Ni Hau! that means Hello in Mandarin and so completes the third leg of our journey and begins our year in Shanghai, China. I am writing this from my laptop, nestled comfortably in our hotel, the JW Marriott, in Shanghai, China! Just a note, I have not found a website in my book of favorites that I can not access with ease. The Great Firewall of China has not impinged on us whatsoever yet.
Briefly, we started in Tampa, then hopped up to NYC for three days, then across the pond to London, England for a week of Christmas holiday, and then buckled up for an eleven hour plane ride across all of Europe including Germany, Russia and Mongolia until touching down in Shanghai's Pu Dong airport yesterday at 9am in the morning.
There is so much to write about NYC I have tried to put as much detail in the pics of our visit because I could blog for days and nights about how beautiful and energetic and friendly NYC is these days!
It has been 25 years since I was a young sailor stationed on a Royal Air Force base (RAF Edzell) located innocuously at the foot of the Scottish Highlands, where from me and Kevin and Haj would jump on a train Thursday evening after we got off day watch and roll a quick eight hours down to London for the weekend. Ah, London. One of my most cherished memories is pulling Tug O' War (the National sport in Scotland second only to drinking) in front of 70,000 screaming Londoner's in Earl's Court as we beat the Royal Navy right in front of the Royal Family - Princess Di, Prince Charles, the King and Queen of England - they were all there - mouths agape. Just as I can't pull tug of war anymore, London too has changed in dramatic ways. It is certainly the most modern of cities I've seen in decades - stark, almost sterile with it's glistening glass and cold steel architecture overpowering the old, warm wood of the London I remember. I was pleased to see both and I enjoyed the new London just as much as the old - Bravo!
It's great to finally be here and we are roaming the city today, looking for not only a cool event for New Year's Eve, but jobs and a place to live for the next year...
And for all of you who enjoy and miss Jenny's sense of humor and incredible dance skills, here is a quick video of her as we wait to hail a cab and head out to Picadilly Circus, London, England.
Zaijian (Goodbye, for now)
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