Day 7 - Suzhou - October 17

I know that this post has been a long time coming, but last night I chose clean laundry over the internet. We all have our priorities people:) Be sure to take another look at the Oct.16 post, I added some text and pics today.

Naturally, Friday began with a hotel buffet breakfast, where we discovered that Kate likes plain omelets cut up small. The boys and I love eggs, so this is important info.

We then met our driver for a long drive out to Tongli Water Town. There are several very old water towns in the Suzhou area, which are towns built on the ancient canals. Picture the Venice of Asia. We had lunch there at an old tea house. Mimi and Will decided it was their favorite Chinese meal they have had. I am sure it was good, but my stomach still was not happy with me, so I enjoyed the best cup of jasmine tea I have ever had. View from the tea house:

The kids actually enjoyed this day more than most. We got to ride on a boat around the canals (which they liked) and do some shopping (which they hated).


While there, we also went through a house that has been turned into a museum to show what life was like years ago. It was really neat to see the different rooms, furniture, and courtyards. I know, I am a big nerd, but I love this stuff.Then, we got on the train to return to Nanjing. The trip was about 1.5 hours, so Ben and I worked on his homework. Evidently they have been learning about the letter M at his school this week.

Will sat with Mimi, and he said he worked on his homework too. He practiced drawing his shapes.We are so glad we took the time to travel to Suzhou, be we are also happy to be back in Nanjing. They are both beautiful cities filled with parks, gardens, rivers, and tree-lined streets. Suzhou seemed like a more prosperous town (at least the parts we saw). I think I liked Suzhou a bit better (don't tell our guide, shhhh), not because of its prosperity, but partly because it is more sentimental for me since that is where Kate is from. I feel like I "know" it better, if it is possible to know a town you visited for 53 hours. Suzhou felt like it was the heart of our trip, because we reached the mid-point, but also because it is what we really wanted to see. Now it feels like we are moving out from the center, out towards leaving China.

They gave us a different room here at the Mandarin Garden, but it is still large - just no microwave or big screen tv!