26 Feb 2014 ~ Celia's

Listening to: David Gray ~ Blame The Wine


It feels good to be home.

After 2 weeks of strictly Asian and Indian food, I came home craving any but, so my first night back I headed to Celia's Mexican Restaurant for tacos and margaritas. I did have ceviche, and although it had shrimp, I didn't count it in the seafood category.

Yummy.

This is the inside of the restaurant. Quite colorful and delicious food, although the service was a little slow.

It was also time to pick up my champagne and wine club membership orders, so I went to Napa on Sunday.

Here is the view from Mumm Napa's Oak Terrace.

I love that no matter what time of year I go, the scenery is breathtaking.

20 Feb 2014 ~ Blue Sky

Listening to: Rosi Golan ~ Can't Go Back

The sun finally came out today and I was able to see more than clouds from the hotel room.

I'm staying in Kowloon, rather than HK Island.

And here is the view inside my hotel room. I really like the mural.

 

This was the display at the Singapore airport when I left. I didn't realize Sponge Bob was still so popular. 

19 Feb 2014 ~ Back in HK

Listening to: Passenger ~ Let Her Go

So many memories have flooded me by returning to Hong Kong.

Travel is simple, food is familiar, friends are near.

Last night we had a dinner at the restaurant Oolaa, in a nearby neighborhood where I used to live.

Twelve people came to the dinner party, some prior and some new Workday co-workers as well as some former customers, whom I definitely consider friends.

Here's a great snapshot.

15 Feb 2014 ~ Random moments in Singapore

Listening to: Amycanbe ~ Everywhere

The decorations for Year of the Horse were still up in Singapore.

I caught this logo through the buildings of my prior customer, when I returned to Singapore 2 years ago. That wasn't my first trip here. I originally came in 2007 on holiday from Shanghai.

The week ended and I decided to lounge at the hotel pool for a bit.

A bird came to take a bath, but by the time I figured out how to use the video option on my phone, the bird flew away. Very pretty chirping.

 

 I enjoyed the orchid in my room. It brought back memories of when I went to the Singapore Orchid Botanical Gardens.

The end of the Chinese New Year celebration brings the Lantern Festival. The hotel foyer decorations were quite festive.

 

14 Feb 2014 ~ IndoChine

Listening to: Gentleman ~ Serenity (FYI...Gentleman is a Reggae artist out of Germany)

I barely had time to leave the hotel this week, but the team did go out for dinner to the restaurant IndoChine along the waterfront.

There were some interesting sculpture scenes outside the restaurant.

I ordered duck green curry. We also had spicy shrimp as appetizers.

 

11 Feb 2014 ~ Singapore Redux

Listening to: ZZ Ward ~ 365 Days


It's actually pretty cool to come back to Singapore for a visit, even if it's work related. And that I had to sit on an airplane for 20 hours to get here.


So some of these photos may look familiar from prior posts, but we I went out to dinner with the customer team after our meeting today and just had fun being a tourist for a bit.

Here is the famous Merlion, which I know some of you have as a type of souvenir (aka refrigerator magnet).

A Merlion is a mythical creature with the head of a lion and the body of a fish, used as a mascot and national personification of Singapore. Its name combines "mer" meaning the sea and "lion". The fish body represents Singapore's origin as a fishing village when it was called Temasek, which means "sea town" in Javanese. The lion head represents Singapore's original name — Singapura — meaning "lion city" or "kota singa".

Marina Bay Sands Hotel is across the way, billed as the world's most expensive stand-alone casino property (which is actually at the bottom).  At the top is Sands SkyPark, which offers 360-degree views of Singapore's skyline. Notice the ship shape.

And in the lower left corner is the White Lotus Sculpture.

And here's a general view of Singapore with the famous Flyer Ferris wheel.

I miss my camera... :(

8 February 2014 ~ Maori Treaty Signers

Listening to: Maroon 5 ~ Getting Harder to Breathe


I lost  my camera before I left Auckland. Bummer, Bummer. So I will only be using my camera phone for the upcoming trip and pictures may be far between.

I went to the Waitangi Treaty House, where a treaty was signed between the local Maori's and the British.

On the walls were some original signers of the treaty.

The only woman, Topeora.

 

1 February 2014 ~ Green-Lipped Mussels

Listening to: Steely Dan ~ Do It Again (3/20/1974, LA)

Here is a video clip of the Explorer Sailing Experience.

http://youtu.be/xsXpVoVpi4Q

After the sailboat ride, I stopped for some refreshments and a snack at the restaurant Degree on the waterfront.

I placed an order for the small portion of green-lipped mussels in a garlic/butter/wine sauce, as they are currently in season.

The "small" order was still a bucket that had about 20 mussels in it!

The were quite delicious and filling. (I'm getting hungry and may need to go out for more today.)

Green lipped mussels are a type of shellfish which are found only on the shores of New Zealand. They owe their name to their appearance-the edges of their two shells (where they meet when they are closed together) have a green color thus giving them the visual resemblance of green lips.

Here is a picture to highlight the green-lip.

I was curious on the nutritional value, and I found they are high in protein, low in fat, and an excellent source of B12 and omega-3 fatty acids, about 13% of daily vitamin C and 22% of iron recommendations.

No mussels went to waste, as the table next to me asked how they were and I offered them a taste.

As I was leaving I came across this advertisement for Sailor Jerry rum. Always a good choice for mai tais and on the rocks daiquiris.