Travels, Dogs & Life
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Are we slow learners?
Arrived in Munich and drove to Bamberg about 2 hours north. The weather is superb - 28 Celsius or 85 F - so to take advantage of the weather, we decided to take a cruise for an hour or so on the Danube canal.... Now those who follow us, know that last year we did a disastrous Danube cruise... Well I will blame it on jet lag, but we forgot to check if it was in English and no it was not! Mind you it was relaxing but the scenery varied from industrial to rural and a few glimpses of old houses and included 2 trips through the same lock @ 10 minutes each. Hmmmmm
Next on the agenda is a horse drawn carriage ride around town BUT it has to be in English. And according to tourist office no English language tours in Bamberg - so its off to early dinner and bed
Dinner was white asparagus, which filled the bill for being light but it was a bit chewy, my Yakima asparagus last week was better.
Bed, I hear you calling...
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Walla Walla
Home less than 24 hours and it's off to Walla Walla, where I am judging this weekend. It is a premier wine growing area in Eastern Washington, famous for good red wines, excellent restaurants and a dynamic downtown area. We visied several tasting rooms both downtown and on the outskirts of town, and brought a selection of wine home to enjoy over the next few months
A Spanish Vineyard - Casa Felicino |
It was a fairly easy weekend of judging, just 60 dogs the first day and
then 80 the second. We enjoyed some great restaurants - Saffron, East
Fork Grill & Brasserie 4. Then stopped in Richland WA on our way
home and stayed at the Courtyard, which was set on a spectular location, on a marina
we then went to Bonefish Grill for dinner and had some wonderful Halibut and a bottle of superb Sauvignon Blanc from NZ - Infamous Goose- then collected some local fresh Asparagus the next morning, before heading for home. Now home for a week before going to Austria....
Details of the China Trip
Some of this was blogged while on the road - hence the current tense) but was blocked from posting, while in China)
Wednesday: The
roundabout trip - Portland/Seattle/Tokyo /Hong Kong
was taken as I was able to upgrade to business (a must on long trips) but also
was a nice bunch of miles!
Business
class to Narita was pretty empty and had lie flat seats, so had a good sleep. A
couple of hours in Narita then onto an old United plane, but still in business
but it was just like domestic first class. Due to air traffic control problems
we sat on tarmac for another hour which meant we were late into HKG , arriving at 11pm. A quick hassle free trip
to Shenzhen to the hotel (arriving at midnight) a shower and a great nights
sleep and I am ready for China.
Some things
to note, which I had not expected. Outlet electrical plugs have the angled
slots like Australia!
I took this picture of the Beer Machine in Narita for David - he is fascinated with it!
Friday
(Thursday was "lost in Transit):
It's cloudy
outside. Had typical upscale hotel breakfast buffet - with many exotic fruits
and just about anything you would want (both western and Asian food)
Mid morning
we had a spectacular tropical thunder an lightning storm, could hardly see
across the road. Satellite TV access was lost, but I am comfy in hotel room
with iPod and books.
But then it
changes and I am off to a shaky start here!
The Sheraton
I chose and stayed at first night was good (naturally!) when the others came to
pick me up - the 2 judges (the 3rd one was a last minute replacement and he
does not arrive until Saturday (and
judges Sunday) They were green with envy as the host hotel was not stunning
they said. They had been driving around all day until they picked me up at 2,
in the rain and as driver and interpreter are not from this area, they had seen
nothing and so it continued until 5, when we said take us to the hotel.
The big excitement of the afternoon was when we piled out of car to go
into museum... Which was a office building! So back onto car.
I judge on
Sunday only - 2 judges, 2 shows, 1 ring, 140 dogs - sounds a bit like Canada!
So pleased
David didn't come
In fact I
looked at returning early but too expensive, but am moving to Hong
Kong on Tuesday and have booked Marriott near the airport for one
night using points!! If we all get together we may actually go on Monday and
spend 2 nights at Marriott as there is nothing to see or do here in Shenzhen
especially if raining. Thank god for iPod and books!
Food very
uninspiring, so on diet, can't wait to get to HKG, even shopping expensive
according to other judges.
Big
communication problem when could not get wi-fi working at this new hotel but eventually
succeeded.
All other
judges have been to china before and said this is a not the best part of China but that Beijing is wonderful.
View from my hotel room
A wine at our hotel (Made in China - a little bit on the minerally side, as befits its name!)
Saturday: As
the other 2 judges were judging and my co-judge had not yet arrived I had the
guide to myself for the day. So we spent 4 hours wandering around something
called windows of the world, where they had 1/10 sized replicas of all icons of
world - such as Sydney opera house, Eiffel tower etc - it's the best attraction
in Shenzhen! But as it was hot and I had seen many of these sights for real, I
decided to called it quits and went back to hotel to read a book
Fast turning
into vegetarian as any food with meat is terrible and even the shrimp
comes with extra calcium (read shells on) the vegetable dishes especially those
with eggplant are the best and everything is smokey & dirty - the toilets,
the restaurants, the dishes - you get the picture! The hotel we are at is OK (on my floor - I have A/C, 2 of the other judges dont) but we are the only European faces. But it has a western toilet :-)
Also there
are no paper products anywhere except at our hotel. Fortunately I had been forewarned
and had my own supply of tissues and toilet paper. Toilets...now that's a whole
new topic for discussion!
Gift from Kennel Club as momento of my assignment
Below scroll with National General Kennel Club logo
Sunday: Work day - judging - Whilst the entry in many breeds was small, the numbers and quality in Border Collies, Samoyeds, Shetland Sheepdogs and Golden Retrievers was very high, and they were great fun to judge. My BIS was a lovely Samoyed. Then after the show we returned to our hotel and had dinner at the Seafood restaurant, which I have to say was a lot better than the Italian restaurant (at the same hotel) - but really Italian at a Chinese Hotel........ And something was lost in translation, as I ordered the Mushroom Risotto and it was made with noodles!
Monday: Was designated as shopping day, and it was decided to put us in the car and drive us 2 hours away to Guangzhou (where our interpreter came from) as he knew this area and could better guide us to the shopping area. The 2 ladies bought nothing, but the guys bought shirts, pens, suits (all knock offs) It was interesting to stroll the stalls and have our interpreter be approached by touts, who then took us upstairs to highly secured rooms in the apartments and hotels above the stalls, to examine all the "fake" designer handbags. Our car was rear-ended, so we had to have a change of vehicle and so we were left at another Chinese restaurant to order and fend for ourselves (thank goodness all the menus have pictures!) Then the drive back to the hotel seemed long, BUT the reward was a 1 hour foot reflexology and neck/shoulder massage - SUPERB.
My room at the Marriott in HKG |
Tuesday: Return to Hong Kong and the airport Marriott - LUXURY, with ocean views, an executive lounge, with heavy hors d'oeuvres and some good Australian wine.
Wednesday: Return flight to Portland, unfortunately upgrades did not clear...long 12 hour flight in economy plus.
Monday, April 16, 2012
Off to China
I may be posting a bit to my blog in the next week or so, as I am not exactly sure how much internet access I will have in China and I have heard that Facebook is blocked. So this maybe my only contact point - we will see.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Jigsaw #8
After a bit of a break from doing jigsaws (mainly because our whippet was helping too much, jumping onto the table and chewing up pieces), we have just completed one of New Orleans.
We bought a scat-mat (to deter her from jumping onto the table - it worked, one jump, one zap and she has not levitated since)
So back to the routine, we have several more to do.
We bought a scat-mat (to deter her from jumping onto the table - it worked, one jump, one zap and she has not levitated since)
So back to the routine, we have several more to do.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Number 5
Another one done, but this had 2 missing pieces, not sure if we lost hem, they were always missing, or the dogs took them? This is of Niagra Falls
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