Where to Stay: Nanjing

 For my birthday (last November!) Zachary had a surprise trip for me to Nanjing! His dad generously booked us a room at the Intercontinental, which is housed at the top of the tallest building in Nanjing & a symbol of the city. The hotel is gorgeous on the inside and out, hosts a full service spa & indoor and outdoor pools. :)

And now for my very un-professional pictures & maybe some off topic pictures, too. :) We loved our stay there. Especially, when after a few hours from check in we heard a knock on the door, answered, and received a sweet little birthday cake and card from the hotel. I love the small touches that make you feel welcomed at hotels! The Intercontinental definitely had those touches. :)
There's the Intercontinental, against the smoggy sky,  from the Nanjing Wall. Look how crazy high up these window cleaners are!
We ordered breakfast in our room one day and it was AMAZING! We felt so very fancy.  One night we went to the 45th floor to the Sky Bar Lounge to enjoy some drinks and the view. It was a great view and so peaceful. :) We ordered desserts from the lobby cafe downstairs and brought them up to the lounge to enjoy with our drinks. :)   
I kind of loved the little coffee shop & dessert cafe on the first floor. I loved their coffee & with the windows, it was the perfect place to plan for our day.
Nanjing had one of the best city guides I've seen. It was so helpful! You can pick yours up at the Nanjing airport.
It had activities by area, which was extremely helpful.
It even listed the top 10 Iconic Nanjing foods to try & where to find them. We tried tangbao (obsessed!), pan-fried beef dumpling, sesame pancakes & pidu noodles while in Nanjing.
I loved the beautiful flowers at the tables, too! Though this has nothing to do with the hotel, I thought it was worthy of discussion. In the Nanjing airport, on the way home to Qingdao, I saw that McDonald's had a pumpkin spice latte!!!! What?!?! I was shocked! Had McDonald's in China always had that and I'd been missing out all that time?! I was sure to get one!They even had a little cinnamon stencil to make a pumpkin on top. Cute!
It was no Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte but it was still delicious and I was thankful! It was a perfect way to end my birthday weekend. Also, worth talking about, China Eastern Airlines 'Orphan Health Program.' They always include one of these little envelopes on the Asian airlines flights we've flown. They're not always the same program, but we have usually got them on our plate at one of our meals, all great initiatives the airlines are supporting. I think it's pretty great. :) Who knows how much actually goes to orphans, though. Also, check out our planes shadow in the ocean? I think it's cool. :)
Love, love flying at sunrise or sunset. It's so beautiful! Flying in to Qingdao at night. Home sweet home. (then. :( we miss you Qingdao!)

So. The moral of this post was to go to Nanjing & when you do, check out the Intercontinental. :)

Thank you Da-da Mosby ;) for the wonderful weekend at the Intercontinental! And thank you again Zachary for the surprise! I love you!!

Himalayas Grand Opening Party

A few months ago, Zachary and I attended the Himalayas Hotel Qingdao Soft Opening. It was pretty fancy  and we were super excited. So excited we went and bought new clothes. Lookin' spiffy, eh?

Blurry. So blurry. But check us & our new outfits out through the blur. Actually, we felt a little nervous going to such a fancy event! But in the end, it turned out to be very relaxed, as most Chinese events are we've realized. Everyone there was ridiculously gracious & welcoming towards us!

Sometimes we ask our room mate to take pictures of us which I'm sure is super not awkward for her at all.

The Himalayas is the first life style hotel in Qingdao. Our friend, Sonny, is the general manager there. I don't want to sound biased or anything, but we pretty much think this hotel is the best. Da' absolute best!

See? Super fancy! Lots of Chinese grand opening flower displays and a red carpet!

I was obsessed with the decorations. Hydrangeas! Geesh, the flower to my heart AND in simple, beautiful vases. I swoon.

We got to sign our name on their big Grand Opening poster wall like we were celebs or something. I really need to practice my signature. I always dream that it will look gorgeous or at least a little mysterious, but no.

The food, coffee & drinks were free flow & delicious! We loved this Pre-dinner coffee & appetizer bar.

You know you're at a good party when yogurt is served in test tubes.

Also, chocolate fountains. Look at Z back there sneaking another yogurt.

This camera man kept following Zachary & I as we woofed down delicious appetizer after espresso after yogurt test tubes. So, I took a picture back. He loved it. 

 

Because I just like the way I look with these test tube yogurt accessory pictures.  How many times can I say 'test tube yogurt' in this post?

After a meals worth of appetizers, Sonny took us down to the Lobby while we waited for dinner. I LOVE the lobby of the Himalayas. I mean check out that awesome faux fire pit!

Once it was time for dinner we headed back upstairs and sat down at the head table with Sonny.

We felt very VIPish next to Sonny, sitting at the head table. The best part about Sonny though is that he is one of the nicest most humble men we know. He's wonderful. He always makes us feel right at home & very loved. All of his employees speak nothing but great things about him. His assistant has told me a few times how he's the best boss she's ever had. He's truly such a great friend, too. We're so thankful to have him as a friend!

Our host was a spokeswoman from Qingdao Radio. She was so sweet & just beautiful. (I told her so in the bathroom later that night. :) Ya, I'm that awkward one that actually talks to celebrities when I see them in the bathroom AND says something so very cliche like 'You're so beautiful!') <(ha, listen to me, like I see celebrities in the bathroom all the time or something!)

As the night rolled on, our dishes were brought out & there were several performances to keep us entertained throughout the evening.

Dinner included salmon, wonton soup, beef tenderloin & creme brulee. Or more fancily put, it included; Smith graviax salmon served with black caviar baby cucumber & honey mustard dressig, chicken consomme with wonton, roasted wagyu beef tenderloin with lentil, organic garlic, baby carrots & red wine sauce, framboise with creme brulee. It was all delicious! 

There was several forms of entertainment from traditional Chinese dance to a foreign jazz band.

The night was fantastic. We dressed up, enjoyed company with friends, ate delicious food & put another 'night to remember' in the books of our time in Qingdao.

Thank you Sonny for inviting us!