A Rock Star (in China)

Our trip to China was...interesting.  Although we had a lot of fun, it was very eye opening, especially regarding cultural differences.

The main issue is that we were traveling with a cute, blonde-haired, blue-eyed little girl, and apparently many Chinese people have not seen too many girls who look like Caitlyn.  Everywhere we went people took out their cameras and phones to take pictures, walked up to her to try to touch her (usually her hair), and even asked if they could hold her to take a picture with them (we politely declined).  It was perhaps endearing at first, yet downright disturbing and annoying after awhile.  Going out anywhere became an ordeal, as it felt like we always had to stay on guard to stop people from trying to touch her.  (Who knows what all of these people are going to do with her picture!)  I nicknamed her "Rock Star," as it really felt like we were traveling with a famous person.  I joked that I was her bodyguard.

We also found Beijing to be fairly dirty and sadly poor (especially in the hutong alley neighborhoods we explored), and the smog was terrible.

That said, we had many interesting experiences and ate some delicious food during our trip to China.  Here are some highlights:

We had duck several times, and it was always delicious.  The best was our last meal in Beijing, at Da Dong Roast Duck Restaurant.  We had the name and address of this restaurant written on a piece of paper in Chinese, and we walked around for about 45 minutes showing it to people to try to find it!  It was well worth it, though, as the duck was amazing!  We also had some great dim sum.

Above is some of the food offered at the Night Market, including scorpions, sheep testicles, and snake.  We didn't try any of them.

The highlight of the trip was hiking the Great Wall of China.  We went to the Mutianyu area, which is a little less visited.  It turned into a beautiful day and we had a great time.  The Great Wall is really long!  Caitlyn was very proud of the "I Climbed the Great Wall" t-shirt we bought for her (her Mom has the same shirt from years ago!).  Although we took a chair lift up the mountain to reach the Great Wall, we took the toboggan slide down.  That was a lot of fun!

(I hiked like this for much of the walk!)  

As part of our day-long tour to the Great Wall, we went to a small village nearby.  The best part was visiting an old woman's back yard to learn about her life.  (Our tour guide saw the open door to the yard and ventured inside to see if anyone was around.)  She was very generous in telling us about how she lives.  The differences between a poor, Chinese village and America are stark.  As just one example, notice the outdoor "kitchen" in the background of this picture:

We also spent time exploring the main sites in Beijing, including the Lama Temple...

...Tiananmen Square...

...the Forbidden City...

...the Olympic facilities (that's the "bird's nest" in the background of the first picture below)...

...and the zoo to see some pandas!

We also spent a few hours in both the Silk Market and the Pearl Market, bargaining for silk ties and scarves, shoes, and jewelry.  I was a tough negotiator, so we had some great deals!  I bought Caitlyn her first piece of jewelry, a pearl necklace.  I figured that a rock star needs some bling!

As a final note, I learned one more important fact about China:  unfortunately, Chinese parents don't teach their kids when they go to the beach that if they dig really deep they'll reach America.  Oh well.

A "Wale" of a time...

Since Portugal we have enjoyed beautiful London sunshine and warmer weather and spent many days outside.  While Josh was working Caitlyn and I went to a few different playgrounds so she could just run around.  When we were at one playground she kept saying "I want to show Daddy this playground!"  So, one day we did just that.  We walked to Hampstead Heath, about 2 miles from our house, to play at Parliament Hill.   

Caitlyn working on her balance.

Josh pushing kids around an amusement park style ride - definitely not allowed on US playgrounds!

Watching a game of quidditch on the field across the way.  Yes, they were really playing with the golden snitch, sticks between their legs, and the goals.  Quite interesting to watch.

We then took a road-trip about 3 hours away to Wales.  We spent an afternoon, evening, and the next day in Cardiff, the capital of Wales.  It's amazing how different the culture can be in just a short drive.

Watching bakers make Welsh Cakes (a cross between a pancake and a cookie).  We tried a couple of different kinds - one with currants and another with chocolate chips.

Enjoying Welsh delicacies - these are made with pork and pork liver, rolled with bread crumbs, and fried.  I believe they are an acquired taste.

A typical Welsh breakfast - sausage, black sausage pudding, bacon, egg over-easy on toast, and laver "bread".  Laver bread is on the left.  It is seaweed cooked with bacon.  

Caitlyn on her "phone" listening to a story at the Cardiff Castle.

Us in front of the Keep at Cardiff Castle.

Caitlyn wasn't too sure about sitting on the artillery.  (She smiled briefly, but then wanted to get off after about 10 seconds.)

Learning about the guillotine. 

We really enjoyed exploring Wales and wished we had more time to explore.  There might be another trip there in April if we find ourselves with spare time.  We made it back to London around 8:00 PM and met up with one of Bari's cousins who happened to be in town conducting research at the British Library.  It was great to catch up since we hadn't seen each other since August 2010.

Lisbon...

...was not our favorite European city.  After our adventure to Italy we came home to London for a couple of days before going back to the airport to head to Portugal.  This might have been the most random trip we have booked since arriving in London.  Many people said we would love Lisbon and that Portuguese people were super friendly.  However, this was not our experience.  We did enjoy exploring Lisbon and Sintra (a quick day trip from Lisbon), but we were not as enamored with Portugal.  Lisbon seemed to be very run-down, covered with graffiti, and stuck in the "this is what the city was like before the 1755 earthquake and fire that destroyed our city" mentality.  While picturesque in certain areas, we were ready to come back to London after a few days.  Here is our adventure through pictures.

An arch from Rua Augusta looking to Commerce Square (dedicated to the rebuilding of Lisbon after the 1755 earthquake).

The entire city has black and white tiles that were laid by prisoners.  

View of the Lisbon houses from Elevador de Santa Justa.

About to enjoy ginjinha (zeen-zeen-ya) - a cherry cordial that is sold to enjoy at the moment.

From the base of the Pena Palace - we had already hiked up a big hill from the train station to the center of Sintra, taken a bus to the entrance of the palace, and taken one final bus up the hill.  Then we still had to climb a few hills and stairs to reach the palace.  The views were spectacular!

Josh and Caitlyn climbing down a set of stairs from an outpost.

At the top of the palace.

View from the Moorish Castle looking to the Sintra and the Atlantic Ocean.

This picture sort of shows the severity of the wind gusts.

Pastel de nata - a Portuguese custard delicacy.

Caitlyn really enjoyed the custard part. 

Even though we did not enjoy Portugal as much as other countries we visited, we are still glad we went and were able to explore Lisbon and Sintra.  While we won't rush back to this country, it was great to see a different style European city to the more historic ones we have visited.

Gelato land!

We spent my birthday weekend in Italy and had an amazing time.  (Sorry for the picture overload...)

Caitlyn loved taking pictures of all of the sites.  She insisted on using her own toddler camera at lot!  Below is us in front of the Parthenon (taken with Bari's camera).  

Caitlyn was really inquisitive -- Bari and I went inside while Caitlyn was sleeping, but then later when we were walking by it again she asked if we could go inside so she could see it.  She also asked us to go into various stores.  For example, one time we were walking by a supermarket and she asked to go inside so she could see what kind of food they have in Italy!

Caitlyn's favorite part of Rome was the Trevi Fountain, and her favorite thing to eat was gelato!  (She usually wanted raspberry, but tried other flavors at times as well.  One time she had meringue!)  Below she is enjoying both!

To see a similar picture from 5 years ago (before Caitlyn), click here.

Caitlyn LOVED throwing coins into the Trevi Fountain.  Legend has it that by throwing coins into the fountain you are guaranteed a trip back to Rome.  She really wants to go back!

While we were walking around we stumbled upon a ton of people and media.  It turned out that the brand new Italian Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, was leaving his first Parliament hearing.  It was big news in Italy because at age 39 he is the youngest Prime Minister in Italian history.

We walked around the Forum and Colosseum...

...enjoyed more gelato...

...and played on the Spanish steps.  Caitlyn loved running back and forth along the steps.

We found some amazing fresh pasta.  Here they are making it...

...and here is the finished product!  We ate here a few times.

For my birthday dinner, we visited Trattoria Der Pallero, a place we had visited 5 years ago on our first trip to Rome.  They don't speak much English, and there is no menu--they just start bringing food to your table!  It was a many-course meal:  antipasti (with various olives, cheese, meats, and bread), pasta (two different kinds), meat, dessert, and wine.  Here is a picture of us from 5 years ago:

And here we are this time:

We spent the final two days exploring some hill towns.  Caitlyn thought it was hilarious that we walked to the train station to catch a bus, and then went to the airport to rent a car.  She kept saying "that doesn't make any sense!"  

First we visited Civita di Bagnoregio, a beautiful town set high on a hill.  There are no cars--we had to walk over a long, steep, footbridge to reach it.  There were some gorgeous views.  Civita di Bagnoregio is the birthplace of bruschetta, and we enjoyed some different kinds.

The view from the town:

We then drove to a beautiful winery, Custodi, to try the famous Orvieto Classico wine.  It was delicious and a lot of fun.

Finally, we reached Orvieto, a wonderful hill town famous for its church, ceramics, and wine.  Here is the facade of the church, considered one of the most beautiful in Europe:

We visited this ceramics shop, Mastro Paolo, and spent some time speaking with the owners.  Caitlyn was really well behaved and did not touch any of the fragile objects.  As we were leaving, the owners gave Caitlyn a doll as a present (you can see the basket of dolls in front of the door in the photo below).  It is a doll that has a boy and a girl back to back, and if you turn it over there is an old woman underneath the girl's skirt!  Bari thinks it looks like Strega Nona, a character from an Italian children's book.

Italy was amazing.  Caitlyn says it was her favorite trip so far as well.   I can't wait to go back (to an different area) in May on our final trip before we return to America!