And now for the evening of July 2nd...

     After we had to finally say farewell to our attempts to contact Li, we took the hotel shuttle down to the Nathan Street area, which is supposed to be the quintessential (yep... that word is for you, Scott!) hustle and bustle that is indeed Hong Kong.  Truthfully, I expected the streets to be much more jam-packed, but it was certainly alive with people and activity.
     We hadn't eaten since very early this morning, so we were looking for a simple dumpling or noodle stall.  We ended up at a chicken place that specialized in roasted and steamed chicken.  As we added hot chiles and fresh grated ginger to the rice that accompanied the meal, we were treated to a culinary delight!

Once our tummies were semi-full (we shared the chicken dish because we had dinner reservations for much later at Mask), we journeyed on to more of Nathan Street, the side markets, the Temple Street Night Market...

This is a beautiful sculpture, on Nathan Street, by the International Kiwanis Club.

There is also a lovely mosque and Islamic Center on Nathan Street.  When we were passing by the 2nd time, people were emerging after having answered the call to prayer...

Perhaps tomorrow we will visit the inside of the mosque.  I was wearing capri pants today, which didn't cover enough of my ankles to allow me to enter the mosque.  Tomorrow, I can wear a longish skirt and perhaps be granted entry.

Here are some of the other sites along Nathan Street...

Gentle Readers....
It is now past 2 a.m. here in Hong Kong.  We're still under some fatigue from jet lag, but I've received my usual burst of after-midnight energy.... which I'm sure my roommate from Turkey, Patricia, remembers well.  Bless her heart... she went to sleep with me talking and typing away on the blog late into each night in Turkey.  Scott's been snoozing away for some time now, and my contacts are clawing away at my eyes.  So, I will say farewell for tonight.  There is still more to our July 2 day of adventures, including at trip to a Rest Garden Park, observance of stretching instruction in an open space, the laser light show on the water, and our dinner at Mask.  I will share more stories tomorrow, along with photos. 

So, good night and restful sleep to everyone.  Here's wishing Scott a wonderful birthday tomorrow, July 3!!!