and no one had to tell me about Belgian chocolate - so other than that I'll be looking for Jean Claude van Damme! Anyone who's been to Paris can offer their suggestions!
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
I made it!!!
Well I'm getting settled in to my digs here - my first week has been pretty mellow. I have seen a bunch of movies at the AMC here in Pacific Place - "Rattatouie", "The Invasion", "The Bourne Ultimatum", and "Disturbia". I'm waiting to see "The Simpsons Movie" with Justin. But all of the others were really good. I haven't seen a good scary/suspense movie in a long time and "The Invasion" and "Disturbia" were good, even though they were both modern day remakes ("Invasion of the Body Snatchers" & "Rear Window") which tend to be bad most of the time. The cool thing about movies here is that all the seats are assigned. So when you go to buy your ticket - either at the window or online - you pick your specific seat and then you don't have to worry about getting there early. It seems strange at first but its actually really cool - you can show up like 1 minute before the show starts and your seat is just waiting for you. And the seats are all really nice leather that are SUPER comfortable. They're doing a big promotion right now for a new Ang Lee film called "Lust, Caution" which will be in Chinese and his first since "Brokeback Mountain" - it looks really cool - set in 1930's Shanghai and coming out towards the end of September.
Other than that I've been going to the gym just about everyday (6 of the 8 days I've been here) and its really not that big of a problem getting motivated, I've just kinda made it part of my morning routine. I discovered the pool here yesterday and that is really awesome. Instead of the gym this morning I went and swam laps so really only Sunday is the only day I didn't get some form of exercise in. Hopefully "the new Jan Brady" will be coming soon!!! :)
Justin and I may try and go to Ocean Park on Saturday or Sunday if the weather isn't rainy. If not we'll maybe go to the Hong Kong Museum of Art which was the one museum we didn't make it to while I was here in March that Justin wanted to see.
We've been mixing in home meals with going out - and one of the cool things about Hong Kong is that every restaurant has business cards that they put in the bill (which helps so that I can remember where I went). I bought Justin this book on cool HK restaurants so we checked out two the other night. One is called Cinecitta which is a lot like Foreign Cinema in San Francisco. Its Italian and they were showing a Rudolf Valentino movie on the wall. We then went down to 1/5 Nuevo which had a cool bar that we had drinks after. I had a "Suzie Wong" which was pulverized watermelon and vodka. YUM!
Saturday went to another italian place called Cru Wine & Grill in SoHo that we wandered into before heading down to Lan Kwai Fong and having drinks at what may be our favorite bar, Lost. Justin's raved about the DJ and I finally saw him that night. Very good, though no dancefloor - unless you count the little space in front of the decks that is also the entry way. Justin confessed he's danced there once. Then we went dancing at Propoganda which is the main gay club here and then home late. So Sunday was relaxing/recovering day.
All in all I'm SLOOOOWLY adjusting to the heat/humidity (frankly I feel ridiculous when I walk outside and I'm the only person completely sweating through my clothes - when people in business suits don't even have the slightest shine to their faces). Justin says I need to stay outside longer but its a bit much. I guess I can hang by the pool some more!!!
I miss everyone at home and can't wait to have visitors - we may be moving to our permanent home sooner than we think - the relocation company said it will only take 2 weeks for our boat shipment to arrive - which doesn't sound right so I asked her to confirm. But we may have a problem finding a place - Justin's co-worker said its kind of a nightmare process negotiating lease terms - yeah, can't wait!!! I think it better have a pool :)
Other than that I've been going to the gym just about everyday (6 of the 8 days I've been here) and its really not that big of a problem getting motivated, I've just kinda made it part of my morning routine. I discovered the pool here yesterday and that is really awesome. Instead of the gym this morning I went and swam laps so really only Sunday is the only day I didn't get some form of exercise in. Hopefully "the new Jan Brady" will be coming soon!!! :)
Justin and I may try and go to Ocean Park on Saturday or Sunday if the weather isn't rainy. If not we'll maybe go to the Hong Kong Museum of Art which was the one museum we didn't make it to while I was here in March that Justin wanted to see.
We've been mixing in home meals with going out - and one of the cool things about Hong Kong is that every restaurant has business cards that they put in the bill (which helps so that I can remember where I went). I bought Justin this book on cool HK restaurants so we checked out two the other night. One is called Cinecitta which is a lot like Foreign Cinema in San Francisco. Its Italian and they were showing a Rudolf Valentino movie on the wall. We then went down to 1/5 Nuevo which had a cool bar that we had drinks after. I had a "Suzie Wong" which was pulverized watermelon and vodka. YUM!
Saturday went to another italian place called Cru Wine & Grill in SoHo that we wandered into before heading down to Lan Kwai Fong and having drinks at what may be our favorite bar, Lost. Justin's raved about the DJ and I finally saw him that night. Very good, though no dancefloor - unless you count the little space in front of the decks that is also the entry way. Justin confessed he's danced there once. Then we went dancing at Propoganda which is the main gay club here and then home late. So Sunday was relaxing/recovering day.
All in all I'm SLOOOOWLY adjusting to the heat/humidity (frankly I feel ridiculous when I walk outside and I'm the only person completely sweating through my clothes - when people in business suits don't even have the slightest shine to their faces). Justin says I need to stay outside longer but its a bit much. I guess I can hang by the pool some more!!!
I miss everyone at home and can't wait to have visitors - we may be moving to our permanent home sooner than we think - the relocation company said it will only take 2 weeks for our boat shipment to arrive - which doesn't sound right so I asked her to confirm. But we may have a problem finding a place - Justin's co-worker said its kind of a nightmare process negotiating lease terms - yeah, can't wait!!! I think it better have a pool :)
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