Garden Expo

Our time here in Chongqing is coming to an end, but before we head out, we had one more sight to experience  - the Garden Expo.  By now, we are pretty good at navigating the buses and the Metro, and we even tried a different Metro stop. On our way to the Expo, we stopped at an upscale shopping center for food and fellowship with a fellow classical educator. The Garden Expo took us by surprise. In the back of our minds, we were all thinking, gardens in December, in gray, chilly, December - really? The Expo area is vast and offered beautiful art sculptures, waterfalls, unique stonework, views, fall colored leaves, and even the occasional flower. We hiked up and down, over bridges and through tunnels, up to the tower, and down to the lake. By the time we got back to the apartment, we had clocked over 27,000 steps! Yes, we were tired. Yes, we were worn out. Yes, we enjoyed our day immensely and did not regret for a moment the visit in December.

Lukas capturing the water fall

Bob capturing Noah

Noah conquering the hill

Good waiting time amusement - rubiks cubes

Bamboo

Plotting our path

This is what happens when a stranger wants to take your photo. They take a picture with our camera as well.

 

Getting our bearings

Black swan about to take flight

One of our goals - to reach the tower

We opted out of the boat tour

Walking through a bamboo 'forest'

Fall colors 

Huge leaves - Lukas foot for perspective

Local Hike

This past weekend, Bob was busy grading tests, so the rest of us headed out for a local hike. We set our aim for the tower that we can see from the apartment.  Although it appeared to be a distance away, it turned out to be pretty close. We followed the GPS, Baidu Map, and painted maps on the walls and found the tower. On our way, we encountered all sorts of interesting sights - such as the Minion decorated school and the burial plot for a school principal. The weather was nice. The temperature was a bit warmer. Unfortunately, the smog made it hard to make out the city from the outlook.  It was a fun afternoon.  We gave our calves a great workout with all the stairs we climbed both up and down.

The target

Smog

We made it!

The stairs were very steep in certain places

Is this really the path up to the tower?

We stumbled upon this hotel

Shadows!

Yes, We Do Do School

Lest anyone think we never do school. Here is a picture of us talking about Latin translations while sipping hot cocoa with marshmallows. It is chilly inside, and we need to use up our cocoa powder!