China Tour 2012 - Day Three

Our last day in Beijing and a flight to Xi'an.

It rained all night and the rain continued in the morning. Our plans today are all outside and we were issued rain ponchos by our guide. We needed them. First was a stop by the Olympic park to see Birdsnest stadium. It looked cool, but a rainy day is not the time to stand around and look at it. After a few moments for photos we were back in the van and on the way to the Summer Palace.

Covered in ponchos we headed into the Summer Palace in the rain. It was crowded and wet and really hard to appreciate. We went on a Dragon Boat ride anround the lake and that was fun. It allowed a view of the whole area. Ada told us it was built in the 1750s and that the lake is man made, the dirt excavated for the lake became the mountain. Pretty cool but again, think of the labor involved. The emporer got what he wanted. On to lunch at a Sichuan restaurant for a spicy lunch. The dishes just kept coming and we kept eating. So many different flavors and unusual foods but we are all game to try anything.

Next stop the airport for our flight. Nothing too unusual here as it seems that airports are pretty much the same east or west. Thankfully signage is in both Chinese and English. We are all in the back of the airplane, an Airbus 300, in rows 64 to 66. I'm the only one with a full recline prick in front of me. When we get to Xi'an we will be met and taken to our hotel and then we are on our own this evening. Hopefully I can get some time and a VPN connection to upload this and some pictures.

The Xi'an airport is amazing, huge, and new. The Chinese and anticipating a lot of growth here and this is the largest airport in Asia. On the drive i to the city we saw loads of construction - there are cranes everywhere. It was a long drive from our airport to our hotel but we got an education in Chinese history from Summer our guide. Our hotel is in a beautiful section of town and the hotel is posh! Wow, doesn't do it justice. We walked around the area, had dinner at a fast food noddle restaurant that was really tasty, bought a couple of bottles of wine on the way back to the hotel and then sat in the girls large room and chatted and drank. Then good night!

China Tour 2012 - Day Two

Today on our agenda the Temple of Heaven, Cloisonne factory, lunch, the Great Wall, and a Peking Duck dinner.

The Temple of Heaven was where the emperor went to pray for good crops and weather. We had good weather and all of our meals have been great! The park around the Temple of Heaven was magical. It was full of people doing Tai Chi, dancing, playing board games and card games, sitting, and strolling, and singing. It seemed very relaxing and filled with happy people. The Temple of Heaven was pretty but the people in the park were where it is at.

The Cloisonne factory tour and store were fun. This took us out of Bejing and into the country and the feel of the area is much different. We drove past fruit tree farms and fields of vegetables, past people fishing, down lanes of trees along the river, and to the factory. This is a State owned and operated facility, interesting. Our guide, Jay (hos western not his Chinese name) showed us the process step by step except the gold plating which is a secret! Then we went into the store. Sharon and I both eyed, were drawn to, and eventually purchased a beautiful cloisonne vase. We also picked out some little goodies for each of us plus items for Anika and Avery. The rest of the crew also picked beautiful cloisonne pieces and everyone was happy and with lighter pockets.

To lunch! We really enjoyed this lunch in a "tourist" restaurant between the factory and the Great Wall. Each of us found favorites and no one was disappointed. Vegetable dishes, beef dishes, pork dishes and plenty of them.

And on to the Great Wall! Up and up we drove and then parked close to the chair lift/toboggan run. We road up on the chair lift and planned on coming down on the toboggan. That did not quite work as planned because rain started just as we were to get on the toboggans. Darn. Chair lift back down in the rain. But, it was cool hearing the rain hit the canopy of leaves below us, just not thrilling like the toboggan would have been.

The Great Wall. How in the world did they get this built? how many thousands of people carried, bricks, mortar, food, and water up to these heights? As I walked it and looked at tower after tower over the hills i was awed, not only for the construction of this bit the number of people it took to maintain it and man it. I do want to learn more of this wonder. We only walked the distance of a few towers but the up and down was intense and took a toll on our legs. We were done after about an hour and headed back to were we came up to the wall.

I'm typing this while on an airplane and the guy in front of me just flully reclined his seat. A westerner, damned rude I would say.

From theGreat Wall we headed back to Beijing for a Peking Duck dinner. It took us about two hours through heavy rain. Our driver is very good. He gets us where we need to go and seems to know where hei going all the time. I would not like to drive in Beijing.

The Peking duck dinner was an interesting experience and the dishes were all duck based. They were good, but I think we enjoyed lunch more. One of the jighlights was what our guide described at Chinese wine. It was a 112 proof clear distilled spirit. Dave and I got imto it toasting each other. I found it bearable with a beer chaser. Pretty rough stuff.

After dinner it was back to the hotel in what seemed like even heavier rain. We ran into the hotel, well I walked because of my running vs. walking rain theory, and found a water fall running down the stairs to our room. Luckily there was an alternate route! A little bit after getting back to our rooms were joined by a team of foot massagers. Each of us got a foot massage in our rooms. What fun! After the massages sleep.

China Tour Day One.

This is our first full day in China. Our first "day" was yesterday but there was only 30 minutes before it was gone!

We were busy. Sharon and I slept until about 7:00am and then showered, dressed, and went for a walk. We met the rest of the gang back at the hotel for breakfast and then loaded in the van with our tour guide, Ada, and our driver. Off to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. The square is huge and packed with people. Actually not really packed, because they could have gotten a lot more in there. We were amused when more than one family asked to have pictures taken with us. We were quite the celebrities.

The sun was intense as was the heat. We walked from about 10:30 until almost 1:00 when we took a break for lunch. Seeing the Forbidden City was quite the experience but it took a lot out of all of us and we needed a respite. Lunch was in a local restuarant and we had an assortment of dishes. We described them as a sample of tastes and flavors from around the world. Chicken, pork, beef, shrimp, fish, and many vegetables.

After lunch we went to the Drum Tower - wow what a climb. Seventy steps and big steps up to the top. That did us in, but we were entertained by drumming and views before we grabbed the rails to head back down. Before the tower we had a rickshaw ride and learned of how the locals lived and visited a private residence.

Our day concluded with a performance of Chinese Acrobats. All I can say is "Wow!" Acrobatics, and juggling, and even motorcycles in a cage. Dinner was noodles in a place close to our hotel and then we retiredto our rooms. Sharon and I showered and collapsed!

We Picked Up A Few Kids

Crowds Of Umberallas

Ada And Sharon

Beautiful Buildings

It Was Good To Be Emporer

Rickshaw Ride

The Drum Tower

Kids Posing

Juggelrs At Acrobatics Show

Acrobatics Show

Off We Go To Beijing!

The day of our flight was really hard for Sharon as she was on the telephone working from 6:30am to 6:00pm. We had originally planned on leaving for the airport by 5:30pm but we were packing Sharon's suitcase a few minutes before 6:00 - she was throwing things out of the closet and I was putting them in her suitcase as fast as I could. We were in the car and out of the driveway just a few minutes later.

We were checked in at O'hare by 6:40 and then headed to our gate. We met Claire, who is on our flight, and we all went into the Flagship Lounge. That was great. Comfortable seating, nice drinks - wine, beer, spirits, and also snacks. I had read there was a Flagship buffet dinner but that never happened. There were some warm appetizers but nothing approaching dinner. We had a nice visit with Claire, watched some of the London Olympics opening ceremonies, and then boarding for our flight was announced. All good!

We boarded with Claire, us to the front of the plane and Claire to the back. We had scored first class seats. This is the way to fly internationally. Loads of room and comfy seats, except, BIG failure for American Airlines. There was a sticker on my seat controls, INOP. Yep, the touted fully adjustable seats with electric recline and foot rests, and lumbar support, etc. was inoperable. American will hear from me on this. The flight attendant was able to at least get the seat to swivel and says she can make it manually recline to form a bed. We shall see. Bottom line is my seat will not operate as advertised and the Flagship Experience is not so great.

On the plus side, I am drinking Gossett Reserve Champagne and will soon be dining on salmon. I've got pajamas to change in to and I am wearing slippers and have on Bose headphones.

Dinner was wonderful, starting with nuts or hummus, then Sharon and I both had smoked salmon with sour cream and capers. Then a salad and then we each had pesto crusted salmon. I am watching a movie based on one of the best books I have read in years, Salmon Fishing The Yemen. I picked up the book on our last trip to London, at least five years ago. It was at Sheena's and I started reading and could not stop! The movie resurrects the same enjoyment. This with a Lange Arneis and life in first class is good.

After putting on my pajamas it was time for bed. The attendants attempted to manually recline my seat and flatten it but had no luck. It would partially recline and they could get the foot rest up partially. I suggested one of the two vacant first class seats but was told they were for crew. I said this was unacceptable, the attendant went away then came back and said I could use one of the other seats but if one of the crew needed it they would wake me up and I would have to move. This is really hard to believe.

They made up the bed and I tossed and turned for a while but finally fell asleep and was out off an on until 6:00am Chicago time. That's 7:00pm Beijing time so a quite a bit of sleep for me.

As I write this we are 800 miles from Beijing and less than two hours to go. The cabin has been dark since bed time and most of the passengers here in first are still asleep. I dressed and went to check on Claire, found her fast asleep. This sleeping will be a problem for all of us when we get to Beijing as it will be 11:30pm there and we have a full day tomorrow! Will we be able to get any sleep our first night in China?

In our hotel, Beijing Double Happiness Courtyard Hotel. This is really cool, old, and cozy in an old neighborhood. Tiny room but we like it. Sharon is repacking her suitcase to see what she ended up with! She is missing her glasses.

We had quite an adventure at the airport. We got through passport control quickly and the got our bags and exited customs to the arrivals area. We looked for someone holding a Dunivan sign. Nope. Then we got a text from Larry, "Where are you?" It took us almost an hour of texting and phone calls and going up and down elevators before we figured out we were in different terminals!

The van with Larry, Dave, Ginger, Audra, and our guide picked us up at 1:00am. We got to the hotel around 2:00 and here I am typing. I'm uploading this with all of its errors and calling it a night. Oh, VPN is the only way to get to Facebook and to Blogspot. Good thing I signed up!

Good night!

The Week In Review

Insalata Caprese

Spaghetti Carbonara

This has been a busy, interesting, and as usual, wonderful week at Casa Jordan. Food wise our highlights were spaghetti carbonara early in the week shared with Lee who was being a bachelor. We also lamb chops and aubergine casserole on Tuesday and finished the week with another insalata caprese with tomatoes from our garden. Oh, I didn't mention boy's night at Lee's on Wednesday. A little Ouzo, some gyros and lots of conversation with friends. Lee always puts on a good boy's night.

I worried about China plans as I got everything in order so that I feel somewhat under control, Sharon's new camera arrived and I read the manual and took many photos to learn the camera. I've got cameras and memory cards, and batteries, and chargers all sorted and ready to go. I got and tested a travel WIFI router - plug it into wired Internet and out comes WIFI so our iPhones and iPad and Kindle Fire will be connected to the Internet at our hotels. Can't be without WIFI can we? I wonder how Internet access will work in China? Can we get to Picasa? Facebook? This blog? Our e-mail? We shall see. (Sunday July 22nd update - I signed us up with a VPN service for secure WIFI use in China. I might just continue with it when we get back.)

Sharon and I have planned our clothes and shoes for the trip - dressing very light for what will be quite warm weather. I am still anxious about the long flights to Beijing and back from Shanghai. Fourteen plus hours on a plane is an ordeal. I flew to Sidney from LA in 1991 but I don't really remember it except for my layover in LA and going through customs in Sidney. This time we will be in the lap of luxury since we are flying first class so I shouldn't be concerned. Plenty of food and drink and entertainment and lay flat seats for sleeping. From what I have read, we should plan on dinner on the plane one we are in the air and then nightie night for at least six or seven hours sleep. This would mean waking around 6:00 am Chicago time which I think is about noon Beijing time. Then we stay awake until our 11:30 pm Beijing arrival, get our bags, get through customs, ride to the hotel and check in, then sleep until our schedule starts the next morning. We have a full itinerary, but I don't know the specific times of our activities. The planner in me wants to know. NOW! On the other hand I really have no preconceptions of China. Yes, I have some pictures in my mind, but I really do not know what it will be like - except for a totally new experience. We will be seeing things we have never seen, eating things we have never eaten, hearing new sounds, meeting new people. All exciting!

Miata At The Arboretun

Arboretum

The weather moderated this week and it was pleasant to be out side. I spent several hours in the Morton Arboretum walking and photographing on Wednesday. It was warm in the sun especially in the prairie section, it was quite still in the woods, but all lovely. The pine trees on the West side of the Arboretum are not looking healthy. I wonder if our drought has something to do with this.

Colbyetta did housecleaning on Monday and Tuesday - the usual vacuuming and mopping and picking up. No dusting though. Shame on Colbyetta! Then there was the usual work on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. I can't wait to get out of the humidor and back onto the sales floor.

Friday night I went to Bistro Monet and sat at the bar waiting for Sharon to come out of the kitchen. I was the only one in the bar until Steve and Marge came in for dessert, but they ate and ran. Sharon joined me and we had a bite and were gone. I had a wonderful salad of grilled tomatoes and spicy diced chicken and then mushroom caps and escargot in a rich garlic sauce. Two appetizers and I am done! Sharon had soup and frites. I brought over a bottle of Owen Roe Pinot Noir that was a Sam's closeout from almost three years ago, It was wonderful.

Tonight we had ensalata caprese and a whole snapper crusted with pesto. Mmmm. It was good, And then now I am blogging and relaxing. I hope to be able to do this daily while in China. We shall see. If I can't keep up or get the blog posted, I'll do it when I return. 

This week a crazy person with multiple guns killed and wounded many people in a theatre in Colorado. It is sickening and sad and will not change anything in this country where the NRA, likely backed by gun manufacturers and sellers convince the rest of this country that guns are good. They are not, and more guns do not make us safer. But, this will not change. The voices of reason have been silenced by the money of the NRA. Read Roger Ebert's thoughts on this. They echo mine. In this country we seem to be willing to live with gun violence. We should not, but we do.

Water Lilly In Our Pond

Shelby

 

Sharon Takes a Picture of Colby!

Shelby and L,C,

Mike

Lindsey

Jared At Binny's

Art from Madrid On Our Wall!

Sharon