Yu Gardens

I went to this place last summer but never actually went into the garden area. I didn't even know it existed until I saw someone elses pictures that had visited China. We had went to lots of shops and stuff so my parents didn't think I wanted to go in. I decided I would go on this visit.

I like the above picture because walking around in the garden you actually forget you are in the middle of city with 20 million people. Its pretty peaceful in there. If you look close enough you can see the tall building in the background...its the one I went up to the top in.

Other Suzhou pictures

This is proof that I had real Chinese food. Many have laughed at me because I don't eat it when I come here. It was okay but I will stick to American chinese food :) I was not fond of the pork dumplings which if you look hard enough on the right you can the see one that I only took one bite of...its in the silver bowl.

I thought this little boy was cute. He was looking into a little pond at the garden we went to after lunch

Under a pretty magnolia tree in bloom

Boat tour

While in Suzhou we were able to take a short boat tour of the city. It was pretty interesting, we even got off the boat for a bit and toured the local market area. I don't have many pictures of that part since I was trying to not get sick to my stomach. They had lots of raw meat of various kinds and different parts of the animal like hearts, liver and tongue. I am not one to like raw meat, if you have ever seen me cook....I use lots of utensils so I don't have to touch anything raw. So at times walking through here I almost wanted to become a vegetarian ;)

This little boy cracked us up. He had his dads cell up to his ear with an Eminem song playing and then a fake bird cage in the other hand.

Humble Administrators Garden

On Monday my mom and I headed out to Suzhou for a day trip. Its about 2 hours from my parents place. My dad had to work so it was just the two of us. Our first stop was the Humble Administrators Garden. If you have ever visited China they are have gardens galore. This is supposed to be one of the prettiest. The flowers haven't come out too much yet so there isnt too much color yet but it was still pretty.

I think our guide said there was something special about this pagoda but I cant remember what???

Most bridges in the gardens are not straight, its to keep evil spirits out...apparently the spirits can only go straight

Barbie, Barbie and more Barbie

I bet you didn't know the worlds largest Barbie store is in China ;) It just opened a week ago so my mom and I thought it would be a fun place to go. Well it turns out its huge, 6 floors to be exact! They actually don't have as many barbies for sale as I thought they would, I think Target might have more choices, but they have enough. They have clothes for kids and even grown ups, but many are overpriced. I thought I had found a cute pink skirt for my niece but it turned out to be $100 and it wasn't anything special. They even have a spa and cafe, we didn't check out the services on those ones, I just laughed at the idea.

A massive wall of Barbies!!

My mom and I got pedicures tonight so that was fun....and no it was not at the Barbie spa! I wanted to put this picture up because I was cracking up. Maybe they do this in the states but I usually dont get pedicures unless its warm enough for flip flops so not sure. Well its not warm here and I had no flip flops so I had to wear socks/shoes. I was positive that my toes would get ruined but no they didnt!!! They wrap up your toes in sran wrap then put your socks on. It was the craziest thing but man it worked ;)

Don't look down!

Saturday morning we ventured out to the new tall building in Shanghai. It wasn't open when I came last summer so this time I was able to up to the top. I think its like the 2nd tallest building in the world. It was pretty cool to see the the view from the top, it really shows you just what a city of 20 million looks like. It was sort of a hazy day so I couldn't get great pictures of everything. One of the observation levels even has a glass floor so you can look down to see how far up you are....creepy!!! After that we did some shopping and then came home and relaxed. It was actually nice not being on my feet all day.

Friday

Today was a shopping day. My mom and I went to the fabric market and I was able to find a few things to have made for me. I will find out next Friday if anything fits. Apparently its normal for things not to turn out all the time ;) I will say you have to learn that many people will get in your personal space, especially when its time to be measured. I am getting a Chinese style coat made so I am hoping it turns out. Sadly its so warm back home that I will probably have to wait until next winter to wear it. After all that we went to some other shops to try and find some beads and other bargains. I didn't end up finding too much but there will be more days for that!!! For dinner we went to a Mexican resturant that is pretty new here. Yes I know I should be eating Chinese food but its just not the same as Firebowl or Pei Wei :) Here are a few pics of us at the resturant. The waitress remembered my parents from previous visits so she wanted in a picture. Oh and not sure whats up with the peace sign. They like to pose and do strange things in pictures.

China

Sorry I haven't updated yet since I have been in China. I haven't had much of a desire to sit in front of a computer and have to think :) I think I have finally adjusted to the time change and aren't as tired as I have been in the evenings. I arrived here around 2 something on Thursday afternoon. I dont remember much from that day since I was so exhausted. I fell asleep around 5 pm on the couch and my mom tired to wake me to go to dinner but I wouldnt get up. I did finally get up around 8 to eat a sandwich then when straight to bed after that. I slept til about 7:30 the next morning and was feeling much better. I am gonna try and post some pictures so lets cross our fingers and hope the connection is fast enough :)

Arts and Crafts

A few weeks ago I went with some girls to celebrate a friends birthday. Instead of the normal going out to eat routine she decided to have us all go to one of those places where you paint pottery. I have never done this so wasn't sure what to expect. The above picture is the vase I painted. I think it turned out pretty good for my first time :) I will say this, the place can be a little overwhelming at first for people like me who can be known for being indecisive!! Oh and I wouldn't recommend using stencils if its your first time. As you can see I have simple stripes, but that's not what I started with ;) It was fun though and I would do it again.