Hangzhou

This weekend was our first real family trip outside of Shanghai since we got here in March.  It wasn't far, only an hour on the bullet train, but it felt different from Shanghai.  And there were mountains!  And a lake!  And a small city of only 6 million!  Yes, that feels small now.

At Shanghai Honqiao train station. 

Ahh, Hangzhou.  Our hotel was on the edge of the city on a tea plantation.  Yes, that's tea.  Lots of tea.

After walking around, we stopped to eat.  And eat.  And eat.  It was delicious.

There were a ton of kids at the restaurant.  They were fascinated by Matthew and his ability and inability to speak Chinese.

And more food.

Wow, a picture of me!

More tea.  And underpants.

We enjoyed the rest of the beautiful day playing in the pool and relaxing.  Matthew's colleague Vivian and her son Ting Ting were going to pick us up in the morning for a full day of Hangzhou touring.

The day started with a drizzle.  It didn't stop us.  The torrential downpour later in the day did...

Beautiful West Lake

Ting Ting sharing his umbrella with Townes.

Where is Eli going?

The waterlilies and the lotus flowers were in bloom.

Naomi was now surrounded by two nine-year-old boys.

The rain kept coming, so we headed to lunch.

And what a lunch it was!  Crazy good.  Vivien and Ting Ting took great care of us.

We headed back to the hotel with a food hangover, took naps, and watched the rain.  Luckily there was a playroom in the hotel to keep us entertained too.  Unfortunately, the rain continued for hours and hours.  Monday morning it didn't slow a bit, and AAACK!, they closed the playroom.  What's a mom with three kids and a husband who has a proposal to write to do?  Take her kids swimming in the pouring rain, that's what.  Sorry, no pictures, but there were a few other guests who took pictures of us.  We created a bit of a stir.  But it was 75 degrees out.  That's a warm summer day in Vermont. 

Then we headed back to the train station.

The Hangzhou train station was a little rougher around the edges than shiny Shanghai. It was a good introduction for the kids to life in China outside of Shanghai, just baby steps I know, but soon enough we'll go further afield. On the way home, Naomi said, "We ate Chinese food all weekend. And I liked almost all of it!" It's very easy to avoid Chinese food in Shanghai if you really want to. The good news, is they want to less and less.