Macau Part 4: Our Last Day!

Monday morning greeted us with bright, warm sun. I couldn't help but get out of bed and take a look at the view from the balcony! We had some coffee in our room, and headed down to the beach. Here are a few shots from that morning.

And here is a picture of our hotel from the beach- just a short walk away. We checked out of the hotel, and headed into the Village de Coloane- if you refer back to the map from the Part One post, this village is next to the "C" on the western coast of the southern island. You can look across and see mainland China.

I had read about this small bakery in the village "Lord Stowe's" We found the place and grabbed a ham and chive croissant, a house made raspberry yogurt and Ginger-ade- but the waiter wouldn't let us leave without also getting one of the famous egg tarts. Since we knew they were famous for them- we decided to get those too.

We headed outside and found a table and some benches by the water. Wow. This was a good decision. The croissant was the ultimate savory breakfast! (Mom, you would have LOVED it). The yogurt was tart, but fruity and VERY fresh. And these egg tarts were unreal. It was like eating creme brulee out of a pastry shell. Looking at the picture now, the tart looks gigantic- when in actuality it was probably the size of the top of a soda can.

We grabbed a cab and left Coloane for the last time. We decided to head for the Lisboa- because we came up with the sneaky plan that they might hold our bags if they thought we were spending money in the casinos.

The Lisboa was amazing inside. There was already a bunch of gambling going on- and it was a Monday morning at about 11am! I mentioned earlier my fascination with checking out the bathroom. Look at this!

We stopped in an Asian restaurant within the Casino where we saw an intricate tea pouring master- and traditional Chinese tea. You can see that the cups have lids. You place them on top at an angle such that the leaves don't slip through as you sip. So that the tea doesn't over steep, you only add about 1/4 cup of water at a time.

After looking around the new Lisboa- we went across a skybridge to the old Grand Lisboa. More amazing sights awaited.

The picture below with the dragons is an ancient seismograph. Yes, that's right. Each dragon has a tiny ball between it's teeth stuck inside just so- that if an earthquake hits, one of the balls would fall into the toad's mouth waiting below. And based on which ball fell, scientists would know how large the earthquake had been. Even better? This was a replica. The actual one was eight feet tall.

This pirate ship was carved entirely of one piece of Jade. Notice the chain linked features- unbelievably intricate!

After retrieving our bags from the Lisboa, we headed for the ferry terminal. (Special shout out to my sister- we saw this store and thought of you!) So swanky! and affordable, too! LOL

What a trip to remember! Amazing sculptures- views of beaches and city skylines! Abundant food filled with new flavors! A charming hotel in the heart of the Portuguese beach. And best of all time to relax and enjoy each other. Seasoned with fun memories, (a bit of sunburn and a few mosquito bites) we returned to Tai Po feeling like we'd had quite a weekend to remember!