Anyway, like last year with the families out of town during summer break, a lot of guys are left to their own devices. Unlike last year, with the great friends we've made here my time was not filled with solitude, work, and more solitude. This year was truly a great experience. I already have blogged about several outings (Mongolia, Thailand); below are are few other things that happened while the family was away.
There was a stretch of at least 3 straight weeks of super clear days, so we tried to make the most of it! Also, not having the kids around gave me a chance to knock out some items on the Facebook Food List Challenge.
I and a few men from church hit Mudu - an old town West of Suzhou. I'd never been here before and thought it would be a good photo session... Speaking of which, someday I'll rotate this pic a few degrees (I took it). :(
One of the buildings in the gardens.
Shot of R'veen taking a shot of something else.
I particularly liked this bridge. This is very traditional set up. The gardens charged entry, so there was no one there!
This bridge, however, is straight out of Indiana Jones.
After topping a hill, we were able to see farther than ever due to the clear day.
Men's dinner at my house. Note the lack of anything green (exception being the bag of sour cream potato chips). The spread featured paella, sausages, fried chicken wings, and crawdads (not pictured). The only healthy items were the peaches, so we grilled them and smothered them with chocolate, honey and whipped cream (stage right in the pic).
I have always wanted to hit a Sichuan hot pot. I thought any place that brings out folding chairs for the wait list has got to be good.
The hot pot. We went with a segmented one - broth on one side, napalm on the other.
While eating this with an Indian friend, he stated that this was one of the hottest things he'd ever eaten. Whoah...
Poor little squid. I also was able to add yak to my list on hot pot night. Unfortunately it wasn't on the aforementioned Facebook list, but it should be!
Close up of a Paella. I've decided I love it! This one is the first one I made - shrimp, chicken and chorizo. It's traditionally cooked on the grill, so it combines the best of both worlds: cooking outside over open fire and a one pot meal.
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