Mom Comes to Town!

July 10th-19th: Derek's mom, Michele, and family friend, Nancy, came for a visit! The trip went by so quickly, I can barely remember what we did. Fortunately, Michele asked that I compose a summary email for her about our many adventures--which now comes in incredibly handy for this blog entry. The magic of cut and paste.

"july 10th--thursday: michele & nancy arrive. we walked along the backroads of the hutongs around houhai, grabbed some 2 kuai beers and proceeded to dali courtyard for dinner (within a hutong). after our marvelous meal we headed lakeside."

Nancy and Michele paying homage to their husbands:



Dali Courtyard:



Mom really missed her baby boy--let the tears flow:





"july 11th--friday: hopped on the subway to tiantan (temple of heaven)--where there were performers singing peking opera, playing instruments, paddle dancing and playing hacky sack. met derek for lunch. then proceeded on to the llama temple."



"went to rumi (persian food) for dinner. out for a drink at FACE bar. midnight foot massages followed."



Michele and Nancy quickly learn we live a rough life out here :)





"july 12th--saturday: the great wall (mutianyu portion). derek took a spill. lunch at the schoolhouse. d went home to catch up on work...and the ladies got their nails done. japanese at hatsune for dinner--YUM! next stop: our friend's house (courtney, leigh and cara) for a rooftop party and tolly's delicious cookies."









"july 13th--sunday: went to panjiayuan (outdoor dirt market). hole in the wall dumpling shop for lunch. drove by the olympic venues and then on to the summer palace."



The Bird's Nest:





Lunch time:



Summer Palace:
















"july 14th--monday: flew from beijing to shanghai for brunch at M on the Bund (took in the skyline), hopped on an afternoon flight to HK via shenzhen. checked into the hotel...ventured to central/soho. proceeded to lan kwai fong amid a thunderstorm."

Shanghai--Could you do me the honor of taking a picture with me?



"july 15th--tuesday: took the subway to central. ate delicious bolobaos for breakfast. walked around the outdoor market of meat, fish, veggies and fruit. took the tram up to victoria peak. decided to do a last minute trip to macau. headed back to the hotel...grabbed our passports...and ventured to macau via ferry. saw the ruins of st. paul's cathedral, the Fortaleza do Monte and the venetian."

Gorgeous HK:



Macau:





"july 16th--wednesday: shopping at stanley market and enjoyed the beach side of town. thanks for lunch, auntie E. caught our flight back to beijing. another midnight massage!"



"july 17th--thursday: tiananmen square, the forbidden city and then jingshan park (which overlooked the entire city). went to the acrobat show...then facials...followed by dim sum."








Side note, the following photos are what make Beijing so charming--

(1) The People:


(2) Fashion:


(3) Little China Dolls:


(4) Lao Beijing:


(5) Crazy Foreigners:






(6) The Parks:


(7) Buttless chaps and umbrellas on sunny days:


(8) And eggplant!


"july 18th--friday: ate peking duck. went down wangfujing...and food street. michele and derek ate a scorpion or two."




Derek and Mom discussing the 5 love languages and his hectic work schedule:





Final night pub crawl--Derek won the walk off:



"july 19th--saturday: ate at xiao wang's in ritan park. from there we went our separate ways—nancy and michele headed to the airport and we caught a train to beidaihe."

As a words of affirmation person: a wonderful trip, indeed.

Thank you for visiting!