Nanjing, China

Dinner in Nanjing was incredible.  It's apparently a famous old restaurant from maybe 100 years ago.  I wish I got better pictures of the food.  I think my focus was off because of the steam getting to my camera.  Top left is the stinky tofu.  Yes.  Stinky tofu is what it's called, and yes, it's stinky.  Think stinky cheese and you have it.  Top right is in dark, I forget how it's prepared, fish.  Really tasty.  On the same plate is exceptional duck.  In front is arguably the best chicken I've ever had.  The broth is so rich and delicious.  It's spicy hot, but not too hot.  The chicken falls off the bone.  It has an interesting effect on your tongue I asked my local guides.  It makes your tongue tingle, like numb feeling.  Very interesting.

Nanjing stinky tofu.  Think stinky cheese.  Stong flavor, strong garlic-like feeling in your mouth.  Delicious.  Enough said.

This is where we walked to from the hotel for dinner.  Really bustling happening town altogether.  The yellow and red vertical sign is where we ate.

I've seen so much, and still, so little here.  Unfortunately, my battery died just as we were getting in the beautiful bullet train from Shanghai to Nanjing.  State of the art, modern facilities here, for sure.  Not the China we remember from 20 or even 10 years ago.

On the bullet train.  The pinnacle of traveling.

Some fashionable kids walking around in Shanghai.  Made me think of my girls.  Today is Moira's birthday.  Happy 19th Moira!  I love you!

Shanghai, China

This is the chandelier in the lobby of the Intercontinental in Shanghai.  It's a beautiful extravagant modern hotel.  I was admiring this from a distance, and decided to get right under it to take the photo.  it's mounted in a recessed backlit circle which makes the dramatic orange tone ring.

This is a glance at the lobby.  You can see the chandelier in the background.  The flowing lights reminded me of silk.  I wonder if that was the intention.  It's a huge sculpture that flows from the lobby to the bar.  Quite dramatic, as is the rest of Shanghai.  Definitely a world-class city of 20 million people and climbing.

I loved the room and view.  A modern style, yet some finishes adding soft and textures making it contemporary and comfortable.  See the tiles behind the bed?  Really nice couch in front of the window, and of course the huge window facing the train station.

This is looking out the front door of the lobby.  Very difficult to capture the beatiful lighting.  I'm sure it's extra done-up for Chinese New Year.  The energy of the country is picking up as the New Year gets closer.

Ahhhhhhh..... This is one of the most beautiful indoor pools I have ever seen.  It's a full 25 meters, infinity edges, deep and well, perfect.  I so needed that.  I'm looking forward to one more night there, before I leave.  We're very busy, arriving at night to the hotel.  Pre-meeting at night.  Depart at 8am for our meeting in the High Tech Park, then lunch meeting, then 2 hour high speed train to Nanjing.  This is high tech with passion! 

I hope I can get more pictures later, of Shanghai and Nanjing, and maybe more on our return to Shanghai.  Actually, more of Xi'an too...  Lots to talk about!

Xi'an China

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The Terra Cotta Warriors are a fantastic archeological find, from about 6,000 years ago during the something rather dynasty.  I need to look up more on it.  Actually quite recently, in 1974 was it's discovery.  Buried in a farmer's field, he was digging a well and found one of the soldiers.  Long story short, 8,000 life size warriors have been found buried about 20 feet under ground.  Along with the soldiers, are horses and carriages and other military items including cross bows.  The technology was advanced, using bronze, chrome for swords, and sophisticated casting methods to make large light shields.  Western civilization caught up about 5,500 years later...

 

Each face on every warrior is unique, with different features and expressions. There is speculation, but possibly there were models for each one.

There are three pits or areas where the soldiers are found.  This is the largest of the three.  The vast building is around 250 M long.  This army was created to protect the emporer in his afterlife.  As it turns out he was about 13 when he had this army commissioned.
Tony and I surveying our troops.

This is a general.  You can tell by his hair and hat, as well as all the ribbons on his uniform.  Having things turned up was a sign of leadership, for example his mustache, his fingers, and his shoes, which you can't see here.  Also, his uniform is 2 layers, unlike the rank and file, with one.

This woman is carving English and Chinese characters into a stamp.  Rather than a signature, a stamp is used to sign documents.

This is the contradiction in China.  The smoke from the factory billows uninhibited.  At the same time, you can see the new cars providing a 'higher' standard of living.

I like the sepia effect here.  It looks like something from generations ago.  A farmer transporting his pigs on a scooter truck.  He's on the main freeway, next to the many new and old vehicles of every kind.  It's quite a mix on the road.

Here's more of a present day composition of my pig farmer.  His scooter truck may not have much life left in it, if the billowing smoke is any indication.

This is a proud and strong warrior looking out, while Tony and Magic inspect.  Magic was our guide, and an awesome guy.  Really enjoyed him.

Me not quite pulling off the serious general warrior.  You can tell the others are a lower rank, as they have fewer ribbons.

Looking out my hotel window.  It's almost unbelievable the level of smog.  Next door is an older crumbling building.  If you can see, there are many new high-rises on the horizon.  China is racing to become a 'leading' country with all the privileges you get from things.

French Riviera travel notes - Monaco, Biot, Nice, Cannes, Antibes

Getting to Eze from Nice
This is the view from the bus, #82 from the bus station in Nice to Eze.  I forget how often this bus travels.  My guess is every 30 minutes, possibly every hour.  It's 1 Euro!  Pretty much, all buses were 1 Euro, with the exception of the airport express which was 4 Euro, although we could have taken the regular bus in Nice, to the airport.  Avoid the taxi if at all possible.  It's really not much more convenient, and costed me about 35 Euro to go about 4 miles.  The bus took about 20 minutes to arrive in Eze.  From there, hike up to the town, and pay the 5 Euro to get to the top, which is through a really nice garden.  The view is, well, what you see below.

Eze
This was a beautiful stop.  The scenery is spectacular.  If you want to shop, we found spices, soap, and perfumes.  Also paintings, pottery, clothes, and other local crafts.  An awesome half-day.  It's about halfway between Monaco and Nice.

Monaco
I know we didn't do this town justice, in a regular day.  We were there during the final Gran Prix racing day, which of course meant there were people, and concession stands everywhere.  So, we got here by train.  Again, exceptional views along the water.  The train is sweet.  Very comfortable.  6 Euros each way.  It's about a 40 minute trip from the train station in Nice.  I think the train travels at least once per hour.  It makes about 5-6 stops along the way.  We climbed the rock up to the old part of the city, hoping to see some of the races.  As you can see in this picture looking out on the water, they put up temporary metal barriers so you couldn't just view the race from above...dang.  The yachts.  Oh, the yachts.  My camera battery ended at this point.

Cannes
We went to Cannes by train.   It's a short ride from Nice, maybe 30 or 40 minutes.  Take the train from the station downtown.  You can also take a bus. I think the bus takes a little longer, and can be more crowded.  The train is a treat, and only 6 Euros.  The bus is 1 Euro.  We were here during the Cannes Film Festival, making it super crowded.  Lot's of people well dressed, and fine cars taking them around.  We watched a red carpet event for a while.  I was bored stiff, but hey, I was there.  Everyone asks - did you see anyone?  Yes, but I don't know who.  hehe, smart@#*.  Anyways, we had dinner on the beach.  The food was quite good, and I think about double the price of a good meal, in one of the many nice looking places all around the streets, tables outside everywhere.  It turned into a fun day, although not typical around here, without the festival.  The bus heads back to Nice about once an hour.

Biot
Pascal Guyot, Glass Blower

I love this town.  It's an old hilltop village, turned craftsman, artisan enclave. It's a little off the beaten track, so, although a tourist attraction, not as heavily trafficked as some other places.  While we were here, it was really light, partially because the restaurants all close between lunch and dinner.   I went here to see the glass blower we saw last time we were here.  His name is Pascal Guyot.  His wife runs the connected retail shop, and speaks some English, while he works in the shop, shown.  You can see it through an open window at the street.  Here's Pascal and me, with the pot I got.


Biot
Lisi Lopez, Jeweler
It was the quiet period between lunch and dinner, and the door was closed, but not locked here.  I had a glimpse of some of the pieces from the window, and loved what I saw, so tried the door, and it was unlocked, so I went in, sort of by this woman next to me.  She followed me in, and I started looking at cases, and totally loving the designs, and started to realize the person who followed me in worked there, and soon I discovered, she was the jeweler, Lisi Lopez.   Apparently, she used to live and work in Paris, then moved to Biot a couple years ago, and just moved to her present main street location a couple weeks prior.  Anyways, the more we talked, the more I liked her, and her designs.  She shared how the asymmetrical design fits the fingers better, and is more comfortable.

To get to Biot, we took the 200 bus, from Nice to Antibes, city center.   Another beautiful old, French Riviera town.  After some water and beer at a local pub, we found the bus station just a block from the city center, where we caught the bus to the Biot, old town.  Both are 1 Euro bus fares.  Both are totally easy to catch.  Be careful leaving Biot, as the bus only travels about 1 per hour.

Nice
We spent most of our week in Nice, but mostly nights, going to find restaurants, around the main shopping area.  My favorite, by far was a recommendation by my friend, Doug, who I re-met at the convention we were both attending.  We used to work together 10 years ago, and 3-4 years ago, the company he moved to was acquired by Oracle.  Mine, just a few months ago, so, we were working together, again.  The favorite restaurant is called L'Universe.  Crazy good food, awesome atmosphere, and fun staff, and nice artwork on the walls.

Frankfurt Friends and a 7 hour layover

So, the age-old question.  How do you turn a 7 hour layover into the best part of the trip?  Sometimes you have to just go with what life gives.  I let the auto-flight selector pick my route to Nice, and the best fare included a 7 plus hour layover in Frankfurt.  I contacted Mette and Sascha, and said, hey, what are you doing May 14th?  Want to meet in Frankfurt?  Sascha had an additional request.... Tim, can you bring an iPad?  It's not available in Germany yet...

I was looking forward to it the whole flight.   Such wonderful people.  We last saw them 2 years ago, pre-Mark.  Look at him now!  Mr adventure.  I don't have pictures, but Ellen and Mark, both trying to figure out who this guy is in their car.... but as shown, in the pictures...  We re-bonded.  Such a wonderful time.  I love you guys.  Thanks for these pictures.

    Amazing visit, and back to the airport.  All in about 4 hours!!  I hope we can see each other in Denver this summer too!