Besides all the excitement of the false alarm for Maeve's arrival we had another fun filled day. The weather cooled down and it rained over night. Still drizzling this morning, I half expected not to really enjoy the days outings. I was wrong...we had a great time! The group started the day with a trip to E'Ling Park. This is situated very high over the city and has a wonderful panoramic view of all of Chongqing. It was a pleasant drive there and well worth the short hike up a steep path to the view point. Also situated in the park was the old museum (there is a newer more modern version now) of the Three Gorges Dam project. We had a guided tour of the museum and the museum guide did a wonderful job explaining everything to us about the dam and the areas it affects. In the museum was a very nice gift shop (of course) that specialized in local art. Both Dad & I purchased Dam memorabilia and I also found a beautiful piece of art painted onto a leaf, a specialty of this area.
After the museum, the group headed down to a Tea House and was treated to a delightful presentation on tea preparation and encouraged to taste several varieties. Everyone really enjoyed this and it showed with all the bags of purchases that we were all carrying on our way back to the bus. I especially liked the sales girl. Every tea I asked a question about, she carefully explained it to me while taking it and putting it into a bag for me to purchase. I asked a lot of questions, so I might be looking to buy an extra suitcase here. :)
After this, our guide had arranged a very nice lunch in a restaurant specializing in the local favorite - Hot Pot. Here, they have a cauldron of seasoned boilig water in the middle of the table. Ours was separated in to two sections, one for Hot and another for Mild. The waitress brings over a variety of vegetables, meats, noodles, etc. and puts them in the Hot Pot to cook. When they are finished, she ladles them out into a small bowl by your plate. Each person, placed vinegar, garlic and sesame oil to their taste in the bowl to further season the food and then you eat. The food just kept coming and we kept eating. It was a real treat. Some even tried the Hot variety, which was extremely spicy and hot.
Then it was back to the hotel, where Mom, Dad & I joined Michael & Candace (one of the other adoping couples) in the hotel bar to chat for awhile. We sampled one of the local beers and it was really good. I read somewhere that the German influence in China made for good beer. Not sure on my history of the German influence, but I will vouch for the good beer. :)
Later in the evening, we had our "Baby False Alarm" that I described in an earlier post. After that excitement we all met for cake to celebrate our babies a day early. On my way to the party, guess what I saw. Not our babies, but a group of babies on their way to their new parents. That will be me tomorrow!
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