Hangzhou

A few weeks ago we had a long holiday weekend and decided to take the fast train to Hangzhou.  Driving  would have taken around 3 hours but the train got us there in 45 minutes.   It was so exciting to watch Brycen's face as the countryside whizzed by but even funnier to see how scared he got when another train passed inches from our window. 
Because it was a holiday it was VERY crowded which made for some S L O W walks around the lake.  I loved the atmosphere.  The cherry blossoms were out, there were mountains surrounding the lake and the weather was perfect.  
We visited Lingyin Temple which is one of the largest and most visited Buddhist temples in China.  It was interesting to see monks performing a ceremony.  Being the skeptic that I am, I really want to believe that the ceremony is authentic and not just for the sake of the tourists.

 As I have described before the Chinese love foreign kids.  LOVE THEM.  Below is an example of a very normal outing with both kids and the kind of attention they get. It truly does make you sympathize (for a brief moment) with animals at the zoo.