Time to talk about the family China trip. Which was great. And stressful. And annoying. But great. We had 6 people on the trip - the parents, 2 uncles (mom's brother and dad's brother), and 2 family friends. My parents and my dad's brother (Jerry) had been to China before, but for everyone else it was the first time. The other uncle (Tio Jaime) has pretty much not left America in 50 years since he moved there from Mexico. Then the family friends (the Mehrdads) have traveled some and have wanted to come to China for years cause they do a lot of importing from China, but this was the first time they actually did.
So everyone got to Shanghai pretty late on a Friday night, but Hanna and I went to pick them up at the airport. Which means we got home at like 2am, so we had a late start and just went straight to lunch for dim sum. Obviously, food was a big part of this trip. Saturday was the only full day Hanna and I had with them with no tours or anything planned, so we went up to the glasses market, since everyone wanted glasses. And boy did they buy glasses. The Mehrdads got like 6 for themselves, and thanks to all the negotiating, my mom even ended up getting a pair for free! After that, it was on to the Zotter Chocolate Theater, which is my friend Julia's family company, and is a giant chocolate factory making amazing chocolate. I've talked about it before. From Austria, been to that one a couple times, Julia, etc. You know. So we ate a bunch of chocolate there, then went straight for a huge Yunnan feast for dinner with like 12 of our friends. Sadly on the way out, my mother had a little fall. She seems to be doing this every time she travels, which is worrisome. Especially considering how much she travels. She actually hurt her leg in Prague when she fell and had to go to the hospital. This time was not bad and she just scraped her elbow, but it definitely freaks me out. But we got it out of the way and then everyone was super aware for the rest of the trip and watching out for her, so no more accidents after that.
Day 2 started out at the Bund with some Starbucks and street food, then straight into the Jewish tour. There's a really interesting Jewish history in Shanghai from the late 19th century all the way to the end of WWII. Jews pretty much built Shanghai, actually. Modern Shanghai anyway. Without them, it would not be what it is today. So we started at the Bund and got some historical perspective, then went on to a few of the famous Jewish sites and learned a ton. There are a few of these tours, but there's a guy called Dvir whose said to be the best and most informative. And he was extremely informative, if nothing else. But yeah, it was a great tour. Then we took a Tai Chi class with my friend's husband, went to the fake market (so much shopping on this trip....), and then, of course, to dinner, this time for Shanghainese food.
I actually ended up taking the Monday off as well, so I took them on a tour of Old Town, around Yuyuan Gardens, one of Shanghai's most famous tourist spots. It's just an old-style market which is now super touristy all the time, but it's nice to see, and there's a nice garden (which we didn't go into) and an interesting temple, and we got a good walk through some of the really old housing areas. And then, in the afternoon, it was back to shopping. Of course. And then back to the Bund for a nice dinner at El Willy, one of my favorites! Tuesday Hanna "got sick" and took them on a tour to Suzhou, which was supposedly great. That tour guide was their favorite of the whole trip. And for dinner - Co. Cheese. My favorite, and actually many people's favorite for the trip. Then on Wednesday they had a guide and a free day to do whatever they want, so they went to watch people exercise in the park and they went to another old Synagogue and to our friend Daliah's restaurant for lunch and other stuff. I'll skip the fights, cause by this point there were already some, but it was all good in the end and they enjoyed everything, including dinner, which was Xinjiang food. Sadly my favorite place is closed for renovations, so I had to take them to another place that's good, but nothing amazing.
Then we were off to Beijing by train. I think everyone enjoyed taking the train, actually. Although we got a new train, which was good in some ways, but no longer displays the speed. That's half the fun. Those things go like 350 km/h, and you know everyone needs a photo of that. But not this time. First day in Beijing was pretty easy, just relaxed, went to an acrobatics show and had dumplings for dinner. Which was Tio Jaime's favorite meal of the trip. It was more than just dumplings, but it was a dumpling restaurant, so that was the main thing. Oh! And this place does colorful dumplings with all kinds of crazy fillings, and we got a kung pao chicken one which was amazing. Yes, kung pao chicken is real Chinese food. Just not in most restaurants outside China. And there are 2 ways to make it, the good way and the bad way. This place used the good way, which is the real Southern Chinese style, not the bastardized Northern Chinese style. Then we went to bed, although I got woken up very confused late in the night when Hanna arrived (she worked that day, I did not).
Then Friday was Great Wall day! And we got some great autumn leaves on the wall, which means I've not gotten the wall in all 4 seasons. They say it's different in every season, and it sure is. Summer is green everywhere, Autumn has all the colorful leaves, Winter has snow (if you're lucky, which I was, cause it's actually rare), and then Spring has peach blossoms. So this was a great trip to the wall for me, in what may be my last visit for who knows how long. After the touristy bit we also visited a non-touristy bit where we had to climb up a small dirt path to the top of a hill, where we were able to climb onto an unrestored part of the wall and look out at it over onto the mountains nearby and even dipping down into the water nearby. That second part was not too difficult of a climb, but for my mother with bad knees and my uncle with emphysema, it was too much, so sadly they didn't join us. But it was a great part, called Huanghuacheng. If you go, I would definitely recommend trying to get here. It's not far from Mutianyu, which is the least touristy tourist part of the wall. So easy to put together into a single day.
Then we had our last full day in Beijing, where we did a city tour, heading to the Forbidden City and Lama Temple, which is one of Beijing's most famous temples. Followed by Sichuan food for dinner, at a place I used to love, but which has completely changed the menu and was super disappointing. I debated over doing Sichuan and Xinjiang in Beijing or Shanghai and which places to go to, and in the end, I got it wrong. Very sad. Because based on past experience it should have been alright. And Xinjiang was. But Sichuan was not. And I know it could have been better.
Sunday was the last day of the trip, so I took everyone to one of my favorite places in Beijing - Panjiayuan, or the Dirt Market. It's basically an early morning antique market, although on the weekends it starts later and you can go any time. And it was a big hit! Especially with the Mehrdads whose business is importing and selling all kinds of tchochkies, they loved it. Followed by more Western food at Great Leap, a local Beijing brewery that makes the best burger in China. And is just generally fantastic. Then train to Shanghai, one last dinner of xiaolongbao at Din Tai Fung, and bed for everyone to go to the airport at 430am.
So yeah, fantastic trip which everyone loved, especially Tio Jaime. He was the big surprise of the trip, and one of the best things. He never travels, and to see him take to it so easily and love every second, and also be the least needy, was fantastic. Now he's even talking about coming to Australia with my parents next year, and I hope he does!
Ok, that was long! That's why I don't like writing super long blogs. It just took me half an hour to write that. And who's actually gonna read it? Wendy. That's who. Anyway, time for music. Today staring with something I should have talked about a long time ago - Big Red Machine. This is another sort of supergroup, made up of Justin Vernon of Bon Iver fame, and Aaron Dessner of The National fame. Two fantastic bands, now come together to make more music which is pretty similar to Bon Iver music actually. But great! Case in point, Air Stryp.
So they put out their first songs months ago, which is why I say I'm behind. But the eponymous album (definitely debut, but maybe it will be only? Who knows with bands like this) just came out about a month ago. So I guess that still makes me behind on reporting this. But it's a great album, more for the fans of Bon Iver than fans of The National. Favorite track is probably Melt, the closer, so that's what we're going with next.
So everyone got to Shanghai pretty late on a Friday night, but Hanna and I went to pick them up at the airport. Which means we got home at like 2am, so we had a late start and just went straight to lunch for dim sum. Obviously, food was a big part of this trip. Saturday was the only full day Hanna and I had with them with no tours or anything planned, so we went up to the glasses market, since everyone wanted glasses. And boy did they buy glasses. The Mehrdads got like 6 for themselves, and thanks to all the negotiating, my mom even ended up getting a pair for free! After that, it was on to the Zotter Chocolate Theater, which is my friend Julia's family company, and is a giant chocolate factory making amazing chocolate. I've talked about it before. From Austria, been to that one a couple times, Julia, etc. You know. So we ate a bunch of chocolate there, then went straight for a huge Yunnan feast for dinner with like 12 of our friends. Sadly on the way out, my mother had a little fall. She seems to be doing this every time she travels, which is worrisome. Especially considering how much she travels. She actually hurt her leg in Prague when she fell and had to go to the hospital. This time was not bad and she just scraped her elbow, but it definitely freaks me out. But we got it out of the way and then everyone was super aware for the rest of the trip and watching out for her, so no more accidents after that.
Day 2 started out at the Bund with some Starbucks and street food, then straight into the Jewish tour. There's a really interesting Jewish history in Shanghai from the late 19th century all the way to the end of WWII. Jews pretty much built Shanghai, actually. Modern Shanghai anyway. Without them, it would not be what it is today. So we started at the Bund and got some historical perspective, then went on to a few of the famous Jewish sites and learned a ton. There are a few of these tours, but there's a guy called Dvir whose said to be the best and most informative. And he was extremely informative, if nothing else. But yeah, it was a great tour. Then we took a Tai Chi class with my friend's husband, went to the fake market (so much shopping on this trip....), and then, of course, to dinner, this time for Shanghainese food.
I actually ended up taking the Monday off as well, so I took them on a tour of Old Town, around Yuyuan Gardens, one of Shanghai's most famous tourist spots. It's just an old-style market which is now super touristy all the time, but it's nice to see, and there's a nice garden (which we didn't go into) and an interesting temple, and we got a good walk through some of the really old housing areas. And then, in the afternoon, it was back to shopping. Of course. And then back to the Bund for a nice dinner at El Willy, one of my favorites! Tuesday Hanna "got sick" and took them on a tour to Suzhou, which was supposedly great. That tour guide was their favorite of the whole trip. And for dinner - Co. Cheese. My favorite, and actually many people's favorite for the trip. Then on Wednesday they had a guide and a free day to do whatever they want, so they went to watch people exercise in the park and they went to another old Synagogue and to our friend Daliah's restaurant for lunch and other stuff. I'll skip the fights, cause by this point there were already some, but it was all good in the end and they enjoyed everything, including dinner, which was Xinjiang food. Sadly my favorite place is closed for renovations, so I had to take them to another place that's good, but nothing amazing.
Then we were off to Beijing by train. I think everyone enjoyed taking the train, actually. Although we got a new train, which was good in some ways, but no longer displays the speed. That's half the fun. Those things go like 350 km/h, and you know everyone needs a photo of that. But not this time. First day in Beijing was pretty easy, just relaxed, went to an acrobatics show and had dumplings for dinner. Which was Tio Jaime's favorite meal of the trip. It was more than just dumplings, but it was a dumpling restaurant, so that was the main thing. Oh! And this place does colorful dumplings with all kinds of crazy fillings, and we got a kung pao chicken one which was amazing. Yes, kung pao chicken is real Chinese food. Just not in most restaurants outside China. And there are 2 ways to make it, the good way and the bad way. This place used the good way, which is the real Southern Chinese style, not the bastardized Northern Chinese style. Then we went to bed, although I got woken up very confused late in the night when Hanna arrived (she worked that day, I did not).
Then Friday was Great Wall day! And we got some great autumn leaves on the wall, which means I've not gotten the wall in all 4 seasons. They say it's different in every season, and it sure is. Summer is green everywhere, Autumn has all the colorful leaves, Winter has snow (if you're lucky, which I was, cause it's actually rare), and then Spring has peach blossoms. So this was a great trip to the wall for me, in what may be my last visit for who knows how long. After the touristy bit we also visited a non-touristy bit where we had to climb up a small dirt path to the top of a hill, where we were able to climb onto an unrestored part of the wall and look out at it over onto the mountains nearby and even dipping down into the water nearby. That second part was not too difficult of a climb, but for my mother with bad knees and my uncle with emphysema, it was too much, so sadly they didn't join us. But it was a great part, called Huanghuacheng. If you go, I would definitely recommend trying to get here. It's not far from Mutianyu, which is the least touristy tourist part of the wall. So easy to put together into a single day.
Then we had our last full day in Beijing, where we did a city tour, heading to the Forbidden City and Lama Temple, which is one of Beijing's most famous temples. Followed by Sichuan food for dinner, at a place I used to love, but which has completely changed the menu and was super disappointing. I debated over doing Sichuan and Xinjiang in Beijing or Shanghai and which places to go to, and in the end, I got it wrong. Very sad. Because based on past experience it should have been alright. And Xinjiang was. But Sichuan was not. And I know it could have been better.
Sunday was the last day of the trip, so I took everyone to one of my favorite places in Beijing - Panjiayuan, or the Dirt Market. It's basically an early morning antique market, although on the weekends it starts later and you can go any time. And it was a big hit! Especially with the Mehrdads whose business is importing and selling all kinds of tchochkies, they loved it. Followed by more Western food at Great Leap, a local Beijing brewery that makes the best burger in China. And is just generally fantastic. Then train to Shanghai, one last dinner of xiaolongbao at Din Tai Fung, and bed for everyone to go to the airport at 430am.
So yeah, fantastic trip which everyone loved, especially Tio Jaime. He was the big surprise of the trip, and one of the best things. He never travels, and to see him take to it so easily and love every second, and also be the least needy, was fantastic. Now he's even talking about coming to Australia with my parents next year, and I hope he does!
Ok, that was long! That's why I don't like writing super long blogs. It just took me half an hour to write that. And who's actually gonna read it? Wendy. That's who. Anyway, time for music. Today staring with something I should have talked about a long time ago - Big Red Machine. This is another sort of supergroup, made up of Justin Vernon of Bon Iver fame, and Aaron Dessner of The National fame. Two fantastic bands, now come together to make more music which is pretty similar to Bon Iver music actually. But great! Case in point, Air Stryp.
So they put out their first songs months ago, which is why I say I'm behind. But the eponymous album (definitely debut, but maybe it will be only? Who knows with bands like this) just came out about a month ago. So I guess that still makes me behind on reporting this. But it's a great album, more for the fans of Bon Iver than fans of The National. Favorite track is probably Melt, the closer, so that's what we're going with next.
Then I'll share one more band who I found recently that I was quite impressed with. That band is Palace. This UK trio is gearing up for the release of their sophomore album, and so the song Heaven Up There, the most recent single, showed up on one of my new music playlists. And I was immediately a fan. Plus it's like 7 minutes long, which we know I love.
So I loved that song and went to hear more, and found that they actually have an album that came out a couple years ago called So Long Forever. And it is a pretty damn good album. I kind of go back and forth on it depending on my mood, between thinking it's amazing and thinking it's all kind of same-same. But I do really like it. Reminds me of Palatine, the French band I fell in love with earlier this year. Super chill, kind of classic rock sound. With some great guitar riffs. Holy Smoke is probably my favorite on the album. But again, I go back and forth with this album, so I'm not really sure. Definitely worth checking out though, and can't wait for the new one!
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