Back in December, right after I booked this trip, I had second thoughts about the two nights I had planned here in Hoi An. I wondered if perhaps I might regret not spending a few more days here - and as it turns out, I was right. This is an absolutely amazing little town, and the perfect ending to what may well be my last visit to Vietnam.
Not only is our hotel a gem, as I mentioned in my last post, but the town itself is so charming, and authentically historic. It's a UNESCO World Heritage Site, befitting its history as a major Southeast Asian trading port from the 15th to the 19th centuries. It is unusually well-preserved, with many centuries-old houses, temples and assembly halls, and the main streets of the historic centre are pedestrianised.
This morning, I joined H. and J. on a walking tour around the town, visiting a variety of buildings and taking pictures everywhere. Hoi An is equally well known nowadays for the vast number of tailors and shoemakers working here. You can be measured and have clothes and footwear whipped up in no time at all, and at amazing prices. Were I here a few more days, I would probably end up with an entire custom wardrobe. All the tailors and dressmakers have European and North American catalogues for clients to browse, and they will design or copy anything you want, in any fabric. It's incredible! And quite difficult to restrain oneself. This afternoon, however, I ordered some brocade slippers and a lovely lined wool-blend coat, both of which I have to go pick up tonight. The coat is costing me US $45 and will be ready in just three hours, apparently.
It's been an amazing day, but tiring too (it's very hot and humid, and I collapsed back at the hotel earlier for a shower and a rest). This evening, we'll head out for a final dinner here in Vietnam - though it will be hard to top our lunch, which we had in a lovely rooftop restaurant overlooking the river. Tomorrow morning, a taxi will be collecting me at 6 am and depositing me at Da Nang Airport, for my flight to Hanoi and my onward connection to Hong Kong. Should arrive at my hotel in Honkers by about 4pm - so looking forward to a fun evening there tomorrow.
28 February 2009
27 February 2009
Project End
It's been an interesting and poignant week in Hue. We had four full days of meetings for our project from Monday to Thursday, and a half-day today (Friday). There were about 45 people attending in total, from our five partner universities in Hue, Hanoi, and Iloilo (Philippines). My boss and I were not sure how this final meeting of the project would turn out, but it ended up being very successful. We all realised just how much has been achieved over the past five years, and there have been meaningful benefits to both our university partners and to the communities they work with. It was very gratifying to see the results - and to know that development work really can make a difference in poor countries. Good stuff.
We passed a couple of nice evenings. Tuesday night, I went for a stroll around the city centre with my friend and colleague H. (bought two gorgeous silk scarves for US $4 each), and we had a nice dinner at an outdoor restaurant by the river (spring rolls, crispy noodles with pork and shrimp, and beer for about US $3 each). On Wednesday evening, our host Dr. P. invited all of the Canadians for dinner at his wonderful home in the countryside outside Hue. My boss and I had the pleasure of a similar experience during our last visit to Hue in the summer, and this evening was equally special. The food was fantastic and we ate at a long table out in the garden, beneath a flowering pomelo tree.
There was a closing banquet dinner last night, during which there was lots of drinking and speechifying. (One of the leaders from Hanoi brought a fairly toxic bottle of hooch to the table, which was labelled both as "medicinal" and as comprising 37% ethanol. Wishing to retain brain cells, I did not partake.) The evening closed with that beloved Asian pastime of karaoke, which our partners take extremely seriously. Luckily we Canadians got away with performing two group numbers (badly) before saying our goodbyes. It was really quite sad to bid all these folks farewell, I must say. Who knows if or when we will see any of them again?
By the time I finished all my work this morning and got packed up and checked out of our hotel, it was time to head off on the holiday portion of this trip. H. and I had arranged for a car and driver to take us south to the small historic fishing town of Hoi An (just south of Da Nang), and we were picked up at 4pm. It took just under three hours to cover a distance of around 110 km, for which we paid US $30 each - not bad, and extremely convenient. The trip itself was fairly scary, though. As I've noted in previous travelogues, driving practices in Vietnam are quite hair-raising and we very nearly got into an accident about an hour outside Hue. It was - unsurprisingly - caused by our driver trying (illegally) to pass a large truck. I could see when he pulled out that we would not have enough time to pass...and the next thing I knew, we were beside the truck with another large truck barrelling towards us. I closed my eyes and screamed...and the other truck swerved onto the shoulder, missing us. It was awful. Luckily my shriek had the desired effect on the driver, though, who drove much more cautiously for the rest of the trip!
By 7pm we arrived at the Ha An Hotel, our base in Hoi An. It's a fantastic place, with French colonial architecture, a large grassy courtyard and lots of palm trees twinkling with lights. We were given a welcome drink and checked in speedily, then went to the restaurant for some dinner. H. left in a taxi immediately afterwards, bound for Da Nang Airport to pick up her husband J. who has arrived in Vietnam this evening to join her for another week of travel. But I lingered over coffee in the courtyard, enjoying the balmy night air, before settling into my room for the evening. The accommodation here is so nice - fresh flowers everywhere in the rooms, with petals scattered across the bed and on the bathmat. So many thoughtful, pretty touches everywhere - I can see already why H.'s cousin recommended this hotel to us, and why it has such a high rating on TripAdvisor. It's wonderful - and a bargain at only US $55/night.
We have a busy day in store tomorrow - a full day exploring the old town of Hoi An and all the sights it has to offer - before I head out again very early on Sunday morning. More updates soon.
We passed a couple of nice evenings. Tuesday night, I went for a stroll around the city centre with my friend and colleague H. (bought two gorgeous silk scarves for US $4 each), and we had a nice dinner at an outdoor restaurant by the river (spring rolls, crispy noodles with pork and shrimp, and beer for about US $3 each). On Wednesday evening, our host Dr. P. invited all of the Canadians for dinner at his wonderful home in the countryside outside Hue. My boss and I had the pleasure of a similar experience during our last visit to Hue in the summer, and this evening was equally special. The food was fantastic and we ate at a long table out in the garden, beneath a flowering pomelo tree.
There was a closing banquet dinner last night, during which there was lots of drinking and speechifying. (One of the leaders from Hanoi brought a fairly toxic bottle of hooch to the table, which was labelled both as "medicinal" and as comprising 37% ethanol. Wishing to retain brain cells, I did not partake.) The evening closed with that beloved Asian pastime of karaoke, which our partners take extremely seriously. Luckily we Canadians got away with performing two group numbers (badly) before saying our goodbyes. It was really quite sad to bid all these folks farewell, I must say. Who knows if or when we will see any of them again?
By the time I finished all my work this morning and got packed up and checked out of our hotel, it was time to head off on the holiday portion of this trip. H. and I had arranged for a car and driver to take us south to the small historic fishing town of Hoi An (just south of Da Nang), and we were picked up at 4pm. It took just under three hours to cover a distance of around 110 km, for which we paid US $30 each - not bad, and extremely convenient. The trip itself was fairly scary, though. As I've noted in previous travelogues, driving practices in Vietnam are quite hair-raising and we very nearly got into an accident about an hour outside Hue. It was - unsurprisingly - caused by our driver trying (illegally) to pass a large truck. I could see when he pulled out that we would not have enough time to pass...and the next thing I knew, we were beside the truck with another large truck barrelling towards us. I closed my eyes and screamed...and the other truck swerved onto the shoulder, missing us. It was awful. Luckily my shriek had the desired effect on the driver, though, who drove much more cautiously for the rest of the trip!
By 7pm we arrived at the Ha An Hotel, our base in Hoi An. It's a fantastic place, with French colonial architecture, a large grassy courtyard and lots of palm trees twinkling with lights. We were given a welcome drink and checked in speedily, then went to the restaurant for some dinner. H. left in a taxi immediately afterwards, bound for Da Nang Airport to pick up her husband J. who has arrived in Vietnam this evening to join her for another week of travel. But I lingered over coffee in the courtyard, enjoying the balmy night air, before settling into my room for the evening. The accommodation here is so nice - fresh flowers everywhere in the rooms, with petals scattered across the bed and on the bathmat. So many thoughtful, pretty touches everywhere - I can see already why H.'s cousin recommended this hotel to us, and why it has such a high rating on TripAdvisor. It's wonderful - and a bargain at only US $55/night.
We have a busy day in store tomorrow - a full day exploring the old town of Hoi An and all the sights it has to offer - before I head out again very early on Sunday morning. More updates soon.
23 February 2009
Heat
It's hot here in Hue. Not unbearably hot, like it was during my last trip here in June of last year. But very very warm all the same - it's about 32 degrees Celsius today. According to the Vietnamese, it's unseasonably warm - normally, temperatures should be in the low 20s at this time of year. And unfortunately, the hotel pool is closed at the moment!
I seem to have picked up a cold en route (unsurprisingly, as airports and aircraft are positively pestilential). Must wander out this evening after it's cooled off a bit, to try and find a pharmacy and some throat pastilles.
First day of meetings went quite well today. Our project officer from CIDA is joining us tomorrow, so we'll all have to be on our best and most impressive behaviour. Off for dinner shortly - we're being taken to a restaurant outside of town this evening....
I seem to have picked up a cold en route (unsurprisingly, as airports and aircraft are positively pestilential). Must wander out this evening after it's cooled off a bit, to try and find a pharmacy and some throat pastilles.
First day of meetings went quite well today. Our project officer from CIDA is joining us tomorrow, so we'll all have to be on our best and most impressive behaviour. Off for dinner shortly - we're being taken to a restaurant outside of town this evening....
22 February 2009
In Hue
It's now Sunday evening in Vietnam. We left Halifax Friday morning, with five of us from the university travelling together. My friend H. very kindly offered to share one of her Air Canada upgrade certificates with me for this trip, but alas - the flight from Toronto to Hong Kong was packed and we weren't able to upgrade to First Class after all. But we got exit row seats at least, which was good. The flight was as fine as 16 hours in a glorified tin can could possibly be, and I ploughed through four movies ("The Duchess", "Miracle at St. Anna", "Passchendaele" and the concert film "Kylie X 2008").
In Hong Kong, we did a little shopping at the airport - I was delighted to find they've opened a Muji outlet since I passed through last summer - before boarding our half-empty Cathay Pacific flight to Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon). This was my first time passing through HCMC. The five of us split up into two separate cabs on arrival, with the others being taken on a merry ride by their driver and being charged US $17 for the three-kilometer journey to the hotel, which should have cost less than $2! Mind you, our taxi driver wasn't particularly scrupulous either - I gave him a VND 100,000 note($6) for the VND 30,000 ($1.75) fare, and I had to ask him to give me the change!
At least our hotel, the Parkroyal Saigon, was great. Their standard rooms were overbooked so I got a free upgrade to a deluxe room - yay! It was quite nice, with a big bathroom (separated from the bedroom by a glass wall) and the all-important wireless access. We reconvened downstairs in the lobby around 7.30 pm and had a drink at the bar, but not before I'd had a little stroll around and discovered the health centre was still open. They had staff on hand offering massage services and they were taking appointments well into the evening. When I found out that a half-hour aromatherapy massage only cost US $10, I made a booking in a flash! And it was exactly what I needed after such a very long flight. Within a minute or two of beginning the massage, the masseuse pronounced my back to be "like rock" so I was obviously pretty tense. The technique was a little unorthodox for us North Americans - my masseuse was a tiny young Vietnamese woman who hopped up on the table to dig her palms into my back, then straddled me at various times during the procedure. Eh, whatever. ;-) It was a good massage - they're obviously into the whole pressure-point thing and she spent a lot of time on a spot at the base of my skull and another at the base of the spine.
Needless to say, after all that I slept like a baby despite the 12-hour time difference, and didn't even wake up until after 6 am the following morning, which was great. We had a very good buffet breakfast, and then H. and I hopped in the hotel shuttle at 9 am. We were deposited in the city centre about 20 minutes away, and walked to the famed Ben Thanh Market. It's quite the place - very large - with a huge range of clothing, knicknacks and decorative items, as well as lots of prepared food, fresh fruit, veg, meat and seafood. We both bought some small embroidered bags to bring home as gifts, and might well have bought more except that some of the stallminders were very pushy (which is not something I've really experienced here before - normally sellers are fairly unobtrusive).
Afterwards we strolled down Le Loi street and stopped in at an upscale clothing store called Orchids. Absolutely gorgeous stuff for sale at not bad prices, and H. and I both tried on several outfits, but nothing fit! Very frustrating - but not surprising I guess, as the Asian body type is so different from my own.
Then it was time to return to the hotel in a cab, check out, and head to the airport for our connecting flight to Hue. We arrived at around 2.30 pm, to a full welcoming party of our friends from the university here. Then it was on to the Festival Hotel, where my boss P. and I stayed just last summer, during our last trip here. Very nice to be back, and very convenient to already know where everything is. H., P. and I went out a little earlier for dinner, to a small restaurant down the street - we had bowls of pho (beef noodle soup), spring rolls, and beer for less than US $3 per person.
So I'm settled in now, and ready to start work tomorrow morning. It's going to be a very intense week of meetings coming up, so I'm taking this evening to relax. Feeling more affected by jet lag today too and am very tired, so I'm aiming to try to stay awake until at least 10 pm tonight.
In Hong Kong, we did a little shopping at the airport - I was delighted to find they've opened a Muji outlet since I passed through last summer - before boarding our half-empty Cathay Pacific flight to Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon). This was my first time passing through HCMC. The five of us split up into two separate cabs on arrival, with the others being taken on a merry ride by their driver and being charged US $17 for the three-kilometer journey to the hotel, which should have cost less than $2! Mind you, our taxi driver wasn't particularly scrupulous either - I gave him a VND 100,000 note($6) for the VND 30,000 ($1.75) fare, and I had to ask him to give me the change!
At least our hotel, the Parkroyal Saigon, was great. Their standard rooms were overbooked so I got a free upgrade to a deluxe room - yay! It was quite nice, with a big bathroom (separated from the bedroom by a glass wall) and the all-important wireless access. We reconvened downstairs in the lobby around 7.30 pm and had a drink at the bar, but not before I'd had a little stroll around and discovered the health centre was still open. They had staff on hand offering massage services and they were taking appointments well into the evening. When I found out that a half-hour aromatherapy massage only cost US $10, I made a booking in a flash! And it was exactly what I needed after such a very long flight. Within a minute or two of beginning the massage, the masseuse pronounced my back to be "like rock" so I was obviously pretty tense. The technique was a little unorthodox for us North Americans - my masseuse was a tiny young Vietnamese woman who hopped up on the table to dig her palms into my back, then straddled me at various times during the procedure. Eh, whatever. ;-) It was a good massage - they're obviously into the whole pressure-point thing and she spent a lot of time on a spot at the base of my skull and another at the base of the spine.
Needless to say, after all that I slept like a baby despite the 12-hour time difference, and didn't even wake up until after 6 am the following morning, which was great. We had a very good buffet breakfast, and then H. and I hopped in the hotel shuttle at 9 am. We were deposited in the city centre about 20 minutes away, and walked to the famed Ben Thanh Market. It's quite the place - very large - with a huge range of clothing, knicknacks and decorative items, as well as lots of prepared food, fresh fruit, veg, meat and seafood. We both bought some small embroidered bags to bring home as gifts, and might well have bought more except that some of the stallminders were very pushy (which is not something I've really experienced here before - normally sellers are fairly unobtrusive).
Afterwards we strolled down Le Loi street and stopped in at an upscale clothing store called Orchids. Absolutely gorgeous stuff for sale at not bad prices, and H. and I both tried on several outfits, but nothing fit! Very frustrating - but not surprising I guess, as the Asian body type is so different from my own.
Then it was time to return to the hotel in a cab, check out, and head to the airport for our connecting flight to Hue. We arrived at around 2.30 pm, to a full welcoming party of our friends from the university here. Then it was on to the Festival Hotel, where my boss P. and I stayed just last summer, during our last trip here. Very nice to be back, and very convenient to already know where everything is. H., P. and I went out a little earlier for dinner, to a small restaurant down the street - we had bowls of pho (beef noodle soup), spring rolls, and beer for less than US $3 per person.
So I'm settled in now, and ready to start work tomorrow morning. It's going to be a very intense week of meetings coming up, so I'm taking this evening to relax. Feeling more affected by jet lag today too and am very tired, so I'm aiming to try to stay awake until at least 10 pm tonight.
18 February 2009
Back to Asia, One Last Time
So I'm headed back to Vietnam this Friday, for the final time before the project that I manage ends next month. I have a full week of meetings in Hue City next week, before saying goodbye to some of the very nice people I have worked with over the past four and a half years. Who knows when I will ever go back?
As usual, I am taking advantage of the trip and having a few days of holidays after my work is finished. My friend H. and I will head from Hue City down to Hoi An - an ancient fishing village and UNESCO World Heritage Site - for two nights. Very much looking forward to that. Afterwards, H. will head for Hanoi to visit relatives, and I will carry on to Hong Kong, where I'll stay for three nights. I absolutely loved HK when I first visited there in 2006, but since I had such a short stay then, I figured a return trip was in order.
I arrive back home very late on 4 March - two weeks from now - but will be posting updates here as I expect to have good Internet access during my trip. In the interim, our neighbour the designer will keep the kitchen renovation ticking over - so there will of course be a short hiatus in my Reno Diary. Looking forward to seeing what work will be done by the time I get back.
As usual, I am taking advantage of the trip and having a few days of holidays after my work is finished. My friend H. and I will head from Hue City down to Hoi An - an ancient fishing village and UNESCO World Heritage Site - for two nights. Very much looking forward to that. Afterwards, H. will head for Hanoi to visit relatives, and I will carry on to Hong Kong, where I'll stay for three nights. I absolutely loved HK when I first visited there in 2006, but since I had such a short stay then, I figured a return trip was in order.
I arrive back home very late on 4 March - two weeks from now - but will be posting updates here as I expect to have good Internet access during my trip. In the interim, our neighbour the designer will keep the kitchen renovation ticking over - so there will of course be a short hiatus in my Reno Diary. Looking forward to seeing what work will be done by the time I get back.
16 February 2009
Kitchen Reno Diary - Week Seven
It's cabinet week! The cabinetmakers moved in all of our new cupboards and units last Tuesday, and have been working on installing them ever since. As of today, they've nearly finished, and have probably only one day's work left. I've updated the photo diary with new pictures, showing the work that's been done.
I'm really happy with how everything is looking. The best thing about custom cabinetry is the perfect fit with the space, and the finishes. The crown moulding has turned out great, as have the furniture bases on the cabinet runs. The colour that I went with ("Cloud White" by Benjamin Moore) was a good choice, too - warm and creamy. The new galley kitchen seems slightly claustrophobic, since we've gone from an open space to floor-to-ceiling cabinetry - it feels a bit canyon-like in there at the moment! But I'm sure it'll be great once the countertops and lighting are in, and everything is finished. And cooking in there is definitely going to be super-efficient.
Last Thursday, the countertop installer came in to template for our new quartz countertops, so we expect those to be delivered in about three weeks. In the interim, we need to have the electricians back to install our appliances and finish the lighting, and the plumber back to hook up the dishwasher, and install the tap and water supply to the sink. There's also the cabinet hardware and door/window trim to sort out, and backsplash tile to be chosen. So while we've passed a major milestone this week, there's still lots to come.
I'm really happy with how everything is looking. The best thing about custom cabinetry is the perfect fit with the space, and the finishes. The crown moulding has turned out great, as have the furniture bases on the cabinet runs. The colour that I went with ("Cloud White" by Benjamin Moore) was a good choice, too - warm and creamy. The new galley kitchen seems slightly claustrophobic, since we've gone from an open space to floor-to-ceiling cabinetry - it feels a bit canyon-like in there at the moment! But I'm sure it'll be great once the countertops and lighting are in, and everything is finished. And cooking in there is definitely going to be super-efficient.
Last Thursday, the countertop installer came in to template for our new quartz countertops, so we expect those to be delivered in about three weeks. In the interim, we need to have the electricians back to install our appliances and finish the lighting, and the plumber back to hook up the dishwasher, and install the tap and water supply to the sink. There's also the cabinet hardware and door/window trim to sort out, and backsplash tile to be chosen. So while we've passed a major milestone this week, there's still lots to come.
15 February 2009
Puppehs!
These five adorable Lab-mix puppies, from two different litters, stayed with us last night. A. had meetings up at the Cape Breton branch of the SPCA yesterday and visited the Sydney shelter. They were a bit overrun with puppies there. Since the Halifax metro shelter currently has no puppies (and a waiting list of people hoping to adopt one), A. offered to transfer some of the Sydney pups down to Halifax, so they could be adopted out more quickly. We kept these seven-week-old pups with us overnight, until we could drop them off at the shelter today.
All very cute - and though I love dogs, I'd forgotten just how much yowling pups do, and how much mess they can make. It reminded me of why I really like keeping rabbits - they're quiet, and their poo doesn't smell (much). ;-)
09 February 2009
Kitchen Reno Diary - Week Six
As of tonight, the "shell" of the new kitchen is complete. New ceiling, new floor, chimney repointed, vent for range hood installed, all holes in walls plastered, and a lick of paint/varnish over everything. In fact, after four days of painting, I'm quite ready to put down the brushes, let me tell you!
Tomorrow is a big day. Genuine Kitchens are coming in to begin the installation of our new cabinetry. It will apparently take 4-5 days to complete - so by the end of the weekend, things are going to look very different! I'll be taking lots of pics over the coming days, to document the installation.
Tomorrow is a big day. Genuine Kitchens are coming in to begin the installation of our new cabinetry. It will apparently take 4-5 days to complete - so by the end of the weekend, things are going to look very different! I'll be taking lots of pics over the coming days, to document the installation.
08 February 2009
Google Book Settlement
I stumbled across news of the Google Book Settlement today - I had no idea that a massive lawsuit had been filed against Google Books for copyright infringement, as a result of their drive to digitise books and make them available for free online. I had a quick read through the material on the site today, and was a bit overwhelmed by the legalese. But there seems to be some suggestion that all those owning a US copyright interest in a book or insert (e.g. quotations, photographs, etc.) may be covered by this settlement.
As theses are classed as books under the terms of this lawsuit, I'm wondering how this might affect me personally (if at all). Typing my name into Google Books returns records of both my theses, as well as a sprinkling of other publications to which I contributed in the past, or in which my work has been cited. Are any of my academic friends out there aware of this settlement, and what the implications might be?
As theses are classed as books under the terms of this lawsuit, I'm wondering how this might affect me personally (if at all). Typing my name into Google Books returns records of both my theses, as well as a sprinkling of other publications to which I contributed in the past, or in which my work has been cited. Are any of my academic friends out there aware of this settlement, and what the implications might be?
02 February 2009
Kitchen Reno Diary - Week Five
Wow, what an exciting week! We've passed the tipping point in this renovation project - the demolition is all done, and now we're reconstructing.
This week's major developments were the ceiling and floor - photos have been added to the Flickr album. Last Wednesday and Thursday, drywall was put up on the ceiling, and it was plastered and then painted by moi yesterday. On Friday morning, the flooring guys moved in. A. had removed all the old tiles and layers of plywood, so only the bare boards (comprising the basement ceiling!) were left. Last fall, we bought reclaimed 2¼" oak flooring, of a similar age to the rest of the floors in our house, from an architectural salvage company here in the city. Since our dining room and the old pantry room have these original oak floors in situ, the flooring guys came in and laid the reclaimed stuff down in the old kitchen, matching it up with the existing floors. It was then sanded and - in the moment of truth - a coat of tung oil was applied. I got home Friday afternoon just as the guys were finishing up, and I was absolutely thrilled. They did a fantastic job - and if you didn't know where to look, you wouldn't be able to tell where the original floors end and the newly-laid part begins. The final result is even better than I'd hoped for - it's amazing!
Needless to say we're taking great care of the floor now. The guys have to come back this week to give the whole area a final buff, then apply two coats of polyurethane - and then the job will be done. In the interim, we had a bricklayer come in today, to repoint the now-exposed chimney. Very glad we did that, as the old mortar of the chimney was a bit rough - it looks much better now.
Things are moving along at a fast pace these days. A. is finishing some plastering this week, and needs to put up the window trim. Then this weekend (a long weekend for me), I'm planning to prime and paint the walls. I've picked out a pale green colour which I hope is going to work - but knowing me, I might end up changing my mind later once all the cabinets are in place and I can get a good look at the room at different times of day, in different lights!
This week's major developments were the ceiling and floor - photos have been added to the Flickr album. Last Wednesday and Thursday, drywall was put up on the ceiling, and it was plastered and then painted by moi yesterday. On Friday morning, the flooring guys moved in. A. had removed all the old tiles and layers of plywood, so only the bare boards (comprising the basement ceiling!) were left. Last fall, we bought reclaimed 2¼" oak flooring, of a similar age to the rest of the floors in our house, from an architectural salvage company here in the city. Since our dining room and the old pantry room have these original oak floors in situ, the flooring guys came in and laid the reclaimed stuff down in the old kitchen, matching it up with the existing floors. It was then sanded and - in the moment of truth - a coat of tung oil was applied. I got home Friday afternoon just as the guys were finishing up, and I was absolutely thrilled. They did a fantastic job - and if you didn't know where to look, you wouldn't be able to tell where the original floors end and the newly-laid part begins. The final result is even better than I'd hoped for - it's amazing!
Needless to say we're taking great care of the floor now. The guys have to come back this week to give the whole area a final buff, then apply two coats of polyurethane - and then the job will be done. In the interim, we had a bricklayer come in today, to repoint the now-exposed chimney. Very glad we did that, as the old mortar of the chimney was a bit rough - it looks much better now.
Things are moving along at a fast pace these days. A. is finishing some plastering this week, and needs to put up the window trim. Then this weekend (a long weekend for me), I'm planning to prime and paint the walls. I've picked out a pale green colour which I hope is going to work - but knowing me, I might end up changing my mind later once all the cabinets are in place and I can get a good look at the room at different times of day, in different lights!
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