"Lazy" Sunday

So Ted and I finally decided to take the subway for the first time yesterday. We had to get to a market all the way across town, and to be honest, my feet have been killing me. I can count three band-aids on them as of right now, and that is even after the restful day we had today. After our plans to see the national museum earlier this week were thwarted when we found out it was closed for repairs, we saw yesterday numerous posters throughout the subway for the capital museum. They were hosting a Greek exhibit on loan from the Louvre, which perked Ted and I's interest immediately.

So when we had no other plans for our lazy Sunday, we decided to go check out this brand spankin' new museum, which was just completed last year. While the in-house collection was not that extensive, we really enjoyed the few pieces that were on display in the special Greek exhibit in the main hall.

The collection was comprised of stone statuary and red and black Attic vases, but was hard to see because of the hordes of people pushing to get a look at the art, all snapping photographs. One man Ted and I saw took at least three pictures of every piece, and at least one of all of the information cards. Sheesh. But instead of me tiredly mumbling on about the exhibit, I thought I would share the few pictures I took:

After a while of pushing through people to get a glimpse at some art, Ted and I had worked up a big appetite and found a little but boisterous place to grab some lunch close to the museum. Everything on the menu was either seafood or spicy food, so we decided to go for the latter. To our table came buckwheat noodles which were smothered in chili oil, and ground chicken floating in a sea of red peppers, ginger, and green onions. Needless to say, the Tsingtao was chugged to extinguish the fires in our mouths, and we left with noses running but pocketbooks barely dented. It makes my nose hurt just thinking about it!

So we rolled ourselves down to the subway for the ride home, where we got to share some intimate moments with our fellow riders... all 100 thousand of them. At one point, I thought Ted and I were going to get separated, as I got pushed onto the 1 line by a sea of Beijingers, while Ted almost got left behind. Luckily he made it in the car with the last desperate push of riders to make the train, and we managed to get home intact.

It was still fairly early in the afternoon, so I decided to let Ted live out his Beijing dream: take a paddle boat out onto Houhai lake. Note to potential paddlers: avoid the damn thing when the wind has been gusting all day. The boats are not necessarily what you would call "aerodynamic" so expect to paddle hard against the wind to get to your destination. Also, if you are above "typical Asian stature", this may not be the ride for you. About 5 minutes in, Ted had to ghetto rig a front seat so that he could paddle from the front, where there was enough leg room to prevent, and I quote, "my ass from cramping up something fierce". But again, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves:
Before I forget, I also have to mention the band that we listened to for quite some time before hopping onto the paddle boat. The great thing about Beijing is that there are people doing great things in public all the time. If you visit a park, there is usually something going on, and today at Houhai there was a classical Chinese band there that blew Ted and I away. The violin player (Chinese two string violin: I don't know the technical term) was amazing, and you could tell these old guys knew how to wail. They had drawn a huge crowd, and still had one hours later when Ted and I walked by the same pavilion after the boat ride.

We ended the day with an indulgence that Ted and I have been craving: pizza. Since we were down on Houhai we decided to stop into one of the trendy bars (which was empty being Sunday night and all) to have a beer and some 'za (thanks Lee). The pizza was very mediocre, but it was the first melted cheese we had had in over a week. Yum. And you know, the place was pretty cute. We decided to sit at the big booth with high benches and a low table, where we had to take off our shoes and sit cross-legged on big over-stuffed cushions. This is a far cry from some of the places we have been frequenting since our arrival in Beijing, which usually feature chairs with removable seat covers and chopsticks which come in the same packet as a moist towelette. It almost made the overpriced pizza seem worth it.

Since we only have a couple of days left in Beijing before we head to Qingdao and Shanghai, I thought I would leave you with a shot of the Drum Tower across Houhai at night: