Back from Suzhou

After a 14 hour day, we pulled onto campus at about 9:15 p.m. and walked the half mile - dragging our luggage behind us - back to the dorm. 

The very nice "auntie," which is what we would call the dorm mother, had piles of clean sheets and blankets waiting in the hallway for us to pick up as we came through the front door. Susan and I unpacked quickly, checked for new mouse invasions, and took turns in the hottest shower we could stand in order to wash off three days of travel weariness. 

We had some terrific stops along the way - and encountered stinky tofu again late this afternoon.  A cry of recognition went up as our group followed Jack, waving his little white flag, and we all yelled out "Stinky Tofu!" 

We visited too many places to name in this quick message, but ended our day in the oldest part of Suzhou.  It is thousands of years old and many of the buildings have been restored to look very historic. See the photos of the little canal.

This time Jack warned us that we might want to try the KFC or McDonalds in the newer part of town - about a mile across the canal - because most of the Chinese places would be neighborhood cookeries that prided themselves on dishes like stinky tofu. I think everyone headed to McDonalds and KFC, except for a few who opted for lukewarm beers and a seat by the canal, upwind from the stinky tofu stands.

We did have an interesting time maneuvering across the street, and, for the record, I had a spinach wrap with no meat, which wasn't bad with a few fries and a Coke with no ice. 

More on this adventure after tomorrow's adventure. We're visiting a martial arts museum and a Confucius temple.  Question: is it a religion or a philosophy?