When discussing snacks in Europe, one may mention donuts, biscuits, sweet rolls, chips (fries), crisps, cakes, cookies...basically mostly sweets. I'm sure there would be a few naming dried fruit or nuts but most of us would have to admit that the first thing that comes to mind is sweets. Now, in China, despite an abundance of sweet treats and chocolates(mostly American)in the shops up and down the country, people don't really reach for those that often. It is much more common to snack on fruit, nuts and seeds. All very healthy and nutritious. My personal favourite (not so much because of its taste but because of its unassuming role in Europe)is the plain chestnut. Every town and city will have street vendors selling these by weight. They are usually cooked (I think) and have a very mild, slightly sweet flavour. I know that roasted chestnuts used to be popular in England, especially around winter time, they have also been used in Italian and French cooking as vegetarian stuffing or in roulades. I bet that most Europeans have never tried chestnuts though. So, here I am, craving home-baked apple charlotte or any home-baked cake for that matter but for now, c
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I know this post comes well late but I thought I would publish it anyway as Lantern Festival is one of the most well known Chinese festivals and it would be a shame not to share my experience of it with you. When we think of Chinese lanterns, we immediately visualize the deep red square-ish lanterns hanging around our local Chinatown or Chinese restaurants. The lanterns used during the festival are a bit different though in that they are not red but light beige and have elongated shape( at least the ones I've seen). The lantern festival is a true spectacle, reported every year by television channels all over the world. Not anymore.. So...the Sakura park turned out to be closed and so we had to change our plans.In order not to waste a pleasant day, someone suggested going to the Yuquan Temple complex. The area was simply gorgeous and historically interesting. First, I visited the Iron Pagoda-the only remaining example of this type of construction in China. The structure of this building is spectacular.Underneath the pagoda, one can find kind of a shrine to a monk, whose remains were allegedly discovered there during excavation works. Next was the beautiful lake with a romantic-looking pagoda in the middle; a perfect spot for couples. On the way to the next point of interest, we passed one of the oldest Ginkgo trees in China!The Chinese love their gingko almost as much as the Koreans and no wonder since the trees beneficial properties are countless. My OH's mum kindly invited me to join her and her friends on a trip out-of-town.I had no idea where we were going, just that we needed to get up very early. After my favourite street-breakfast of mild noodles we caught up with the mentioned friends and the rest of the group and began, what turned out to be, a two-hour journey to a private garden or orchard. The whole point was to see the Sakura trees bloom. Unfortunately things didn't go to plan... Going to the hairdresser's is not normally something you fear. You may feel nervous if you're planning is to get a hair makeover but that's it. I was truly scared. It all started with my desperate need of re-touching my colour (I'm a natural dark blond but have had light blond highlights for a good few years now). I kind of new that blond highlights are probably not the most desired look here in China so the hairdresser might not be VERY familiar with the technique but I certainly did not expect the(supposedly)best hairdresser in town to not know anything about it!I had my OH with me, who,bless him, tried his best to describe what I was after... So...Hong Kong...hmm..I was going there with high expectations, excitement and hope of some shopping therapy and returned...let down and tired.HOWEVER, I was there for merely three hours AND I went by myself AND I chose totally the wrong district for my first visit. I'm sure all those factors had a negative impact on my short trip over the border. No, it's not Florida or California...It's actually Guangzhou!I had a job interview there so it was a good opportunity to do a bit of travelling-finally!I have never been to that southern giant-of-a-city before and have not heard much about it so didn't really know what to expect. To my surprise, the city appears to be fairly green, with lots of parks and outdoor playgrounds/basketball courts, a really attractive colonial-style area by the Pearl River, all of which may it quite appealing. Most surprising though was the fact that the air in such a massive city was cleaner than in Yichang!I should mention that the weather there is pretty much always warm, have I advertised it well enough:)?I didn't mean to, it's just that Guangzhou made a really good impression on my, I can't quite explain it..I loved the fact that we were able to walk outside in short sleeved tops, in March!I was only there for a couple of days so haven't been able to see much but hopefully, if I succeed, I will have a chance to explore it properly:)
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MEHello! I'm a Polish/British girl, who followed her heart all the way to China....Confused already :) ?Wait for the updates written from a uniquely international perspective. Inspirations
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