Back in the U. S. of A.

I landed Friday night in Cincinnati after 24 hours of travel and jumped right into a weekend of celebration. 

Zach and Emily were getting married and I just couldn't miss the festivities. 

 (p.s. Skyline Chili is terrible).

It was a lovely weekend and so great to see my dear friends. 

Unforunately, MP isn't coming into town until next weekend, so Caleb got roped into being my date. He did a fabulous job :)

 I actually had lots of good lookin' men taking care of me.

 Emily was stunning, and they both looked so, so happy.

I've been spending time in Charlotte this week and am off this weekend to Asheville to celebrate the soon-to-be Daniel's! 

More to come...

xx,

Lauren

Another Flight

I'm heading State-side in T-12 hours!

My bag is packed, work is wrapped up, and I'm spending my last night in HK with this guy.

MP will be joining me next week and we're looking forward to spending lots of time with family and friends.

 I'm home for 3 weeks, so I'll be updating from here. 

That is, if anyone other than my mom is still reading this blog (...and her comments have stopped, so I'm not even sure about that one anymore). 

See you soon!

xx,

Lauren

Wrap-up on Beijing

We spent the next day walking around 798 Space, the art district in Beijing. 

 It was a really cool area with some funky exhibits. 

 We saw a bit of the counterculture. 

 And amused ourselves by posing beside huge statues. 

 We grabbed lunch in Houhai,

 and Michael tried the nasty yogurt drink that we saw all over the city. 

 We met up with Daria and Olivia for dinner at Dali Courtyard. Such a great restaurant, but it was literally a hole in the wall. 

 These pictures are of the entrance. 

Once walking through the door, this was the scene. 

Open air, and far removed from the rapid pace outside. 

There's a big conference happening this week in Beijing, so lots of people were flying in for the occasion. It was really nice to meet up with our HK friends outside of Hong Kong. 

On Sunday, before I flew out, I wanted to pop by the Weekend Market once more. 

 They sold everything and anything: furniture, swords, teapots, ceramics, shawls...

 tassels, antiques, jewelry, handicrafts, and pottery. 

 I was in heaven here at the ceramics. 

 and could have bought about everything I saw. 

 How beautiful? I came away with a piece or two, but really would have liked to take one of these bad boys home with me. No, they didn't ship :(

It was a nice spot to end the trip and a bit of a successful shopping adventure. 

Thanks for bearing with me on all of these posts...

My next big adventure is taking place Friday morning, and I'm frantically trying to get the last minute errands done before heading out. 

I can't wait to see YOU!

xx,

Lauren

Snakes, Centipedes, and Foo Dogs

After the Temple of Heaven, I made a quick stop by the Weekend Market. I was on the hunt for some Chinese Foo Dogs.

I know they're a bit crazy, but I love them!

Everyday from 5:00-9:00, there' a 'Night Market' on Wangfujing Street. 

 It's basically loads of food stalls. 

 Selling the most insane food. 

 (above: octopus, duck, kidney)

 (below: snails, crayfish)

 It's not all crazy....there were some dumplings. 

(below: SNAKE!)

Gives me the creeps just looking at it. 

 People did eat this creepy-crawlers. 

I was more comfortable standing beside the dumplings. 

 Starfish?!? I still don't understand this one. 

 This one takes the cake...I did pass a little girl eating one of these snakes. 

I about jumped out of my skin. 

Quite the cultural experience we had at the Wangfujing Night Market. I highly recommend a trip if you're in the area. 

We ended our night at Duck de Chine. 

 Quite the contrast from the Night Market. 

 The Peking Duck was amazing. 

Thanks, Natasha for the recommendation!

Goodnight from Beijing.

(Traffic at 10:30 pm)

xx,

Lauren