Hong Zho

Today we set off at 8 am to go to the capital of the province of Zhe Jiang. Hong Zho has about 6 million people and of course, amazing shopping. To our eventual appreciation, our first stop was West Lake due to the insistence of the driver. It is an amazing Park much like Stanley Park. Great photo op, bike rentals, strolling, and general beauty of nature component. I have only seen one cricket but they make their existence known wherever we go. The lotus plants are actually fenced in to keep them from over running the lake. You can also take boat rides to several of the islands in the lake and drink tea. After photos with with colleagues and complete strangers, we headed off to The Old Town Shopping area. The Coke sponsored Beijing Olympics logo made it quite clear we were in a tourist haven. When we eventually reassembled, we headed down the main shopping street. After much persuasion, we convinced Jane to set a meeting shop so we could all do our own shopping. We ended up spending most of our time in the department store that was actually a collection of vendors who rent store fronts and are willing to bargain. So much to buy, so much money to save. I bought another suitcase and then proceeded to fill it up. The culmination of our perfect day was a grande Americano in Starbucks - my first in two weeks! By the time we got back to Fuyang, it felt like arriving on home turf. Great meal. Blog update. Time for bed.