I just returned from a business trip to Hong Kong and have started a photo gallery of the highlights. I worked hard and played hard, and tried to see a lot, as I doubt I’ll be on that side of the world again for a while!

From a sea of 300+ photos on my camera, I’ve tried to pick some of the best. It’s a work in progress, so expect more soon! Let me know your thoughts via the comments feature on this post.

I was in New Orleans a couple of weeks ago and, after an aerial tour from the plane, I got to see some of the residual damage from Hurricane Katrina up close. The photo below was taken during the taxi ride from my hotel to the airport along route 10.

If you look carefully, you’ll notice a dark yellow line about a third of the way up the concrete wall. That’s the mark where the flood waters remained for several days shortly after the storm - a level that my cab driver guessed was about 4 feet above the pavement.

The whole city was relatively quiet, despite the fact it was a few days before the unofficial start of Mardi Gras. I was strolling down Bourbon St. with plenty of room to move around, even though colleagues had warned me that the crowds there would be crazy and packed. I guess it was just an early time of year to be there, as reports this week mentioned that more than 700,000 had come out to celebrate this past weekend.

New Orleans is a very cool city, with perhaps one of the best cuisines I’ve experienced in the U.S. The French influence on Cajun/southern cooking makes for some really tasty combinations. I had never had authentic gumbo before, and now it’s something I crave. The seafood dishes are fantastic as well.

I’m looking forward to going back at some point, maybe when I can time my arrival a little better.

Here are two photos from last week’s adventures in Amsterdam. The Dutch really love to shop! (Or maybe those people in the photos are tourists…) And, as you’ll notice, everyone walks in the same direction while browsing. Such efficiency.

After a day in Venezia and a day in Ferrara, I must admit that our Italian language skills are improving a bit! This language education via immersion is paying off. For starters, people used to ask us if we had a lighter and we would try our best to answer in Italian, probably saying something like “yes, I will shave your goat.” But now, we are even better and can respond with “yes, I will light your goat on fire.”

Seriously, though, I conversed entirely in Italian with one of the tourist board people (she did not speak 700 words a minute like most of the locals) and I walked out with a map and a lot of information, so I’m guessing I asked for the right things. (And no goats were harmed in the process.)

Venezia and Ferrara were both wonderful, and Aaron and I are trying to figure out what to do for our last night here in Bologna. Tomorrow afternoon we head off to Milano to wrap up our trip, so this will probably be the last post from abroad. The whole experience is passing by all too quickly!

Aaron and I have wrapped up our travels in Firenze and Arezzo and have headed north to Bologna. Last night we met up with my long-time friend Marika and went out to a traditional Italian bar. Very cool!

By the way, we have a few more observations: Three, most of the people we have seen have only stopped smoking long enough to return a cell phone text message or to change the song on their iPods. Four, it doesn’t matter how much you know the language, you still feel like a small fish in a very large pond.

Our waistlines are expanding and our wallets are shrinking, but we’re having an incredible time. I believe tonight we’re going to try out a discothecca and then probably head to Venezia tomorrow, just to experience the canals and say that we saw where The Italian Job all went down. Ferrara is on our list, too.

For those who are awaiting our return, we’re never coming back to the States. :p

Ciao, ancora!

Aaron and I just returned from a day in Arezzo, the birthplace of Roberto Benigni and the location for the filming of La Vita è Bella (Life is Beautiful). Gorgeous! It’s a very quiet city with a lot of charm and character.

Congratulations to those who graduated from the Simon School today. Buona fortuna e tanti auguri.

Off to browse Firenze a little more. Arriverderci!