Well, despite our lack of luggage (we've been assured that it's on its way from NY at the moment, please cross your fingers), we managed to make the most of this layover day in Beijing. This morning we traveled to Beijing Curio City so that we could check out an "ancient weapons shop". The authenticity of the antiques on offer is questionable, of course, but John managed to find some items that were interesting even if they're of the faux variety!
I found a really beautiful, hand-embroidered baby carrier. Since the price quoted for this item was approximately $600 US and because the quality of the embroidery was pretty amazing, I do believe it's the real deal. Much out of my price range, of course, but I thought that fellow crafters might like to see an antique Chinese Baby Bjorn:
From there we made our way to a well-known Peking duck restaurant for lunch, the Beijing DaDong Roast Duck Restaurant. In addition to the obvious choice of a whole crispy duck for lunch, we also got duck hearts with lily, dragon beans, and beef with chrysanthemums. Sandra, John and I all agreed that the duck hearts were the most delicious item, but the beef was quite pretty so it's featured below:
From DaDong we made our way down a bustling thoroughfare to a therapeutic retreat called Bodhi, where an 80 minute foot reflexology treatment included a basic shoulder and back massage, and was just what we needed after a long plane ride. The inevitable comparisons between John (who's 6'9" tall) and Yao Ming amused our three male massage therapists to no end.
All in all, it's been a fun day! It would have been a bit more fun in our own clothes, of course, but c'est la vie.
2 comments:
$600 USD??? I'm guessing that's the gullible rich foreign tourist price!!! Do they have any vegetarian food at all? -Ashish
That is so beautiful, I loved the carrier. The food looked very good. I am glad that you enjoyed the massage.
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