A day trip away from madness

Eve and I decided to get away from the madness and visit zouzhou and it's famous gardens. The morning started early with a 2 hour train trip kinda, south-west. Most of which I slept through. On arrival at our leafy destination and a quick check of a guide book, we walked through the crazy, city streets, in search of one of it's best temples and bell towers. Not hard to miss. It was the big red building sticking 7 levels up in to the air! We caused quiet a stir yet again, as Eve was attracting heaps of attention, being blonde. Ah, all in a days work really. Must keep the locals entertained.
We reached the entrance to the Bell tower and after paying a hefty entrance fee, we climbed up the multitude of steep, steps to the top. It was a brisk morning and the cold morning air burnt my throat. The view from the top was magnificent and we could see across the city and it's fantastic gardens and Hutongs. It was well worth the slog up. After we climbed down, something which took me forever, as I was stuck behind a two year old, who wanted to do it all on his own. The stairs were so narrow, there was no opportunity of overtaking! My only opportunity was to run between staircases. Somehow, this super natural toddler, always seemed to beat me to the top of the next staircase. Makes me wonder? What did he eat for breakfast?
So, as I was saying, we made it to the bottom and found our way to one of the largest and most famous gardens in the town. The National holiday seemed to have attracted many people and we found it really difficult to look around. We were shoulder to shoulder and the tranquil surroundings seemed lost on us. I could appreciate that, during a regular time, not when the whole nation is on holidays,it would be a beautiful scenic spot. A place to come for contemplation and relaxation. Not bumper to bumper body contact and close proximity to strangers.
The next stop on our agenda was lunch...Or a late breakfast. I'm a real fan of the dumpling. The steamed dumpling, that comes in a wicker basket, full of yummy goodness. Eve however, is not. So we settled on a noodle soup hole in the wall. This was not your usual noodle soup joint but a freshly made, right in your face, noodle shop. The little man, with well developed arm muscles, may I say, rolled and pulled and flicked fresh dough in the air, on the bench and then expertly, dropped it into the boiling broth. From the boiling broth into our bowls and down our gullets. Fantastic!
Full and revived, we decided to tackle the main, mall-like street which boasted, yet another temple, surrounded by a market. On the way to the temple I became a warrior protector. Deflecting sly photo opportunities, from mobile phones, of Eve. At one point, I actually grabbed the phone from a man's hands and told him it's rude not to ask for a photo. I know she's a tourist attraction to people but nothing invades your privacy more than someone taking a sly photo, or, staring and pointing. I felt like I had to protect her from other peoples rudeness and it really upset me that I had to do this. She was appreciative of my efforts, even if they proved futile.
Coming across the temple, we hoped that it would give us a reprieve from the see of stares but we walked in to a bustling market area with a small temple, as it's centre piece. It was a great excuse to walk the back streets back to the train station and discover the Hutong culture, that lay behind the busy city streets.
We discovered small walkways with little food carts, kids riding rusty bicycles, old women making decorative designs with potted plants and crazy moto-cyclo men zipping through the small lanes. On the canals, snaking through the Hutongs, men rowed past in rickety old boats picking up trash and tourist boats leisurely floated by. The Hutongs are my favorite part of China. I love the closeness of the housing and the culture the buzzes away inside the walls and down the small alley ways.
Before long, we were back in the heart of the city and back to the hustle and bustle of reality. Too soon we were on the train back to Shanghai.