Day 7 Suzhou

(Post written Thursday night - It didn't go through, so let's see if I can email the photos to Tara and get it to work that way. Sorry for the delay!)

I can't even begin to explain how tired I am right now. But you know me. I am always up for a challenge.

After breakfast we loaded up and headed to Tongli Town. Suzhou is known as the Venice of Asia because there are canals throughout the city. One of the areas where this is most prominent is Tongli. It is an old area that is very similar to Venice in that there are canals everywhere, narrow streets, and cars are not allowed. It was nice to walk through the town because the traffic in most parts of China resembles nothing so much as a giant game of chicken between cars, motorbikes, and pedestrians. (We are always in awe that we still haven't seen an accident.) But in Tongli you only have to watch out for the motorbikes and hawkers. We took a gondola ride around the area, browsed in shops, and ate a tea house that we remembered from last time. It was very nice.

After lunch we went to the Master of the Nets Garden. The guide said it was the oldest and most famous of the UNESCO gardens here in Suzhou. It was the former home of Someone Very Important.

I strapped Jack into the pack on my chest, but unfortunately, the visit coincided with his naptime. Every time I stopped walking, he started crying. I paced every corridor of that place while waiting for our guide to explain the reason this window or that painting displayed harmony or high social status or whatever it was supposed to mean. Honestly, I usually eat this kind of thing up, but when we have the kids, please just hit the highlights, lady. Bless her heart, she didn't know what hit her with our crazy family's shenanigans.

The looks on their faces really say it all.

Anywho, after that, we were shuffled to the train station about 3:30. Our train didn't leave until 7. So we spent the next 3 ½ hours in the train station. Entertaining three children and one baby. The big kids did fine. The baby was hungry. And bored. And tired. And could not understand why no one wanted to walk the length of the station with him. Or why the man in the next aisle should not give him his snack. Or why he couldn't eat crackers off the floor.

 

We finally made it to the hotel about an hour ago, and bed never looked so good. Well, there was one thing that sounded better. While I have been writing this, Tim went to get me ice cream for supper. It has been that kind of day.

Blessings to all, and to all a good night!