Back in November, my parents took the plunge and came to visit us in Hong Kong for two weeks. Despite a terrible trip over, including a night stuck in Narita, Japan, (thanks United) they managed to arrive in good spirits. As soon as they arrived I whisked them straight to the Peak, as it was a clear night and I wasn't sure if we were going to have another one. When a nice day comes in Hong Kong, you take advantage of it.
The following day, we went on a hike up to Mt. Butler. It is a lovely hike with views of both the south-side and city-side of the island. Nothing like some good old exercise to help get over jet-lag.
I had to take Mom to my favorite green tea ice cream place.
Walking around Hong Kong was a favorite pastime, including the glitzy malls that Hong Kong is known for. This shot was for my sister Stephanie, whom I denied the chance to shop when she visited Hong Kong.
But, couch time is good too. It's easy to do with the view we are lucky to have here.
This is actually a shot from Tai Hang Road up to our building.
While they were here, it was also Mom and Dad's 32nd wedding anniversary. Dad has a tradition for their anniversary of buying Mom one rose for every year they have been married. With a little help from Drew, the tradition continued!
Us kids, including Leah and Stephanie, then treated them to an anniversary dinner at a place called The Helena in Tai Hang. Their meal was made Sous Vide, meaning it was cooked in an airtight bag at a very low temperature for a very long time. It makes the food super tender and delicious. Because their reservation was for a weekday, somehow they had the whole place to themselves! Happy Anniversary!
We also went to Stanley and had a nice walk around and a good British breakfast.
One of the highlights of their trip for me was Thanksgiving. Mom helped me cook a traditional Thanksgiving meal for about a day and a half for a group of 20 of our friends, many of whom were not American and so had never experienced a proper Thanksgiving feast. It was a great success, and I couldn't have done it without Mom's expertise in the kitchen.
Drew was, of course, the turkey and gravy master, to great success.
In addition to homemade pumpkin pie, we also ordered a pavlova cake for our Kiwi friends. It is essentially a huge meringue cake. Apparently this pavlova is too "pretty" and is therefore not truly authentic, but it still tasted delicious.
We also went to the Happy Valley racetrack and sat in the tourist section instead of being down by the rail, which was a first for me. We were right over the finish line, a great view. Mom and Dad are pretty good at picking winners! By the end of the night, they were up a whopping $70 HKD, which is seriously much better than how Drew and I typically fare.
True to McDaniel form, we did another hike, Dragon's Back, which is a local favorite. It was a bit cloudy, but still decent visibility.
I think Dad's favorite part of the trip was our day in Cheung Chau, where we got to see a real working fishing port, which Dad declared as quite rare.
This is a traditional Chinese junk boat, which someone clearly still lives on full time.
The best seafood around!
Mom and I took a trip out to the New Territories and on our way saw this little guy hanging out on the subway train. Dogs aren't technically allowed on the train, but he never moved a muscle, so he certainly wasn't bothering anyone. What a fluff ball.
Mom and I went to the Nan Lian Gardens, which has a vegetarian restaurant attached to it. I had never been there before, so another first for me. It was absolutely delicious.
Another first, we also went next door to the Wong Tai Sin Temple, a gorgeously decorated Chinese temple, one of the largest that I have seen. It was a beauty, and one I will have to take Drew to.
We also went to the History Museum, and, afterwards we sneaked a peak inside the Peninsula Hotel, where apparently Dad had been to on his last trip to Hong Kong maybe 8 or 9 years ago.
We stopped by 1881 Heritage Square, which had a lovely Christmas Market going on.
Finally, we went to the Avenue of Stars to see the skyline from the water front. We took the Star Ferry back across, and I got some good shots of the city.
This is a shot of our building from across the water. It is the one just slightly left of the middle and all the way back towards the hillside.
On their last night, Mom and Dad treated us to our favorite burgers at Stone's. Drew decided to go big and order a double, smothering it in their homemade sauce.
Pure contentment. Thanks parents for coming all this way to visit! Hong Kong isn't exactly Hawaii, so we appreciate the sacrifice.
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