I’m a bad tourist
We did what we were supposed to do and visited Tian’an men and the Forbidden City. It was 98 degrees in the sun. I won’t tell you about Tian’an men and the Forbidden City. You can look them up in wikipedia. Suffice to say that is was vey very hot, and there were many many tourists, along with plenty of water and ice cream vendors.
beijing growth
Beijing has grown in quite an organized manner. It was when I travelled the fourth ring road, about 10 miles out from the center of the city center, that I began to understand the scale of this city.
breakfast in beijing
Truth be told, I hate chinese breakfasts. Morning has me yearning for a cappuccino. China hasn’t caught on to coffee yet, and most local cafes only open late, at 10 or 11 am. That leaves only one option while I’m in Beijing. Starbucks.
beijing market day
Market day. I make a point of visiting a local market in every city I visit. Vibrant and down to earth, they provide a small snapshot into local life. My favorite in Beijing so far is the Panjiayuan weekend market, known for its arts, crafts and memorabilia.
beijing arrival
We arrived in Beijing twenty-four hours after we left Pittsburgh and twelve hours ahead of Pittsburgh time.
Tsinghua University, just north of Beijing’s core, is our home for the week. The campus is green, the supermarket is full of Chinese food and the spicy chicken and dumplings are delicious.
sit on this art
These benches were spotted in Melbourne Australia. Different and gorgeous. Art to sit on.
hang your bike
Here’s a proposal for an efficient transportation solution – enormous bike ferris wheels, tucked into forgotten spaces between downtown buildings.
market day
Saturday is market day in Como. The only ferry from Bellagio to Como leaves early, at 8:13 am, too early for breakfast at the villa. Fresh eggs, fresh yoghurt, fresh fruit and fresh cappuccino will have to wait until tomorrow. Market day is just once a week. Today, with bread rolls in hand, we catch the ferry and arrive in Como by 9 am.
fog
Foggy brain. Foggy landscape. I have finally shed the fog of jet lag, and I see outside, through the window of my study, that the mountains in the distance have shed their fog as well. Time for work to begin.
urban is hip now
Now this is worth writing about. Today the WSJ reports that there are signs of recovery in the office space market. Great news. Perhaps the miserable economy is finally righting itself.
creativity + bureaucracy
On Wednesday night Czech architects Mjölk architekti made their presentation at the Pecha Kucha Night in Prague. They did not stop at the slide show. On Thursday morning they presented a gift to the city of Liberic. Eight hours of laboring produced a perfect little public sauna on an abandoned concrete platform near the local swimming hole.
bike hero
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, a weekend bicyclist, “might consider keeping his head down and his helmet on” suggests the Huffington Post this morning. ”A backlash is brewing over his new bicycling policy.”
things to learn from Paris #3
Remember this story? Mon dieu! You don’t have to spend $1010 on a trash can.
things to learn from Paris #1
Paris is a dense city. There is not much space here. Streets are narrow and crammed with cars.
A typical parking space in Pittsburgh measures twenty feet long by eight and a half feet wide. This smart car fits into a space just nine feet long. I measured it. Fill a city with tiny cars and there’ll be twice as many parking spaces.
dreaming red
We sold our Lake House a couple of years ago. It had become a burdensome retreat, large and a lot to care for. Most days we’d sit in the tiniest room just off the kitchen, reading and looking at the gorgeous lake view.
