Ladee's Travels

Our group exited the bus, thanked the driver and tour guide (tips are always welcome), and walked back to the ship through the terminal.  I turned to take one more photograph of the amazing architecture.  This looks like a convention center.  I thought that this was a pretty cool photo, but CLICK HERE to see more google photos up close and personal.

The bus returned to the ship, giving me one last look at Dalian.  I sat back in my coach window seat and captured my last look.

More views of the linens and things

More photos as I ride the escalators to the top floor.  I saw a sign for a Toilet so decided that I better take advantage of this.  I could only take one photo before someone else walked in.

Our final stop on the tour was at a huge department store.  The website for this store is listed below.  My browser gave me an option to translate the page, which I did. http://www.jiu-guang.com/dalian/intro/ The department store is in "a most prosperous district" and you can see from these first few photographs that this appears to be true.

This is part of the story about our visit to the Chinese family home in Dalian.   Click here for the entire story. Video needs to be viewed from the Internet. Click on title.

This is part of the story about our visit to the Chinese family home in Dalian.   Click here for the entire story. You need to view this from the blog.

This is our delightful hostess from our visit to a Chinese home in Dalian, China.  Our translator was very helpful, as we would have been lost for most of the conversation.  The hostess's warmth and good nature were very evident. This is part of the story about our visit to the Chinese family home in Dalian.   Click here for the entire story. Notes from original post: This is a brief interview with our delightful hostess. You will need to click on the title of the blog post to see the video on the Internet if you receive this by email.

Our group entered the apartment to meet our delightful hostess.  I was very happy that she has opened her home to foreigners so that we could get just a small glimpse of life in China.  This presented a picture outside of the tours to the famous places and added a human touch to the experience.

This is a connection point in the city transportation.  The subway exist is here, and the train also stops.

We left the market place and walked a block or two to board our bus.  This photo has three things for you to see.  First, the tall man is our tour helper. He is a great one to have as the helper because he is so tall and so easy to see.  He made life in the market very easy.  Second, see the bicycle sign that says bikes are to go to the right.  So is the donkey cart considered a high speed vehicle?  Or is the bike to go the right side with the cars?  And third, the donkey cart itself is worth stopping and taking a look.

Note: This is an updated post because I had a reader question on the pineapple.  My comments and an additional photo are added. There were a lot of baked goods, cookies, cakes but I noticed that there was not a lot of chocolate.

This is beginning to be a little crazy.  How many options do you need?  There are the slimy and the squirmy, the shelled and on and on.  I tried to cut back on the photos, but wanted you to see all of this.  I was having a blast snapping the photos.  I must have looked like I had never seen anything like this.  I haven't, not quite like this. And we must have looked funny as our little tour line stayed together in a long line in the middle of the aisle.

Wow, it would take a hand cart to move a bag of rice home.  Can you imagine what someone who is used to shopping in this store thinks when they visit the local neighborhood store in your town ... and sees the tiny bag of rice. Is this part of "all the rice in China"?  There is a LOT of rice.

Is it Pixar that uses these lamps as a logo?  ( Click here to see the Pixar Lamp ) then come right back. I am sure that these are the Asian cousins.

This is the first post of a series that walks you through an amazingly HUGE market with every little thing imaginable.  Ok, I didn't see furnature or televisions, but check our the variety.

We visited a famous square that is now popular for kite flying and bubbles.  Many traveling kite vendors had a wide variety and price range of kites.

We left the community center and continued on our way to the next stop.  I spotted a tall spire on a unique building.  Still searching to figure out what this building is for, called, etc.

The original tour was scheduled to attend a school, complete with a performance by the children.  Since it was Saturday, the school was closed and we were rescheduled to go to a local community center for a performance.  The guide said that the retirement age was in the mid to late 50s and that the older adults they took time to learn art skills.  The center members put on dance and musical routines, as well as sold crafts.  Enjoy the photos and have fun. The participants surely enjoyed themselves and the interaction with the visitors.  This man was my favorite.

The workers lined the blue wall around a construction site, showing that they have the tools to do the work.  The guide explained that this is a regular practice.  I see this in Phoenix also, but the workers do not bring their tools with them.