Fresh Air.

The weather in Nanjing has started to get a little too chilly for my liking so our 4-day trip to Yangshuo, China was much needed. Not only is it warmer but there was actually blue skies and stars at night. It was a breath of fresh air...literally. Our adventure started on Thursday when we took an evening flight to Guilin. After an hour and a half bus ride, we arrived in the quaint little town of Yangshuo. The town may be pretty small but the natural beauty around it isn't. On Friday morning, we booked a cooking class to try out our Chinese food-making skills. This was one of our favorites by far of the trip. The only thing I would have changed was the meat market we went too at the beginning. Anyone who knows me knows that I can't handle anything of that sort.  Last time I watched a Peta video, I turned vegetarian for five years. So I decided to skip out on seeing them kill and butcher everything from rats to dogs. Yes, dogs. But I pretty much got a visual from hearing about it afterwards. I will spare you the details. Anyways, the cooking school was out in the country and it was a blast. We made 5 different dishes that we are hoping to perfect by the time we get back to the US in order to show how cultured we've become;) Later that afternoon, we took a tour of a water cave that had hot springs at the end. It was a little rainy that day so I could have stayed in the hot springs all night. That night, we went around to the local markets and tried to bargain to get the best deals on scarves. I don't think I am very good at it because I didn't go home with one. On Saturday, it was absolutely beautiful weather. We rented bikes and took a tour of the countryside. We stopped by an ancient village called Jiuxian, which had the cutest old man sitting outside. He showed us the house where he was born, and after 87 years, he only made it a few feet away. Life is a lot different on this side of the world. Later on, we hiked Moon Hill, which is more of a mountain than hill. The view was worth every step, even in flip flops. On Sunday, we relaxed by taking a bamboo raft (more like PVC raft) down the Li River to a town called Xingping. This was one of my favorites because I couldn't get enough of being in the sun. In China, you hardly ever feel like you are getting enough vitamin D so I was soaking it up. That night we went out on a boat and watched cormorant fishing in all its glory. Or at least the tourist version of it. When Monday came, it was depressing to know that it was our last day and that tomorrow we would be back at school and work. We decided to rent scooters and get lost in the countryside. We found a few villages that were fun to drive through. I loved the kids who would try to race us on the scooter or wave to us on the street. I was so touched by the kindness of some of the people who literally had nothing but would send us home with a bag full of peanuts or an invitation to dinner. It really makes you grateful for all of your blessings. It truly is a blessing to be able to be here in China, with my husband, and see beautiful places like this. Hopefully these pictures will make you feel like you were there too.