Squid on a Stick

This morning after breakfast we hit the streets.  Our hotel is on the edge of an area called Confucius Temple.  In short, there are a few tourist attractions surrounded by several pedestrian streets full of shops.

As usual around here, Scott was a huge hit.  Everybody stares but the ladies always want to touch him or hold him.  People also like Lora's long blond hair.  A few people spoke Chinese to Joshua, which got them nowhere.  So far they've handled all the attention well.

A few people seem to be interested in me as well.  While out walking around the shops, we came across an open area. A group of men walked over to where we were and seemed to be talking about me.  I decided we should have a picture together.  At this they all started to disperse but I made them come back.  After seeing the picture I thought, "oh, maybe they just think I'm a giant..."  I forget how big I am sometimes, over here it's even more the case.

The last time we came to China we took it easy on the local food in fear that we might get sick or that our digestive system would just revolt.  We tried a few rarities (for us) but generally didn't branch out too far from the comfort zone.  I decided a long time ago that if I ever came back I would just dive in when it comes to the food and see what happened.  This morning it was squid on a stick.  Yum.

Here's a couple for the "some things just don't translate well" file.

• Meat Floss - The breakfast here in the hotel is a buffet.  Everything has labels in Chinese with English translation.  While looking around I saw should kind of shredded meat.  Checked the label and it said "meat floss".  I don't know what it is but I'll try it tomorrow and let you know.
• Fermented Soy Bean Prawn Flavor Potato Chips.  Will also have to let you know tomorrow how this goes.

After getting back to the hotel and playing with Mae for a bit and letting her settle we decided to go back out for dinner.  All of us were so tired but it was only 6:30 and we agreed it was best to stay awake until actual bed time.  We went to a restaurant that our guide recommended.  It was another adventure in ordering but it was delicious.  Lora and Joshua feel asleep at the table.  Once the rest of us were done we came home, baths and jammies, and now all my babies are sleeping, which is where I'm going.