Robin's Kitchen Adventure

So Robin has been updating his kitchen since AT LEAST the August long weekend (I know this because Sonia & I stayed there after the Jack Johnson Concert and he was just laying the tile at that time - the fridge was in the livingroom, the oven was in the spare bedroom - it was out of control).
Anyway, he sent me some pictures, so here they are!

Life on Locke Street South

Max and I have been living on Locke Street since May. I love the neighbourhood - it reminds me of a small town because so many things are within walking distance - shops, restaurants, friends and STARBUCKS - my new best friend in the mornings before work.

Check out some photo's of our place here

We inherited our cat, Cash, from Nicole before she left for BC. As you can tell, he's awfully spoiled here.

Where is Saltillo, Mexico??

Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico is currently where my dad, Regina & Ricky live. Vanessa & I went to visit them just before I went to China in 2006.

The best way to get there is to fly to Monterrey and have dad & Regina pick you up. It's about an hour drive from Saltillo.

On the map, you can see that it is in the North of Mexico, just below the Texas border.




















Sometime within the next year, my family will be moving to Queretaro as my dad is doing more and more business there.

My dad's first Mexican city was Puebla, a little South East of Mexico City. I went to visit there when I was 16. We went on a road trip to Oaxaca and Hualtulco, but I have never been to a popular tourist 'all-inclusive' type city.

Here is a video from one of the restaurants we ate at. I believe at this dinner, CACTUS was the appetizer!

Where is Zhangzhou anyways?

Zhangzhou is a "smaller" Chinese city, located in Fujian Province. It is about an hour's drive from Xiamen - across the way from Taiwan, or in the map below, the "Chinese Taipei". According to Wikipedia today, the population is more than 3.7 million people, so more than a million people more than Toronto, ON.
None of the larger maps of China showed Zhangzhou, so I've to posted some larger maps.

For more information on this city, check out:
http://www.zhangzhouchina.com

http://www.66163.com/Fujian_w/city/zzhou/e-index.html

http://www.fzu.edu.cn/fujian/ezhangz.html

Other cities I visited during my 10 month stay in China included Xiamen, Hong Kong, Sanya, Shanghai, Beijing, Xi'an, as well as a number of smaller towns that would almost never appear on a map.

Happy Birthday Stefanie!!!