Before I recount our short and sweet trip back to my hometown, Hong Kong, thought I'd provide a brief update on Bryson, since I've received a few questions from his fans all over the world.
We skyped with him (imagine Bryson on the computer, think Ein in cowboy bebop, ha!), he looks spoiled rotten, all sprawled out on the floor without a care in the world. In fact he looks so comfortable that we worry he might not remember us... we're relieved to see that he perks right up when the 3 of us yelled "BRY-SONNN!" in unison. Whew! He still remembers us :)
And according to Uncle Jack, he's doing well and is a sweet boy in general... until he had a small episode of diarrhea, which was quickly controlled with extra steroid. But perhaps due to that, he started scavenging again... and Uncle Jack had to chase him off when he starts showing interest in his cousin's poop in the backyard. Ewww! But we miss you Bry, in all your poopy-eating grossness. Can't wait to give you a big, BIG hug again.
OK, now back to our Hong Kong trip :)
As you know, that's where I grew up, so there's lots of sentiments coming back after all these years. It's extra sweet that I get to show Eva the place I used to call home: where I used to live, where I went to school, where I had my first date (shhh...), but as per the usual toddler-rule, we were lucky that that we got to see half of that before she fell asleep in her stroller/ smeared melted chocolate all over herself/ had a diaper-related emergency and need to rush home (maybe that was the chocolate after all...).
Here's one of the "must-do's" in Hong Kong- visiting the Victoria Peak where you can get a bird's eye view of the harbor and all of Hong Kong's concrete forest's glory.
A super rare sight (at least it seems to us) at the Peak: "Dogs Allowed" signs everywhere! And people take full advantage of this, as there were more dogs than we've seen collectively anywhere else in Hong Kong and Guangzhou combined.
And from our completely unscientific survey, it seems that poodles are awfully popular here (the miniature kind). But guess what... it seems that corgis aren't that far behind, as we ran into not one, but TWO corgis on one same day in different parts of Hong Kong!
Awww, isn't she so adorable? Eva was totally smitten... It was a little awkward asking strangers if we can take pictures with their dog, but it seems that corgi owners all over the world know that it's a corgi-people thing- we love our corgis and can't get enough of them! Speaking of corgi-peeps, we met another pair of proud corgi-parents in Guangzhou a couple weeks ago whom we met through our blog (small world, eh?). More on that in another post.
And in case you're wondering, where do corgis go stretch their stubby legs in this concrete jungle? This photo above was taken at the Lion Club Nature Education Center in 西貢, only about 20 minutes from the densely populated neighborhoods nearby, but seems worlds apart in its greenness and serenity.
People and doggies can all enjoy the beautiful sunflower field...
Trails meandering through various area of exhibits (beware of mosquitos though)...
Beautiful lily pond...
Ahhhh.... after breathing in city fumes for a month, we were all happy to fill our lungs with fresh air, although next time we definitely won't forget our Badger Balm.
Another perk for being in Hong Kong? Hanging out with Gong Gong and Po Po at their swanky digs and being fed like a Roman king:
I know I'm getting a little off-track here, but feel like I have to post our photos from our local weekend excursion here in Guangzhou this weekend, as we're heading off on yet another trip to Beijing and Harbin in a couple of days.
We headed to Shamian Island, or 沙面岛, an area concessioned to the French and the Brits during the war in the late 19th century. It still retains a lot of its colonial architecture. We had a leisurely amble around the island, but were found guilty of rushing into a Starbucks as soon as we saw the sign (it was 90+ degrees out and Starbucks is the only air-conditioned establishment in sight). We can be forgiven, right?
Here's an interesting sight on the way to the island- transportation and sunshade in one. ingenious.
This totally reminds me of Paris on the way to Notre Dame...
Said evil Starbucks...
Providing an evil iced chocolate for my toddler which she took for lunch...
But after a cool beverage, it's smiley faces all around :D These are boxes in apartment front gates for people's morning paper, how can you not have a cheerful day?
And the best way to conclude the day? Dinner of homemade dumplings over at a colleague's home. Yes! I have friends here, finally! Or did I invite myself? Well, let's not get lost in the details.
And congrats if you read all the way down here, because I saved the best for last...
Today's our 7-year wedding anniversary :) Hubby got me this super adorable bunny ring while we were in Hong Kong (you can get it on etsy as well).
I love you, too ;)
