After eating we purchased some fruit from a nearby fruit store and it was an early night in preparation of the next day.



In loosing oneself can one begin to find  09/06/2014 

 

The following day was a Monday, and this can only mean one thing "cheat-day".

If you have no idea what a cheat-day is I shall enlighten you. Being vegetarian and health conscious we both like to stay aware of what we eat, however on cheat-day we allow ourselves to expand the limits of our normal lifestyle.

I had admitted to Bruna that I never in my life tried a frappuccino, there are many reasons for this including not wanting to support the type of establishments that make them. However.... I am also a believer in expanding my experience of life and trying things at least once. To the delight of my beautiful girl it was off to a mac book / iphone breeding zoo...ahem I mean coffee shop for a sugary experience.

Filled with sugar and caffeine it was time to explore Hangzhou.

The Qiantang river is a peaceful area, probably one of the only places with a gentle breeze to help keep you cool. Along the river barriers you will find artwork, some exquisite others not so much, all open to interesting interpretation.
 

There is a familiar theme running throughout the art of the largest tidal bore that swept up the river in 2010 injuring many spectators. There are also many interesting pieces representing current concerns, modern influences and some just highly decorative and enticing.




The river was a nice place to spend time and cool down. It was also a wonderful place for us to share our very first dance together. After sometime laughing, conversing and discussions of philosophy we decided to choose a direction and begin walking.
 

Hangzhou has massive construction underway, with highrises littering the skyline. The streets are wide and airy with very few people populating them.




We continued to walk for hours, unaware and uncaring of our actual location. We finally came to the end of the new builds and where presented with an alternative view of the city. In this area truth of life could be clearly seen, there was no hiding behind designer labels or social masks, life was by the side of the street in all its beauty.
 

Old building had been turned to rubble, local shops had corrugated roofs, patched together to keep the rain at bay. It was here I finally started to feel at home. There is something real that exist in places like this.   We wandered through some of the narrow streets and broken homes, greeted by bewildered residents while they showered outside. Clearly not familiar with foreigners in these neighborhoods. 

We stopped at a local street cafe to rest our feet and drink a beer, much to the amusement of locals eating. By this time we where tired, we had been walking for around six hours, the caffeine and sugar had worn off and it was becoming evident that my stomach was not impressed. We decided to make our way back towards the city center and locate food.

Breakfast 10/06/2014
 

Did I mention breakfast being the most important meal of the day. Anyway our hotel offered a free buffet breakfast served between 07:00 - 09:00, naturally I woke up at 04:30 in anticipation of this.
 

Two and and half hours later it was time to eat. A Chinese breakfast is a little bit different to what one would expect, not one to be deterred I made full use of the free food.

 

The remainder of this post is my dedication to free breakfasts all over the world, and for all of those people who also appreciate the unique finesse of how much better food taste when it is for free.  There will always be those uncouth among us who just don't fully appreciate these delicacies at 07:00 in the morning, I will en-devour to convert them over time.

Peace love and truth always,



Pace & Bruna