What happened to this blog entry? Good question. I wrote it. I sent it. I received a message saying it posted. And then it disappeared with no trace, so I am now writing it again since not even a local draft of it survived. Maybe the infamous Chinese internet censors zapped it because of its edgy content. Regardless, let me return the reader to Xi'an on March 19.
A light rain and cool temperature were no more than a minor detractor. We began the day with a visit to the city wall. This wall rings the entire inner city and totals over seven miles in length.
From the wall the Bell Tower can be seen. Back in the day, the sounding of the bell signaled the opening of the gates in the city wall. In the evening, the sounding of drums in the Bell Tower's counterpart cleverly named the Drum Tower signaled the closing of the gates.
Some of the artifacts were amazing in their intricacy, detail, humor and/or artistry.
After the museum and inevitable daily "crafts" store it was lunch time. Once again we were at a round table setting 10-12 people. On the table was a large class 'lazy Susan' onto which waitstaff would place dishes of food. There was always an abundant variety of food to sample. It was fun and efficient.
After lunch we reboarded the bus for the trip to the airport for the flight back to Beijing. The plane was spotlessly clean and the flight attendants helpful and courteous.
[NOTE on March 22: Now that we are aboard VOYAGER linking to the Internet and World Wide Web through satellites rather than through internet service providers controlled by the Chinese government, I can finally see how postings from my iPad appear in my blog. It is apparent that I have some reformatting to do when I eventually clean up my entries prior to printing them as a book.]
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
The pictures are fabulous Dad! Christian has especially enjoyed seeing them and reading your details. You don't seem so far away when we can see all your goings on!! Thanks!!
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