2 Cities in 2 Days

On Tuesday Jodie and I took a trip to Shenzhen.  We have been many times to go to LoHu or IKEA but today we went to the art district.  Part of why I enjoyed this trip was I finally got some catch up time with Jodie, we hadn’t talked about our trip to Thailand, her trip to Hong Kong, updates on her move, updates on when we will get our stuff or anything in a LONG time.  My favorite update…there is a chance she will move to Shenzhen for her husband’s next assignment. 
The art district is full of alleys with independent artists selling their work, framers that can frame anything in less than 2 hours, and art supplies.  We went because Jodie needed to get a couple things framed and to get a photographed copied into a large painting.  The artist we went to will copy any photograph (changing colors, eliminating people, or adding things…according to your request).  On her last trip she had some pages out of J.J.’s (her 5 year old son) favorite story book.  They were adorable and are a great idea to decorate his room.  They were pictures of space and she had them use silver matting and a black frame…for 2 paintings framed and matted within an hour it cost about $25 US.  My plan was to be an observer and see what there was to offer…I came home with 5 paintings and a ton of ideas! 
Monday Judi (not Jodie) called me and said she had to go to Hong Kong to pick up a box that customs wouldn’t mail.  It’s crazy but you can carry just about anything across the border but mailing is another issue.   She wanted to know if I wanted to join…I never pass up a trip!  Judi’s husband is the head chef at a hotel that is opening in Huizhou and he previously was the head chef at a luxury hotel in the pricy part of Hong Kong.  So we decided to spend the night and got a great deal on an executive room right on the harbor in Hong Kong.  Our meals ended up being free because everyone loved Judi’s husband and wanted to take care of his wife and her friend from China.  We picked up her box and did some shopping.  If you haven’t noticed from my postings…it’s hard to find a lot of things at the grocery stores here, so we bought lots of meat, cheese and butter.  We also did some shopping for clothes that would fit…well fit me (Judi is Pilipino and smaller then the Chinese women) and clothes that are not frilly and covered in flowers.  It was nice to be in Hong Kong with someone who knows it well, but it was also nice to learn that in my previous trip (on my own) I went to all the right places.
Adam took the opportunity to work long hours.