Anais' piccadilly friend, just back from scuba diving in Plymouth in the English channel, took the TGV down south to visit her in Aix-en-Provence
on anais, liberty print shirt and denim skirt (sugarmag),denim boots (azone); on picca, sunflower coloured provencal print ensemble and cap (blythehautecouture), creamy white shoes (momolita preta)
post scriptum: it's perhaps time for anais home to be refurbished... see the time defied wallpaper!
Duddell Street Steps and Gas Lamps (Duddell Street, Central)
The stone steps at Duddell Street, Central were built between 1875 and 1889. Four gas lamps surmounting the balustrades at the top and foot of the steps (connecting Duddell Street to Ice House Street) are the only surviving working gas street lamps in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong and China Gas Company which was originally founded to provide street lighting in Hong Kong continues to operate the lamps as objects of historical interest.
Colombine is wearing a pirate outfit by blythehautecouture and momolita preta boots
colombine' s visit to tsimshatsui a foggy saturday morning... that was going to make up my journal on a busy day...
the nineth day of first lunar month, more tributes to famous temple, at tin hau temple street. it is a declared monument. Built by a family 2 centuries ago, it's still family owned and run.
colombine, on a red silk cotton padded coat and jeans (sugarmag)
the eighth day of the lunar new year, people of particular chinese horoscope signs got to pay tribute to their year god, coz they are in 'conflict' with him... hahaha. the sheungwan man mo temple should be being queued by these 'conflicting' chaps
columbine went to a more tranquil and lovely place, the Lotus Temple at Tai Hang, where it held the annual Fire Dragon Dance at Mid Autumn Festival, i heard...
lotus paper offerings...to be burnt... time was frozen
the temple located at the end of an alley lined by a number of shophouses
a breezy day
scent of narcissis in the air
columbine in a red cotton padded coat with black and white shades of dragon and peony
a master has his desk and fortune sticks at the small terrace inside the temple
peach carvings on the wall
cozy air inside
wooden doors
these flawless folded lotuses looked a work of art
in different sort of paper, under the lamplight
lucky souvernirs
colombine's cotton padded coat is from sugarmag last CNY
Legend has it that the first eight days of the Chinese New Year are days of different living things, namely chickens, dogs, pigs, goats, cows, horses, human beings and crops. Fortune tellers would tell the future of different living things according to the weather on that day. Bright weather would indicate good fortune for the coming year. Now in Hong Kong, people celebrate the seventh day of the New Year as everyone's birthday (Yan Yat ).
(this pix from scmp)
Families put together a Tray of Togetherness (chuen-hop) for the New Year. The tray is packed full of dried fruits, sweets, and candies and served to guests and relatives who visit. It has eight sides (the number eight is lucky in Chinese and is a symbol of prosperity) and is filled with goodies like red dates which bring hope for prosperity; melon seeds for proliferation, and cookies.
Deep-fried to "golden' brown goodies lend allusions to gold which is money and fortune. Yau Gok - a crescent shaped crispy biscuit - filled with a sweet nut and sugar mixture - which resembles the traditional Chinese gold ingot (tael) and Jin Dui - a golden crispy pastry - is symbolic of prosperity.
columbine bumped into a lion dance in the street
Lion dances take place throughout the first few days of the New Year, bringing good luck to households or businesses they visit. The Lion Dance is performed by two 'dancers', one at the head and one at the tail of the lion. The dance is accompanied by loud music on drums, gongs and cymbals. Firecrackers, drums, gongs and cymbals are used to dispell evil and bring good luck.
the shocked columbine, in her first outing, by the stunning red everywhere
today is also Start of Spring (Lichun 立 春), deemed the start of the flow of a new cycle of another year according to the geomancians, instead of the calendar year start of the lunar new year day. This is the year of the fire dog
on columbine, wool hare hood with matching cherry patterned top, denim skirt, woollen boots (sugarmag)