Bday in Macau 2023 day 2: wandering in Taipa

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Foursheets woke up this morning and decided that she would like to take the breakfast at Mesa by José Aviliez. We are normally not the type of people who go for hotel breakfasts, especially when we know where to get tasty alternatives. But this is her birthday and I am happy to do as she wishes.

It's a semi-buffet style breakfast, where we are offered a "main course" we can order. I take an omelet that comes with a pre-set number of fillings, plus a hashbrown and some almost-burnt bacon on the side.

Having fuelled up for the morning, we returned to our suite at the Karl Lagerfeld to change into our outfits for the day. One of the advantages of bringing along my new Nissin Cup Noodle laundry bag is that, well, it IS an actual bag for your dirty laundry... so we just chuck our dirty clothes back into the bag and fill it up as time goes on.

We set off to check out teamLab SuperNature Macao at the Venetian Macao. This would be the third teamLab installation that we visit, and the second one this year after Fukuoka. We are curious to see what different experiences this one offers. First artwork as we enter is the Valley of Flowers and People: Lost, Immersed and Reborn. This was similar to what we saw at teamLab Borderless back in 2018.

There are plenty of artworks where we can interact with the display, such as What a Loving, and Beautiful World where waving one's hand over the display can cause it to change direction and disappear. Kids can also enjoy the different elements of the Athletics Forest.

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Going into the mirrored room and playing with the big bouncing balls that change colors in the Expanding Three-Dimensional Existence in Transforming Space - Flattening 3 Colors and 9 Blurred Colors, Free Floating was even more fun than at teamLab Forest in Fukuoka, and there were more balls in this room.

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The Infinite Crystal Universe was similar to the Crystal World in Tokyo, but no less stunning even as we experience it for a second time.

Light Sculpture - Plane is always going to be amazing to watch, with laser light shows like this.

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I decided to pay for the add-on experiences, which gave us access to three different features: Massless Clouds Between Sculpture and Life - where we put on plastic overalls, shower cap, goggles, and booties to walk through a room where we effectively take a waterless bubble bath; Floating Flower Garden: Flowers and I are of the Same Root, the Garden and I are One - where we walk through a maze of orchids hung from the ceiling which rise and fall to rhythm.

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The last experience was at EN Teahouse, where I enjoyed a cup of chilled yuzu matcha along with a scoop of matcha ice cream. A fun interactive experience while tickling one's taste buds.

I was surprisingly hungry by now, so we headed to look for some food on Rua do Cunha. But first, though, we had to make a stop at Loja das Conservas Macau, which had moved from their original location on peninsular Macau to this street. There were a lot of tourists today, and the beloved shop cat Kwuntau (罐頭) had finished her rounds and gone back upstairs. We were a little bummed that we didn't get to pet her today.

I was disappointed to find out that António was going through renovations, so we made do with Tapas de Portugal by António just across the street. It was getting a little late and we didn't want to ruin our appetites for dinner, so we were modest in ordering.

Pasteis de bacalhau - always my go-to dish at a Portuguese restaurant. Always happy to have bacalhau.

Sardinhas grelhadas com escabeche - these sardines were bigger than I had expected, but I ain't complainin'! The potatoes on the side were a little big for our current appetites.

Leitão assado à Portuguesa, rodelas de laranja, batata frita e salada mista - can't pass up any opportunity to have suckling pig!

So, so tasty! Loved how succulent and tender the meat was.

We were actually running a teeny tiny bit late, so we rushed back to the hotel so that Foursheets could get to her spa session, and time for me to catch up on some much-needed sleep...