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Wednesday, November 08, 2017

Peking Ducks & The Temple of Heaven!

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Do we look like we are starving?

The one thing I can say about this trip to China is that the food was wonderful, plentiful and we were never hungry!

Before going, one of the many things I heard and heard again was that “Chinese food there is different than Chinese food here.”  But the kinds of things that I like meant that it wasn’t that different for me.  It was better!

Here in America the Chinese food most popular to folks seems to be of the breaded and deep fried and coated with sweet and sour sauce category.  Not my favorite here, and definitely not something I saw there.

Loads of vegetables of every variety, noodles, fish, chicken, pork, lamb, beef and seaweed –and don’t forget the rice!  The meals were utterly delicious.

The one thing we didn’t see a lot of were desserts.  Fresh fruit was often an option after a meal, and heavy desserts weren’t needed as bellies were full.  I don’t do a lot of sweets or desserts here at home either, nor do I eat them when going out, so it made no difference to me.

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Such a fun group!

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A Chinese delicacy – Peking Duck!

Peking Duck was very tasty, served on some Chinese pancakes with hoisin sauce, sliced cucumber and eaten much like moo shu pork (which is my absolute favorite Chinese dish!) and was very good.  The only problem?  There were 17 courses served this meal (SEVENTEEN! NO LIE!) and the main event, the Peking Duck came nearly LAST.  Next time, let’s do it with course #3 when there is still room for it in my belly.

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The buildings around Beijing!

I have never seen so many tall buildings in my life.  They seemed to sprout up in clusters, many stories high.  As far as the eye could see there were clusters of tall buildings, like a scene from some sci-fi movie. we’ve talked about the air quality just a bit.  I shared this clip on Instagram from our drive to the Pearl Market:


One of the difficult things for me was not being able to read a single sign in front of a shop, or a restaurant, or public building.  Chinese characters are so foreign to me that I can’t even make out the slightest thing!  We learned to know what things were by logos.  Things like Kentucky Fried Chicken or Pizza Hut or Mc Donald's were easy to spot due to their logos.  And Starbucks! (Yes, Starbucks!) 

I also learned the symbols for EXIT  出口 and ENTER 入口. Also important to know: 厕所 TOILET! LOL!  But don’t even ask me to try to write that one.  

After feeling overwhelmed and completely underwater with symbols and a very difficult language, I will never ever think twice about someone’s broken English.  They are doing far better with their English than I ever could with a foreign language.

Sometimes the signs did have an English translation that gave us a chuckle:

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Homely Dishes? Or Home-Style Dishes?  It’s all how you look at it!

(Please note – the blue sky!)

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The Temple of Heaven.

The temple complex was constructed from 1406 to 1420 during the reign of the Yongle Emperor, who was also responsible for the construction of the Forbidden City in Beijing. There is a whole lot of background information that was lost to me because I really didn’t know or understand the history, but standing here – I was just amazed.  After all of the days of smog and bad air quality, here we were in front of this beautiful amazing place and the sky was as blue as I had ever seen it.

It was as if the weather gods were smiling just for us.

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Incredible building detail!

I posted a few photos by email while in China, but wasn’t really able to share everything.  I also wish I had taken more photos of the temple grounds as that is where the elder folk gather for their daily rituals of conversation, card games, mah jong and even crochet!

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Woman sharing with us her beautiful handiwork!

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Gentlemen at board games.

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Cut throat card games!

Seniors get a free pass on all public transportation and they spend their days enjoying the outdoors, and each other’s company as it should be.  I just loved this insight into the Chinese culture.

You’ll find the rest of our excursion in the slide show below.  If all you see is a black box you are likely on Explorer.  Try a different browser.  I use Google Chrome.  You can also view the video on my YouTube channel.



I'm really enjoying going back through these photos.

For more information on the history of the Temple of Heaven, I also found a 30 minute documentary on YouTube HERE.

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Nope, I won’t soon forget this!

In other news.  Rulers came, and rulers went!  They arrived as I was heading out for a massage.  I put them in the store, and when I came back they were all sold out to the tune of 232 orders in my inbox in just over an hour.  So I am out again!  But more were shipped yesterday and will be here in a few days, so stay tuned on those!

Just about the time I get these orders all out the door the next batch will be here.

And in the rest of the things going on – still playing the waiting game. 

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Quiltville Quote of the Day!

I love the tongue in cheek, but this is so true!

Don't let someone else's annoying rub off on you!

Happy Wednesday, everyone!


10 comments:

  1. I was always told that if you let someone else make you sad or mad, you are allowing them to take your joy away. No, that is not going to happen here! Life is too short to live it the way others want you to live. Be yourself and enjoy the time you have. If I keep a smile on my face, everyone wonders what I am up to. I so enjoy your blog and all the refreshing insight you give me to life. I started out to write this post being mad because I missed again on the rulers. Then I thought, "Heck, she said there would be more and besides, you can't cut right now anyway!" Sorry for getting on the soap box, but I so enjoy learning from you. My thoughts are with you. Be safe and enjoy some down time. Jayne in Utah

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  2. I’m exhausted just reading your last couple of posts. Take care that your batteries don’t run out- you Energizer Bunny. Just wanted to let you know you and your family are in my thoughts and prayers...I imagine life must be overwhelming for you with all that you have going on. Take care of yourself and your loved ones. So happy to hear Sadie is doing so well. Hugs.....

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  3. I been watching your cams.Your
    Super lady.love your tutorials.
    Thank you, cant ait until I am able to try your techiques to quiltmaking.
    Mary

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  4. Hi Bonnie!
    Just wanted to say how much I enjoy all your posts, stories, and photos you share! You are one talented and busy Lady! I hope to be able to take one of your classes in the near future, but until then, I enjoy all that you offer on your website and all the help you provide with the mystery quilts. Looking forward to doing "On Ringo Lake".
    Diane

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  5. The blog posts about your tour and remembrances are so interesting to follow.
    I can't walk in your shoes---yet! but the following is a real treat.

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  6. WOW! those picture you shared and the things you saw are amazing. Thank you so much for sharing.

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  7. mmm mmm , foodie that i am i'd be waddling LIKE a duck!!! Hugs and encouragement to you, i love all y'all like family, since i've been following daily i feel like i know you ... hugs (never too many) Waiting sort of patiently for the beginning of Mystery on Ringo Lake, there's not much option, wait... patiently or im- LOL ... just finished with label and binding En Provence... i know the minutia of my life cannot compete with the plethora of activity you accomplish... I'm in awe and gratitude, Cats

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  8. It took me a minute... I thought you were suggesting we not be annoyed because we were annoying other people. An unintended laugh to add to the delight of your blog. Take care. We appreciate a "warm hug" from you and hope you take care.
    And now I'm confused, am I supposed to x the adds? That's a good thing?

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  9. Hi Bonnie,
    I have just come back from a marvellous trip to China as well. It seems we were both there at the same time. It was a great trip.

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  10. I am in Australia and I am looking forward to the new Mystery Quilt. I need to see what fabrics I can get together. - I haven't purchased fabric for the last few Mysteries. I hope I can get away with it again this time. I am 79 years old and have far too much fabric - and I have made myself a promise to not purchase any new fabric until I reduce my stockpile! vbg.

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