Antibes at night

It was starting to get a bit late, so Maya had to take the kids home.

Phil, Todd and myself had no desire whatsoever to end our night early.  We were together and out in a foreign country for the first time ever.  We were going to enjoy our night.  Juan le Pins felt dead.  It was the wrong time of year to be looking for a party, and even then, the closed nightclubs and bars in the area looked dated and tired.  We did what all good travellers do these days and consulted google for the best place to go.

Everything we read pointed us towards Antibes.

It was a short 30 minute walk, so the perfect amount of time for us to build up a bigger thirst.

Antibes was still quiet, but it was at the very least more active than Juan le Pins.  There were a few bars and clubs open, and more importantly there were actually people who were out socialising.

Since we were in France and we have no concern for our health and wellbeing, we walked straight into an absinthe bar and started pounding back the drinks.  There weren't many people in the bar, but we loudly determined that we would bring it to life.  After a few absinthes, we were laughing and joking like always.  You would never have guessed that we hadn't been able to catch up for so many years.  More people were probably attracted by the noise and the bar started to fill up more.  One of the employees who was standing around decided that there were now enough people and began to play the piano.  This was good timing.  I started to tip him so that I could choose my own songs and our experience was now complete.  Absinthe, piano, friends and poor decisions.

I can't remember how many absinthes we had, but eventually we found the bar's collection of funny hats.  Dressing up in those hats was the sign that it was time to move on.

We moved further into the centre of Antibes and found some more standard bars.  We had some beers and then some wines, but nothing was memorable.

The combination of jet lag and drinks was starting to have an impact on us, so we decided to start walking back to the apartment.

Juan le Pins

The entire purpose of the trip was to visit Maya and her family.

Todd and I arrived at Nice airport earlier than we expected, we had told Maya not to come and meet us but we knew Maya well enough to know that she would ignore us and come to the airport anyway.  It had been a rougher flight than we expected.  The flight time was over 7 hours long and when we got on the plane, something felt amiss.  We soon realised that the plane we were on really wasn't a long haul plane, but rather it was a small short haul plane that had been pressed into this longer route.  I'm sure that from a mechanical stand point, there is no problems with this approach, but the interior of the plane was severely lacking.  The seats were uncomfortable and there was almost no entertainment.  Looking at the maps and the flight path being taken, it became clear to us that this was meant to have been a much shorter flight, but the embargo on Qatar by the rest of the Arab states was forcing it to fly a significantly longer route.  Since we were early, hungry, and also waiting for our friend Phil who was also coming, we decided to get some lunch first.  As we sat eating our quiche (we were now in France after all), we saw two small platinum blonde children run past.  The kids had clearly arrived.  Maya soon followed as we jumped out to surprise her.  Catching up with old friends you haven't seen for years will always be one of the best parts of traveling.  We all sat down and chatted for a while before Phil then arrived and we repeated the whole process again.  The four of us had grown up together at boarding school and yet somehow remained friends for all these years.  It had been many years since we had all been together in one place.  Probably over ten years in fact.

I went over to pick up the hire car and then followed Maya as she drove us to our hotel.  We had decided to stay around Juan le Pins as it seemed like it was both close to things to do, as well as being close to where Maya and her family lived.  After we settled, we went for a walk down the beach.

It was perfect.  There aren't many times you can truly say that, but this was one of them.

The sun had started to set, so we ordered a bottle of rose and caught up on all the crazy and mundane things that had been happening to each of us recently.  The kids on the other hand ran around on the beach...

The last time we were all together, I'm fairly sure we were huddled up freezing in some dingy cafe in Canberra.  Over ten years had past and we were now all sitting on the beach on the Cote d'Azur. watching the sunset over the Mediterranean Sea.  You really never know what direction life will take you no matter how much you try and plan it.

Giant teddy bear

I was feeling jet lagged.

I'm certainly not old yet, but there's definitely the feeling of getting older.  Playing contact sports becomes more difficult, recovering from a bender takes longer, and the getting over of jet lag is definitely harder than when I was younger.

I was in Doha.  Well... I was at Hamad International Airport in Doha, waiting for my next flight.  I was off to the South of France to visit my dear friend Maya and her family.  Flying Qatar Airways had provided the best route.  We were arranging a big group meet up, and good fortune meant that Todd was able to get a flight from Indonesia that landed in Doha about an hour before me.  We would be able to fly onto Nice together on the same flight.

I started to walk around the airport to look for Todd.  He couldn't be far away.  The wifi seemed a bit spotty as I struggled to get online so that I could whatsapp him.  I'm really not sure what we did before smart phones became ubiquitous in our lives.

As I walked around, I saw a teddy bear in the distance.

A gigantic teddy bear....

There's something about being sleep deprived when you see these sorts of things.  It messes with your brain a little bit as you question whether or not you are actually seeing a gigantic teddy bear or if instead you have started to lose your mind a bit.  My sense of reality seemed to warp a bit as I stood in front of this gigantic teddy bear.

I eventually found Todd, who was also standing near the giant teddy bear.

I needed to get my mind straight, so we went to get some coffee.  We were in Arabia (technically speaking), so we went to get some Arabic style coffee.  It was nice to be able to pour the coffee from the dallah, something I hadn't done for a few years.  Arabic coffee is prepared differently to in the West and it's much lighter than you would expect.  I find it much closer in taste and consistency to a strong tea.

After a few refreshing cups (paired with some baklava and dates), I immediately felt better.  Soon enough, I would be swapping the dates and coffee for pastries and cafe au laits.

Madness in Guangzhou

For reasons unknown to me, Guangzhou has a team in the Hong Kong Premier League.  They are a big budget club, so their presence in the Hong Kong league isn't entirely welcome with the local Hong Kong fans.  Over the last few years, I've started going to Kitchee games with Charlie.  He has brought a level of passion to the games which is astounding, transplanting the English style of fan support here to Hong Kong.  It's been successful too as the crowds for Kitchee have steadily grown and even the local fans becoming more vocal.

Charlie and Andy both decided to bring another element of English (and more broadly European) football culture with them and decided that we should all do a true away day when Kitchee played in Guangzhou.  This was something I had never done before, but it was appealing enough an idea for me to agree.  We booked tickets on the newly built fast rail and sped off for Guangzhou.  In true English fan fashion, the beers were out already as we waited for the train to arrive.  The train ride itself was incredibly fast, less than an hour.  The Chinese fast rail system is a wonder of the world and its ability to connect the country to an absolute marvel.  By the time we arrived in Guangzhou, I was already feeling very buzzed.  The day had barely begun and we were in a taxi headed to our hotel. our good sense now gone as we argued all the way there about some nonsense I can't even remember anymore.  At the hotel, Charlie managed to convince the girls running the club room to give us more beers (a terrible idea) as we dumped our bags before heading to the game.  We arrived at one of the ugliest sporting grounds I've ever seen.  We weren't meant to take drinks into the game, but that didn't stop almost all of the Kitchee fans from sneaking their own drinks into the game.  A wide area of seats had been set up to keep us away from the Guangzhou fans and there was a large police presence which seemed to focus only on ensuring the Kitchee boys didn't cause any problems.

The police looked at us nervously.  There couldn't have been more than 150 of us (probably less to be honest) but they seemed to fear a riot could start at any point.  We screamed at the other fans and we had a drummer keeping up a constant banging drone.  Kitchee quickly went up 2-0 and the abuse from the Kitchee fans towards to the Guangzhou fans was relentless.  They tried to ignore us, but as Guangzhou clawed its way back to 2-2, something clearly snapped with them as they finally started to yell back at us.  The wives and girlfriends of the Guangzhou fans seemed particularly annoyed at us, as they led the screaming.  It was then, near the end of the game that Kitchee broke their hearts with a late winning goal.  We roared and all charged towards the field, the police were smart enough not to stop us, and the Kitchee players came running to us as we all celebrated what would be the winning goal.  Then we ran towards the barricades keeping us from the Guangzhou fans and started to yell at them.  They looked sullen as they responded with some meek yells, but they knew it was over as well.  The score finished up 3-2.  The Kitchee players came over to us and thanked us for making the trip over.

Things weren't completely over though.  The police may have thought separating the fans during the game was a good idea (it definitely was), but they hadn't given any thought to how things would be AFTER the game.  Both sets of fans were still leaving out of the same exit, and so there was an inevitable confrontation.  The Kitchee boys whooped and cheered as they walked past the sullen looking Guangzhou fans.  For some of the Guangzhou fans, this was too much as they started to itch for a fight.  They started screaming back and challenging the Kitchee fans to a fight.  One Guangzhou fan even pulled out a retractable nightstick and started to threaten the Kitchee fans.  At this point, Andy casually walked over, all 6'4" of him, and just started to look at the guy.  Very quickly the nightstick was put away and the loud screaming stopped.  As a final insult to the Guangzhou fans and players, as Andy, Charlie and I drove away in our taxi, the driver just happened to drive us past the players entrance to the stadium.  We opened the windows and screamed "KITCHEE" at the Guangzhou players and their families as we went by, with retaliatory screams from them following us as we left the scene.

We made our way back to the hotel in time for the happy hour in the club lounge.  Charlie had planned everything well, and we had worked out that paying slightly more for the room meant that we had the unlimited food and drinks on offer in the club room.  We made ample use of this, adding to an already drink filled day until we decided we wanted to go out.

We made our way into the Guangzhou evening, starting out in a party area, before finding some dive bars to continue the night.  The night continued to descend into anarchy and it was only by a miracle that I managed to get at back to the hotel in the early hours of the morning.  Even then, it wasn't without some resistance.

I'm not sure how we managed to wake up the next day, but we did.  We dragged ourselves over to the club room where the manager was seated at her desk.  A smile ran over her face as she saw the three of us enter looking for food.  We must have looked terrible.  Later, as we checked out of the hotel with her, the smile crept back across her face as she commented to me in Cantonese: "the three of you went very hard last night didn't you?"

Yes.... we certainly did....

Hikes, villages and seafood

Clear Water Bay Country Park lies far to the West of Hong Kong.  It's not too hard to get to, but it seems like for the longest time to have been neglected as the rest of the Hong Kong continues to develop and grow.  Ed was going out for a hike and asked me to tag along.  I had nothing else to do that day so it seemed like a good chance to go and explore some more places I had never been.  Getting out there was fairly simple.  Like most of the hikes in Hong Kong, nothing is ever too far from some form of public transport or another.  A convenient ride on the MTR followed by a very short taxi was all that was needed and we were then walking through forests.  As we started the ascend, I started to smell an awful funk.  We all looked at one another with a bit of confusion and annoyance.  As we crested over a ridge, we saw the source of this foul smell, it was the remains of an old landfill that was still being dealt with for the new developments.  For the sake of the new residents, I hoped this would be dealt with before they moved in.

The hike was like most Hong Kong hikes.  The paths were well marked out, there was an abundance of views and lots of fellow hikers to pass on the trail.  At certain parts of this trail, there were some large rock formations perfect for climbing.  We both scrambled on top as some of the other older hikers laughed at our daring (or foolishness).  Most of the area we were hiking was quite narrow in a sense in that it was boarded by water on both sides.  It meant that with only a small amount of elevation, it became easy to look out far towards the water on both sides.  The weather wasn't amazing, but it still meant some lovely views.

As we finished up the hike, we started towards the old fishing village of Po Toi O.  It was a bit of a strange spot.  It seemed to be caught in the middle of competing worlds.  It was next to a golf course and some very expensive houses, so luxury cars seemed to be flying in and out the entire time.  Yet, this was also a traditional fishing village where locals were living a simpler life away from the intense and busy life of Hong Kong

We walked along the road and into the village itself.  We found ourselves a table at one of the local restaurants and we ordered some lunch.  The table was soon covered with different dishes and we ate our fill after the exertions of the hike.

It was a nice way to finish up.  It was a relaxing end to the day, out of the sun and comforted by the cool breeze.  The village felt dilapidated, but it all seemed to add to the vibe of the place, far away and cut off from the rest of Hong Kong.

Like a dream

After our visit to Lucca, we continued our drive towards the coast and Liguria.  I had been hoping for a scenic drive, but it was mostly just highway driving without many interesting distractions on the way.  We reached the small city of La Spezia, parked our car in the secure parking I had arranged for us and then we headed towards the train station.  It seemed to be a lot of traveling and changing of transport, but we were going somewhere special.

Cinque Terre!

The train ride in was as picturesque as any train I have ever been on.  We arrived after a very short trip, then walked through a long tunnel to get into the town.  I had booked us an apartment and the instructions had been to go to one of the local bars.  At the bar, they were expecting us and grabbed some keys off of a hook and took us on another long and winding walk through some narrow alleys and up some steep stairs.  We hadn't brought too much luggage with us, but I was glad for the help to carry what we had to the apartment.  I could take some of it, but without the extra strength of the guy leading us I would have probably had to have gone back and done two trips.  The apartment was simple and well placed.  We didn't have time to relax and enjoy though.  I had arranged for us an evening boat trip and we needed to move quickly.

We dumped out bags, had a quick look around and then immediately went downstairs and towards the small and incredibly picturesque little harbour of Riomaggiore.  I wondered how we would find the boat, but the attendants for the cruise seemed to have a knack for recognising their guests and spotted us before we spotted them.  There weren't too many others joining us and we were taken aboard the boat without too much trouble or fuss.

The boat moved out of the small harbour and we began our tour of the coastline, heading north.  The atmosphere on the boat was nothing short of jovial.  There were wide grins on each face as we all scanned out towards the shore, looking each of the wonderful and beautiful towns that sprang out of the cliffs.  The crew came around with plates of focaccia and glasses of prosecco for all of us.  Everyone happily moved around the boat, letting others sit in better spots for photos and helping each other to take the photos.

The sun began to set.  Everyone looked out into the distance as the colours and shadows changed and danced around.  The golden glow of the day disappeared and was replaced by more sombre and darker colours.  It was still beautiful, but it didn't have the same wow factor.

We went back to the apartment to rest for a bit before dinner.  We had been given some recommendations so we slowly got changed and made our way out, taking the long and scenic route through the small streets and alleys of the town.  Reaching the back of the town, we looked out at the evening sky.  The town had now lit up and was as beautiful as it had been in the sunshine, bathed now in the soft glow of all the small lights.

Old and preserved

Renee and I caught the train between Rome and Florence.  It was clean and very comfortable.  The old cliche about Italian trains being late didn't seem true and the trip went off without any hitch or delay.  It was a clean and modern train and the seats were comfortable.  I was looking forward to this trip as well, just for the opportunity to see more of Italy and to be able to gaze out at the countryside.  

In Florence, we immediately set off to the car rental agency.  I had decided that driving to our next location was the best approach.  I had heard many stories of the dangers of driving on Italian roads, so I had made the decision with some slight trepidation.  I had my reasons though, I wanted a bit more control and the thought of being able to stop whenever and wherever I wanted was particularly appealing.

As I went through the administrative steps of getting the car, I started to chat with the girl who was helping us.  I asked her on her thoughts about where we could stop on the way to our destination.  Her immediate response was "Lucca".  She lived in Lucca.  It was close, almost midway to where we were going, and it was beautiful.  I was sold.  She even gave me a recommendation on where I could park my car cheaply outside of the old town.

The drive was pleasant as we sped through the Tuscan countryside.  It was all highway driving, so nothing interesting or dangerous for me.  I was luckily familiar with driving on this side of the road after my North American adventures, and the dangers of Italian drivers seemed to have been vastly oversold.  After less than an hour I could see the signs to "Lucca".  I took the exits and followed the directors to our parking.  On the outskirts of the town, it felt a bit dead and decaying.  Besides the car park attendant, the entire area seemed to be completely empty, with even the shops and cafes in the area all closed.

We walked the short distance to the old town, where we were confronted by the enormous and imposing walls of Lucca.  Inside, we found a beautifully preserved old town, full of towers, churches and lanes.

The most famous of all the towns had a small garden at the top.  We climbed the stairs to the top, and looked out at the lovely town.  The town had a cosy and intimate feel to it.  Its small size and narrow streets made it a perfect destination to explore whilst walking.  It's close distance to Florence was also ideal for us as a stop, but I wasn't sure if I would spend too much more than a day here unless it was to use as a base to visit the region further.

It was a strange feeling being in the town itself though.  We were very much in the middle of the tourist season, but even though Lucca felt well maintained, it still felt relatively empty.  The shops were only partly full, there weren't many people on the streets, and when we walked further out to the edges of the town, we found ourselves completely alone.  

Even inside some of the old churches we visited, there was no one at all.  No attendants, no caretakers, no visitors.  Just us, alone in the old building.

The importance of timing

Any trip to Rome isn't complete without a visit to the Vatican.  I had prepared this all in advance as I was extremely excited to visit.  The Vatican is the centre of the Roman Catholic faith, and so it also the cultural centre of much of the art and architecture I had seen over my years of travel.  We made our way over to the Vatican via the Roman subway system.  It was a dirty and old system, but still seemed to be quiet efficient to move around.  From the closest station, we walked over to the Vatican along streets lined with tourist trinkets and then through the walls surrounding this city state.  Once we walked through, we were in the middle of St Peter's Square.  

The square itself was enormous.  As impressive as it was, its size was so vast that it seemed to dwarf the size of the surrounding buildings.  When we started approaching St Peter's Basilica itself, its own enormous size became far more striking.  It seemed to keep growing and we kept shrinking the closer we were. When we entered, the size of the place was even more astounding.  Inside the large vault of the basilica completely dwarfed everyone inside.  With the better perspective inside with all the visitors, the true enormity of the place became far more clear.  Apparently it's so large that it could fit most large cathedrals within its space.

We left and went looking for somewhere to rest and relax.  Walking down the long boulevard, the size of St Peters, now seemed more impressive as we walked further and further away.

Being at the Vatican was one of the most impressive things I had seen.  We were both very happy to have seen the glory of Rome and the splendour of the Vatican.  The last time I could remember being so awe struck by the sheer size and majesty of a place was probably when I visited Hagia Sofia when I was a backpacker.  I thought back to all the random travels I had done over the years.  I had seen a lot of impressive buildings and sights.  Italy had been left off the list of places to travel when I was younger for fear of being "too poor" to properly enjoy it.  I'm not sure if this had been the right decision given how incredible Italy was, but at the same time I was glad I had made this decision for the benefit of some of the other places I had visited.  I had looked at churches and palaces in other places with awe and wonder when I visited, but would I have had the same reaction and response had my eyes been already coloured by a visit to the Vatican?  Would other places have been able to stand in comparison?

The dream that was Rome

I have long maintained that there are reasons for the popularity of tourist destinations.  When I was younger, I was much more eager to walk the less trodden path.  I felt the need as a part of a yearning for more adventure and there was also the youthful exuberance towards the different and unique.  Traveling to strange and unique places seemed to lend itself to that desire for a more unique experience and it also certainly provided a personal sense that I was in a way different myself.  Whether any of this was true doesn't matter so much now, I enjoyed the travel immensely and it took me to places I never would have otherwise visited.

Being in Rome with Renee seemed to be the antithesis of the less trodden path that I had once sought.

This was one of the great tourist destinations of the world, filled with visitors of all types and ages from across the world.  When people think of dream places to visit, this would surely be high on the list.  So it was here I found myself.  Just as the high season was about to start.  Being here with Renee was already special and being able to see her was in and of itself joyous, but I was also exited about the city itself.  After our initial reunion, we set out to be tourists.  This felt odd.  I felt less like a "traveler" now.  I felt like a real tourist, even though the reality was that I was always a tourist.  It didn't feel alien or uncomfortable.  If anything, I was quite excited.  We arrived at the Colosseum and both marvelled at the size and scale of it all.  Memories of film and images filled my mind.  Everything from histories through to romances and adventures, this seemed to have been any and all genre.  I loved being there.

As part of the tickets I bought, we also had free access to the Forum included.  With our walk around the Colosseum finished, we moved over to the Forum and found that we even had a shorter line to get in.

I found it all even more amazing than the Colosseum.  

This was the focus and centre of life in the ancient city of Rome.  This was where everything I read growing up had happened.  It was where Caeser stood and spoke, where Marc Antony made his impassioned pleas, where the emperors had come afterwards to impose their will.  The sun was beating down.  Renee went to hide for a while in the shade whilst I kept walking.

We walked into the Monti district for a quick lunch.  It wasn't too far from the Forum so it was probably frequented heavily by tourists, and yet I still thought it was a lovely place to eat.  We sat outside, enjoying the warm weather and the relaxed atmosphere.  Renee was struggling with her dress, so we found a nearby pharmacy to buy some safety pins for her to do some running repairs.  I checked my watch and noticed it was still early.  During my research on visiting Rome, I had read about the famous Villa Borghese.  We didn't have a booking, but apparently the pass we had could be used to include the villa as one of the free entries. I thought we would risk it.  I flagged a taxi for us and soon we were at the other side of Rome.  We walked into the grand villa and towards the front desk.  The attendant told us that they were sold out.  Then with a smile, he mentioned that there had been a cancellation for a spot in half an hour... would we be interested?  We laughed and kindly accepted his offer of the spots!

Inside, we were both overawed by the incredible beauty of the art on display.  This was what I had been expecting when I thought of the grandeur and splendour of Italian culture.  The building itself was impressively ornate, but it was the enormous collection of paintings and statues that was the most impressive.

It was the first time I had seen any Bernini statues up close and in person.  The delicate beauty of each statue was indeed breath taking.  There was an intricacy and detail in each piece that you can only properly see in person.

Along with the incredible paintings, many of which are by Caravaggio, we were both enthralled in room after room.

It was all a bit much for Renee.  The jetlag was taking a toll on both of us, but she was feeling it a bit more than me coming from North America.  The old adage of "West is best, East is a beast" was hitting hard as she struggled to adjust to the change in timezones.  We had to leave to find some rest before we went out again.

The Eternal City

Renee and I were meeting in Rome.  It was close enough to halfway between us, so it was an ideal location.  I had only been to Italy once for work, and that was up in Milan.  This wasn't going to be work.  Instead, this was going to be a real holiday.  I was incredibly excited about it, not just because I wanted to see Renee, but also because I had always wanted to go to Rome and to see more of Italy.

I arrived at the airport in Rome early in the morning. It would still be a few hours before Renee arrived, so rather than head into the city I decided to stay at the airport and wait for her.  I found myself a lounge that offered wifi and started to work.  Time went by quickly and soon it was time for Renee to arrive.  The long distances between us were tough and any time we could see each other was a joy.  We hopped on the train and we were soon in Rome.  After a brief dispute with our taxi driver, we were checked into our hotel and wandering through the streets.

It was all far more beautiful than I imagined.

Rome was a place I had always wanted to visit.  As a child who was always obsessed with history, there are few places in the world that can compare when it comes to historical significance (places being in the Middle East of course immediately coming to mind though).  Walking around Piazza Navona, we we both looked up and around at all the lovely buildings with nothing but the deepest admiration.  We walked inside the churches and were amazed even more.  We were both horribly jetlagged, but it didn't seem to matter at all.  We had an additional rush of energy, not just from being together, but from the surroundings themselves.

I had of course been to Italy before, but that was to Milan.  This was an entirely different league.

There was an opulence and size to everything which I had never experienced before.  I now understood very clearly why people were so dismissive of Milan when I told them that I was going.  For me, any trip to Italy was something to be savoured.  When I was in Milan, I thought it was a beautiful place, full of interesting sights and experiences.

But it was no Rome.

In comparison to Rome, Milan was just any other city with a few points of attraction.  Walking through the streets of Rome, it was difficult to go anywhere that didn't feel special.  Every street, every turn, every corner was a point of beauty and history.  For all of the wonderful things in Milan, it just couldn't compete with this.  What could compete with this?  Milan wasn't a bad place by any means, it was clear that it merely suffered from the comparison.

We left Piazza Navona and walked towards the Pantheon.  This was something I had wanted to see since I was a kid.  I had loved reading about Julius and Augustus Caeser, so the idea of seeing something from their time was exciting.  The Pantheon stood out square and tall amongst the surrounding buildings.  With the Roman low rises surrounding it, this was still an imposing structure that wasn't overshadowed or dwarfed by any nearby modern constructions.

Inside, I truly had my breath taken away.  The size of the dome and the light that came in made me feel like I had stepped into another time.  There was a din of noise from all of the other visitors, but it was all absorbed in a way by the building into a consistent murmur.  We walked several loops of the building, our eyes transfixed upwards at the light and the dome.  

We were both amazed and enamoured with Rome.  It had been less than a day of walking through the city, but there seemed to be surprises and beauty on every street and around every corner.  Could I say that it was "magical"?  It seemed like such a hackneyed thing to say, but it seemed like such an apt description for this wonderful city.  As the sun began to set and the evening began, we made our way back to some busier areas to look for dinner.  There were tables and chairs out everywhere, with each restaurant expanding out into the public areas.

We found ourselves a place that look inviting and sat down to eat.  We were both exhausted.  I can barely remember what I ate, but I was satisfied and happy.  We were together in a city half way around the world and it was beautiful.

Cheesy Hong Kong

I love raclette.

Grilled cheese is always great, but the combination of the grilled raclette cheese with pickles and meat is amazing.  I remember being introduced to raclette by my friends in Switzerland and I had become immediately hooked.

Charlotte had booked a raclette dinner, but Joe had been called away on a business trip.  I was therefore more than happy to jump in and take his place.

The raclette dinner was in a cheese and wine shop in the middle of Sheung Wan.

They had set up an upstairs area for people to get their plates of the grilled goodness.  It felt a bit strange to be eating this in Hong Kong, but I certainly wasn't complaining.

Madmoiselle Prive

Hong Kong is not the cultural wonderland that I hoped it would be.

I have enjoyed my time here, but I have not found it to be the centre of art which I expected.

What I have discovered though is that there is a level of "private" art and culture which is usually harder to access.  There are numerous private galleries and there are annual events, all of which are catered towards the sale and purchase of art.  I shouldn't have been surprised by this given Hong Kong is a city which caters to the rich and the privileged.

With all of that in mind, it wasn't entirely surprising that one of the best exhibitions I had seen in a while was actually a private event which was set up by the fashion house Chanel.

Chanel had taken over a large area in PMQ and set up a private event to display some of their most iconic designs.

The exhibition was put together like a guided walk, as you navigated your way through darkened hallways and through rooms filled with clothes and multimedia displays.

I'm sure the intention of it all was to create a journey for the visitors.

I'm not sure what story it was trying to tell, but there was definitely a journey as you wandered from each of the locations to the next.

There was a little bit of Alice in Wonderland to it all (which seems to be what designers and story tellers constantly refer back to these days), but it didn't make it less enjoyable.

It was still the designs though that were the star.  Each piece was a lovely design.  Each chosen for the incredible detail that you could see was involved in not only its conception, but also it's creation.