A Visit to the Botanical Gardens

April 30, 2013

Nothing like a beautiful sunny day to call us outside to explore. Isabel and I decided we should go to the Botanical Gardens which is in the southeast corner of Beijing. Keep in mind that Beijing is a city/state, and it covers a great deal of land - which is a good thing since it has around 22 million people. We spent around two hours getting to our destination, but some of the time was because we were lost and couldn't decide which bus to take after we came up from the subway. Fortunately, we picked the correct one and arrived at the Botanical Gardens. The rest of the time was spent wandering around and enjoying the beauty and the warmth.

Not all of the plants ware outside. Some of the most unusual and fragile ones were inside greenhouses. 

I am not fragile, but I am unusual - especially in China, so I took a picture with some of the plants. (I may be unusual other places too. In fact I am sure I am. I hope that is a good thing.)

This looked like a lot of fun, but we decided to just watch from afar and take pictures.

That was our day at the Botanical Gardens. Then we waited with all of the other people to catch the bus home which took about two hours even when we didn't get lost. 

Beautiful Arrival of Spring

April 9 - April 24, 2013

I am not sure, but I think spring is more amazing this year than I have ever remembered. It may be because I walk everywhere I go and am paying more attention to the world around me. After six months of cold and winter, each change in the trees, and shrubs and flowers was a beautiful sight. It started out with a little bit of green, yellow or purple, but burst out in color everywhere. All of these pictures are from places I walk each day to get to and from work.

This statue is in front of the Conservatory of Music which is not far from where I live. On a beautiful spring day, they represent just exactly how I feel inside.

No Hot Water Notice

April 9, 2013

Whenever the apartment management wants to let us know something important, they post it in the elevator. It is a great place to put such a message because everyone rides the elevator. The only small problem is that they are written in Chinese which means I have missed a few announcements. Fortunately, I am a quick study, and I learned to take a picture and have someone at the school translate it for me. This notice was to let us know that there wouldn't be hot water - for 10 days. I am not sure why they didn't wait until June or July when all anyone wants is a cold shower. No - they have to do it now when it is still in the 40's. Fortunately, I do have a gas stove top and a few pans to help heat the water. It is hard to complain when the majority of the people around the world do not have hot water, or heat, or beds, or houses, or food, or warm clothes, or so many other things I take for granted.

But I am grateful that I found out about it so that the first shower wasn't such a shock.

The Search for the Hutong Pizza Resaurant

April 5, 2013

We left Prince Kang's Mansion and headed over to Houhai Lake to find some food. 

We had to make our way through the small streets of the hutong to a restaurant called Hutong Pizza. It took a little while because there was not big sign to let us know we had arrived at the restaurant - only a heavy, think red curtain to let us in.

Once we were inside, we found a cozy little place that had great pizza. Who woulda thunk?

Beautiful Spring Day at Prince Kung's Mansion

As soon as the weather is even a little bit warm, everyone heads outside. The coats and the sky let you know it wasn't the best of days, but we were not to be deterred. Isabel, and a teacher friend of hers named Margarita, and I joined the brave and courageous to be out and about. You can see that spring is just beginning to peek out on the branches of the trees. Spring is an exhilarating time after a long, cold, dreary winter. I know other places have long, cold, dreary winters, but I didn't have to get so up-close and personal with walks in it every day. (Of all of the possessions I miss, I miss my car the most - for so many reasons. 1. I could find out what Beijing really looks like above the ground instead of the underground subway stops. 2. I could get around the city and other places in a little less time - maybe. 3. I could buy as many groceries as I want, put them in the trunk and drive home. 3. I could turn on the heater in the winter and the air conditioner in the summer. 4. I could go any place I wanted in the city and it wouldn't have to be close to a subway stop. But oh, if it were possible for me to have a car, I also would need a driver. I would never, ever, ever, ever drive in Beijing or China. So I guess I will just be grateful that I can walk, and I have a very good subway system to help me get around the city.

The first five pictures were taken as we made our way to the mansion.

Welcome to Prince Kung's Mansion. Not too shabby of a place for just one family.

What it looked like back in Prince Kung's day.

Just had to take the pictures of this man and his wife. He was just sitting there quietly soaking up the sun with a smile that was much warmer than the sun. Then his cute wife joined him. It was a perfect way to end our visit.

The rickshaw is fun way to get back to the subway, but we decided to walk around the corner and have a little pizza.

A Visit to the 2008 Olympic Green

It was still fairly cold on this early spring morning, but Isabel and I decided we needed to get out and about the city. Neither of us had been to the Olympic Green, so we made our way north in Beijing.

 No. We did not travel to our destination on this train. It was used, and is still used, to carry people around the Green. However, we did not use it because we are cheap, and we came on this excursion to get a little exercise as well as see the sites.

 It is impossible to miss the Bird's Nest, and so we walked over to it first. 

We passed a few friends on the way.

Inside looked like any other stadium. We bought a little lunch to eat while we watched a video of the 2008 Olympics. I had forgotten how spectacular they were.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsDY1Ha83M8

This URL will let you see a 13 minute synopsis of the opening ceremony.

Just copy and paste to open.

I am sure you would never guess we were standing in front of a picture - a lovely summer picture - when we posed for these.

A bird's eye and ground view of the Olympic torch..

We decided our next stop should be the Water Cube across the street. We couldn't really find a place which would give us the best picture, but we did find some larger-than-life pictures inside. I am sure, after seeing the pictures, that the Water Cube is much more impressive at night.

The swimming pools on the inside looked like any other Olympic sized pool.

I did meet quite a nice man there. We held hands for a few minutes, but he was much too quiet for my taste. Plus he just didn't want to leave the wooden bench. I guess I will just have to keep looking for that special someone.

I am not sure what feeding fish has to do with the Water Cube, but you could buy a bottle of fish food and feed the fish. The children loved it, and the fish were very happy as well. 

 By now we were ready to head home. We  had our 10,000 steps for the day, explored all the sites, and wanted to transport ourselves home. Since that isn't available as a means of transportation, we made our way to the subway - after one last picture to remind us of our adventure at the Olympic Green.