Chengdu, Sichuan

Most of today was spent traveling to Chengdu so I don't have many adventures to share.  We arrived mid-afternoon and were taken to a local park where many people come to have tea and play games.  In an odd twist, you can also pay to have your neck massaged and your ears cleaned.

Yep...you heard that right...ear cleaning.
It's a thing.
At the park.
With your tea.

Because that's a logical activity to go alongside taking tea at a park.

So we joined in.

The girls have forbidden me to share any pictures of them getting their ear massaged with various instruments of torture.  So I guess I'll take one for the team.

Random street scene.

For dinner we met an American basketball coach who lives here and has a ministry to coaches and athletes.  She and some of the athletes on her team took us to eat typical Sichuan food.  Soooooo yummy!  Sichuan is known for their spicy food but they went easy on us and only got 'little' spicy.  Not 'mouth feeling numbing' like our guide told us about. 

The restaurant

This dinner totally made up for the dreadful fish I couldn't eat on the plane.  I was ravenous by the time dinner came.  Mmmmm...delicious.

This adorable little girl came with her Mama and reminded me so much of my girls when they were little.

This woman was a professional soccer player but is now retired.

And here is a picture of mom at the airport with some of our bags.  Kevin said it was Mom with all her suitcases full of souvenirs -- which totally cracked us up (because it's so plausible).

Street scenes at night in Chengdu