Tea with a Rubber Ducky

So this past weekend, Grace, Emma and I had an opportunity to go to tea with some ladies and a few of their friends from our church.  I had not been to high tea in Hong Kong yet, so we were looking forward to it.  It started around 3:30pm, so we left around 1:45 since we were taking the MTR, meeting friends on a platform at 2:30pm.  Tea was in the city, so it was farther than we normally travel, but interestingly enough, the restaurant was in the same hotel we went to with the kids last May on one of our house hunting trips...so there was definitely some nostalgia and thoughts of "last year at this time..." and "look at all that has happened over the year". It's a beautiful hotel right on Victoria Harbour on the Kowloon side, and we had heard that the restaurant had a good view.

In related events, there is this giant rubber ducky that a Dutch man created in New Zealand and is traveling around the world to promote peace and happiness.  Apparently it is all the rage, as the ducky just floated into Victoria Harbour in the past week.  Andy's local associates keep asking him if he has taken his kids to see it yet. We hadn't really heard much about it since we don't really follow, or understand, local news (in Cantonese). But, Grace and Emma had heard about it at school, and since they knew we were by the water in that particular hotel, they asked if they could get up from their seats to look out the windows. The restaurant was pretty vacant, and we were still waiting for some friends, so I said sure.  Lo and behold, the rubber ducky is right outside the window! And in true Hong Kong form, there are THOUSANDS of people lined up to see and take pictures of the duck.  I think I was more amazed by the crowds than the duck itself. The duck is scheduled to be here until the first week of June, but everyone in Hong Kong feels the need to see it first.  And it was remarkable that we had such a great view...by accident!

I'm not sure if the girls remember the tea or the duck more, but regardless, they had a great time. And I walked out with a full stomach...which was shocking to me.  Little tea sandwiches, scones and sweets do fill you up. All in all, we had a wonderful afternoon with great friends, great food, and a great view!