Oh China...

Good Evening, everyone! I am currently sitting at the computer, contemplating the IMMENSE amount of food I have been eating over the past few days. Will Power fails again! I took pictures of the yummy foods I have been consuming in ridiculous amounts and will be glad to post some pictures for all of you to see and wish you could eat =) I may cry myself to sleep tonight knowing I have gained at least 4 pounds in the past two days, but can you blame me?! The food alone is worth taking a trip to China!

My second Great Wall adventure was neither better nor worse than the last time! It was a much more beautiful day so my pictures came out better, however the second "half" was way short. Stan and I did the second part - walking to the farthest tower allowed and back in less time than it took to go ONE WAY on the first part! Imagine that!

tang cu ou, lotus root with sweet sauce

Snow peas

spicy pork with vegetables
Wood ear mushroom with peanuts
Spicy shrimp with cashews Eggplant with pork, beans, and some delicious sauce - my favorite dish of the meal
Meat-filled and fried
shou zhua bing, chinese bread

I told myself I wouldn't eat much for lunch after my Great Wall trek, but how wrong I was once we sat down and the food was upon me! I was doing alright until they brought out the bing - chinese bread. I went crazy and ate the entire basket.

The best restaurant for Peking duck

Rubber ducky, you're the one, you make bathtime lots of fun! Peking duck No. 2

mmm crispy oily duck skin, yum!

Now that is something beautiful - duck, cucumber, shallots, sweet sauce

Roughly 2-3 hours later, we went out for Peking duck. Now, I'm not one who usually eats skin or fat on any of my meat because lets face it, its way unhealthy. BUT there is NO WAY one can resist the crispy, oily, delicious taste of Peking duck skin. I tried to refrain, but no... my mind convinced my hands to reach out and grab several, and by several i mean roughly 10, pieces of the wonderful morcels. "Why not?" my mind says, "When is the next time you'll be in China, honestly?!" With this chant in my head, my will power was pushed through the nearest window and I lost all reason.

Today I will be better, I tell myself when I wake up. WRONG AGAIN! Stan's family decided to take me to a restaurant that specializes in that oh-so-delicious bing that I can't seem to get enough of, no matter how much I eat. Once again, I consumed an entire basket of the shredded bing as well as half a scallion bing pancake thing (please excuse my lack of a correct terminology, I'm really not sure what it was called), as well as a bing stuffed with veggies and noodles... not to mention the bean curd and veggies that happened to end up between my chopsticks... who knew chopsticks had a mind of their own? I sure didn't! Next we made a visit to the mall to buy Stan some new clothes then it was a stroll with Stan through Tian Tan. To all you "foreigners" out there that means Temple of Heaven! By the time we returned to the car, we were an hour away from our arranged dinner plans at this amazing buffet place... we've been there 3 times already and yet I can't seem to get enough. However, there was one more stop to be had at Silk Street. Stan and I rushed through in half an hour to purchase all the items I so desperately NEEDED to buy - silk scarves and panda purses are a necessity people, come on!

Thirty minutes late we arrived at the buffet restaurant where we met up with a good friend of Stan's dad. I ate to my hearts content - meaning I ate the most unhealthy items you could find in the buffet from dim sum treats to passion fruit mousse. Sorry no pictures! Stan and I will be returning to this lovely supper spot on the 19th (if all goes well) with the couple we met on our cruise down the Yangtze. Perhaps I will take some pictures then!

Now that I am back at Stan's, I am staring at the daunting task of packing my myriad of souvenirs and must-haves that I couldn't leave China without. Everyone cross your fingers that both my bags pass the weight restriction!

4 more days!

The Olympic media center

The National Aquatic Center, a.k.a. Water Cube

The Bird's Nest

Inside the Water Cube

The Water Cube all lit up and looking pretty

Oh but how could I forget?! The Olympics! Stan, his mother, and I attended our first Olympic event last night! I attempted to take pictures of the divers until I realized watching the dives was slightly problematic with a camera in your face! So I discarded the camera and with Coke Light in my hand (no diet coke here, for shame!) Stan and I exchanged comments as if we were professional judges on the dives, until we realized that perhaps judging was slightly more complicated than measuring the size of the splash as the divers entered the water. Who could have known?! =)

Tomorrow we have a lazy day planned, mostly full of me taking pictures with my slightly bruised (did I say slightly? I meant rather MORE than slightly) point-and-shoot Casio. I am soon hoping to add a new member to my family - the Canon EOS 40d DSL camera. I am quite looking forward to that day! I will keep you all posted on when that might be... however far in the future.

Time to shower and stare some more at the mound of gifts, tea, and veggie chips (yes, I'm bringing vegetable chips home from China) that I must arrange into my bags, somehow.