Back Lake Ramble

Today I had no plans, so I decided to do one of the "neighbourhood walks" from the guide book I brought with me, this one was called "Back Lake Ramble" and took me past some tourist spots in the Doncheng district. It took me past this famous opera singers old house, but you had to pay to go in, so I read the sign outside and moved on, one of the old universities, and various other quite boring tourist spots which I chose to observe from the outside.
It then led me down a road called LiuYin Jie, which was a street that was maintained by the army and local residents. I then went and looked at the Yanfang Hutongs, the family rank is displayed on the entrance to their "courtyard", some are very luxurious and others very basic.
Then came my favourite part of the day, and possibly one of my favourite moments since being in Beijing, the hutongs led to the park, and in the guidebook it recommended that you stop of at Family Fus Teahouse, so I thought it would be rude not to and headed inside, the inside was all decorated with Ming Dynasty furniture and very traditionally chinese. I was seated in a little two seated area with a beautiful view of the lake and a perfect spot for people watching!
 The owner spoke good english and explained all the different kinds of tea to me, I went for a green tea, which was surprisingly delicious as I didnt think I really liked green tea. I was also given some snacks of which I had no idea what some of them were, but they all tasted yummy!

I spent about two hours just sat in the teahouse, it was that kind of place where you could just sit and think, I realised it was probably the first time since I got there that I actually reflected on my time here, not just what I've done or going to do, but more about what the experience has been for me so far. 

When I eventually left I continued on my "ramble" further up the lake there were lots of bars and cafes that looked really nice. I also got videoed today, but had no idea what they were saying. Maybe it will go viral and ill be a celebrity of China!

The final part of my ramble was a shopping street - YAY! There was this shop all about post boxes, is was quite weird, at the back they had all the british postboxes, and they had this minature versions of traditional hutongs and other buildings with a peep hole to see what they were like inside. It was quite interesting but I have no idea what the shop was about!! I picked up a couple of presents and also bought some postcards to send home! :D Next challenge getting them posted!! I stupidly bought stamps when I got them, but I dont think they will work internationally, bit of a blonde moment!

 




So that was my day today, and although it may read like a bit of a boring blog post, I think it has been one of my best days here so far.

xxx