Photo Booth

I came across these little ladies in Xi’an. Enjoy your weekend! - Me

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Pile O' Pansies

Move over Pansies, it’s time to make way for the summer Petunias! Crews throughout the city have been busy-as little bees uprooting the flowers and replacing them with something a little more heat-hardy; just in time for the upcoming meltdown. Blaaahck!

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Alone Again

Ho-hum, my guests have come and gone. The apartment is quiet and still. Our time together passed just as quickly as I had suspected it would. While I’m quite certain he wouldn’t admit it, I think Klynt is breathing a sigh of relief now that I am not asking him (on a daily basis) if he has any extra cash he’d like to hand over. Shopping seemed to be what we did best. Well, that and laughing, because Trent is always good for a few laughs. A friend of mine recently noted that all good things must come to and end – sad but true. However, I think it could also allude to the possibility that many more adventures are on the way. Let’s hope so.

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Noteworthy

In a few short hours I will be off to the airport to pick up my little Sis and our good friend Trent. I’m really looking forward to their visit. Let me try that again. I am really, REALLY looking forward to their visit! Better. While Trent was here over the holidays, it will be Jena’s first trip to China. I can’t wait to show her around Suzhou and give her a sample of what life’s been like for Klynt and me over the past two years. I realize the upcoming days are going to fly by and we’ll be wishing for more time, but I am ever so thankful for the following weeks ahead.

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Welcome Spring

I will be the gladdest thing
Under the sun!
I will touch a hundred flowers
And not pick one.
~Edna St. Vincent Millay, "Afternoon on a Hill"

Xian 4 – City Wall of Xi’an

I read that there are only two cities, with intact surrounding walls in China, and Xi’an is one of them. Xi’an’s has been wonderfully restored and you can either choose to pedal or foot it around the wall. Walking the wall in its entirety would take approximately three hours. With only an hour to spare before heading to the airport, we rented ourselves a bicycle and enjoyed what was left of our time in this historic city.

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Xi’an 3 – Army of Terracotta Warriors

If you've traveled in China at all you know that, as a rule, you can’t go on a tour without being whisked off to some sort of ‘market’ a.k.a tourist trap. However once in a while you are pleasantly surprised. Before heading to the main attraction, we were taken to a studio where they make miniature to full-sized versions of the warriors (among other things) that you can purchase. Most of my favorite photos of the day were snapped there. Of course the Army itself was definitely worth the trek.

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And here we have the real deal. Hopefully you can get a fairly good idea of just how large the site is. Displayed are 8,000 life-like warriors. They were discovered by a local farmer back in 1974. He currently spends most of his days at the museum, signing books….and smoking his pipe.

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