Sunday a day of rest.

Jim spent most of the day working and preparing for his next few days in the office.

I relaxed a read by the pool. Though pleasant, it was cool and windy.

Late in the afternoon we walked left the hotel and walked around the area. On Sunday many of the shops are closed and the restaurants open in the evening.

This is one of many streets that will be overcrowded tonight with people from the bars/restaurants on both sides.











Typical street in the surrounding neighborhoods.











While we were crossing the pedway, there was a large number of women sitting/gathered along the rail. Some were eating, playing cards or just socializing.
Due to the stong winds today, they had cardboard erected to form a makeshift shelter.

I inquired to a local women as to what type of gathering was occurring.
She informed me that these women, very few men, were Philippine domestic, and Sunday was there day off. They have no place to go, so they gather throughout the city.

As we continued to walk, this same scenario occurred over and over again.

There were groups everywhere. In squares, on street curbs or the small parks.
We were amazed at what we had observed. The numbers had to be in the thousands.

One group had a decorations to celebrate one of the woman's birthday.

It was a Womens Club meeting, only outdoors.

This was an eye opening experience that made us stop and reflect how other people who are not homeless, but still have no where to call home.

Below a photos of the various areas we passed.

On Saturday we tried to play catch up with the time change.
Our bodies were telling us to slow down just a bit. So we listened.
We spent most of the morning realaxing at the Spa in the hotel in the whirlpool and sauna.

Lunch was a typical American meal of McDonalds Value Meal #2.

After lunch we took the ferry, a 7 minute ride across to Kowloon to do some shopping. We walked for what seemed to be miles to end in an extremely crowded street markets. People jammed in small streets. We both decided that it was not the best day for shopping so we hailed a cab and returned to the hotel by 4P.

Dinner was at 9:30 at a great restaurant called At The Fringe. It is owned by a women from Australia who also has a sister restaurant in Shanghai.

Our first course was a Goat cheese Salad. Jim had Lamb and I had Suckling Pig, accompanied by a bottle of Hunter's Pinot Noir.


















Kowloon


















Kowloon Jim - Checking out our location

Today we set out to explore Hong Kong on foot.

We walked through the Central Area of Hong Kong.

Getting around can be difficult if you have limited mobility. Though there are bridges, pedways across the majority of the busy streets. Around every corner is another set of stairs to climb.

The streets and sidewalks are very clean and the residents seem to take pride in keeping their city clean.

We wandered through food shopping markets, displaying today's fresh pick of fruits and vegetables.

Jim at the market

We observed many school buses of young children being dropped off and meeting their parents. All the children were nicely dressed in their school uniforms.

One of the many stairs we climbed

No MayTag here

We decided since the weather was clear we would venture Victoria Peak.
We took the Peak Tram, that has been in operation since 1888.



As we were going up in the tram toward the Peak, the view of Hong Kong grew before your eyes. Once at the top the view was nothing more than breathtaking.
















Lunch Break at the Peak
















View from Victoria Peak






















We had dinner at the Peninsula hotel at the restaurant Felix.

Jim had Rack of Lamb and I had a Fillet of Beef, which reminded me of London Broil.

We ended the evening back at hotel for our night cap.
Interesting people at the bar. A women who was world traveler and Angus who was born in London but resided in Singapore with his expecting wife who is a native of Canada. His parents move to the US and resisded in Rockford Il, where my sister and her family lived for 15 years.

Such a small world.

After our long day we retired for the evening.

Feeling totally refreshed this morning after a great sleep.

We had dinner last night at the Peking Garden. A recommendation from the concierge.
Walking distance from the hotel through Central Hong Kong and past many high end stores.

Dinner was perfect local cuisine. The menu was the size of a short story with many choices.
We opted for recommendations from our server who suggested,Dim Sum, Tempura Shrimp, Noodles, Chicken Cashew and seasonal spouts with garlic. All were perfectly prepared.

We are trying to master chop sticks, but after 20 minutes I was using a fork to pick up the noodles.
Half way through dinner I made a comment to Jim that this definitely NOT LaChoy.

After dinner we walked to a recommended area, Lan Kwai Fong, for an after dinner drink. The area was very lively, with bar/pub/club one after another. The area was very similar to SOHO in London. Narrow streets, winding from one establishment to another. We stopped for a cocktail and returned to the hotel.

One observation so far is that the city is extremely clean.

Our final stop of the evening, around midnight was at the Blue Bar in the hotel. Great atmosphere and very lively for that time of the evening.

Today, the weather is beautiful, around 65 degrees. We are heading out to start and explore the city.

Our hotel room view of Hong Kong


We made it here to Hong Kong.

The flight was smooth but was 15 hours. It seemed much longer than I had anticipated.
- Our flight path:
-Left Chicago
-Flew over Green Bay
-Northwest to Minneapolis
-Canada
-Elizabeth Islands
-Arctic Circle/North Pole
-Arctic Sea
-Over Siberia
-Down over mainland China
-West of Beijing/Shanghai
-Landing over the China Sea
Fortunately, I switched seats, had a window and empty seat in between.

I finished reading my travel book on Hong Kong, read and completed Night, and started Memoirs of a Geisha.

Hotel, Four Seasons, opened in September is beautiful.

We are going to take showers and head out for a casual dinner at 9P.

Two bars are located in the hotel that I am sure we will visit for a night cap before a good night's sleep.

Our departure is quickly approaching.
All we have to do is pull out the suitcase and pack. Always planning ahead.
Limo is picking us up tomorrow at 9A. We have a noon flight from O'Hare on United non-stop to Hong Kong. The flight will be just over 14 hours and 7787 air miles.
We will arrive at 6:05PM Thursday. Our return will be Thursday 2/16.
This will be the longest flight that we have taken, so I am trying to prepare myself.
Weather in Hong Kong is spring like, with temperatures in the 60-70 degree range and very little rain.
Jim's schedule has changed slightly, so he will be able to explore the sights this weekend before his deposition on Monday and Tuesday.
I have changed the timestamp on the blog to reflect the current time/day in Hong Kong

Next Post: China

London 2005 Photo Album

Erin's Photo Album

Great final evening in London. We had dinner at the OXO tower.

On our return to the apartment, we stopped at the Absolut Ice Bar for our farewell cocktail. The room is all ice including the glasses bar and wall decorations. Our cover charge included one drink which was just enough considering the temperature.

That's all for London now. Cheers.



OXO Tower Bar
Erin & I- Balcony of OXO, St. Pauls in background

Gail/Erin/Ed/Jim - St. Pauls on your left

Ice Glass at Ice Bar

Absolut Bottle Ice Sculpture

Jim & Ed

The Crowd

Ed & Erin at the bar

Back Bar

Our last full day in London.

Took a cab to Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guards at 11:30A.

Though the weather was brisk, it still was a great sight to see again. Though crowded, it was not anywhere near the amount of people that we had witnessed in the summer months.

We then strolled down the Mall to the Churchill museum & Cabinet Rooms. This is where Sir Winston Churchill and the top military worked during WWII. Great museum and very interesting.

After our museum visit we walked to Trafalger Square and had our final pub lunch. We dined on Fish & Chips and Erin's usual Cesar Salad. All washed down with a good pint.

The remainder of the afternoon we did some last minute shopping.

Tonight we will be having our farewell dinner at OXO Tower, one of our favorite restaurants.
It is located on the River Thames and on a clear night you have a great view of London.

Tomorrow we wrap it up and head back to the USA at 10:30A.
Erin - The "London" cell phone

Trafalger Square

Changing of the guards - Buckingham Palace
Changing of the guards - Buckingham Palace


Erin & Gail - Buckingham Palace

We began our day yesterday taking the tube to Madame Tussauds wax museum

Spent a few hours checking out the wax figures of movie/television stars and government figures.

Later we hopped over to Covent Garden for some light shopping and lunch.

Gail returned to the apartment while Erin & I spent some time on Bond Street where she was able to secure a few bargains.

Our evening began with going to the theatre and see the production of Mary Poppins.

By chance, Jim and I went to the box office a few days before and were able to secure four seats in the 10th row on the main floor. Though Jim & I had seen this show previously, it was very different viewing the show at such close range compared to the "roof top" seats we had in February.

Great show all seemed to enjoy.

Following the performance we headed over to The Ivy a few blocks from the theatre.

Dinner was excellent. Jim and I had the usual Thai Baked Sea Bass while Erin & Gail enjoyed "The Ivy" version of shepherd's Pie.

Long walking day, and much rest was needed.


Bond Street - Buses

Jim & The Beatles

Erin & Bill

Me & Queen Mum

Bond Street shopping

Yesterday was a full walking day.

We started our morning taking the tube to the Westminster stop.

We walked over the bridge to the London Eye.

Gail, Jim & Erin took a ride on the London Eye, which provides an excellent view of London, while I had coffee below.

After their trip we took a long stroll along the River Thames to the Tate Modern Museum. We spent a good 90 minutes wandering the 3 floors of the museum.

Next we walked over the River Thames on the Millennium Bridge. We stopped at a pub for an excellent lunch and a pint.

After lunch we did a short stop at St. Paul's then took a cab to the Tower of London for some evening photo's.

We arrived back at the apartment around 5P and took a well needed nap.

Dinner was great at Le Caprice, so far the best dessert's served.

The evening was finished with a night cap once again at the Claridge Hotel.

Outside St. Paul's

Tower Bridge

Erin & Ed - Tower Bridge

Jim- Tower Bridge
Erin/Gail - Tower Bridge

View of London Eye

Big Ben

Happy New Year. Last night after an early evening dinner, we headed over to Trafalger Square. We arrived at 11P and watched as the crowds arrived over the next 45 mins.


Trafalger Square

Having Cocktails before dinner

Weather was cool, but unfortunately at 11:55 it started to rain and continued for the next hour.

At the stroke of midnight the champagne bottles were popping and whistling and horns blowing.

This was a sight to behold at least once in your lifetime.

After the fireworks we walk in the cold rain seeking the shelter of a nice quite bar and cool libation. Since all other 2 million people had the same idea, we opted to walk until we found a cab and head back to the apartment.

Erin & I were determined and eventually successful in finding an open restaurant with a party still going on near our apartment. Gail & Jim joined us for one last toast, and we back to the apartment shortly after 2. ( The crowd here was more of Erin's age group, but I enjoyed it anyway)

Today was a late start, all of us getting up and about after 11:00A.

We browsed and shopped a bit at Harrods, rested and had a dinner of comfort food (Italian) and returning here by 11:15.

Tomorrow we will be back in the swing of walking and playing tourist.

Plan to be out and about by 10.

Jim & Gail - Portobello Road





Erin - Portobello Road

This morning we all got up from a refreshing night sleep.

Yesterday with the rain and cold in knocked us all out.

We had a nice dinner last night at The Avenue, and after dinner cocktails at the Claridge Hotel.

Today we spent a few hours walking the long streets of Portobello Road, a Saturday tradition of an open flea market.


Jim had one of his favorite hot dogs from the vendor grilling outside. Gail, Erin & I had lunch at a restaurant across from Harrods.

Time to nap from all the walking and fresh air. Today is great weather day with temperatures in the low 40's and no rain.

Tonight we reservations for dinner, then off to Trafalger Square to ring in the New Year.

Happy New Year.