JANUARY 14, 2008
Happy 2008 to everyone!! Randy and I had a fairly quiet New Year. We decided that rather than have a New Year's Eve party (which has been our habit the last few years), we opted for a New Year's Day open house type of event. We must be getting old. We were NOT confident at all about our ability to remain awake until midnight, and there's no ball to watch drop over here!!
We decided upon Jambalaya as our main course for our New Year's day buffet. In our family, the other name for Jambalaya is "near death experience for Stu!" A few years ago, Randy made Jambalaya for either New Year's Day or the Super Bowl, and my father ate several bowls. The next day, he was rushed to the hospital with chest pain and fear of a heart attack. After a rather tense day in the heart ward of the hospital, it was determined that what he was really suffering from was some painful gastro-intestinal ailment due to Randy's Jambalaya .... something we've NEVER let Randy forget!!
In order to make life easier for ourselves, we ordered desserts from a local French bakery called Bastiaans. Bastiaans is located on the Hong Mei Lu pedestrian street that I believe I have mentioned previously as being one of our favorite streets in Shanghai. It is entirely restaurants, bars, bakeries, and the like catering to the expat community. There is every kind of ethnic food imaginable on this street (even Iranian). When you aren't sure what you are hungry for, head for Hong Mei Lu pedestrian street ..... you'll find something there, for sure!
There is a new Italian place on the pedestrian street, so we decided that we'd eat our New Year's Eve dinner there, as Bastiaans was only a few steps away. The new Italian place is called Porto Novo. At first glance, it appeared to be a pretty nice restaurant. Linen on the tables, a clean looking dining area, and an attentive staff seemed eager to please. The restaurant is fairly large and sported big picture windows that provided a pretty decent view as Porto Novo is located at the very end of the the pedestrian street, and one can admire the creative lighting of the crossing street from a table near the window.
Our waiter was a young, Chinese man and seemed quite attentive to our needs. We ordered appetizers, dinner and some wine. The inside of the restaurant was pretty stark .... no artwork on the walls, candles on the tables or flowers in vases, nothing decorative to speak of at all. But we decided that we'd let the food speak for itself. Unfortunately, the meals were OK, but nothing to write home to Mom about. I will say that the Chinese waiter was very keen to get our opinion as Porto Novo had only been open for a few days. So we tried to tactfully offer a few suggestions .... a bread basket would be nice, Randy's meal was missing the grilled vegetables mentioned on the menu, some flowers or candles would spruce up the tables, maybe some framed posters on the wall. He was good natured about our comments and seem to take them to heart. We'll have to try it again in the future to see if the improvements have been made.
It seemed to be very quiet in Shanghai this New Year's Eve. We strolled the pedestrian street prior to heading to Bastiaans to see if any parties were in full swing, but the only establishment that showed any real sign of life was Papas Bierstube, the German restaurant. As we peered in the window, we had a pang of regret that we hadn't decided to eat there. Papas had spread out a lovely buffet and the folks inside appeared to be enjoying themselves.
We picked up our tiramisu and apple pie which were both nicely decorated for the holidays, and decided we'd head home for the remainder of the evening. It was a slow TV night, and we both ended up falling asleep on the sofa until the midnight fireworks woke us. The Hongqiao Marriott had quite a fireworks display which could be seen very clearly from our living room balcony. We called a few folks back home to wish them a premature Happy New Year (as it was only 11:00 AM at that time back in Michigan), and went to bed as we needed to be fresh for our party the next day.
We had a pretty good turn out for the New Year's Day party. One of our Chinese friends, Cathy, brought a couple of traditional Chinese meat appetizers which were wonderful, and most of the dozen or so other folks that arrived brought us some kind of wine .... even a traditional Chinese wine from Wind, Randy's coworker, and his wife. Everyone proclaimed the Jambalaya delicious, and no trips to the hospital were made as a result of it's comsumption (whew!).
Sometime during the holiday, I started sorting through some things in the closet, and I realized that I hadn't seen my passport in a few days. I wasn't that worried about it as the passport often gets changed from bag to bag as my accessory needs change with each event (no, I'm not THAT high maintenance, but I have taken advantage of the cheap knock-off market while we've lived here). I finally decided I should wage a careful search of my handbags and track down the passport. Nothing in any of my handbags or shopping totes. OK, no problem. Probably stuck it in a coat or jacket. I started going through the coats and jackets .... nothing! By now, I was starting to get a bit nervous. A passport isn't something one wants to lose while living as an resident alien in Communist China!
Finally, I declared all out warfare and begain tearing things apart in earnest. Drawers, clothes, under the bed, behind furniture, anywhere that it may have dropped in the apartment was checked. Nothing. I called the Sofitel and the Regent hotels as we'd visited those places for my birthday and Christmas Eve .... nothing. Even had Mike and his driver search their vehicle as I'd been an occupant of their Buick several times over the last week .... nothing there either. I was reluctant to say it had been stolen, but was starting to become resigned to the possibility. My best guess at this point is that it may have been nabbed from a handbag I carried on Christmas Eve. The evening bag had only contained the passport, a lipstick, and a compact, and I suppose it would have been pretty easy to simply reach in and grab it while I was at the buffet. Our understanding is that a valid U.S. passport fetches quite a price on the streets of Shanghai.
Well, just call it another China adventure!! We have begun the process to have the missing passport replaced. Randy accompanied me to the Chinese Entry and Exit Bureau to start the process which commences with a Lost Passport report. I had hoped that once we made that report, I could go straight to the American Embassy and apply for a new one, but that was indeed a foolish hope. Everything in China must be made official with the "offical stamp." And no transaction here is considered final without it!! So they took my report and asked me to return in two days to pick up the stamped copy which I will need to take to the Embassy for the next phase of passport replacement (I'm sure another two trips will be required to accomplish that ... at least!). Sigh! I swear, the next passport will remain on a chain around my neck for the duration of our stay!!
We are having some strange weather in Shanghai the last week or so. It has been on the warm side recently, and Friday, although grey and gloomy, the temps reached a balmy 65 degrees. I was allowing myself the dream that this would be a mild winter for us, but yesterday told a different tale. It started out cool and grey, changing to windy and misty later in the day, but by evening we were having a good old fashioned Michigan blizzard. It was unbelievable!! All the locals were outside taking picture of these huge, wet snowflakes that were blowing and swirling in the streetlights, and red-cheeked children ran around trying to catch flakes on their tongues. Looking out over the gardens of our compound, I could see flashes from cameras going off from all directions while many tried to capture a rare winter moment in Shanghai.
I met Suely for our workout this morning, and in order to get to Suely's apartment, it is necessary for me to cross a stretch of boardwalk that runs along the outdoor pool area. It was covered with ice, and I almost fell several times!! Everyone was bundled up like Nanook of the North, and even though the sun was shining, the air was foggy with the frosty breath of the mothers and their kids greeting the school buses to start the week. Very unusual.
After a fairly quiet holiday, life resumes in earnest for us this week. Randy and I went to the airport yesterday to greet Paul, a technician from McGavigan's in Scotland who will be working here for a couple of weeks. And Carrie, Randy's boss, came into town last night and will be here for a week. Out of town guests usually mean a few evenings of entertaining, and we enjoy showing a newcomer Shanghai now that we know our way around fairly well. My Mandarin class resumes this week, and Suely and I checked out the Tai Chi ladies this morning. It appeared that our usual routine was being performed, so we may soon be doing a more traditional Chinese workout in the morning rather than the treadmills and weight machines in the gym.
I hope to finalize the passport situation this week, but am not going to get too optimistic about that. This IS China, and everything has it's own timetable that one must honor (or drive oneself crazy in the attempt to circumvent it!!). So remaining pragmatic about that is probably best. I'll let you know.
We decided upon Jambalaya as our main course for our New Year's day buffet. In our family, the other name for Jambalaya is "near death experience for Stu!" A few years ago, Randy made Jambalaya for either New Year's Day or the Super Bowl, and my father ate several bowls. The next day, he was rushed to the hospital with chest pain and fear of a heart attack. After a rather tense day in the heart ward of the hospital, it was determined that what he was really suffering from was some painful gastro-intestinal ailment due to Randy's Jambalaya .... something we've NEVER let Randy forget!!
In order to make life easier for ourselves, we ordered desserts from a local French bakery called Bastiaans. Bastiaans is located on the Hong Mei Lu pedestrian street that I believe I have mentioned previously as being one of our favorite streets in Shanghai. It is entirely restaurants, bars, bakeries, and the like catering to the expat community. There is every kind of ethnic food imaginable on this street (even Iranian). When you aren't sure what you are hungry for, head for Hong Mei Lu pedestrian street ..... you'll find something there, for sure!
There is a new Italian place on the pedestrian street, so we decided that we'd eat our New Year's Eve dinner there, as Bastiaans was only a few steps away. The new Italian place is called Porto Novo. At first glance, it appeared to be a pretty nice restaurant. Linen on the tables, a clean looking dining area, and an attentive staff seemed eager to please. The restaurant is fairly large and sported big picture windows that provided a pretty decent view as Porto Novo is located at the very end of the the pedestrian street, and one can admire the creative lighting of the crossing street from a table near the window.
Our waiter was a young, Chinese man and seemed quite attentive to our needs. We ordered appetizers, dinner and some wine. The inside of the restaurant was pretty stark .... no artwork on the walls, candles on the tables or flowers in vases, nothing decorative to speak of at all. But we decided that we'd let the food speak for itself. Unfortunately, the meals were OK, but nothing to write home to Mom about. I will say that the Chinese waiter was very keen to get our opinion as Porto Novo had only been open for a few days. So we tried to tactfully offer a few suggestions .... a bread basket would be nice, Randy's meal was missing the grilled vegetables mentioned on the menu, some flowers or candles would spruce up the tables, maybe some framed posters on the wall. He was good natured about our comments and seem to take them to heart. We'll have to try it again in the future to see if the improvements have been made.
It seemed to be very quiet in Shanghai this New Year's Eve. We strolled the pedestrian street prior to heading to Bastiaans to see if any parties were in full swing, but the only establishment that showed any real sign of life was Papas Bierstube, the German restaurant. As we peered in the window, we had a pang of regret that we hadn't decided to eat there. Papas had spread out a lovely buffet and the folks inside appeared to be enjoying themselves.
We picked up our tiramisu and apple pie which were both nicely decorated for the holidays, and decided we'd head home for the remainder of the evening. It was a slow TV night, and we both ended up falling asleep on the sofa until the midnight fireworks woke us. The Hongqiao Marriott had quite a fireworks display which could be seen very clearly from our living room balcony. We called a few folks back home to wish them a premature Happy New Year (as it was only 11:00 AM at that time back in Michigan), and went to bed as we needed to be fresh for our party the next day.
We had a pretty good turn out for the New Year's Day party. One of our Chinese friends, Cathy, brought a couple of traditional Chinese meat appetizers which were wonderful, and most of the dozen or so other folks that arrived brought us some kind of wine .... even a traditional Chinese wine from Wind, Randy's coworker, and his wife. Everyone proclaimed the Jambalaya delicious, and no trips to the hospital were made as a result of it's comsumption (whew!).
Sometime during the holiday, I started sorting through some things in the closet, and I realized that I hadn't seen my passport in a few days. I wasn't that worried about it as the passport often gets changed from bag to bag as my accessory needs change with each event (no, I'm not THAT high maintenance, but I have taken advantage of the cheap knock-off market while we've lived here). I finally decided I should wage a careful search of my handbags and track down the passport. Nothing in any of my handbags or shopping totes. OK, no problem. Probably stuck it in a coat or jacket. I started going through the coats and jackets .... nothing! By now, I was starting to get a bit nervous. A passport isn't something one wants to lose while living as an resident alien in Communist China!
Finally, I declared all out warfare and begain tearing things apart in earnest. Drawers, clothes, under the bed, behind furniture, anywhere that it may have dropped in the apartment was checked. Nothing. I called the Sofitel and the Regent hotels as we'd visited those places for my birthday and Christmas Eve .... nothing. Even had Mike and his driver search their vehicle as I'd been an occupant of their Buick several times over the last week .... nothing there either. I was reluctant to say it had been stolen, but was starting to become resigned to the possibility. My best guess at this point is that it may have been nabbed from a handbag I carried on Christmas Eve. The evening bag had only contained the passport, a lipstick, and a compact, and I suppose it would have been pretty easy to simply reach in and grab it while I was at the buffet. Our understanding is that a valid U.S. passport fetches quite a price on the streets of Shanghai.
Well, just call it another China adventure!! We have begun the process to have the missing passport replaced. Randy accompanied me to the Chinese Entry and Exit Bureau to start the process which commences with a Lost Passport report. I had hoped that once we made that report, I could go straight to the American Embassy and apply for a new one, but that was indeed a foolish hope. Everything in China must be made official with the "offical stamp." And no transaction here is considered final without it!! So they took my report and asked me to return in two days to pick up the stamped copy which I will need to take to the Embassy for the next phase of passport replacement (I'm sure another two trips will be required to accomplish that ... at least!). Sigh! I swear, the next passport will remain on a chain around my neck for the duration of our stay!!
We are having some strange weather in Shanghai the last week or so. It has been on the warm side recently, and Friday, although grey and gloomy, the temps reached a balmy 65 degrees. I was allowing myself the dream that this would be a mild winter for us, but yesterday told a different tale. It started out cool and grey, changing to windy and misty later in the day, but by evening we were having a good old fashioned Michigan blizzard. It was unbelievable!! All the locals were outside taking picture of these huge, wet snowflakes that were blowing and swirling in the streetlights, and red-cheeked children ran around trying to catch flakes on their tongues. Looking out over the gardens of our compound, I could see flashes from cameras going off from all directions while many tried to capture a rare winter moment in Shanghai.
I met Suely for our workout this morning, and in order to get to Suely's apartment, it is necessary for me to cross a stretch of boardwalk that runs along the outdoor pool area. It was covered with ice, and I almost fell several times!! Everyone was bundled up like Nanook of the North, and even though the sun was shining, the air was foggy with the frosty breath of the mothers and their kids greeting the school buses to start the week. Very unusual.
After a fairly quiet holiday, life resumes in earnest for us this week. Randy and I went to the airport yesterday to greet Paul, a technician from McGavigan's in Scotland who will be working here for a couple of weeks. And Carrie, Randy's boss, came into town last night and will be here for a week. Out of town guests usually mean a few evenings of entertaining, and we enjoy showing a newcomer Shanghai now that we know our way around fairly well. My Mandarin class resumes this week, and Suely and I checked out the Tai Chi ladies this morning. It appeared that our usual routine was being performed, so we may soon be doing a more traditional Chinese workout in the morning rather than the treadmills and weight machines in the gym.
I hope to finalize the passport situation this week, but am not going to get too optimistic about that. This IS China, and everything has it's own timetable that one must honor (or drive oneself crazy in the attempt to circumvent it!!). So remaining pragmatic about that is probably best. I'll let you know.
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