Peony Season At The Flower Market.

It's that time of year when the flower market is filled with peonies. I told myself that I wouldn't buy any plants for my balcony since we are leaving soon, but it's hard not to be tempted to give fresh life to my kitchen view. Fresh flowers are a lovely alternative to brighten up the inside of our home. 

Spring At The Flower Market.

Spring has sprung here in Hong Kong and the tulips have been imported and are filling the flower market with their beautiful blooms. Tulips always make me think of my father since he was born in Holland.  

Flower Market Love.

The flower market here in Hong Kong has got to be one of my favorite spots in the whole city. It's such a happy place to walk through and to take some things home to add color and life to our apartment. I was excited to read that there is a flower market in Beijing as well! 

More Flower Market Shopping.

The Flower Market will be one of the things I will miss the most about living in Hong Kong. I love to frequent this place on a regular basis. This man is pretty great too. He just goes with the flow and lets me go crazy picking out flowers while he holds them all for me!!! Marriage is a pretty great thing.

A Day Of Coffee Shops.

We had made plans for an exciting Hong Kong weekend adventure and then it rained all weekend, thus causing us to change our plans to accommodate the weather! So I decided it was time to explore Hong Kong's coffee shops on the Kowloon side. 

We started our morning off in Kowloon City at Glady's Estate Coffee. The coffee was decent, the price was high, and when they refused to take my $500 HKD bill for our $200 HKD tab because they didn't have enough change in their register, I wrote them off. I ended up walking two shops down to a bakery and purchasing $14 HKD worth of doughnuts where the shop owner didn't blink twice when I handed her my $500 HKD bill. I then had to go back to Glady's to settle up our bill. 

The second shop we visited was Knockbox Coffee Company in Mong Kok. I had read really good reviews on them, and we were not disappointed. Their pastries were delicious, and the hot chocolate was a hit for all of us. My husband is eating a vegan diet at the moment, and he was able to order something to accommodate his needs as well.  

We ended our coffee shop tour in Jordan, walking down Parke Street looking for Kava. Unfortunately it had closed down already. After calling a friend of ours that lives on that street and confirming that it had been turned into a Korean restaurant, we decided to call our adventure quits. We were wet and tired from walking through the puddles. We opted for a movie at home!!!

Flower Market Fun.

I love living within walking distance of Hong Kong's Flower Market. It makes it easy to pick up hostess gifts or to keep fresh flowers around our own home! This little girl loves to come with me and pick out flowers for her friends. She loves to show love through giving gifts and for her it doesn't get much better than fresh flowers!!! 

Christmas Tree Shopping In Hong Kong.

As I mentioned in a previous post, our friends ordered a live tree from Ikea, which is one place to get a tree. There are many places and little pop up shops here in Hong Kong where you can purchase a live tree. Here are just two stalls in the Flower Market that sell live trees. The trees here in Hong Kong, seem to come in all shapes and sizes to accommodate the small space living that so many of us experience. With the weather cooling down, it feels so festive to walk among the trees. Of course it's also beautiful to walk among all the fresh flowers. 

Mong Kok Flower Market.

I love making a random pit stop to the Flower Market in Prince Edward/Mong Kok. Just walking through all that beauty instantly lifts my spirits and any blues disappear. Something always has to come home with me and brightens up the counter of our apartment. 

Goldfish Market.

We took our kids to the Goldfish Market and came back with two pet turtles. Yup, you read that right... there is a Fish Market here in Hong Kong. In true Hong Kong form, there seems to be a market for everything you can think of. The Goldfish Market is a whole street dedicated to many types of fish and all the accessories you might need if you have a fish.

Apparently in the Chinese culture, goldfish are a sign of good luck and often found in the homes of many locals. Chinese New Year, is a busy time for the Goldfish Market, with many people purchasing fish.

On both sides of the street, you can find shop after shop filled with fish, but every now and then a pet store with rabbits, mice, or puppies will be wedged in between. Although our apartment building does not permit pets, we figured that excludes fish or turtles. Now, my animal loving daughter is in pet heaven with her two tiny turtles.

Nathan Road.

I love Nathan Road because it gets us so many places. It is the main road on the Kowloon peninsula, so naturally we take it a lot. The parts of the train line run underneath Nathan Road. Apparently, Nathan Road was the first road that was built in Kowloon back in the 1860's. In the early 1900's Hong Kong named it Nathan Road after the thirteenth Governor who served three years. His name was Sir Matthew Nathan.

Bird Market.

It appears that Hong Kong has a market for everything you might think of. The short length of the bird market leads you directly into the flower market. I think my daughter said it best when she commented on how sad it was to see so many birds locked up in their cages.

At the bird market there are plenty of older men sitting around on stools and stumps. You can find anything and everything you might need for your bird, as well as your bird. There are even live grasshoppers in mesh bags that you can purchase to feed to your bird!

Street Performers In Mong Kok.

Sunday we were walking the streets of Mong Kok in search of a camera shop that sold Nikon lenses. We phoned a friend to ask for advice of where the camera shops might be, but she wasn't completely sure. We stopped two policemen that were walking around if they could point us in the direction of the camera shops. After pulling out my own camera and pointing to the brand we wanted, the police officers set us in the right direction.

Talk about crowds of people. The streets were packed with people, no vehicles were driving though. And on the side of the street there were performers. Many were musical acts with their guitars, accordions, and microphones. There was a group promoting the Occupy Central Movement, which I suppose is now more commonly referred to as the Umbrella Movement.

And then there was this one performer in his solo act. Every time my daughter put money into his bowl sitting in front of his "stage" he was profusely thankful. The kids loved watching him perform what was predominantly balancing acts.   

Two Is Company. Three Is A Crowd.

If being in a large crowd bothers you, then Hong Kong is NOT the place for you! People are everywhere. Within the the city, you cannot go out with seeing people. This is no Blue Ridge Mountain experience where you're the only human in sight and you have to search out the company of other people. Here in the city, you are surrounded by people. It's apartment living. As soon as you leave your flat, you see your front doorman. Walk out into the street and you immediately are swept into the crowd walking the sidewalks.

I've learned I just have to go with the flow. The flow of the crowd, the unique movement found in a crowd of people. Finding peace in a crowd definitely requires a completely different frame of mind. Peace and tranquility is easy to find up in the mountains of North Carolina and Virginia. It's so calming to look out over the tree tops from the front porch of your log cabin on the side of a mountain. But peace and calm can also be found as a stranger in sea of strangers. You just have to look for it!

Parade On The Streets Of Hong Kong.

After we left our hike on Monkey Mountain, we took our friends to eat at the Michelin dim sum restaurant, Tim Ho Wan. It was a surprise for our party of six to get seated right away. We were lead upstairs and sat in a small room with one other larger table. After lunch, we all went on a quest for gelato, but nothing was pulling up on our friend's cellphone. While we were walking around Mong Kok, we heard a marching band which turned into a parade.

Unfortunately we aren't sure what the parade was for. We did see some elderly men yelling at police officers who were in charge of crowd control. From where we were, it seemed as though the men were protesting the parade.

We definitely enjoyed the marching band that was at the front of the parade. The parade went down Nathan Road in Mong Kok, which is a busy road. Vehicle traffic was slow as a result. 

Flower Market In Mong Kok.

Sunday morning instead of heading to church we walked down to Mong Kok in search of fresh plants to replace my dead flowers that are outside on one of our balconies. We walked around the flower market comparing prices while my daughter pointed out all the flowers she wanted to buy and bring home with her. Too bad we don't have the space and she doesn't have the finances to accommodate her every whim!

The flower market has everything you might possibly need. From seed packets to grow vegetables, strawberry plants with ripe strawberries already on them, colorful orchids, to cut flowers wrapped in cellophane bouquets. 

I tried to bargain with vendors that did not have the prices marked, but ended up going back to a store I had purchased from in the past. I like their prices and their quality of plant.