Ottawa Winterlude III

What to do after hanging around in the cold? Go to a pub to warm up! Hey, it isn't a proper photo walk unless there's a pub involved. We ended up at the Royal Oak which is practically right on the Rideau Canal. We divested ourselves of our winter coats and continued taking pictures. Discussed photography and what we were doing in our lives currently. We also started to make plans for the following day.

After we warmed up enough and refueled our bodies we headed back to our respective residences. I walked back to the hostel I was staying at to recharge my batteries. Later I got a call asking if I wanted to meet up for some more hanging out. Ended up going to the Blue Cactus in the Byward Market. Good grub there. By this point and time we were getting a little tired so back to bed we went and waited for Sunday to begin.

365 Project Update VI

365-53: Looking Out
I wonder, how many of you are really out there. Or are you all just figments of my imagination?


365-54: Brewing
The ginger beer experiment begins.


365-55: Bottled
Time to wait and see what happens next.


365-56: Cooking
Yes, I was rather ambitious this week. Feeling really hungry lately. I wonder why?


365-57: Golden Hour
The light of the sunset baths everything in gold.


365-58: DANCE!
When the band is right, everyone dances like no one is watching. Good times, great tunes.

China: Dinner and a Show

Okay, one thing I have to recommend while in Xi'an is the "Tang Dynasty Dinner and Show". A little expensive, around 300 Yuan per person, but well worth the cost. Our guide asked us if we wanted to see it since it was considered the big thing for tourists at night. My mom and I thought about and said sure. We went back to the hotel for a nap, still was feeling a little jet lagged from flying over and the beds were definitely not western style, and we were picked up in the evening and taken to the show.



The whole thing was highlighting the local cuisine and culture, especially from the Tang dynasty era. Lots of steamed dumplings, and other goodies.

Forgive the pictures, the colours aren't exactly up to par. I was caught a little flat footed and I couldn't rescue the images really. I may try some other time.







If you notice the food is in different shapes in colours. The one that looked like a duck had duck. The red one that looks a little like a snout, is pork, green one shaped like a cabbage...well you get the point. The food was very nice.

On stage during dinner a lady was playing a typical harp from the region. More on that a little later. The hall was like a old style music theater, very fancy, and a good look.





I didn't bring my wide angled lens with me that night, I figured that it would be too dark for it and would be prone to too many bad shots.

Now, on to the show. The whole premise was to give a glimpse into the time, people, and culture of the Tang dynasty that ruled Xi'an. It was mostly a dance spectacular with explanations between scenes about what they were showing us. Alas, I have forgotten what most of the scenes were, I will try my best though. In fact I will be going back through my photo stream to relabel what I can. So, we have the introduction scene, the "Fossil Music" scene (a lot of musical instruments in Xi'an are played nowhere else, in fact their origins go back thousands of years.), a martial scene, a scene acted out from a story, 5 scenes referring to the main countries and kingdoms that interacted with Xi'an, and I think I am tapped out for the moment. Anyway, less talking more pictures, right?



















Actually, I will leave off here and return to the rest of the show next week. Have a great weekend all.