I LIVE IN SUCH A WONDERFUL PLACE!
I had a little time Sunday late afternoon...my last free day before starting a pretty heavy teaching schedule on Monday. A school I'd subbed for owed me a couple hundred, so I decided to go collect it. It was a glorious crisp sunny fall afternoon, so I decided to walk it. I'm glad I took the camera...one of the most beautiful walks I've ever had!
First, out through the apartment complex that houses El Nuevo Rancho Raoul. I'll try to get more photos here that do this place justice....
We have Moon Doors!
Then, down the main street, which quickly turns into the famous Guan Qin Jie shopping/walking area, which was a
TOTAL madhouse with the nice weather...
It was all so nice I even decided to walk back. Coming back, I saw a street that had long intrigued me, and having nothing pressing I decided to walk down it and see where it went.
It was mostly a long tube of a street...and endless stream of grubby little shops facing huge blocks of decrepit-looking apartments. Only small paths turned off the street I was on, twisting their way up among the apartments. But I could see that in the distance the road ended in a 'T'.
As I neared the T, the buildings got older and cooler...
Finally, at the T, I found myself in Old Suzhou! I was stunned...amazed at where I suddenly was. The cool thing is that this apparently is NOT a tourist development of some kind...it's a neighborhood. People are living here. It was clean, green, and quiet...only the gurgle of the water, bike chains, and occasional quiet conversation broke the silence. And almost no trash or litter anywhere...
Palm trees and pomegranates. The area was loaded with pomegranate trees heavy with fruit...
Beautiful but empty...
The only concession to tourism I saw here was the occasional canal boat. These are always piloted by women, who sing old, old rowing songs as you travel the canals...
This lovely place went all the way to next to my house, emptying onto the street where I live, seen here.
And finally a duck into the night veggie market for some taters...still had sour cream left!
Ah, I do love this town. It's full of little treasures like this...