Monday in Suzhou another marathon with the indefatigable guide called George. First we went on a boat ride through the grand canal, stopped at a huge market out of the 18th century in some respects. The kids left the market saying they were never going to eat meat again, but the ordered and ate some fried chicken at lunch. There were far too many live animals waiting to be someone's dinner and rather gruesome displays of meat, organs, and other things like brains that we westerners are loath to admit become our food. We like the sanitized version; here it's in your face.
Fascinating tour through a silk factory at the end of which was a silk store..really high end with gorgeous stuff. The two girls were so taken by the silk dresses that they almost bought something...Lily looked great in a silk dress that she finally decided she wouldn't get a chance to wear except at a wedding, so since there was no wedding in sight, she passed it up. Anna liked a skirt that looked great. They were both surprised to even think of getting dress up clothes, but the stuff in the silk store was so gorgeous it was hard not to look and try on.
After lunch at a great place where there was some considerable discussion about how much to order, plates and plates came one after the other, and we gobbled it all up. Was there enough? Who knows; if we'd ordered six more they probably would have been gobbled too because the food was really so good.
Tomorrow we head to Wuhu...unfortunately we have to leave the hotel at 5:15 to catch a 6am train. The time got moved up by an hour. Suzhou is a very beautiful city....it doesn't at all feel like it has 2 million people, in spite of the bustle. Traffic is bizarre, and you play chicken just to cross the street with cars, buses, bikes, and mopeds coming at you from all directions. There are no driving rules; drivers just go, and timid pedestrians could spend their lives on one side of the street.
We're all exhausted....time for a nap.
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