Saturday, November 12, 2011

Split-pants and more - out and about in Beijing.

menacing looking fruit

loving orange everything this season


street life

ready to ride



the girls testing out the public exercise equipment

something scary on that skewer!

market delicacies


leaves glinting in late autumn sun.
local fruit stall 




a tasty Chinese lunch, baozi, jiazi and mifan (dumplings, buns and fried rice)

the bustle of the street corner vendor

temple ceilings in the park ooze colour and history

dumpling stall

cheeky autumn leaf thrower!

at the exercise hang out

gorgeous autumn colours

haw fruit skewer

sweet fruit candy stall


Hi In My Cabinet'ers,

The kids and I have been having a ball today out and about on the bikes in our stunning Autumn weather. Talk about constant inspiration through exploration...love it!

First stop - our local and glorious Ritan Park, where we always expect the unexpected.

Toddlers waddling about with glee in the latest in split-pant fashion (oh yes, have seen it all, from denim studded bumless wonders to the warmer Winter-weight padded trewsers)...these little cuties MUST be feeling the crisp autumn breeze these days! Time for some nappies please parents!

Fruit stall goodness... bursting with colour and crazy shapes, they just scream - eat me!!!!

new friends 

 Old-timers (and us!) bending, stretching, scratching, twisting, swaying and flexing on the public exercise machines in the park. What a brilliant idea. So social. I chatted away in my faltering Mandarin to a lovely lady who knowingly predicted tomorrow would be "feicheng leng" (in other words, freeze your .... off cold!)

Starting a community autumn leaf fight with our "very newly" acquired friends and starey ex-pat gazers. (cue: a LOT of long lense cameras at the ready to catch the crazy loud Kiwi kids dousing each other with crispy leaf goodness!)

Street-side snack food, Beijing-style on the offering...aromas floating down the fulou (side road) to entice us closer. mmmm yummo, what to choose? Noodles in every possible combination imaginable, jiazi (dumplings), baozi (pork buns), skewered fruits glazed in a sweet hardened candy, sweet corn cobs..keep it comin'!

A cluster of wrinkled and happy friends huddled in a circle heartily belting out a traditional folk song, complete with perfectly-timed sashaying moves and accompanied by a Chinese flutist.

Lily on her favourite climbing tree
We stopped and soaked it all in. The kids were, as usual, mesmorised, even after two years of being here and seeing such scenes as part and parcel of our daily life in Beijing, we are still moved, still fascinated, still challenged to cast aside our Western preconceptions and social restrictions and embrace the often startling and unique Eastern point of view.


Wonder what tomorrow will have in store for us....till then,

xE







5 comments:

  1. Love the snapshot of life in Beijing. You paint a very pretty picture! Speaking of pictures I'd like a nice little piece of Beijing art... in your new shop perhaps!?

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  2. Thanks for your comment Bry. I'll keep an eye out for some great art...it may well show up at In My Cabinet soon!

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  3. Love your blog! Makes a girl ever so slightly homesick...

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  4. I miss you too!! Though I'm ever so slightly envious of your MUCH larger home!!! Take care.x

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  5. Another important element is to select the numbers of home printable exercise ball workouts videos to use. There are a variety of styles available, including kickboxing, aerobics and Pilates. Check the video to decide whether an equipment is needed, such as adjustable weights, resistance bands or exercise ball.

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