Kickboxing

A few action shots from Ben's weekly kickboxing class. It's basically a combination of gymnastics, a bunch of different games like dodge ball, and "working the bag" a bit. The kids love it.

The Lion City

Wanted to post some additional photos of Singapore, beyond the New Year's celebration. Because I arrived there about a day before my meeting's began, I was able to explore the city a bit, mostly with Chicago colleague Tristan. We had beautiful weather on that Sunday - sunny and low 90s by mid-day, without the oppressive humidity you can sometimes get with such tropical places, right along the equator.

The history of Singapore is moderately interesting, it being a strategic and commercial crossroads especially during British colonial times. Many centuries prior to the White Man, the city got its name as the Lion City - "Singa Pura" - based on a fable about a visit emissary who saw a lion emerge from the shores off the island. Thus, the city's emblem, a massive rendition of which is the first picture above. Fast forward to today, it's one of the wealthiest places on earth, with a friendly dictatorship in charge who keeps things safe, clean, and gum-free. In fact, Tristan and I popped into a 7-11 and can verify that no gum was sold. However, they did sell the chewy mints that are now so popular, so it's good to see merchants pushing things a bit.

Singapore is now a major financial center, with architecture and a skyline to match. One of its other nicknames is "Singabore" because it isn't known to be the liveliest place around (my New Year's celebration notwithstanding), especially in tropical Asia where Phuket, Bali, and other destinations aren't far away. There is a nice mix of the colonial and the modern, which makes it an interesting place to walk around and see how things have evolved. Chinatown and Buddhist Temples are nearly seemless with business and high-end shopping districts. I was able to spend a couple hours at the Asian Civilisations Museum, which I'd recommend to any visitors. I got a good feel for the history of the region and there was a special exhibit called "The Road to Nalanda" which detailed the history of Hinduism across South and East Asia. Pretty fascinating, but have to admit confusing. I really need a "South Asian Religions for Dummies" book, which I'm sure I'll have time to read any day now.

The Year of the Rat

Got lucky with my trip to Singapore last week. Didn't make it to Malaysia, as I had hoped, because the tours for the day were canceled due to it being Chinese New Years. The flip side is that I got to celebrate the Year of the Rat with thousands of others in central Singapore. I can't say that I understand the significance of the rat (versus the rooster, monkey, etc.), but I don't think that was much on folks' minds in any case. It was a huge party with food, shows, rides, and souvenirs.

Singapore was more alive than I've ever seen it before. I have to say that after splitting the week between there and Hong Kong, the former certainly comes across as more family-oriented and generally more pleasant. Think Miami, substitute Malay/Chinese for Cuban/Caribbean, and eliminate all crime, litter, and potholes, and you'll have a reasonable sense for the topography, culture, and cuisine. As the Asian hedge fund industry continues to tilt down south away from its Hong Kong roots, I expect I'll be spending more and more time working off the Straits of Malacca.

London Bridges

Among myriad other childhood songs, "London Bridges" is a natural part of the kids' repertoire. Not surprisingly, therefore, Ben in particular has been wondering for a while if we could go see the "London Bridge" as the Thames River isn't that far from our home.

There are of course many bridges across the river (it is my Pittsburgh, however, that has arguably more bridges per square mile than anywhere else on the planet), yet it's the Tower Bridge that gets all the press. There is another with the actual name London Bridge, but it's surpringly lame. To the contrary, Tower Bridge is an impressive structure, as some of the pictures above sort of capture. The bridge has a regal look and feel about and it's conveniently located next to the Tower of London, which is one of Europe's oldest castle fortresses (home to among other things, the Crown Jewels). It being a typically grey, cold, and blustery day, we checked out the bridge and left the fortress for another day. (It's a perfect thing to do when Alex and Even get here.)

We took the elevator to the top of the bridge, where they have an observation deck. London does not have the most impressive skyline, but it's a sprawling city and it was neat to be able to take in the panoramic view. Yet another thing we've not gotten to yet is the so-called Millennium Eye, a massive Ferris wheel, which by all accounts gives spectactular views of greater London. So for now, the view from the Tower Bridge will do just fine. There were also some interesting looking exhibits on the construction and operation of the bridge, but to say that this did not interest the boys would be quite the understatement.

After descending from the bridge, we found a small stone staircase that took us from street level down to the banks of the Thames. There we stumbled across a well-populated and lovely promenade with shops, cafes, cool-looking lofts, nice restaurants, and so forth. The boys are very much into "secret passages" and so them finding this spot (regardless of whether it's well known) was a treat, including the narrow brick-lined alleys that connected different parts of the promenade. Along the way, we happened upon the cutest little coffee shop where we warmed our bones with hot chocolate. I think it was called Starbucks, or something odd like that, and it's always a treat to discover those little cultural nuggets that we could never dream of finding in America.

Skinny Jeans

Always dressing to kill, Sarah debuted her new Old Navy skinny jeans for Friday playgroup and group Shabbat. It's a competitive crowd among the pre-2 year olds, but true to the Portnoy spirit, she embraces the challenge. You go girl!

Photos from India

Some snapshots from my Mumbai trip, which I wrote about the other week: the South Mumbai promenade along the Arabian Sea; sunset (duh); Raju's taxi, from which I was able to check out the sights and sounds (and smells) of town; the Gateway of India, built in 1927 and currently under repair; the "lobby" of the office tower where my first business meeting was held.

This Box of Cheerios Cost $12

Cousins

The boys absolutely adore their older cousins, Evan and Alex. The four boys always have a wonderful time when they get together. Despite the age difference, the older cousins are so engaged and playful with our boys, with our December visit to Michigan being no exception.

The whole Michigan crew is coming to visit in April, which already isn't so far away. A trip to EuroDisney is in the works and Ben's already talking about going to the top of the Eiffel Tower with his cousins. Good stuff.

The Valley of the Sun

Playing some catch up with uploading and posting some photos. We were in Arizona for about 9 days in late December and, as always, enjoyed ourselves. This was Ben's sixth trip to Phoenix and I believe it's becoming a favorite place for him, just like it is for his father. We pursue a "deja vu all over again" approach to our Arizona holidays, spending just about every day at the same park where there's a train, merry-go-round, old Western town replica with requisite jail and stagecoach, and a playground that the kids never tire of. Hiking is one of the newer activities that they boys have joined me on and Ben in particular gets excited whenever there's the prospect of climbing a "mountain" (even when it's a foothill). And on this trip, Zach was a good little soldier as well.

We indulge the ease and simplicity of our routine and with a lot of extra family in town during this particulr trip, it made it extra special, especially for the kids. I'm really pleased that both boys know and now remember Baboo Becky. She's aging rapidly now, but I can tell that her relationship with her three great-grandkids is special for her, which in turn is extremely special for me.

Regardless of where we live, I hope and expect that these Arizona trips will remain a Portnoy family tradition.

London Can Be Really Quite Lovely

The London transport system is still a nightmare - the Tube isn't working, Edgeware Road is gridlock, and blessed Black Cab drivers charge you a king's ransom to drive three miles.

But who cares! What a city. We've been able to get out and about a good deal lately and have thoroughly enjoyed the continuous urban adventure that is London city living. Well-trodden destinations like Oxford Street just north of Mayfair and Long Acre Road through Covent Garden are fun in different ways. Newly discovered nooks like St. Christopher's Lane in Marlybone and Draycott Avenue in South Kensington are but specks on a map, but have little gems of restaurants and shops we never knew existed. There are probably a thousand other little streets with little shops and cafes throughout London - I'm not sure whether to be happy or sad that we will never encounter anything more than a tiny fraction of them.

Not that we haven't tried. We've eaten extremely well lately at spots like Hunan (Pimlico), l'Autre Pied (Marlyebone), l'Oranger (St. James), and Papillion (South Ken). Lovely meals all, with the latter probabably being the one I'd return to most quickly. Aperitivo (SoHo) was just okay while Cafe Anglais (Paddington) was by far the worst meal we've eaten in London (not even worth the rant - trust me). The Hunan meal was noteworthy because I generally don't like Chinese food, but this place was superb. No menus, only an owner who asked what we liked. I don't think he cared much what our answer was as every table appeared to get the same things. He brought out at least a dozen different courses, most pretty tasty and all identifiable, which is one of my new key criteria for this cuisine.

Speaking of (in)edible and (un)recognizable Chinese food, I'm off again for work travels starting tomorrow. Singapore and Hong Kong are the ports of call this time. I also might have the chance on Sunday to jump over to Malaysia given its immediate proximity to Singapore (if you look on a map, you'll see why the trip is so easy). We'll see. It's Chinese new years right now and supposedly the celebrations even in Singapore, which has a large ethnic Chinese population, are worth sticking around for.

The Adventure continues.