Xi'an, the First Feast

Well our pre-trip search for warm clothes was unnecessary. We dug out long pants and wore light sweaters and those were fine. We had a great time and saw many things that were really the chance of a lifetime. We opted to stay in a 4 star hotel because it was in the heart of the action. It's called The Bell Tower Hotel and is in the square that both the bell and drum towers reside. It was passable, but just barely. I must say, though, that the location made it worth it. We were in the thick of the National Holiday throng and could walk right out into the excitement each morning and step out of it and into our beds each night.
We arrived on Tuesday evening checked into our hotel and within 10 minutes were out the door for dinner. We met friends right across the street at the famous De Fa Chang Restaurant.


This is the reknowned place to go for Jiaozi (Dumpling) Feasts. We were treated by our friends who had arrived earlier in the week from Shenzhen. Their son is a student in my class. They reserved us a private room upstairs and ordered 14 kinds of steamed dumplings along with lots of others cooked in a variety of ways. Some of the dumplings are shaped like animals - little birds, pigs, monkeys. There are hundreds to choose from. My favorite had mushrooms and were shaped to look like monkey faces. Abbey and her little friend played with the napkins and had chopstick sword fights the whole time and ate about 1 bite each.