Tag: Travel

Random

你好蘇州和上海 | Nǐ hǎo sūzhōu hé shànghǎi | Hello Suzhou and Shanghai!

Geoff W

2016 06-03 Chinese YuanWhen this goes live, we will be in the Chinese city of Suzhou, but we’ll be leaving for Shanghai, by way of Wuzhen, a historical scenic town on the Yangtze River tomorrow!

I’m really looking forward to the Shanghai Museum tour and the free time we’ll have to shop on Nanjing Road! You know I already have bookstores in mind to visit! There’s at least one foreign language bookstore I’m aware of, but I’m also looking for copies of  Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (哈利·波特与魔法石) and Wuthering Heights (呼啸山庄) in Mandarin/Cantonese (I’ll take either). Either way, I can’t wait to get back and share the amazing photos I’m sure I’ve already taken!

Random

北京歡迎你 | Běijīng huānyíng nǐ | Welcome to Beijing

Geoff W

2016 03-24 Freaking Out About ChinaI have no idea if the characters in the title will post or not, but I wanted to do a similar post to last year, Bienvenidos a Madrid! I failed miserably at learning any Mandarin, but what I did find out is that even if people speak different dialects they can still read the formal written characters. How interesting? I guess it shouldn’t be that weird, but that’s about as far as I got in the book.

By the time this posts, we will have been in Beijing for a few days after flying from Boston! I hope the 15 hour total flying time (with a short layover in Chicago) wasn’t as long as I thought! And I also hope we’ve adjusted to the 12 hour time difference by now!

I think I’m most looking forward to the three-day river cruise down the Yangtze later this week where we’ll get to relax a bit on the boat. There are some excursions planned where we’ll go ashore to see a few villages and get an up-close view of the Three Gorges (Wikipedia link). After that we’re off on the high-speed train (SAY WHAT!?) to Suzhou where we’ll spend a few days. I’ll have another post next week that tells you about Week two!

Books

Book 437: A House Like A Lotus (O’Keefe Family #3) – Madeleine L’Engle

Geoff W

As much as I enjoyed the other O’Keefe novels, this one just didn’t work for me. It’s still a great novel, but something about the lay out or Polly’s age, or the subject matter just didn’t work for me. It also didn’t help that I ended a job and started a new one all in the middle of reading this book, so the timing could definitely have been better.

A House Like A Lotus is the third of the O’Keefe Family Series, the sixth book published, but the seventh in chronological order in the Kairos (Murray-O’Keefe) series. It continues the themes of the O’Keefe books of humanity and what people can do to make the world a better place for everyone. Maybe that’s what I didn’t like about this one? Maybe it was too hippy-dippy for me? But considering some of the hippier-dippier books I’ve read recently I don’t think so.

Continue reading “Book 437: A House Like A Lotus (O’Keefe Family #3) – Madeleine L’Engle” →

Updates

December (and 2015!) Recap

Geoff W

2015 12-28 So Much TravelBetter late than never right?

It never fails that after my yearly trek to NC to spend time with family that I get sick. I’ve been sick since I got back on the 28th and it’s been no fun. I guess flying 600 miles, driving 900 and flying back another 600 really takes it out of me!

I’ve not been able to sort out this December and year-end recap and I haven’t been able to edit the last episode of Come Read With Me either. That also means this will be a shorter than usual post because I just don’t have the energy to do everything. Thankfully, a lot of my stats and stuff are preloaded for the year-end. I’m going to do a quick December Recap and then a 2015 Recap immediately after. Continue reading “December (and 2015!) Recap” →

Books

Book 407: Lost In A Good Book (Thursday Next #2) – Jasper Fforde

Geoff W

This one, like The Eyre Affair, has been on my shelf for quite some time. I picked it up in July of last year, but I have no recollection of where, but that’s neither here, nor there. What really matters is that the series has DEFINITELY picked up and the only reason it took me a week to read it is because I flew 1,200+ miles (MA to NC to MA) and drove 900+ (All over NC).

I’m not sure if this will be my last read for 2015, but if it is I’m okay with that. I’m already planning to dive right into The Well of Lost Plots, but I’m not sure if I’ll want to go right into Something Rotten or if I should go ahead and read an advance copy of a book I have for January. I also really want to read a set of books I got for Christmas. I guess it’s a good thing I have too many choices right?

Continue reading “Book 407: Lost In A Good Book (Thursday Next #2) – Jasper Fforde” →