Chinese Cuisine

China has many dishes which delight the senses. Equally, there are many things which bring no delight at all. Stinky tofu for example, overloads your senses so it is best to hold your breath within a one mile radius. We have been told that it tastes much better than it smells, but even I have not the courage to test this theory.

Chengdu is known for it's hotpot. A large vat of oil or white broth or both is set into the table. The oil is red with hot chilies. There are numerous items from which to choose that are each dropped into the liquid which is heated by the furnace beneath the table until it is boiling hot. Then, you dig in. Lotus root, mushrooms, lamb meatballs, thin slices of beef, tiny quail eggs, tofu noodles and rice noodles for example. The chili oil was too hot for me, I blistered my mouth with the oil and the peppers left my lips buzzing. The white broth was spectacular. It improved with each thing dropped in and after everything had been consumed but the noodles the broth was perfect. So much flavor. I ordered the quail eggs even though none of the others wanted them. They were a fine addition. Even in the chili oil, they were delicious. Make sure you drink beer with this meal to tame the heat or order yogurt. They did provide a spoonful of what I believe was supposed to be ice cream at the very end, to cool the tongue. I would recommend this experience to anyone.

There are many familiar things too, in the meat market. Chicken feet, pig intestines, cow stomach, and rabbit. I guess southern cooking is similar no matter where you are. There are some additions though. The rabbit head is smoked as is the pig's tail, it's snout, lungs and other unmentionables. Gizzards are popular here, I was happy to find, and they taste just as good grilled on a stick as they do fried. Deeeeelicious!

I tried my hand at stir fry today. I used mushrooms, some type of greens similar to collards but much more tender, thin slices of mystery meat, "chicken"? I seasoned it with sauteed garlic, then added lemongrass, chicken bouillon, salt, pepper, etc. That, with our first pot of rice from our newly acquired rice cooker, was lunch. It was great!!!

There are so many things to experiment with. Wal-mart has actually become a helpful place. Did I say that out loud? I mean, where else can I buy toothpaste, toilet paper, dehydrated squid, a dead chicken (with feet and head) and live bullfrogs? So many choices. What's for dinner? - mandy

The discovery of a new dish does more for the happiness of mankind than the discovery of a star.

-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

All Creatures Great and Small...

We all desire a world where animals can be enjoyed without fear, where they are safe from harm and so are we. We saw something close to that in Chengdu. The park was well maintained and far from the pollution riddled city. Here, the quiet bamboo lined paths held peace and beauty. The masses of children had exited the park by the time we got to the bears and we could enjoy them relatively uninterrupted. The weather was beautiful, which is odd for Chengdu. Clear skies and warm temperatures brought the pandas out into the open.

Some have said that Pandas are silent creatures, but for the first time, I heard them speak, calling to their young, taunting each other as they wrestled or grunting as they foraged for food. One large adult buried himself in heavy brush looking for the perfect snack. When he found it, he sat in front of us, whittled it down to the choicest part and enjoyed the fruits of his labor. I didn’t know they use their paws as hands, he looked like he was eating corn on the cob. Amazing! We must have watched him for twenty minutes and he was completely unbothered by us.

The nursery was a special treat although pictures were not allowed. (Frank did manage to get one though) A large wooden crib held about ten infants all fast asleep. One of them preferred to lay sprawled on his back, can you see him? They flipped him over several times but he was determined to have it his way. The caretakers fed them and pottied them while we watched. They were so adorable! I have loaded many pictures to my Kodak Gallery account. If you would like to view them, send me a message thru yahoo and I can send you an invite. It is not open for public viewing. Creation is full of wonders and I am very glad we have been privileged to behold so many of them in this mysterious and beautiful country.

These are Red Pandas. They must have had something very serious to discuss. There was an entire section of the park dedicated to Red Pandas but it was closed because so many of them are pregnant and need silence.

It is good to realize that if love and peace can prevail on earth, and if we can teach our children to honour nature's gifts, the joys and beauties of the outdoors will be here forever.”
Jimmy Carter

mandy

The Himalayas

Growing up, I was always fascinated by descriptions of distant lands. I would imagine the sights and sounds, and think about what it must be like to visit such places. That, in part, is the reason I have always enjoyed reading. As the words on the pages progressed, in my mind’s eye I was transported to another place and time. It didn’t matter what our financial situation was, I could travel the world and beyond. Well, even though our financial condition is much the same as it has always been, we find ourselves now in a place I only thought I would see through books. As we travelled home from Chengdu, our train wound its way through the Himalayan Mountains. Yes, THE Himalayas. History, beauty, and wonder draped like a curtain across Asia. People from all over the world have come to scale these peaks. The tide of battles and the fate of nations have turned in these passes. Over seven hundred years ago, Marco Polo established the Silk Road that traced along this same route delivering silk, spices, and treasure to the people of Europe. You can almost see the past and present sharing the same time and space. As the landscape rolled by, so many things looked like they had not changed in all of that time. There were farmers working the steppes with the aid of bison pulling old plows. There were small houses and villages that just seemed to have grown from the earth like the bamboo from which they were made. It reminded me of how very small and insignificant man truly is but also how, whether for good or for bad, man always tries to leave its mark. Even so, that mark is like a single word or sentence on a page in a book. It has meaning and can convey so much but the Earth and its wonders provide context to the story.

Hard Sleeper

We took the slow train home. It was eighteen hours in a hard sleeper berth for us. There have been horror stories told about how miserable and uncomfortable these journeys can be. Others though, tell nostalgic tales about their time spent in transit in this manner. So, when there is no consensus on a matter, you just have to check things out for yourself. I will say this; I do understand why some would shy away from travelling in this manner. The bunks are not very comfortable but that should come as no surprise. It is called a hard sleeper. But considering that most beds here in China are hard, I expected the bunk to be like sleeping on concrete. It was actually not much worse than our own bed so I count that as a plus. Then there was the smell. Our car was, all things considered, not too bad. Occasionally, however, we would catch a whiff of either someone smoking in the area between cars, the pungent odor of the WC, or sometimes both. Recently, though, I heard a nice quote about smells that I think applies: “If you stay in the barn long enough, eventually you don’t smell the manure”. I believe we proved that true on this trip. Despite all of that, we really enjoyed the ride (Amanda probably would have enjoyed it more if her back was not hurting from falling out of a bus. That is another story for another time). It was so nice to be able to slow down for a little while. There was a certain charm to the gentle rocking of the train as the scenery slowly scrolled by. It gave us time for reading, study, and reflection. Oh, if only I could have found a soft spot in that hard sleeper...

– Frank

If the riches of the Indies, or the crowns of all the kingdom of Europe, were laid at my feet in exchange for my love of reading, I would spurn them all.
Francois de Fenelon (1651 - 1715)

PS - The video that I was going to load for the panda post was too big, Blogger would not let me load it. Sorry about that. I will save it and try to show it someday.

The National Treasure – The Giant Panda

Indigenous of China, the giant panda has become the symbol of the nation. There are some things that must be seen when visiting this country. The pandas are one of them. After the hour long bus ride to the north side of Chengdu, and after all of the hassle that preceded the visit to the park, I was afraid that the trip would not live up to expectations. That was nowhere near the case. The panda reserve more than delivered.

Having visited several zoos, we should have expected the scene that awaited us. The park was filled with children. There must have been several hundred, maybe a thousand children visiting. As we walked in, we were literally mobbed by children shouting “nide mingzi, nide mingzi” or “your name, your name”. They wanted our autographs. For the first time in my life, truly could understand how Michael Jordan must feel. I had people who only came up to just past my waist (children are people too), shoving pieces of paper at me, and shouting with glee, just to get my barely legible signature scrawled for them. And my jump shot is not nearly as good as his.

Once we finally made our way past the adoring fans, we set out to do some gawking of our own. It was a beautiful, clear day and the animals seemed to really be enjoying it. Hence we were treated to very active animals. There is just something special about observing nature. It is like it is what we were meant to do! There is only so much that I can say, so I hope you enjoy the pictures and the video. - Frank

XingBaKe – Starbucks

Sometimes, it is the little things that makes you happy. I was pleasantly surprised when our friends called us and asked if we wanted to meet at XingBaKe before going to see the pandas. There are some things that don’t need to be asked, you can just assume the answer is yes. That is like asking “would you like a steaming hot cup of happiness”. Do you really need to ask? Here in China, there are some Western things that they try to do but don’t quite get right. This is not one of them. They have truly succeeded in capturing the Starbucks experience. Everything was great. The décor, the music, the pastries, and yes the coffee, were all terrific. They even had a Chinese barista that spoke English really well. We would not want our caramel macchiato, cinnamon dolce latte, or mocha frappacino order messed up due to something being lost in translation. I don’t believe they have characters for these words.

After leaving Starbucks, we a got into a taxi and asked the driver to take us to the panda reserve. He agreed and promptly began driving south. The only problem with that was that the reserve was north of where we were. Our friend pointed out the error of his way and he told us that there was a “traffic jam” in the other direction, and he knew a shortcut. We decided to get out of the taxi then and there, before he went any further. We are pretty sure that as he looked at us waigourn, he saw easy money. His shortcut would have probably cost us 100 kuai for a 40 kuai trip. So we ended up having to take a crowded bus for the one hour trip to see the pandas. Despite the long journey, the hassle, and the crowds, the pandas were absolutely worth it. I will post more about that tomorrow. - Frank

Suave molecules of Mocha stir up your blood, without causing excess heat; the organ of thought receives from it a feeling of sympathy; work becomes easier and you will sit down without distress to your principal repast which will restore your body and afford you a calm, delicious night. ~Prince Tallyrand

To Chengdu

Tomorrow we are off to Chengdu for some sightseeing. It should be an interesting place to visit. It was the scene of the big earthquake this past April that killed 70,000 people. It will be interesting to see how the people are getting by in the aftermath. One thing that we can say about humans in general is that they are resilient. After a tragedy, those who survive are usually numb, and are changed by the experience, but they keep going. It seems that things are moving forward there. I guess we will see firsthand.

One of the commercials that we have seen describes Chengdu as the land of abundance, home of the pandas. Chengdu is famous for their giant panda reserve and we are supposed to go see that. We are really looking forward to it. The other thing that we are going to do is go to IKEA. That is where we are going to get the rest of the furniture for our apartment and they have a café that gives free refills on coffee (that is something almost unheard of here). On top of that, they will even ship our goods across country to our place for us. Wow, pandas, refills on coffee, and delivery of our comfy furniture! We can’t wait to get there.

We are going by plane there and then we will be taking the train back, the slow train. It is going to take us about 18 to 24 hours. That should be quite an experience itself. We are going to get to actually see the countryside. Pictures will follow. – Frank

A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song.
Chinese Proverb

Xiao Xin!!!!! (Be Careful!!) -cont.

Did you know there is a nationwide epidemic in China? That’s right, manhole cover theft! Seriously! It takes about 4 of 5 guys to lift it and cart it away, but the money they get from the steel must be worth the effort. There was a write up in a recent National Geographic magazine on this. It’s crazy! I bring this up because I have experienced the effect that missing manhole covers can cause. Well, it was actually my friend who experienced it, but I had to watch. We were walking across the street this morning, she was texting, and suddenly she fell into an open manhole! It was like a cartoon episode where Daffy casually walks right into the hole, only not funny at all. Thankfully, one leg caught the edge and she didn’t go all the way in but her body was splayed half in and half out of the hole, and trucks were coming. I got them to stop and helped her back to the sidewalk. Apparently, nothing is broken, but she is in a lot of pain. I still can’t believe it happened, what a freakish thing.! She didn’t let that stop her though and we stayed out all day.
There’s more. Another friend was riding home last night when a semi came barreling out of nowhere right on his tail. Our friend started pumping for all he was worth to get out of the way and guess what? Repeat. The chain came off and he went down into a tuck and roll that took him just out of harm’s way. The truck never stopped.

But wait, that’s not all. (I sound like an infomercial, don’t I?) We met some friends for dinner tonight at a western restaurant, no, not steak and potatoes with peanuts on the floor, just western as in not Chinese. Afterward we came out to get on our bikes. Frank went to his and the others got theirs and suddenly I asked, “Frank, um, where’s mine?” STOLEN!!! Some little tiny Chinese butt is riding around on my nice extra wide cushioned seat that I just bought!!! AAAAGGGGHHHH!!!! They were all parked together and locked!...I didn’t like riding bikes anyway.
Frank walked his home so we could walk together. I really prefer walking but that’s not the point, I didn’t tell them that. Mine was not the first though, several friends have replaced theirs twice and one is on their fourth bike! My replacement will have to wait. Man, that seat was really nice too. Best thing about the bike. At least we followed instructions and bought junkers. I had several people tell me how bu hao (bad) my bike was. I thought that meant it was safe. It would have been, maybe, without my nice seat. Oh well! Such things will happen, right?

Mandy

Think Happy Thoughts!

“Gravity is a contributing factor in nearly 73 percent of all accidents involving falling objects.”
-Dave Barry

http://www.manhole.ca/pics/sydneymorningherald.pdf

Xiaoxinde – Carefully

Getting around can be very dangerous. There are millions of people in this city. The chief means of conveyance is either walking or riding a bicycle. There is also a very efficient bus system, and of course cars, trucks, motorcycles, and scooters. There is even the occasional horse or mule drawn wagon, all “sharing” the road. Maybe sharing is too generous a term. I think begrudgingly occupying simultaneously is more accurate. As with most traffic systems, there are traffic lights. Next to these lights there is a display that counts down the seconds until the light changes. At around 5 second, the green light changes to red and people begin to cross. This is not always the smartest thing to do. If one is not careful, they may get hit. There is often one last vehicle trying to get through the intersection, usually preceded by a continuous blast of the horn. You should see the casual way that the pedestrians react to this. You would think that there would be a mad scramble for safety, but instead they usually just slightly alter their course. It is almost as if they know that they won’t get hit or either they don’t care. I haven’t figured out which it is yet. It is a wonder that there aren’t more accidents. One day, while riding the bus, I saw two people almost get hit within an hour of each other. One was a lady who was sweeping the street. As the bus was barreling down on her, she was totally expressionless. She just stood there and watched. I guess she had total confidence in the driver’s ability to stop in time. Although I didn’t know the words but judging by the tone, she had more faith than the driver. Somehow he got the behemoth stopped; she continued sweeping the street. About 40 minutes later a guy walking a bike stepped out in front of the bus. There must have been about 20 feet for the bus to stop. We were travelling about 40 mph. Physics was not on his side, there was no way we were going to stop in time. Before we hit him, a guy reached out and pulled him back. Once again there was little reaction by anyone other than the driver. It is sad that with so many people around, most people seem to be myopic. They are in their own little world and they have little interest in noticing what is going on with others.

Amanda and I have had bikes for about a week now. I really enjoy riding it around. Even with all of the other bikers, pedestrians, and motorized vehicles on the road at the same time. There is an ebb and flow to things. I heard getting around compared to playing a video game. Amanda says it is like Frogger. You know, the classic Atari game about a frog trying to cross the street. Fortunately, I was really good at that game. Well, I have been getting the feel for the rules of the road. I will sum them up for you. Ride fast, don’t hit anything, and when you see an opening take it. Other than these, I don’t think there are any.

I remember when I first began driving. My dad showed me how to check the oil, transmission fluid, and tires on the car. He told me how important it was to do this so that I could make sure the car was safe to drive. When I was at the fire department, I actually taught new drivers to do the same thing. For some reason, I did not apply those lessons to riding a bike. I usually just jump on it and go. What can go wrong? Today, I paid for that hubris. I was riding along, following the rules of the road; especially the first one. There I was, standing up on the pedals, pumping my legs as hard as I could, and leaning forward to get as much momentum as possible. Everything was in sync. The bike and I were one. Then the chain came off. That small event began a chain reaction, please excuse the pun. The chain came off just as I was pushing down on the pedal. That made me lose my balance, and I fell into the handle bar. Falling into the handle bar made the front tire turn perpendicular to the direction of travel. Here is where physics was not on my side. WARNING SCIENCE CONTENT: Sir Isaac Newton’s first law of motion states “Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it”. With the tire turned sideways, friction caused the bike to stop. Unfortunately, with no such external force applied to me, I didn’t, at least not immediately. So, I flew through the air until that other discovery of Newton’s caught up to me: gravity. After an incident like this happens to you, what is the first thing most people do? Check and see if they are hurt or check on the bike to see if it is broken? Nope. Look around and see if anyone saw you! Whew! Thankfully, I was in the clear. I couldn’t believe that there was no one around. Truth be told, I was truly relieved that no one was around, because if it had been during rush hour, I could have easily caused a huge Nascar style pile up. All of this because the chain of on my bike was too loose and slipped off. I guess I learned my lesson. I will be checking my bike out from now on. I have got to be xiaoxinde. – Frank
We should be careful to get out of an experience only the wisdom that is in it--and stop there; lest we be like the cat that sits down on a hot stove lid. She will never sit on a hot stove lid again--and that is well; but also she will never sit down on a cold one anymore.
Mark Twain (1835 - 1910)

PS - I am fine. Just a little sore. The only thing hurt is my pride. You know I have had writer's block for the past few days. It is a shame that I have to fall off of my bike for inspiration. Hopefully the next post will come at a lest painful price.

Babies Anyone?

I have had so many requests for Chinese babies, (as in, bring them home in your suitcase requests), that I thought I should create an order form of sorts. You know, to keep things organized. Seriously, China has some of the cutest kids. Let me introduce you to some:

This little girl was not afraid of Frank, even let him hold her. That says enough right there, don't you think?



She was a bit shy about having her picture taken. Her face sells a lot of blankets and pillows though.










These two are very handy. They do their own shopping.
Don't they look like two tiny adults?
"Step aside, we have things to do,
places to go and people to meet".















You can save so much money because diapers are not necessary! That's what sidewalks are for! No kidding!

















This little guy is quite the explorer.
He was half-way down the market lane
before his father realized he was gone.










They don't mind being wrapped up like a
sack of potatoes and slung onto the back.
They love it! It means snuggling with Grandma.
Who doesn't love that?















They aren't picky eaters either. I'm not sure what he picked up, but it must be good.











How can you not love them?
So just let me know who wants which,
and I will send... their pics!










Mandy





Families with babies and families without are so sorry for each other.-- Ed Howe

I’ll Just Sleep On It

Today, Amanda and I have to go back to the market and see if we can get our washer exchanged. The one we purchased has two small problems. First, it doesn’t work. The barrel doesn’t fill with water, and the agitator doesn’t agitate. When we bought it we kind of wanted it to do those things. Second, when you reach inside you get shocked. Not shocked as in surprised, shocked as in electrocuted. I guess we can be thankful that so far it has only delivered minor doses. It is plugged into 220 V! Not to seem picky, but we want clean clothes, not electro-therapy. So we are going to try to get them to exchange it for us. This should be fun.


In many homes in America, there is often a debate over whether to have a firm or soft bed. Here in China, there is no debate. The only type of mattress that we have been able to find is called a hard box spring in the US. One of our friends says there is a place that caters to soft westerners, where we can get a mattress. We don’t know whether we will buy one or not. For now we will just sleep on it.


As for sleeping on it, after struggling to setup my wireless router for about four hours, I put the router back in my suitcase and gave up. Well, after sleeping on it (not literally but it couldn’t be much worse), I tried something different this morning and got it working. And I didn’t need to speak Chinese to do it. So now, both Amanda and I are able to surf the net from the convenience of our own home. Things are looking up. – Frank


To achieve the impossible dream, try going to sleep.
Joan Klempner



PS: Thanks for all of the comments. We enjoy hearing from you.

The Hiatus

I know I have not written a post since the 13th. I took a short hiatus because things have been pretty hectic. We have been shopping for stuff for the apartment. We ended up buying a bed, a wardrobe, a table, two end tables, and a washer. Aside from the things for the apartment, we also each purchased a bike, and I bought two new suits. The suits were a surprise. We were actually shopping for furniture when we passed a store that had suits on sale. I bought a suit for 180 kuai and one for 280 kuai. That is two suits for about $75. What is really nice about this is that I really didn’t think I would be able to find a suit to fit me off the rack. I almost didn’t. I had to get the largest size they had, a size 52. At first I tried on a 50 but that was too tight. Now, as you all know, I am not a particularly large man. So how is it that I am one size away from shopping at the big and tall store? After trying on the pants, and getting measured for the hem, one of the ladies took my money, while another one took the pants and ran down the street. I asked the remaining clerk “when will my pants be ready”? She says “xinzai, qingzuo” “now, please sit”. I waited about ten minutes and I had my suits.
After leaving there we went and bought our wardrobe. We bought it from the same lady that we bought our bed from. We like her because she delivers for free and it is hard to carry large pieces of furniture on our bike. For that you need a tricycle. I am serious about that. At the market there are guys that have tricycles that they use to deliver the goods that people buy. On Tuesday, we used one of the tricycle guys to deliver our washer, table, and chairs. He was expensive but he got our stuff to our place with a minimum of hassle. That is more than can be said for the people who deliver for free. You know the old saying “you get what you pay for”. When we purchased our bed, they told us that they would have it to us by four. A little before four, we got a call that said they would be there around six. At six, we got a call from them saying they were on the way. At eight, Amanda and I were on the streets looking for them. By nine, we had our bed. Ok, so the next day when it is time to buy our wardrobe, where do we go? As I stated earlier, we went to the same lady. Why, because we can usually negotiate with her and get her to agree to a reasonable price, and because delivery is free. We figured they know where we live now, so delivery should go much smoother. It was a nice thought at least. This time they didn’t even pretend that it would be delivered while the sun was up. They told us after six. Well, by eight o’clock we began to wonder. We received several phone calls from the delivery guy that even Amanda couldn’t make sense of but we did know that once again the delivery guy was lost. So I took the phone down to the building security guard and he told the driver how to get to our place. Once the guy arrived, it took him about an hour to set the wardrobe up. So we couldn’t relax until almost 10, so much for free delivery.
We now have internet access in our place. The guy came today to set it up. He tried to help me set up my wireless router, but that didn’t go so well. After trying for an hour he took off. I brought my router with me half way across the globe, but it will not work. I think it is, like me, having trouble communicating. If anyone has any advice (Tim R. or Dave T., this means you) I would really appreciate any help you can give. – Frank
To know the road ahead, ask those coming back.
Chinese Proverb

Wai guo de!

Last night, as we walked the streets of our new neighborhood, we were suddenly accosted by 3 little girls all standing inside one hula hoop. They ran behind us for the longest time, chanting,"waiguode, waiguode" (foreigner, foreigner). Somehow, they managed to chant, run, dodge potholes and still all stay inside the hula hoop. Finally, I whirled on them with fingers clenched into claws, leaned over them and started my own chant. "Zhongguode, Zhongguode" (Chinese, Chinese). They squealed, giggled and kept up the chase until we crossed the road. I find it amusing that they should say that I am a foreigner when two days before, a man I sat next to on the bus asked me if I was a local! Of course, as soon as I opened my mouth, he realized his mistake. A few days before that, a lady told me I looked like a member of one of the local tribes. WHAT!!??? She said my nose and round face were very Chinese. She had no explanation for the hair, and you should have seen her face when saw my ears! (for those who don't know, they are TINY) She called them baby ears and seemed very sympathetic that they had not developed since then. But wait, there's more. Tonight, as I waited at the corner of Wal-mart for our bed to arrive, an elderly man stopped and asked me for directions! Alright Mom, Dad, have you been holding out on us? Is there Chinese blood floating around somewhere that you haven't told us about? Mandy

The Search Is Over!!!

Yesterday was the day. We finally signed on an apartment. It is not perfect but it is clean, has a spectacular view, and is in our price range. As we were sitting in the realtor’s office signing the contract, not only was the owner and his wife there, but they also brought family and friends. It was truly an occasion for them. They were all going out to dinner afterwards to celebrate. When signing on a lease here, you have to pay six months’ rent, an administration fee, and even dian ti fei (elevator fee) all in advance. Can you believe it, we have to pay for use of the elevator? I asked them if we still had to pay it if we promised not to use the elevator. I bet you can guess the answer. Well, after forking over all of that qian, it is no wonder the owners were in such a good mood. They even invited us to dinner too. I guess they wanted us to see where our money was going. We declined. We didn’t want anything to do with the toasting and drinking that traditionally go with such occasions. "Gan Bei" is what they shout as they down each round. Generally, they don’t stop until everyone is wasted. No thanks. We had to meet with the owner to get registered as residents today. Well, one whiff of his breath told us that the celebration must have continued all through the night. His breath was 80 proof! I felt like shouting "Gan Bei"! Now that we have our place and are registered, we have to set the place up. So tomorrow we are going to look for a bed, sofa, wardrobe, and possibly a table. Right now the most important things are the bed and sofa so that we can move in. We looked around a little today but didn’t really find anything. Tomorrow, it is off to the flea market.
One thing of interest that we saw today was duck ready for the market. Can you say "AFLAC"? - Frank

I will not eat oysters. I want my food dead- not sick, not wounded - dead.
Woody Allen (1935 - )

Pics and Such

BEFORE...

...Just Kidding!

Actually, this is spiced Yak meat. When I say spiced, I mean la si le(spicy to death). I told the server I like hot food and he recommended this. My sinuses are very clear and should be for a few days at least, but the flavor was wonderful. The meat was shredded, mixed with hot peppers(seeds and all) and green onions, then fried crisp. It had the texture of jerky. I loved it. It cost about $2.60. You just can't beat that. I don't have much to say in this blog, but I did want to show you some of the things we have seen in the week we have been here:

View from the Plane of the Rockies

Window of Famous Tea House

Really Cool Lookin' Tree

















Gas Efficient Vehicle















Dusk


















Night View of Our Courtyard









Hope you enjoyed!!!


mandy

“I've learned that good-byes will always hurt, pictures will never replace having been there, memories good and bad will bring tears, and words can never replace feelings.”