Marco!

If you didn't think “Polo!” you missed out on one of the best childhood pool games.  Marco Polo was the first expat in China (if you forget all those other people that migrated over but we don’t count like most of history).  He went to West Lake in Hangzhou, and proclaimed the city was “greater than any in the world”.  I was not disappointed.  Just one hour outside the city by high speed train, Hangzhou was the perfect weekend getaway.  It had everything in abundance: mountains, water, temples, old boats, tea plantations on hillsides, and people.  So many people.  There’s an expression in China that roughly translates to “people mountain, people see”.  Anywhere that's scenic will be overrun with tourism.  It wasn't a big deal though.  The lake was still relaxing and beautiful.  As hard as I tried to get good pictures, it doesn't come close capturing what I saw.

 

I actually kicked off the weekend the exact opposite of relaxing – at a beer festival.  I was expecting parks, beer tents, maybe some folk bands, and people in plaid.  Instead I got dj’s, models, and blow up Disney characters, but there were also a bunch of great local beers.  They had De Halve Maan, which is a sentimental favorite from Bruges. 

Back to the US this weekend!