It was early Saturday morning and I had the day all planed, but then the phone rang and plans changed. It was Jiajing and she wanted to know if I could go with her and her parents for a leisurely boat ride on East Lake. I felt that what I had planned could wait. She said they would meet me at nine.
On the way to the Lake we discussed the information I had gathered about laptops for her. We looked over the specs and prices and selected a configuration. I would order it online from HP as it was much cheaper than buying it here in China.
We arrived at East Lake and checked on a boat, but the one we wanted was currently out on the water. Jiajing’s mom told her to take me for a walk in the gardens near the lake and she would call when the boat was ready. That call came over an hour later and provided Jiajing and I the opportunity for some quality time as we talked about several issues connected to the trip.
The garden where we walked was a research center, for a plant called Lotus Root, where visitors are welcome, but not someone like me. I had to show my passport and even then they were not going to allow me in. Jiajing said something and the guard looked defeated and let me enter. Inside are large fields of Lotus Root shown below.
Look at the top of the plant. Some are just beginning to flower, some are in full bloom, and others have a green seed head. The root and the seeds are good to eat. The root is tan in color and is normally cut up in slices to eat as a vegetable. It really is quite good. The seeds look like green eye balls the size of a grape and are also good to eat. I like them both. The flowers are pretty and are usually pink, but some are white.
There were several taking timed pictures with expensive cameras showing the flower opening during the day.
The white one is farther along than the pink one and shows the seed head forming inside. The little dark spots are the center of the seeds and make them look like eye balls.
I could not resist taking her picture as we headed back to the lake. We will cover the boat ride tomorrow.
On the way to the Lake we discussed the information I had gathered about laptops for her. We looked over the specs and prices and selected a configuration. I would order it online from HP as it was much cheaper than buying it here in China.
We arrived at East Lake and checked on a boat, but the one we wanted was currently out on the water. Jiajing’s mom told her to take me for a walk in the gardens near the lake and she would call when the boat was ready. That call came over an hour later and provided Jiajing and I the opportunity for some quality time as we talked about several issues connected to the trip.
The garden where we walked was a research center, for a plant called Lotus Root, where visitors are welcome, but not someone like me. I had to show my passport and even then they were not going to allow me in. Jiajing said something and the guard looked defeated and let me enter. Inside are large fields of Lotus Root shown below.
Look at the top of the plant. Some are just beginning to flower, some are in full bloom, and others have a green seed head. The root and the seeds are good to eat. The root is tan in color and is normally cut up in slices to eat as a vegetable. It really is quite good. The seeds look like green eye balls the size of a grape and are also good to eat. I like them both. The flowers are pretty and are usually pink, but some are white.
There were several taking timed pictures with expensive cameras showing the flower opening during the day.
The white one is farther along than the pink one and shows the seed head forming inside. The little dark spots are the center of the seeds and make them look like eye balls.
I could not resist taking her picture as we headed back to the lake. We will cover the boat ride tomorrow.
