Fuzhou Free Day 2

Today was another day of free-time touring. First we visited the memorial home of Lin Zexu (1785-1850), who was a Chinese scholar and official during the Qing Dynasty. He is recognized as a national hero for his stance and fight against the opium trade in Guangzhou at the time. Because of his "high moral ground", he is generally considered a role model for moral government, especially by the Chinese people.  We toured a memorial created for him, and visited a Tea House opened in celebration of his life.  We were treated to a demonstration of the art of tea service in China.  Eloquent hand gestures, sweeping pouring motions, specific tasting techniques, even the posturing of the fingers... all very important to the "right" way to enjoy tea.  Fujian's mountains make it the number one producing province of tea in China... they are serious about tea here.  We then made our way to the West Fuzhou Buddhist Temple, a breathtaking campus of wonder.  Dating back 1200 years, the Buddhist buildings and pagodas are simply beautiful to see.  Serene grounds, quiet and simple walking paths through trees and rivers - contrasted with giant temple structures of bright color.  Although watching the monks and people worshiping left us with a slightly empty feeling, we were amazed at the beauty of the place.  After leaving the temple, we had our guide Isabel do us a huge favor.  We had her order PAPA JOHN'S for us!  We picked it up on the way back to our hotel, and we ate American pepperoni pizza and drank Coke right there in our room.  Pure American food heaven.  Believe me, as far as food goes, we are really looking forward to getting back to the US.  Adventurous in Chinese cuisine... we are not.  Trust me, this ain't Panda Express over here.  We had a good evening together enjoying Raina's personality... she is really the cutest thing on earth.  I got her to explode with giggling by doing the simplest little things, like tossing little finger puppets in the air and letting them land on my head.  Her laughter is one of the most glorious sounds we've ever heard.  So there you have it... Fuzhou free day number 2 in the books.