I had been to Yuyuan Garden three years ago, although we rushed through it. I thought it was worth re-visiting. The large building is the Ceremonial Tea House. The garden is maze-like, with rockeries. The Taoist philosophy of gardening is more symbolic than western gardening. Single plants are placed here and there for very specific reasons. This garden was originally built in the 1500's. It's surrounded by lanes full of food stalls and souvenir shops. It's somewhat Disneyfied; the area was built in the architectural style of buildings hundreds of years ago.
The young lady in the pink shirt approached me while I was waiting for Jack to pick me up (Jack who will have the AC turned up high and a fresh bottle of cold water waiting for me, bless him) and wanted to know if I was American. Thus the mandatory photo.
I had an odd and unpleasant experience. I got hungry, and the only thing I could smell was a putrid aroma of what I thought must be rancid oil frying. I couldn't escape it. I decided it wasn't rancid oil, but some odd and popular item that was being deep-fried everywhere. Never figured it out. Once I was feeling sick, but also needed food, I settled on having lunch in the Haggen-Daz shop. Three scoops for me! I'm sure some of my discomfort was due to jet lag, the 95 degrees, and the fact that the place was packed with summer tourists.
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