Jon's October Visit Part 1

Jon came over to visit during my October break. We've had a pretty relaxing trip without much rushing around which has been nice. He is coming back in the spring so we didn't have to get to all the big sites on this trip. Here are some photos of the first half of his trip:

On Sunday, we went to the dirt market - panjiayuan. Jon and I enjoyed walking through the stands and bought a few things. Here is the calligrapher painting names on scrolls:

Later that afternoon, we headed over to Hou Hai Lake to walk around and meet up with a friend for dinner. Jon liked these signs:

and this family in their hats:

and this dog/superhero:

The lake was busy with boats and looked great with the lights reflecting in the evening.

On Monday, we visited the Lama Temple. This was the first time I'd been to this temple. It was very busy because of the holiday so we may come here again in the spring.

On Tuesday, Jon and I had some photos taken at Ritan Park. Before the photographers came, we had a tasty lunch and took some photos while walking around the park.

Then we were models.

My new cat finally came out from under the couch and has even begun to let us pet her. I named her Lao Wai, which means 'foreigner' in Chinese - exactly what she will be when I bring her back to the States with me.

On Wednesday, the sky was no longer blue and we began to have trouble seeing down the street. We decided to do something indoors so we went to the Blue Zoo. The Blue Zoo is a small aquarium downtown. They had some pretty good critters to look at but most of the glass had smudges so photos were difficult to take. Here are some lobsters that weren't too smudgey:

Next post will be what we did Thursday (today) and what we will do on Friday and Saturday.

--Sarah & Jon--

Icebiking 2010

I wrote about the last time I went icebiking back in 2009. We went back in January and this time we had a much sunnier day.

Everything was pretty much the same as last year except this year there were strange little robots pulling kids around as well.

Here's a video of the freaky robots pulling the kids. Yes, that music is coming from the robot.

And once again, we went to the No Name Bar for drinks to warm us up.

More photos at flickr.

--Sarah--

Friday: Ethnic Park and Hou Hai

On Friday, we decided to visit the Ethnic Minorities Park near the Olympic Green.  Dad had heard about the park and it was the only place he asked to make sure we visited.  The park was started as part of China's bid for the 2000 Olympics and became more complete before the 2008 Olympics.  In the park, there are the 55 minorities of China represented by their housing, customs, song, dance, handicrafts, and foods.

  

The park was mostly deserted and there was a bit of a drizzle at times so the dances and music of the ethnic groups were not going on while we were there.  The only group we were able to watch was the Tibetan group.  The music, dancing, and clothing were fantastic. 

Here are some other pictures of the empty park.

Maybe we should have had a clue that no one was around when this was what the subway looked like on our way:

After the Ethnic Park, we took the subway over to Hou Hai.  I knew that Dad and Jessica would like this area.  This is where I went ice-biking in January and on a boat for the Moon Festival in September.  There is a lake and lots of trees.  We went to a little bar called the No Name Bar where you can sit and people watch.  We were also watched by people.  A few people even took a look as they walked by then walked by a second or third time to get a better look at us.

We had dinner out in Hou Hai as well.  On our walk to the street to catch a cab we got to see lots of local folks out having fun.  Some were practicing their ballroom dancing skills while others were playing with the feather hackeys they sell here.  Jessica bought a few of those to bring back to the States.

--Sarah, Dad, and Jessica--

Ice Biking!

Last weekend, I went with some friends to Hou Hai Lake to try out ice biking! We met up at the No Name Bar (one of the first bars in the Hou Hai Lake area) and had some coffees to get ourselves all warmed up for a very cold experience.

Not as cold as this guy:

We had already walked around the lake and saw what was going on....ice skating, chair skating, and ice biking.



We paid to get onto the ice and found where to rent our bikes.



The bikes have brakes and steering, but neither works perfectly. Putting on the brakes slows you down eventually and you can steer - as long as you do it slowly so you don't tip over.



I had great fun. There were all sorts of people to see on the ice - ladies in high heels, little kids, couples, etc.



There were also some animals to see on the ice as well - dogs dressed in outfits and this large sheep!



Once our fingers were frozen enough, we decided to head back to the No Name Bar for some more coffee and to sit by the fire to thaw.



Hopefully, the ice will stay frozen for a few more weeks so that we can have round 2 of ice biking.

--Sarah--