In Xi'An

We're in Xi'An now. We got on the train last night around 5:00pm and rode it through the night until 9:00 this morning. It was definitely an experience for my parents. We ate PB&J, some fruit and snacks. Talked to the Chinese men that were sleeping in the cabin with us (on different beds) and witnessed a grandmother hold her child up off the ground so that he could use the bathroom in the train car! It started to run down the aisle of train because she wasn't fast enough to clean it all up! Quite disgusting for all three of us to see! None of us got much sleep on the train; what with all the stops, people talking, other trains zooming past us and the heat. But I guess that just means we'll sleep well tonight!

We arrived at our hostel this morning; checked in, took showers and drank a cup of coffee that we all needed! A Chinese friend of mine, Morning (also called Maureen) came and met us to take us to lunch. We walked about 20 minutes to the Muslim Quarter (a section of town where the Muslims in the city live and operate their businesses). We went there to have Xi'Ans famous dish, Yang Rou Pao Mo. It's a soup with large chunks of very tender lamb, very thin rice noodles, and lots of bingzi (very dense white bread) chopped up in a broth with mushrooms. It's so delicious and huge! None of us were able to eat it all.

After lunch we headed out to the Bell Tower and the Drum Tower. We saw musical and dancing performances and Morning was able to translate for us, which was so helpful! Right now mom is taking a nap while dad and I are on the internet. We'll be headed out soon to go to dinner and then back to Muslim Quarter to look at the sights.

Because we're traveling I'm unable to post pictures. But remember what I talked about because when we get back to Yinchuan next week we'll post all the pictures of this trip! More to come soon...