We awoke late, as usual, and knew that Wendy was landing about 4 pm. So we decided to do some stuff that was off the beaten path because we knew that Wendy, and us too, wanted to see the terra cotta warriors.
We went to the Little Wild Goose Pagoda. Took the metro south 1 or 2 stops, and then walked over to it. The Pagoda, while in a lovely garden, was pretty lame. Bill went up it. Steep stairs and each floor got shorter and shorter, so that by the end, there were 2 floors crammed together.
We wandered around the garden for a while and decided to go to the Xi'an Museum. The building was striking inside, huge interior circular atrium with exhibits off like spokes on a wheel. The ceiling was decorated as well.
We wandered through the ancient archeological finds exhibits and saw many Buddha's and their various minions. The lighting was quite dim, so details were lost on the statues. We kept searching for an elevator but none were working, so we trudged up the steps to view what was on the first floor. Hunger won out. We left the museum and wend across the street and had lunch at a rooftop restaurant and headed back to the metro for a bit of a lie down.
At about 5 we went to the hotel restaurant/breakfast place/bar and got a beer. We did not want to leave because Wendy was expected shortly. We were getting nervous as her flight came in on time, but she had not yet arrived at 6 pm....
Then the message from the lobby from her, "help, they've canceled my reservation". Bill ran down to the lobby and helped her sort it out.
When she made it to the "bar" she told us the story.... She got in a cab at the airport before 4:30. The guy had been trying to find the hotel, going in and out of the walls several times, going around and around the bell tower. Wendy had a sense that the hotel was east of the bell tower, but could not convey it to the driver. He stopped several times to ask directions, but continued to go in and out of the city gates. Finally he was going to tell her to just get out of the cab, and she wisely said no, I am paying you to get me to my hotel, not to someplace I have no idea where I am. The cabbie called the hotel and a worker came to the taxi to escort Wendy to the hotel. A costly cab ride by Xi'an standards, but by NYC standards, less than a cab to or from the airport!
Now the next test begins, the hotel has a policy that if you do not arrive at the hotel before 6 pm, they will give away your room. Wendy would have been at the hotel if not for the 1.5 hr ride about Xi'an, but her room got canceled. Bill helped square away another room, of course, for a slightly higher price!
Now we need to negotiate dinner. We started at Nice Fish, but it was so smoky with cigs, that I couldn't stand it and we left. We went to Three Daughters instead. Another hole in the wall place that was listed in Lonely Planet. It was excellent. We ordered a variety of things from fried mushrooms to dumplings all super delicious.
Home and to bed.
We went to the Little Wild Goose Pagoda. Took the metro south 1 or 2 stops, and then walked over to it. The Pagoda, while in a lovely garden, was pretty lame. Bill went up it. Steep stairs and each floor got shorter and shorter, so that by the end, there were 2 floors crammed together.
We wandered around the garden for a while and decided to go to the Xi'an Museum. The building was striking inside, huge interior circular atrium with exhibits off like spokes on a wheel. The ceiling was decorated as well.
We wandered through the ancient archeological finds exhibits and saw many Buddha's and their various minions. The lighting was quite dim, so details were lost on the statues. We kept searching for an elevator but none were working, so we trudged up the steps to view what was on the first floor. Hunger won out. We left the museum and wend across the street and had lunch at a rooftop restaurant and headed back to the metro for a bit of a lie down.
At about 5 we went to the hotel restaurant/breakfast place/bar and got a beer. We did not want to leave because Wendy was expected shortly. We were getting nervous as her flight came in on time, but she had not yet arrived at 6 pm....
Then the message from the lobby from her, "help, they've canceled my reservation". Bill ran down to the lobby and helped her sort it out.
When she made it to the "bar" she told us the story.... She got in a cab at the airport before 4:30. The guy had been trying to find the hotel, going in and out of the walls several times, going around and around the bell tower. Wendy had a sense that the hotel was east of the bell tower, but could not convey it to the driver. He stopped several times to ask directions, but continued to go in and out of the city gates. Finally he was going to tell her to just get out of the cab, and she wisely said no, I am paying you to get me to my hotel, not to someplace I have no idea where I am. The cabbie called the hotel and a worker came to the taxi to escort Wendy to the hotel. A costly cab ride by Xi'an standards, but by NYC standards, less than a cab to or from the airport!
Now the next test begins, the hotel has a policy that if you do not arrive at the hotel before 6 pm, they will give away your room. Wendy would have been at the hotel if not for the 1.5 hr ride about Xi'an, but her room got canceled. Bill helped square away another room, of course, for a slightly higher price!
Now we need to negotiate dinner. We started at Nice Fish, but it was so smoky with cigs, that I couldn't stand it and we left. We went to Three Daughters instead. Another hole in the wall place that was listed in Lonely Planet. It was excellent. We ordered a variety of things from fried mushrooms to dumplings all super delicious.
Home and to bed.
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