Macau holiday- The Peninsula 3/3

Last day in Macau, we checked carefully the places to visit and make a line to walk there from hotel. It is a nice walk up hill towards Guia Fortress and Chapel 東望洋炮台燈塔 , the route for Grand Prix racing car in the past. We are rewarded with a fabulous view and the 150 years old buildings are still in good condition. 

 

Wandering downhill to Tap Seac Square 塔石廣場, a big square with well paved mosaic tiles but now covered by Christmas stalls. On one side of the square there is a long row of old Portuguese style buildings, Government offices, Library, Old record centre, with that open space in front, surprisingly grand.  

 

 

My friends decided that we have many Portuguese meals and prefer other cuisine. Chosen to have dim sum at Grand Lisboa restaurant 8. Turned out to be a great decision as the quality of ingredients used is  good, very flavourful on top of being very pretty, and not that expensive. Free amuse bouche of abalone and dessert too, generous touch.  

 

Last visit before taking ferry back to home is to visit The Venetian, just to kill some time. The Canal shopping and eating area is mind boggling, not my cup of tea and is very crowded too.  

Macau holiday- The Peninsula & Taipa 2/3

On the second morning we wander to St Joseph church, it is a nice day, and the yellow church and big trees look especially pretty. 

 

Then we walked to The Mandarin House 鄭家大屋, a Guangzhou style building built 150 years ago by a merchant family. Very well written history of that era and contribution of the family. It has been extended a couple of times to accommodate enlarged family hence the very long building. Each part has it own open courtyard in the middle for light and air circulation.

 

For lunch we took the bus to Coloane, Hac Sa Beach, to eat at Fernando. The restaurant has a small front room, but waling further in passed the kitchen, is a huge high ceiling room and outdoor area. It is a favourite of westerners in the 90’s for good food and relaxing atmosphere outside the hustle and bustle of the Peninsula.  

 

Next took the bus to the Cunha street 官也街, the old area in Taipa. There are a lot of old style houses but the explosion of snack shops, cake shops and souvenir shops mean a lot of tourists and very congested, make it impossible to appreciate the style of the area. 

Walked towards the main historical site, The Taipa Houses museum 龍環葡韻住宅式博物館, located in front of a wetland area. It is a row of houses built a 100 years ago to accommodate foreign civil servants. Now they are kept for different uses, one to show the housing style, the other an exhibition area, one a museum and the forth a restaurant, a good theme. 

 

The other side of the wetland is a reclaimed area on which all the grand mega Casino hotel complex were built. There is a reclining lift behind the House Museum complex to get up to Tai Tam hill 大潭山, at the top is a park with a view.

 

Dinner at Portugalia at Cunha street area, it is in a renovated building with Portuguese blue theme and  decent food.  

 

 

Macau holiday- The Peninsula 1/3

這麽近，進出方便，又確實來過數次，而原來以前的目標都是怱怱到來午餐和晚餐，之間急趕走走，而已。

要到現在，和數位朋友只有三天共同有空，決定到澳門聚聚，才首次仔細查看資料，列出有什麼名勝景點值得看看。

又因為叫不到的士，大部分時間都在走路，反而看到更多有特色的古老建築、原來有這麼多老大榕樹、和留意到路上美麗精緻的黑白地磚，令我對澳門另眼相看。

For a gathering with school friends, we decided to stay in Macau for 3 days, close by, easy to get to and good food. It is the first time that I properly researched on scenic sights in Macau, as my previous trips were short with eating and shopping (for furniture/vintage Port) as main purposes.

It is a surprise to learn that there are 22 Unesco listed buildings, plus hill forts, light house and gardens to visit. We walked to most of the sights and found a lot more picturesque views on the way, it is a very satisfactory short trip and make me view Macau in a different way. 

The first lunch is at the north part of the Peninsula at the University of Traveling’s restaurant, serving good quality set menu of Portuguese/Macau/Western food. 

After that, we wander along to Monte Fort  大炮台 for a view of the city. Along the way, there are a number of traditional buildings and old temples caught my eyes. 

 

Up at the Fort with the panoramic view all round, the city has a lot of pretty old and in poor condition medium height buildings, with a few new high rises dotted around. 

 

Then we walk to the Ruins of St Paul, which is the most iconic view of Macau, and big gathering of tourists. The area, with the building style, the long flight of steps and colour themes used, make one feel that it can be somewhere in Europe.  

 

Dinner is at Albergue 1601 婆仔屋, on the way walking there, I noticed the pavement are covered with fantastically lively mosaic, in black and white or beige brown tones, with vivid patterns. Actually thought out the Peninsular, a lot of pavements still have this old paving style, this, on its own, well deserved to be mentioned as an Unesco sight, plus more interesting buildings along the way.

Albergue 1601 is in a group of old Portuguese style house around a courtyard with 100 years old Ficus trees. This is my second surprise in Macau, there are so many big old trees! Along the pavement, next to buildings, everywhere, so beautiful.