Sunday,
June 20, 2010
Today was basically a free day, so our guide took us to a few
places this morning. Of course we had breakfast first, and then
set off for a folk museum. There were many local artists there
making a variety of things, and let me tell you, they were
awesome! The first “station” we saw, was a man making ink
drawings using only his hand! His palm, the side, fingers,
fingernails for detail. It was incredible to say the least! We
bought one that was of the Great Wall. There were also lovely
scrolls in different sizes with all kinds of paintings on them.
I found one that really spoke to me somehow. It’s got pink and
white cherry blossoms, and it looks very delicate. After I
picked that out, they put the girls’ names on it in Chinese
calligraphy. I LOVE it!!! There were some other wonderful things
there; along with beautiful things on display… it was a museum.
Vases, sculptures, etched glass, and intricate embroidered
pictures, some of which were very large. What I also really
loved was the beautiful courtyard. It was like a huge stone
patio with wonderfully shaped bonsai trees, and stone tables
with stools. If it weren’t 1000 degrees outside, I would have
loved to have just sat there and had some wine! If I could have
packed that up to take to my backyard, I would have!
We went to a government store as well. There they had jewelry,
tea sets, fans, more hand ink art, and other things all at a
better quality than other places. I got myself a circle of jade
for a necklace. I had seen several women wearing them, and found
out that they are traditionally given as a 16th birthday
present. They are just simple and elegant, which is my kind of
thing. There were several to choose from, and I was drawn to one
that had a bit more unevenness or streaking in the color. They
told me that the more uniform the color the better, and they
kept showing me those. But I really liked my first pick best,
and I don’t care what’s considered better or not. It was class A
jade anyway, which is the highest, so that was good enough for
me. Kyra and Ryann also picked out what to buy for their
teachers. I won’t say what though!!! After that, we headed to a
grocery store for more supplies… wipes (we use them for
everything)... wine!... chocolate! All the staples!!! Then we
ordered another pizza and went back to the hotel for a quick
lunch and nap. During nap, Kyra and Aron went swimming, in their
clothes! We hadn’t packed swimsuits because I just hadn’t wanted
to mess with it. Kyra thought that was pretty cool! Afterwards
we went for a walk and saw several brides and grooms getting
pictures taken. We also saw a guy propose to his girlfriend! We
had been watching the fish in a large fountain that the girls
like, and all of a sudden we heard a lot of clapping. We had
sort of missed the exact moment, but I got a couple pictures of
them… she was crying. We weren’t very hungry, so we just had
some crackers with peanut butter in the room. Then just bath and
bed.
We are at the point that we want to come home! We just really
want our home, and the space, schedule, and freedom that come
with it. I’m still enjoying getting some great souvenirs from
our daughter’s country, but we’re ready! Hopefully the next few
days will go by quickly and as smoothly as they possibly can
while parenting in a hotel room. |
A great way to start the day
Ink art using only a hand
Loved this courtyard
With one of the many bronze statues on the island here
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