Sue Gets Arrested!

Ha Ha!  Gotcha!  We did meet this very nice policeman in the park however and chatted with him for a bit.  He looks very threatening, doesn't he?

I have also tried very hard to get a picture of a monk on a cell phone.  They do not like their pictures being taken, and one walked by, as we were in Starbuck's this AM having some coffee, and how could I resist??  My camera and I ducked out the door and I got this one with the telephoto as he walked across the intersection!  I love it!

 

 

 

 

 

Sue was having a BAD CHINA DAY today, so I took her to one of the 6 Starbuck's in town for a little Americana.  We loved it even though the American prices gave us sticker shock (about $10 US for 2 drinks and a muffin!) 

An interesting little doorway into someone's house...

 

We stopped by The Rose Tea House which was incredibly foo-foo, where I took this shot.  It was a beautiful place though and when Sue has some foo-foo friend in town, she will definitely take her there!

We spent some time around the East side of West Lake today.  West Lake has apparently been known as "Golden Buffalo Lake" since ancient times.  Legend goes that in the Han Dynasty (206BC - 220AD), there was a golden buffalo laying at the bottom of the lake. Whenever the lake dried up, the buffalo would emerge and spew water until the lake was full again. Officials tried to capture the buffalo after asking the townspeople to take the water away by water wheel.  The buffalo bellowed, spewing out even more water, and since that time the lake has never been empty, nor has the buffalo appeared again!

This is a depiction of Zhan Shun.  He's one of the heros in a well known Chinese book called "Outlaws of Marsh."

Not sure who this is, so you'll just have to enjoy the picture :) .  I couldn't find any signage in English.

Some stone carvings in the park.

 

Sue takes a break below, feeling much better about China after her Grande Vanilla Latte.  We bargained with the drivers for one of these boat rides.  They wanted about $50US for 1 hour, and I told them how about $10 US.  They said ok, $10 US for each of us, and I said no way, $10 total.  They chased after us for awhile and whined about how big we were and how much work it would be to row us around.  After their attitude we really didn't want to spend an hour with any of the drivers so we walked away :). 

... looks pretty peaceful though!

 

The DaHua hotel on the lake. Looks pleasant, doesn't it?

 

Gratuitous flower shot, which was growing out of a lilly pad in the lake.

Posing for the camera - a bunch of old people are playing mahjong in the background.

A pleasure craft that can be ridden out into the lake...

This couple flew by us on their bicycle - I thought this was a very creative riding method.  Sitting on the back on that bicycle rack is really tough on the backside!

 

This is the hotel lobby of Hyatt hotel in Hangzhou.  It's a gorgeous facility, extremely modern, and an excellent location right on West Lake. The Shangri-La is nice too, but this beats it out with location.  Rooms run between $200 - $300 per night.  If you want something cheaper and are thinking to come visit us, let us know and we'll keep looking!  If you want to go native, you can stay in our 2nd apartment!

Standing by the West Lake sign, and one of the many entrances to the parks around West Lake.

We went to a FABULOUS Indian lunch this afternoon; here's the view of the inside from our table.  Chicken Tikka Masalla, Garlic Naan, and a few other delicacies were de-licious!  This will definitely be a repeat!

Tonight we'll go back to West Lake where there's a really nice Pizza Hut.  The pizza from Pizza Hut here is actually good!

The kids had another day of school today, which is why Sue and I were able to go to all of these great places!  Peter and Jack did marching this morning, and some Tai Chi like calisthenics with hundreds of other Chinese kids.  Peter says they are a little behind but they are learning the routine!  Sophie was happy to go to kindergarten today, and happy to come home!  She loves showing us her artistic creations at the end of the day.