Thursday, December 26, 2013

Merry Christmas


Christmas is just another regular work/school in China,  but Annette managed to buy this floor sample Christmas tree from Ikea, we had the boys play hooky from school, and we found a cafe that served turkey and ham for our Christmas feast.

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Sunday, November 17, 2013

Bumper cars with guns

The boys had a wonderful time discovering a local park that had a bunch of amusement rides, all with guns on them--even the bumper cars! #onlyinchina

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Tourpocalypse

Annette said that they were some one of the most beautiful nature spots she had ever been to, and that would have to sum it up.  Though we did run into the crowds of the 700 million strong Chinese tourpocalypse, and almost got stampeded at times, we still had a very lovely time.  I wouldn't recommend traveling during Chinese National Holiday week ever again though!

The water was so clear in Jiuzhaigou that you could see the fish swimming along the beautiful clear blue and green waters.


This was called Pearl Shoals Falls, to describe the pearly appearance of the water tumbling down the mountain.

Joshua spent a good time admiring this waterfall, and we did so as well.  This was the last part of our hike and he said, that it was great we saved the best for last!

Nourilang waterfalls

The stream behind our house seemed so idyllic.

On the drive back to the airport, we ran into more horses than cars.  We were surprised to find that we were pretty much in Tibet.  China is so expansive.

At Zhangzhaijie, the boys really liked this stream and the rocks they could throw into it.

Hiking along the stream, we could see the moutains towering above.



Zhangjiajie's mountains were incredibly tall, beautiful, and out of this world.

We took our time trekking around, stopping here for a lunch break on top of the mountain.

In Chengdu, we stopped at the People's Park for some tea with the locals.

And saw adorable baby pandas at the vey successful breeding center.

Our cross country trip took us to 3 cities, and on 4 flights over the course of just 7 days.  It was a great introduction to the natural wonders of China!

Monday, October 28, 2013

Fall at the Old Summer Palace

One of our favorite places to go in Beijing to escape the urban jungle, is the Old Summer Palace, which is a park/garden built around the ruins of the old palace, that was twice destroyed by foreign invaders.  I actually prefer it to the regular Summer Palace--something so beautiful arising from old ruins is really charming.
And the boys love the hiking paths up and down the hills all over the park.
This weekend, was a smogfree, autumn smorgasbord of a day and we drank it in.




cruising around the lakes at sunset


Monday, September 16, 2013

Clone Trooper School

Annette mentioned this already in her blog, but I thought I would share these two photos for comparison:


Annette's blog

Annette has started her own (much better than mine) blog about her time in Beijing:
http://pekingdiary.wordpress.com/

Wednesday, September 4, 2013