There are some things that I wanted to say about Christmas Break but never got around to, so I'm finally going to do that.
Mom's friend Chris was visiting for the second half of the break, so I wanted to go to all of the gardens with them, but, as I said earlier, I was sick, so I didn't get to go. I did go to one of the gardens with them. (This was the Humble Administrator's Garden, which we jokingly call the Oh-So-Humble or Not So Humble Administrator's Garden, since it's the biggest and fanciest garden in the city. And Suzhou is known throughout China for its beautiful gardens, which were actually the private residences of rich merchants and businessmen.) I also went with them to the Suzhou Museum, which has some interesting Chinese historical artifacts, but we mostly go there for the architecture. It was designed by I. M. Pei, one of my idols, to combine traditional Chinese and modern architectural styles. It's really amazing. But by then I felt too sick to walk around the museum (even though it's very small,) so I sat on a bench and waited for them, because Dad was taking me home early after that. It was a little bit depressing, because next they were going to the Lion's Grove Garden, which is my favorite because it has a big rock maze of stairs, tunnels, and narrow walkways that is fun to explore (and get lost in, because it takes forever to find your way out.) Later I went to Shanghai with them for the day (we just take the train in), and we went to the Pearl Tower, which is the big landmark of Shanghai. It was fun, especially since Allyne and John didn't want to go to Shanghai (the crazies) and were still at home, so it was just the four of us. We also went to the French Concession, which is the part of Shanghai that used to be under the control of France. It has French-style architecture and French food, including really good crepes and (real) croissants, not American "croissants," which are really just rolls shaped like croissants, with not nearly enough butter layers, if any. Real croissants are made with dough that has butter folded into it. It's folded so there are at least seventy-two layers. When the perfect croissant is done, it is browned and flaky on the outside, then soft (but still flaky) on the inside, then just slightly chewier closer to the middle, and warm throughout. If it's pain au chocolat, which is just like a croissant except that it has chocolate in the middle, then it's absolute heaven. French food is so good, especially if it's a pastry. Mmm...
This Saturday we're going back to a shop that we found there with high-quality violins, and we're going to buy one!!! I'm so excited! We really want two, one for me and one for my mom, but we're settling with just one for now. We also want to eventually get an electric violin and maybe even a five-stringed violin, which is like a violin and a viola combined, because it has the G, D, and A strings, which both instruments have, along with the C string, which a viola has but a violin doesn't, and the E string, which a violin has but a viola doesn't. But that will have to wait a while.
I'm going to play Pachelbel's Canon, because that song is so much fun on violin, especially when you get to the parts where there are about four notes on one bow. I can't wait... I am not a very patient person.
Mom's friend Chris was visiting for the second half of the break, so I wanted to go to all of the gardens with them, but, as I said earlier, I was sick, so I didn't get to go. I did go to one of the gardens with them. (This was the Humble Administrator's Garden, which we jokingly call the Oh-So-Humble or Not So Humble Administrator's Garden, since it's the biggest and fanciest garden in the city. And Suzhou is known throughout China for its beautiful gardens, which were actually the private residences of rich merchants and businessmen.) I also went with them to the Suzhou Museum, which has some interesting Chinese historical artifacts, but we mostly go there for the architecture. It was designed by I. M. Pei, one of my idols, to combine traditional Chinese and modern architectural styles. It's really amazing. But by then I felt too sick to walk around the museum (even though it's very small,) so I sat on a bench and waited for them, because Dad was taking me home early after that. It was a little bit depressing, because next they were going to the Lion's Grove Garden, which is my favorite because it has a big rock maze of stairs, tunnels, and narrow walkways that is fun to explore (and get lost in, because it takes forever to find your way out.) Later I went to Shanghai with them for the day (we just take the train in), and we went to the Pearl Tower, which is the big landmark of Shanghai. It was fun, especially since Allyne and John didn't want to go to Shanghai (the crazies) and were still at home, so it was just the four of us. We also went to the French Concession, which is the part of Shanghai that used to be under the control of France. It has French-style architecture and French food, including really good crepes and (real) croissants, not American "croissants," which are really just rolls shaped like croissants, with not nearly enough butter layers, if any. Real croissants are made with dough that has butter folded into it. It's folded so there are at least seventy-two layers. When the perfect croissant is done, it is browned and flaky on the outside, then soft (but still flaky) on the inside, then just slightly chewier closer to the middle, and warm throughout. If it's pain au chocolat, which is just like a croissant except that it has chocolate in the middle, then it's absolute heaven. French food is so good, especially if it's a pastry. Mmm...
This Saturday we're going back to a shop that we found there with high-quality violins, and we're going to buy one!!! I'm so excited! We really want two, one for me and one for my mom, but we're settling with just one for now. We also want to eventually get an electric violin and maybe even a five-stringed violin, which is like a violin and a viola combined, because it has the G, D, and A strings, which both instruments have, along with the C string, which a viola has but a violin doesn't, and the E string, which a violin has but a viola doesn't. But that will have to wait a while.
I'm going to play Pachelbel's Canon, because that song is so much fun on violin, especially when you get to the parts where there are about four notes on one bow. I can't wait... I am not a very patient person.
