“The world unwraps itself to you, again and again as soon as you are ready to see it anew.”
―Gregory Maguire
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
Macau's smallness makes it charming. Our hotel was just a short walk away from the Ruins, something you get to appreciate living in a city where your destination is usually 30 minutes to an hour away.
Also pleasantly surprised at how many Filipinos were on the staff-- it felt like we never left the PH! We felt comfortable talking in the dialect and in Tagalog in the hotel. And they were so friendly. Maybe they were missing home, too and the sight of us fresh off the plane, with the smell of Cebu still clinging to our clothes, was something that made them happy. Whatever it is, our stay at the Hotel Royal was something I'd definitely remember for years to come.
Having these photos help with the memories, too. As I was sorting them I was brought back to where we walked, how the sun stung during midday, how sweat dripped off my back like a fountain. I also remembered the stops at the local grocery stores to buy drinks, and as we lined up at cashier with the locals, I was thinking how cool to pretend that this was an everyday thing, that we live just around the corner.
I also remembered being impressed by my parents' energy. Both retirees, my mother is an Energizer bunny when it comes to exploring and my father can walk a good two to three hours nonstop, despite his arthritis.
Will I have that same kind of energy when I reach that age? I can only hope.
I think I have one of the worst memories of anyone I know and I think that's partly why I love taking photos, because in some way I can compensate.
A few photos from that trip.
“What the hell makes you smart?" I asked.
"I wouldn't go for coffee with you."
"Listen - I wouldn't ask you."
"That," she replied, "is what makes you stupid.”
― Erich Segal
Love Story
Finally getting around to blogging photos taken in the first half of the year, on the first day of the last quarter! Time flies, indeed, and in a few days the husband and I will be celebrating our birthdays and it's all making me nostalgic, excited, hopeful (I'm just a mixed bag of emotions at this point).
Having coffee doesn't help the calm the jitters any, but it does help get things done. Posting this set I took of Coffeelab in GYQ, which I did for a friend's coffeeshop review and published on the Chongqing Expat Guide (for fun news about CQ, hit them up on Facebook!)
She interviews third wave coffeeshop owners, and gets to taste their coffee, too! She has a subscription business of her own since sourcing single-origin coffee is still pretty hard for individual consumers here. All of this is fun for me, since I get to take photos of great interiors, taste great coffee, and learn so much about third wave coffee and sustainable sourcing at the same time.
CoffeeLab is particularly cool because it is a small shop in the busy GYQ district, right outside the bus top. Inside, they have this laboratory theme going on, and a clipboard of the day's coffee offerings. Choose what you want based on source, type of brew, cold or hot, etc. The barista measures beans, grinds, brews, and serves right by the counter, so you can pretty much see how your coffee is made right in front of you.
Some might think that all that work means that they'd charge more than places like Starbucks or Costa, but surprise, surprise, they don't! Their espresso is less than 20 RMB, and the American coffee is even cheaper. A bottle of cold brew goes for 25 RMB. You can't beat these prices especially because so many cafes charge up to 48 RMB for a cuppa--my heart hurts just thinking about it.
The Coffeelab in pictures.
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One means nothing, and we're home free
Two means three and a diamond ring
Yeah, wonder what faith is going to decide
We're just sitting around waiting on two pink lines
Sitting around waiting on two pink lines.
Eric Church
A and S are welcoming a bouncing baby boy in a few months but for now, we get this lovely baby bump. This was a short and sweet session that started at home and ended in the little garden downstairs. We managed to snag some of the day's rays for these outdoor shots that captured how beautiful this corner of Fude is.
lifestyle photography, couples, family, portraits, lifestyle photography, couples, family, portraits
A few shots from that afternoon.
family, family, family, family, family, family, family
“But the beauty is in the walking -- we are betrayed by destinations.”
― Gwyn Thomas
We take longer-than-usual walks in the weekends, mainly because Tomas insists on it. Stay inside for too long when it's a Saturday and he'll start whining and kissing the husband, begging to be let out. We start downstairs, around the community and past the fountains before we head out the gate and make our way to the nearest park. The park is undergoing a major renovation right now, with more pathways, lookout areas and maybe even an overlooking cafe being put in, but most of the walking areas are still cleared for walking.
The walk to the park is also pretty scenic. The sidewalks here are wide and trees are everywhere. In spring, long walks are pretty much an easy exercise in mindfulness and being in the present, unless Tomas sees another dog and starts to go crazy like he always does.
During these walks I'm always reminded of how beautiful it is here and how fortunate we are to have ample spaces for walking. We walk here more often than we walk back home just because there's no place to safely walk where I'm from. Trees are being cut down to make way for more roads and cars that go through them. Our parks are tree-less spaces of benches on concrete and dilapidated monkey bars that only become useful in the mornings and late afternoons. I mourn the disregard for trees and the world of good that they bring to anywhere they are planted, especially when I can see that greening a place with trees can be done-- SHOULD be done.
Here, places are made for walking and people take advantage of it. And I think they know how lucky they are.
