Brandon O'Brien

Thursday, December 11, 2014 @ 10:24 AM in 2014 Asia

We got up early this morning so we could see Mao before catching the high speed train to Shanghai. We packed up our bags before heading out to see the Mao Mausoleum which opened at 8am. The line went pretty fast and they shuffled everyone through the mausoleum pretty fast. He looked like a pretty bad wax sculpture but all the locals seemed to be loving it. We got out by 8:15 and headed back to the hotel to grab our bags and catch a cab to the train station.

The process of getting into the train station and getting our tickets went pretty smoothly. We grabbed a few snacks and got on the train. The train took off and averaged over 300kph for most of the 4 hour ride. We passed through a lot of towns that had some crazy construction projects going on. There were towns in the middle of nowhere that had about 20-30 skyrise style apartment buildings going up. I had heard about the Chinese ghost towns before and it definitely looked like they were building more.

Once we got into Shanghai we got another taxi to the hotel. It's actually a pretty nice one although it smells like someone is smoking nearby. We made plans with some acquaintances of Mike's for dinner here in Shanghai and met up with them at a restaurant called Sichuan Citizen. There were 11 of us and we ordered a bunch of food family style, all of which was really good.

Afterwards we went to a microbrewery called Liquid Laundry where I tried one of their IPA's. After we all called it a night Mike and I had a little trouble catching a cab back to the hotel but finally got one and made it back to the hotel. We got a list of stuff to do for the next few days here but we're going to take it pretty easy tomorrow morning so we can sleep in for the first day in a while.

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Tags: china, beijing, shanghai, travels2014

Posted from: China

Wednesday, December 11, 2013 @ 6:00 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 168

Today I went on a hike with one of the guys who works at the hostel and one other guest. We went up to Las Ermitas de Cordoba, an old area where monks could come and dedicate their lives to God. It was about a 2 hour hike to get to the hermitage. Our guide was really into birding so we stopped several times along the way to look through his binoculars at different types of birds.

The trail we were taking was also part of an old Roman road. It's completely destroyed now due to time but you can still see some of the foundations and some of the flat stones used as the pavement. We also tried some little berries growing naturally along the trail. I'm not sure what they're called but they tasted like a really mild banana.

When we started getting closer to the hermitage a German Shepherd started following us. Apparently it has been following other groups throughout the day. It had a collar and everything and seemed comfortable enough, but no one knew who the owner was.

The hermitage was pretty cool. There were thirteen little buildings where monks used to live. Each one had a garden area, a small bedroom and a very tiny kitchen. There's also an old chapel that's pretty ornately decorated. Javier, our guide, made a Spanish tortilla and brought some cheese, ham and bread for lunch. The tortilla was really good. I'm going to need to learn how to make it when I get back. We ate and overlooked the city of Cordoba and relaxed in the nice views for a while before heading back into the city.

We almost missed a bus to take us back into the city center but ended up jogging a bit to get to the next stop and got on. The bus dropped us off a few minutes from the hostel which was nice. Since getting back I've just been working. I leave for Madrid, my last city on this trip, tomorrow morning. Tonight I'll go out and get something to eat and pack up so I'll be ready to go in the morning.

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Tags: daily journal, spain, cordoba

Posted from: Spain