Beijing Day 3

Our day began with a stop at a local tea house.  We were shown how to prepare several different teas and tasted 5 different kinds. Only 2 of us, Mike for one, spilled the tea.  Next came the treat of a Rickshaw ride through the Beijing of Old into the city's ancient back lanes of hutong neighborhoods.  Our next stop was at the home of a local resident whose home was a modest 600 square feet.  The lady was preparing dumplings in her kitchen. They looked good, but we were not able to taste. The lady's niece was a talented painter and paints inside bottles and jars.  This part of Beijing is not the best, but the people seemed happy and contented with who they are, what they do and the life they live. It made us realize how fortunate we are to live in our country.  Later we took a flight to Xian where we will stay for the next 2 nights.

Sipping tea at a local Tea House

Puerto Madryn, Argentina

Tuesday, 1/29
Puerto Madryn, Argentina. Temperatre 82. Partly cloudy and sunny. This area of Argentina holds on to its Welsh traditions as it was founded by 150 Welsh settlers in 1856. We began our day with a motorcoach ride to the Welsh village of Gaiman (once visited by Princess Diana). This village continues its wonderful tradition of Tea-Welsh style which we enjoyed along with homemade scones, cakes and breads, butter and jam. After tea we returned via Punta Loma to get a glimpse of Patagonia's coastal wildlife including a visit to the resident colony of sea lions. Then a drive along the beach through the town on the way back to our ship.

Pictured below-

-Our guide Maybel with Mate (a drink similar to tea) that you drink from a gourd as a group experience.

-Enjoying tea Welsh style in Gaiman

-Garden of local tea house

-Sea lions in Puerto Madryn