A few weeks before my parents came to China, my mom mentioned to me that she was researching Shenyang and that she wanted to go to the Botanical Gardens. The next day, in my Chinese class, Linda said she wanted to take me to the Botanical Gardens for one of my cultural lessons. Score! 2 birds with one stone... actually 3... because I've been wanting to go, also.
As you'll see from the pictures, this place was BEAUTIFUL! We enjoyed the calm, the music (most of it), and the scenery. Emily and Joy bought fairy wings and wands and flied around the entire place like little fairies.
Did we get stared at? You bet! Pictures, touches, stares... very overwhelming at one point. Other than my one snap, I kept my composure pretty well... Not easy to do sometimes.
But there were some spots that were less popular than others, and I realized quickly those were the spots to go to. We enjoyed everything we saw and wish we could have seen more. This is at least a 2 day trip! So, we only saw about half.
We saw gardens, greenhouses, different types of birds, the Lily Tower, dinosaur statues a water obstacle course, an amusement park, and much, much more!
One of my favorite parts was the cool swings and the water fountains. I could have laid in the swings all day and Emily would have loved to run through the water sprinklers for most of the day!
Emily and I may go back one more time before school starts... but probably on a Monday. ;)
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| I love my sister! |
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| Emily and Joy imitating the cute little flower pots. |
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| Cutest little fairies at the park! |
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| Me and my sis... we were not expecting the water to come on yet! |
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| Pappy and Emily eating lunch... |
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| Pappy, Mimi, and Emily... with her Doritos. |
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Emily and Joy in the fun swings! |
CHINESE WIPE OUT
The water obstacle course reminded me of a Chinese version of Wipe Out. It looked so fun, but I did not want to fall in the water... If it was a little.... or a lot warmer I probably would have went for it. But I played it a little safe and just tried the obstacles that had nets to catch me if I fell.
But, I never did fall! Thank goodness...
After the obstacle course, we stumbled across a large cylinder-like float that reminded me of a hamster wheel. Emily and I were the only ones who wanted to try it at first, so we got in. I had no idea how hard this was going to be! I was drenched in sweat before it was all said and done... and my hair was a mess! The Great Wall has nothin' on the Hamster Wheel! Okay, maybe it does... but it sure didnt' feel like it when I was done with that thing!
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| View of the obstacle course... |
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| I would have gotten wet for sure! |
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| Abraham (Linda's Husband) walking across the balance rope... |
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| Me... walking across the balance rope... |
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| Emily and I inside the Hamster Wheel |
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| Man, I was wiped out! |
AMUSEMENT PARK
After the Hamster Wheel workout, we continued on to the Amusement Park. I had fun on the rides, but that's about the only good thing I have to say about it...
I don't have many pictures because I was too busy either riding the rides or getting ripped off on bargaining for each ride.
It wasn't much fun to know the next guy may have gotten a cheaper price than us and that we were going to have to do this bargaining gig on each and every ride.
Luckily, we only endured this for an hour before the park closed at 5. Once we finally found our way out of the park (because the map was backwards... which normally would have helped me! ;), we stumbled across a taxi van that offered to take us home. The ride home was MUCH quicker and better than the sweaty, hot, crowded bus ride there....
Sorry to end with so much complaining, but all in all, it was a super fun trip!
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| View of the Amusement Park from the Lily Tower |
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| Sarah, Me, and Em |
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| Us riding the Pirate Ship for the 2nd time... not sure why we did that! |
ONE LAST MASSAGE
We had the taxi driver drop us off at a restaurant for a Chinese dinner, which was delicious! It had a picture menu, English descriptions, and was across the street from my favorite massage place... :) After dinner, my dad and Emily walked home while my mom, Sarah, and I walked across the street for one last massage before they leave.
Sarah has a bruise all the way down her spine today... but my mom and I feel great! Sorry Sarah... ;)
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