Beijing!

We went to Beijing for Spring break. What a fantastic city! This is the first time we've ever done an organized tour -- I must admit it was convenient: hop on the bus and they take you where you're scheduled to go, no thinking involved! The other families on the tour were really fun so we all had a fun time.

These are the places to which we went (in no particular order): The Great Wall (Mu Tian Yu Section), Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, the Ming Tombs, the Temple of Heaven, the 2008 Olympic Green Park (including the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube) and, in contrast to the modernity of the Olympic Park, a typical "hutong" (communal neighborhood) where we were provided lunch by a local family! We also went to a wonderful acrobatic show and a kung fu performance.

What a wonderful trip!

Here's a few photos....

Cherry Blossom Season

Right before we left for China the cherry trees bloomed.  By the time we returned, the blossoms were gone....

Our New Digs!

On March 6 we moved onto the base. Of course, it was pouring rain. That was only fitting since it was pouring when we moved into our Japanese house last May!

This is what our tower (our apartment house) looks like. This is not our tower but they all look alike -- pretty institutional looking!

We've got a huge playground behind our tower and lots of space for Danny to ride his bike and scooter.

This is the view from our dining area and kitchen (don't look at the mess).

This is the view from the master bedroom.

This is what our living room looks like -- messy, I know! We bought the raspberry-colored rug to liven up the otherwise drab color scheme (everything in the apartment that does not belong to us is white, beige, or taupe).

Disneyland and DisneySea

Strawberry Season

It's strawberry season in Japan so we went strawberry picking! For 4500 Yen (about $50) we had the pleasure of picking all the strawberries we could eat in a 30-minute period (organically-grown strawberries, no pesticides used). They were delicious! But, at those prices, this is not something we will be doing very often.

Of course, after strawberry-picking, we had to go to Denny's! (No, there's no American food on the menu!)

Hot Springs in the Snow!

In mid-January we went to the Yunessun Hot Springs (http://www.yunessun.com/english/). Despite the snowy weather, we were able to enjoy the wonderful hot springs. The various springs (scented with coffee, tea, green tea, wine, chocolate, sake, etc.) were wonderful! We were so relaxed after spending, literally, hours in the various springs and spas -- both indoor and out. Fortunately, our hotel (the Fujiya Hotel, the second-oldest hotel in Japan -- )http://www.fujiyahotel.jp/english/index.html), was just down the road. We slept like babies.

Below: Ric in the wine spring.


Below: Danny and Bobbie in the green tea spring.

Below: Danny in one of the outdoor springs.

Below: A hotel employee pours coffee into the spring! Believe it or not, people line up to have him pour it on them.

Below: at one of the indoor pools, the boys enjoy a nice cool treat.

Below: The Yunessun Mascots (with Danny and Bobbie).

Below: Danny found a treasure chest! But, unfortunately, they wouldn't let him take it home so Ric and I still have to work for a living....

Hotel grounds....