the mandarin's house, macao

One day when I was in Hong Kong,

my son took just me to Macao, telling me the night before 

we were going to Europe the next morning.

Macao is many things:

ancient port city, former Portuguese settlement,

current gambling destination, tourist shopping mecca.  

These are just a few of its faces.

The humidity was 96% the day we climbed the steep hill

to the old Portuguese fort, and then descended 

narrow streets and alleyways,

admiring the mix of Europe and Asia everywhere.

Shopping is not my thing, nor is gambling.

I loved the old Portuguese Catholic churches,

but my favorite was the Mandarin's House--

a huge 60-room mansion built in the mid 19th century

with a mix of Asian and European architecture.

The fascination for me was in the details.

I hope you like them, too.