Archive | December, 2010

Miracle on Xiang He Yuao Road

28 Dec

Christmas Tree Lot - Beijing Style

The title of this blog might be a bit of a stretch.  I don’t mean to insinuate that either of us defended the existence of Santa Claus within the Chinese court system (although best I can tell – the court system here has one simple step: a payoff).  I do believe; however, that we did have a little miracle of our own here on Xiang He Yuao Road (our street). It all began with our first Chinese Christmas Tree…

We were thrilled to learn that our favorite flower market was selling live Christmas Trees of a respectable size.  It was Griswold time – Charlie Brown style wasn’t going to cut it for our first Christmas away from all of our family.  I wouldn’t say that a glow of heavenly light surrounded the glorious pine – but we were both instantly drawn to the same 3 meter douglas fir with an endearing floppiness to it.  While the tree keepers cleaned and trimmed our chosen tree, we headed inside to buy lights and other trimmings.

Our Griswold Tree - It Hits the Ceiling!

The selection of ornaments and garlands was staggering.  I was actually expecting to have to decorate the tree with my collection of bangles – but no need.  We bought tons of twinkle lights, balls of every color and size, oversized bells, crystal ice cycles, and meters upon meters of garlands.  But the highlight of the day was finding our over the top tree topper – a flashing red light reading Merry Christmas – so tacky it was cute.  Of course it wasn’t intended to be a tree topper – so we convinced the electrician on call (as if such a thing existed  – it was a sales clerk) to rewire it with a cord long enough to read the top of the tree.  In retrospect this was our dumbest idea ever.

The tree was delivered about an hour later (still with its roots in a giant barrel mind you…making it quite a bit taller and quite a bit more Griswold than we anticipated). With It’s A Wonderful Life on in the background, we strung our lovely tree with hundreds of twinkle lights and decked it with glittering ornaments.  Then, we snuggled up on the couch with a glass of champagne each to admire our work.  It was lovely.  A little scrappy – but lovely nonetheless.

Sheng Dan Liwu - Christmas Gifts

We dozed off at some point – lulled to sleep by Christmas music and the sweet glow of our tree.  Somewhere between falling asleep and total dream zone I awoke to a loud pop.  I could tell something was different about the room…and then, it hit me like a Mack truck. The lights on the tree blew out.  I woke Brett to give him the bad news that we would have to start all over tomorrow.  Oh well…we both agreed.  Worse things have happened.  Actually, worse things were about to happen.  FIRE!!  The entire surge protector (some protector, right?) was engulfed in flames rising quickly up the cords just centimeters away from torching the curtains, the wall, and obviously the entire tree.  I ran to get a big blanket to snuff it out while Brett carefully pulled the cords away from the wall as best he could.  Luckily, he put it out before it caused any major damage.  But we definitely learned our lesson…don’t Clark Griswold your tree.  (FYI – I went to IKEA the next day and purchased extra cool, energy-saving lights…I wasn’t going to take any chances. And, although the topper remained in place, it was never turned on again.)

Christmas Eve at Jaan - 1920's Style. BTW- I am going to incorporate wrist corsages into my daily life. Love them! FASHION: White Iisly Bunny Fur Shrug with Silver Sequined Trim, Black Strapless Ted Baker Silk Jersey Gown and Feather Headpiece

Other than the tree fiasco, we had a lovely Christmas, just the two of us, here in Beijing.  We started the festivities with a Pre-Christmas Eve dinner at the Kunlun Hotel’s Summit Club.  It is on the top floor, and we were able to see all the lights of the city which actually included a lot more Christmas lights than one might think.  On actual Christmas Eve, we went to Jaan, a French restaurant with beautiful art deco decor in the Raffles Hotel downtown.  They did such a lovely job. We enjoyed a five-course meal in a 1920’s themed setting with 2 different live musical performances.  First a string quartet and then a jazz band with a saxophone player that oddly bore a resemblance to Stevie Wonder and Jon Hamm as “Sergio” in the SNL Digital Short: “Cursed”.

Yes...we realize we look dorky. FASHION?? Matching Red Waffle Print Long Johns from Red Envelope

On Christmas morning, we feasted on chocolate muffins, sausage, and champagne while we played Santa in matching red long johns.  Unfortunately, the majority of those pictures (any showing us from the waist down) are not suitable for my blog.  I will just say that long johns look hilarious – and very Cousin Eddy.

Of course we wish we could have been with our families and loved ones for the holidays – but I think we found the best thing Beijing had to offer this Christmas…time with each other.

Merry Christmas!  Sheng Dan Kuai Le!

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How Much is that Turkey in the Window?

23 Dec

In Our Turkey Day Aprons

Well…I never thought that buying a turkey would stress me out financially – but then again I never thought that a generic frozen turkey could cost over $100…and I have bought turkeys in NYC!  The truth is – turkey is quite a commodity here in China. But I wasn’t about to cook a Thanksgiving Dinner for Brett and all of our expat friends sans gobbler.  So – I forked over the money to the sweet lady working at the supermarket who giggled and said, “Tai gui le” – which means too expensive.  To which I replied, “Wo tong yi” – I agree.

With the turkey in hand (or in the trunk) I began the search for the other accoutrements.  Corn, potatoes, shallots, even finding butternut squash was a cake walk – but endives, chestnuts, canned pumpkin, and fresh cranberries?  Forget about it.  5 stops later – I gave up all together on the cranberries (eventually I just threw some craisins in a pot of hot water and plumped them up as much as possible before using them in my spicy cranberry relish).

One of my favorite things about the shopping excursion(s) was running into every other

Sharpening His Carving Knife

expat “homemaker” (I can’t believe I just called myself that…although a spade is a spade) out and about in search of all the same things.  I actually exchanged email addresses with a few of the other turkey day trackers, and we are now friends!  One of the markets swarming with expats is called San Yuan Li.  This local market was established years ago to cater to all of the embassies in Beijing.  So – if you can’t find what you are looking for at Jenny Lou’s or April Gourmet – San Yuan Li is the next stop.  I would have gone there for everything – but it is outside and therefore cold, and they do not have champagne, wine, or bourbon – all of which are necessary ingredients for the type of Thanksgiving I like to host!

The Menu

Because The Mayflower did not stop in China on its way to the US of A, Thanksgiving is unfortunately not a Chinese Holiday.  So – we decided to celebrate on Saturday when no one had to work. I began the preparations on Friday by making the items that would keep: butternut squash soup, creamed corn, 14 miniature pumpkin pies (one for each of us), and the chocolate torte.  This left a lot for Saturday itself – but I had a plan.  I knew that my alma mater would be playing its number one rival that day at 3:30 AM Beijing time.  So, with game day bells on, Brett and I arose before dawn to cheer on The Crimson Tide and cook a Thanksgiving Feast.  To Tom and Donna – you did an amazing job with Brett.  He is such a great helper in the kitchen!  He carved out all 14 baby pumpkins (we used them as bowls for the butternut squash soup) while I prepped the turkey and made the oyster dressing.  He peeled the potatoes while I popped green beans, and he poured the Maker’s Mark into our Diet Cokes when it was late enough in the day to not feel like total degenerates! (I mean how do you watch SEC football without at least one bourbon and diet coke?)

Turkey Day Table

With the place settings, candles, and fresh flowers (from our wonderful and freakishly cheap flower market) on the table – we were ready for our guests to arrive.  There were 14 of us in total with representatives from England, Russia, Canada, and America – specifically: Kentucky, Ohio, North Carolina, California, Texas, D.C. and Virginia.  Surrounding ourselves with so many wonderful new friends helped ease the pain of being away from our families, and it made giving thanks especially easy.  How blessed we are to have celebrated the most American of all holidays in such a far away land.

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Xi’an, China

18 Dec

Dont' be fooled - these are not the "real" terra-cotta warriors. Although they may have worn oversized sunglasses.

I think it is fair to say that all of us hope to leave our mark on this earth.  Many do this by raising a family and carrying on their family name.  Artists and authors become immortal through their works.  Some offer endowments to their alma mater in order for a building that bears their name to be built.  Recently, I discovered one person in particular who left 2 incredible legacies behind: one above ground – The Great Wall – and one underground (and therefore less well-known) –  The Terra-cotta Soldiers of Xi’an. Known as the First Emperor in Chinese History  (or to me as one of the most arrogant men to ever walk the earth) Emperor QinShihuang decided to have his “people” craft an estimated 8,000 life-size warriors and horses to be buried along the perimeter wall of his tomb in order to protect his corpse in the afterlife.  A reasonable request, don’t you think?

Because Emperor Qin believed that life under the ground after death was a continuation of life on earth, he constructed (or rather had his people construct – over a 40 year period) a huge mausoleum for himself including 3 palaces and a resting hall with all the necessities of daily life, as if the emperor were still alive.  And although a grass-covered mound stands 76 meters high today (originally 115 meters high during its completion in 221 BC) and about 35 kilometers from the city of Xi’an, it wasn’t until 1974 that local farmers discovered large pottery fragments while digging for wells in search of water.  This discovery led to the revelation of 3 pits housing the emperor’s underground army spanning over 22,000 square meters.  It should be said that the farmer who discovered this amazing national treasure (often referred to as The 8th Wonder of the World) became the first Chinese millionaire!

The Warrior "Hospital" - Where restorations continue daily

After 5 years of government approved excavation, Emperor Qin’s Terra-cotta Museum opened to the public on October 1, 1979.  In the last 20 years, the terra-cotta museum has become the largest on-site museum in China, and it receives over 2 million tourists each year.  Upon entering the first pit of the museum, all of us (my mom included who was visiting us for the first time) became speechless.  Something very difficult for both Brett and Mom to do I might add!  The sheer magnitude of the soldiers is bewildering – but upon closer look, we realized that each soldier carries a different facial expression, its own unique hairstyle and stance.  These outstanding figures were not replicated in bulk, but created with time, care, and unprecedented precision.  Even more remarkable – each figure would have been 3 times its current size before cooking it in the kiln to achieve the finished product.

Restored Warriors in Pit 1

Honestly, I can’t even wrap my mind around it – but I suppose there was a bit more free time before television and Facebook.  It is estimated that over 2 million craftsmen worked to build the emperor’s tomb and the terra-cotta warriors. Sadly,  thousands of them were buried alive at the death of the emperor to keep the tomb a secret.

It is truly something one must see to believe.  I had seen a documentary on them before moving to China – but nothing but your own eyes can truly do them justice.

Small Terra-cotta Figures from Emperor Jingdi's Tomb

Xi’an was actually the original capital of China, and because of this it has a plethora of other historical treasures.  In fact, just a one hour drive from Emperor Qin’s tomb is the Tomb of Emperor Jingdi which houses over 50,000 doll-sized terra-cotta figures in a new “under-ground” museum which opened in 2006.  Known as the Hanyangling museum, this modern space creates a unique perspective with glass floors that allow you to literally walk over the remains.  While the life-size warriors of Emperor Qin’s tomb are mind-boggling because they represent his complete domination over the people, the figures of Jingdi’s tomb embody his way of thinking as an emperor of the people.  The 2 emperors had quite different regimes to say the least.

Laughing at the Large Wild Goose Pagoda

We also visited the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, built in 652 AD during the Teng Dynasty to hold Buddhist materials collected from India. Although, my mom opted out, Brett and I climbed to the top to check out the views of Xi’an.  Unfortunately for us, the visibility that day pretty much sucked.  If only we had thought it through before climbing the 7 stories of rickety and extremely uneven stairs…

Xi’an is a true treasure of China, and the residents take great pride in their city. I thoroughly enjoyed our time there, and I highly recommend it as a stop during any visit to China.   I am also incredibly thankful that we got to share the experience with my mom.  I mean look how cute she is dressed as a terra-cotta soldier!

Warrior? Or Helena Bonham Carter as The Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland?

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Coco & Karl

15 Dec

 

Channeling Chanel - Cigarette = Prop!

I have to go a bit back in time for this one.  Not all the way back to the time before January 10, 1971 when

Cloning Karl

the world lost one of the greatest designers of all time – Coco Chanel – but back to October 31, 2010 – when I channeled Chanel and Brett cloned Karl (Lagerfeld) for a Halloween celebration…Beijing style.

 

We hit the town with a fantastic group of friends dressed in a variety of costumes including:  a Piece of “Bad Press”, a Greek Goddess, a French Painter, a Bride and Groom, and my personal favorite – Barbie and Ken.  The night started at the Saddle Cantina (one of our favorite spots) to fill up on mexican food and margaritas.  Although, I am pretty positive that Coco would have preferred Steak Tartare and Champagne….if she ate at all!

Coco "Taking-In" Barbie's Dress

After dinner we set out for an official Halloween Party at LAN Club – a Phillipe Starck designed restaurant and lounge.  The party was packed with locals in fabulous costumes.  I was thrilled to see how much the Chinese love a costume.  I would wear a costume everyday if I could.  Perhaps in Beijing…I can.  At the party we spotted  a Lego, a variety of Pandas and Disney Characters, and of course a slew of girls dressed as scantily clad as possible – because after all – that is what Halloween is all about, right?

Coco with Bride Moya Li (She didn't even recognize me!)

 

The music was a big highlight of the party.  There were 3 rooms with completely different genres of tunes – so if we got tired of one – we just danced our way to another area.  Because LAN is also a restaurant, we were able to find a deserted private room to rest our feet and avoid the long lines at the loo.  It was a win – win!

Halloween in Beijing.  I give it 4 Blonde’s out of 5!

**Please NOTE – The cigarette is a prop.  It was never lit!

 

Karl + Coco

 

 

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Tan Like An Egyptian (oh whey oh)

14 Dec

Apparently I must have the same understanding of time as a dog – which is none.  This is the only explanation I can come up with as to why I have waited so long to post a new link!  That said – it is time to wrap up our Egyptian adventure…

BEACH FASHION: Alexander Wang Crocodile Print Silk and Mesh Halter Dress

We decided to end our vacation to Egypt on a totally relaxing note.  And, what is more relaxing than the beach?  Also, how many times do you get the chance to beach it up by the Red Sea?  I mean…I just wanted to see for myself how impressive Moses’ work was. Honestly, it is a big sea.  I am pretty sure he broke a sweat while parting it.

Pathway to Snorkeling

The beaches were beautiful and the snorkeling was incredible to say the least.  In fact, on the walkway out to the resort’s snorkeling platform, we saw the most colorful and exotic fish either of us had ever seen…in just 2 feet deep of water!  We are not certified divers, but I can only imagine what an experience that would have been.  For all the divers out there – Sharm el Sheikh should definitely be on your travel destination wish list.

We spent 3 nights in Sharm el Sheikh.  I feel this allowed us enough time for sunbathing, dining on delicious seafood, and most importantly to me – climbing Mount Sinai – i.e. Mount Moses.  This was truly the pinnacle of our visit.  How could we come to this part of the world and not hike the path of Moses on his mission to read the Ten Commandments? How could we not go to the site of what is believed to be The Burning Bush?

I did plenty of research on Mt. Sinai before our trip which helped me realize that the most enjoyable way to hike the mountain is to hire a private English-speaking tour guide – so with a recommendation from our hotel – I did just that.  Mount Sinai is about a 2 hour drive from Sharm el Sheikh – so the excursion we booked included a private van to take us to the base of the mountain.  In order to reach the summit by sunrise, our car and tour guide picked us up at our hotel close to midnight.  Around 2AM (after a great car snooze) we made a pit stop to use the loo and hear the story of Moses over a cup of joe before beginning the climb.  (Note: Of course it was a pay toilet.  The Egyptians never miss an opportunity to capitalize on tourism!)

The Summit

By 3AM we were at the base of the mountain with flashlights in hand ready for the climb.  I had greatly underestimated the amount of people who would be making the journey along side of us.  It was outstanding and incredibly moving.  And although it wasn’t a loud crowd, as everyone seemed focused on the task at hand, I could still hear bits of the story of Moses being told in over a dozen different languages.

Some visitors opt to ride a camel for part of the way or for the entire trip to the top.  We opted to trek it by foot for a more accurate “Moses” experience (and honestly…our bodies needed some serious calorie burning after 2 weeks of vacation eating).  It was a bit claustrophobic at the beginning of the climb as the herd of people all start at the same time.  We really hoofed it (even wearing out our guide a bit) to move ahead of the crowds all the while being careful to avoid the steamy piles of fresh camel poop.  In fact – we actually beat our guide’s best time to the top by over an hour!  Though, I am not sure it calls for bragging rights…most of the other hikers had 20 to 30 years on us.  In truth, we were extremely impressed with the devotion and ability of some of the climbers who were easily into their 70’s.

Starbucks...Minus the "C"

We made it to the top with some time to spare before sunrise so we stopped to enjoy some coffee at what might possibly be the highest elevation Starbuck’s in existence.  Clearly they don’t have the marketing budget of other locations…hence the misspelled hand painted sign.

It was surprisingly cool at the top.  I am quite sure the guide mentioned this to us multiple times – but when standing in 100+ degree heat at the foot of the mountain – the decision to not bring an extra jacket made total sense to me. Luckily, I have a sweet boyfriend who gave me one of the long sleeve shirts he was wearing to help me stay warm.

Kiss at The Summit of Mount Sinai

As the sun came up over the mountain top, I couldn’t help but say a prayer of thanks.  Not just for this specific experience, which was spectacular – and not just for this 2 week vacation, which was more than I could have ever hoped.  I thanked God for every gift He had ever given me – with an extra special thank you for the one kissing me in this picture!

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