Tea village

Jon does not have any classes on Thursday. This makes an ideal time to get out with the kids and do a few things. We like to go to the store, shopping, or other places, but it is more enjoyable when we do not go on the weekend. Anyway, the weather has been lovely, so we decided to take advantage of this and spend some time outdoors. We packed a picnic lunch and headed out. Of course it ended up being one of those days that we just could not get going as quick as we wanted. For several reasons we did not really get going until around 11:00. As we were leaving, Jon and I were still deciding exactly where we were going....

We decided to go to an area called something tea village. We saw it in the Hangzhou magazine. We just showed the taxi driver the page that had the address in Chinese. We did not exactly know where we were going, but I knew that it would be one of those days that we would be glad we went. I told everyone that. It was a frustrating beginning and we were really wondering if we should still go... the trip was worth it!

We drove though an area of town that had many tea houses along the road. There were tea farms or plantations on both sides of the road, before and after the "village". We got the taxi to let us off. Our plan was to find a nice spot for our picnic. I could tell the driver did not get it. He drove us into some area that was a restaurant or something (we did not go in). He drove away very slowly...

Anyway we walked along the road and watched people pick tea and other things from their gardens. We found a quiet place almost in a tea field and ate our lunch. Then we walked back to the "village" area. I don't know how many people asked us if we wanted to eat. The next time we go, I think I will just eat at one of those places. When the tour buses are not going by, it is very quiet. You can hear birds, and the running water in the creeks.

This was the wall of one of the tea houses.

I am fascinated by old houses. I wonder if this was really an old house, or just built to look like one.

Some of the views that we saw...

What are they looking at?

Oh, that is what it is. These guys must like tea plants because we saw several of them.

If any of you come to visit us in the spring, we will take you out to this area. It was gorgeous!

At the end of the trip we were waiting at the bus stop to go home. A few cars came by and slowed down to get a better look at us and the kids. One guy stopped and asked us where we were going. Jon told him where we lived and he offered us a ride. We were a little leery at first, but when we asked him how much it would cost, he said, "no money!". He was just a really nice guy. He said he was going by our place on the way to work. He had a really nice car. I was really proud of the kids, because they behaved super! Jon and this guy conversed some almost all in Chinese. At the end of the ride, they exchanged numbers. I don't know if he will call or what, but it was really really nice. See, I was right we were glad that we went! Very glad.