Thursday, April 7, 2011
I had exhausted all the places in the Jinli area, so I moved on to the place described as the Wide and Narrow Alleys. It is off Jinhe Road. Its characteristics are somewhat different from the previous alley ways. This area is described as the one time gray brick courtyard homes introduced by Manchus during the last dynasty. Although it has plenty of character, it is very different in that it is primarily restaurants and pubs. The few stores in this area of 3 long alley ways are more upscale in nature, such as nicer jewelry and clothing. It was charming though.
There was an older man and a fellow all painted up in gold and black. He looked like a statue at first. The old man was quite animated and their stick was entertaining for yuans. I had to get a picture of them too.
There is a portion of the area that looks to be either a reconstruction or perhaps an original length of the wall that surrounded the emperor’s palace. It appears to be in various stages of restoration or it might be all that is left of it. It was interesting as I read the blurbs that accompanied each section. I never saw anything that I thought might be a palace or what might be left on one. Not sure what the real deal was, but it looked good and was interesting.
It has been a pretty productive day and I needed to be out of the city before rush hour, so I found a cab and back to the hotel. Within the hotel complex there are more buildings in the same architecture as the interior of the lobby. I thought I might take a walk through and see what it has to offer. Lots of restaurants and high end shops… until I get to the end of the area… a place that specializes in reflexology… foot and body massages! I pass it by and then circle back to make an inquiry. That was all she wrote, 75 mins for CNY 130.00… I am there!!
The next 75 minutes would be sheer heavenly delight. And I was not disappointed. The technician kneaded and hit the pressure points until I was completed submissive. It was over far too soon! But I am seriously thinking a body massage could be in the near future!
Back in the room and completely relaxed, I turned on the TV and napped waiting for Michael to return from a hard day of work. I would tell you I was feeling guilty, but I would be totally telling a lie.
Dinner was at the Pontis Italian Restaurant in the hotel. The workers were tired and after the fiery dinner last night… we needed something close and totally mild. So Italian was just the ticket. We shared pizzas and they were delish.
I had shared the day and the massage which piqued everyone’s interest, so we strolled down the walkway to the reflexology place to see their hours of operation. We had Siew Keow, Michael’s colleague, with us. She was able to translate the menu of services and talk to the staff. They are open until midnight so it could very well mean that body massage is in my future for sure. Michael even made noise like he might partake in a foot massage. I know he would enjoy it if he would just relax and let himself.
Enough for today… until next time…
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