XI'AN: Dinner the first evening and the next morning.

I arrived in Xi'an Monday evening and went with my tour guide to dinner near the hotel   We ended up in one of the small eateries down what I would have called a side street.   After walking some ways we entered, sat down, and ordered a half a kilo of dumplings a piece.  I had lotus root and pork, and Lucas had leeks.   Believe me, a half kilo constitutes a lot of eating! Two half kilos, even more.  Even so, I doubt if the cost of dinner exceeded 100 Yuan.  We had a little sauce for dipping, but that was it.   We also had a bowl of the water the dumplings were cooked in; this, says Lucas, with a knowledgeable air gained from firsthand hearsay:  "this is very good for digestion and for your health."

Of course, I was so intent on eating, that I didn't take a picture of either the restaurant or the food!

It was a beautiful evening and we walked a little to the bell tower and the drum tower.   And here, not too far from the hotel, were street performers, singers and erhu players.  A lot of people, mostly young, were in the square.    We stopped for ice cream before I sent Lucas on his way.

 Lucas, my guide, is a year out of college where he majored in Tourism English.   He's still working on his English, and is deciding what he wants to do with the rest of his life.

                                

Above we have the drum tower    and   on the right, the bell tower.

The evening brought out many people who relaxed around the square between the drum tower and the bell tower.

The area had many performers.   Here are some of them.

And this video panorama attempts to show the people in the square.

A hotel is a hotel, but I thought for a hotel that the guide said was a 3 or 4 star, this place was pretty nice.  It may be a bit old, but it surely started life rather nicely, and the staff has been well trained, and are numerous.   Where the hotel in Beijing had one person checking people in at breakfast and another picking up dishes and checking the food, there were two or three checking people in, and many more who were servicing the dining room.   Plates were picked up immediately.  The staff greeted everyone, and even leapt to push the elevator call button.

Breakfast was a combination of fruit and juices, the Chinese breakfast with a lot of cooked vegetables, condiments, soups and congee, but with bacon and boiled eggs; and a western breakfast with choices of many choices bread/toast and various cold cereals.