And then we went to Portugal...

"To reach a port we must set sail-

Sail, not tie at anchor

Sail, not drift."

- Franklin D. Roosevelt

   After spending one great day in Hong Kong, we made the rash decision to spend Sunday in a second special administration region (again as it requires a passport to move between the two I am counting it as a separate country!), Macau! Portuguese sailors first settled in Macau in the 1550's and was a Portuguese colony until 1999, making it the final European colony in Asia.  Unlike Hong Kong where we didn't see any English influence, Macau is like a mini Portugal! 

Macau is now known as "Asia's Las Vegas" and is home to the largest casino in the world.  We didn't have time to enjoy any of the casinos but we were able to spend a couple of hours exploring the old town.

It was so weird to be surrounded by old European villages, cobblestone tiles, and blue and white tiled street signs.  If it was not for the Chinese characters alongside the Portuguese, you would have never known you were actually in China.

This is St. Dominic's Church which was built in 1587.  Again so strange to see such  a Catholic church here.

My favorite part of colonial architecture is the balconies!

This is the ruins of the Church of St. Paul's.  It was  built in 1640 and was destroyed by a fire during a typhoon in 1835.  Luckily the facade was saved and today makes for a striking place to visit.

My favorite part of the whole city was the tiled street signs!

One of the must try foods in Macau is the egg tarts brought over from Portugal.  I ate about 5 delicious bites and then sadly dropped it on the ground.

I love the patterned tiles! But I am just happy that it wasn't raining, otherwise I can imagine I would not have been a fan.

I have come across durian, the stinky fruit, all across my Asia travels.  I have always wanted to try it but never wanted to buy an entire fruit.  I was finally able to try durian ice cream.  It was not terrible, but also not delicious. 

Our two days were a crazy whirlwind but that is how the Canadates* travel! We had one week off and now tomorrow we are jetting off again to the island of Jeju!







*We came up with the name Canadates (Canada + United States) at the airport before our trip to Mongolia almost a year ago!