Beijing : First Days.

We have been in Beijing for a few days ... I am afraid there is a hole in the documentation from the first couple since we were a miserable bunch. It seemed that the feeling of going nowhere in Shanghai was only a teaser for what was in store for us in Beijing. As incomprehensible as any foreign city may seem to a newcomer, the combination of rain, Chinese driving and rush hour traffic made for a mind blowing three hour car ride from Crystal + Rob Minkoffs flat in the "4th Ring" back to our hotel (a ride that should have taken 20 minutes). We wouldn't have waited until rush hour but when we initially attempted our departure it had just began to rain and none of the taxis would take us - it turns out they were hurrying home before the (rain) traffic hit - which at first seemed ridiculously lazy but we soon came to realize the claustrophobic truth. The three hour traffic jam was the icing on the transportation cake and nearly forced us to declare a ban on China (and almost each other). That's when we decided to sleep for 12 hours in hopes of waking up somewhere sunny with less pollution and congestion. Fortunately we woke up to Grace - it was our first day with the Chinese tour guide who turned out to be the cutey pie relief of the trip, she laughs at all my dads jokes, her and i walk arm + arm, she is silly, sweet and fun, dreamboat! Even though the sun still hasn't really come out yet the trip has taken a turn for the brighter.

Our first night in Beijing we ate peking duck in the 1949 dist. @ Duck de Chine.

Rainy day errands with Crystal, Rob, Pietro & Jeff. Envision loud techno bumping "I make your ice,,, cream. You make my lolly,,, pop."

The Rigs at Forbidden City.

JR walking through the Hutong (Old China alley ways) to our afternoon cooking class.

Learning to cook Yunnan food (Southwest Chinese) with a bunch of expats that are living in Beijing. This place is so cool, we are going back Thursday to have a private tutor on chinese herbal medicine..They also have QiGong, tea journeys & acupressure. http://www.thehutongkitchen.com/

We made Yunnan lemon shredded chicken salad with mint, mushroom baked in lotus leaves and Heisanduo. Very simple, healthy and delicious.

Grace (left) and our cooking teacher.
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btw, if you would like to see more photos go : HERE

Day 2 : Technicolor Shanghai

While Shanghai is known for being the well polished, sophisticated, financial epicenter of China, I think my favorite attraction was the epically dated, technicolor, Bund Site Seeing Tunnel - a pedestrian only tunnel that allows you to go under the river in a glass people mover, from the Pudong (where our hotel was) to Chen Yi Square: "Modern high technologies are applied in the decoration of the interior walls of the tunnel, providing the passengers with pictures, patterns and views about yellow sea stars, pink flowers, strange geometric figures, which are full of dynamic power and full of enchantment." It felt like quintessential China in a city that is very westernized. Needless to say, Day 2 started out like Day 1, with a little trip through the Site Seeing Tunnel, always pleasant, and then to M50 Artist District. To make a long story short, the rest of our day turned into a transportation nightmare, language barrier + taxi's + china traffic = hours of going the wrong way. We did however make it to the artist district which was very cool, a nice introduction to the Chinese contemporary art scene. After that we went spent some more time going the wrong direction in cabs & finally rendezvoused with our local friends to hit up the underground fake purse scene, which was quite exciting since there was a raid in the neighboring shop and we were locked down in the purse dungeon for quite some time. Eventually we made it to the Huangpua River Tour which was a delight on the overcast, rainy night - all sarcasm aside, after a long day on going nowhere it felt like a bit of the same (85 of the 90 minutes we were sitting on a boat looking at the dark banks of shanghai as most of the Chinese tourists were engaged in conversation never looking out of the window), when ALAS we made it to the Mecca of lights and Shanghai beauty, see pictures below.

View from our hotel room on the 70th floor of the Grand Hyatt Shanghai, "one of the highest hotels in the world". Across the street the highest building in the world was under construction.

M50 Artist District.

Lai Yu Cheng, Riotous Zebra - Planet Wonderland

In front of H Space

Landscape - 9210 - Plane - 92.

Loft Gallery.

Shanghai Art.

The Cool Docks.

The WATERHOUSE Hotel.

Mercedes Benz Arena.

The old side of the Bund River.

The new technicolor side of the Bund River.

Yay!

Day 1 : Shanghai

Daddy Daughter Trip 2012 has begun. We arrived in Shanghai a couple of days ago and have already had our fair share of adventures...actually from the moment we stepped off the plane & decided to take the "high speed" train into the city but instead got onto the locals subway & then soon kicked off ("you- get off now, yes off now" WTF??). Fortunately we have found our way into the care of a few of JR's friends who reside in Shanghai and have been nice enough to orient us in the Orient by driving us around, taking us to their favorite massage place & to the best dim sum. Beyond that we have been exploring on our own, conducting a Rigney style walking tour (walk til you drop, no stopping), trying all of the exotic foods like cow tongue, 1,000 year old egg & of course, Starbucks. Still plagued by jetlag & insufficient sleep, we are definitely making the most of our few days in Shanghai, an extremely beautiful & cosmopolitan city. Colonial era government buildings along The Bund (River).

An array of exotic street food.

Huxinting Tea House, circa 1855. Yu Yuan Gardens.

Green tea with quail eggs and tofu.

A nice break from the crowds below.

Very hip neighborhood, Tianzingfan.

Lunch break at our friends NY Style Pizza joint.

Mansions in the French Concession, confiscated by the Communist government in the 1950's

Dinner party, Sichuan Province Food (spicy!).

Egypt : Cairo

If you can see beyond its decaying facade, there is a mysterious beauty in Cairo with its vast history, cultural richness, strange smells, constant honking & blasting prayers from the Koran.

The Pyramids at Giza.

The exterior wall of Saaqara with tour guide Muhammad.

This is a photo from a walk into the city center. We came across many leftovers of the Revolution of January 25th, including this burnt down government building. It is very fitting that his shirt says 'lust for life', there is definitely a post revolution excitement in the air.

The Nile by night.

Greek Orthodox Church in Old Cairo.

Having once been worshiped as Gods, Egyptian cats are very regal.

Beautiful black & whites.

Old Cairo.

The Alabaster Mosque (aka Muhammad Ali Mosque) at the summit of the Citadel.

It is an Ottomans style mosque, commissioned in 1830 & built by the same architect who designed the Yeni Mosque in Turkey.

A smoggy view of Cairo from the summit of the Citadel.

I nearly hyperventilated in Tent Makers Alley, I was so excited.

Sketchy back alley transaction.

The traffic is Cairo's major downfall. I suppose it is organized chaos but I couldn't figure it out... Turning right from the farthest left lane?? No traffic signals ?45 minutes to get down the block at 10pm?