Old home week….in Kunming

On Saturday, we left Beijing and flew to Kunming….the city that we have visited 4 times previously.

Since we have spent a lot of time in the city and have visited most of the “sights” we decided to just use our free time as a relaxation time rather than trying to run around to see things.  Also, I still had a lot of Accounting work to accomplish and really want to be finished before we reach Chengdu so I spent most of the week tied to my computer in the hotel.

Michael worked for 8 hours every day while we were there so his time was even more limited than mine!!

We did however, enjoy walks around Green Lake, the beautiful lake that is only a few blocks from our hotel.  The lake has always been filled with Lotus plants but they have never been as beautiful as this year……

We were not the only ones enjoying photographing the plants and the camera’s and cameramen were rampant……

We spent much of our lake time just sitting and watching or wandering around and seeing what others were doing.  The faces, particularly of the children were such fun…..

This little girl was so cute, but I don’t know which of these two photos I like the best……

These two little boys were sweet…..

…and this little boy was enjoying blowing bubbles…..

These two people happily posed for their picture……

The Lotus pool was definitely a draw for portraits and we saw many people posing with the beautiful greenery…..

This little girl was being coached by her mother as to how to place her feet and hands for the photo……

There is a music school just down the street from our hotel.  Basically, it is just a store front where the kids sit outside and practice while their instructor corrects and encourages…..

This little girl definitely caught my eye……

On each lake visit, we found people exercising and enjoying the ambiance of the lake.   Everywhere you looked, there were groups of women men participating in group exercises…..

This was the end of the fan routine…..

I particularly like the placement of their feet and hands…..it looks so delicate!!

The park is well set up for these classes, even having special structures for holding purses and bags while people are in class…..

There were groups of two or three people doing their exercises and even one or two solo exercisers…..

….and this gentleman held his meditation pose for at least 15 minutes as I walked around……

There is one area of the lake that has various exercise equipment…..

This little lady was busy working the elliptical……

On Sunday, as we walked around the outside of the lake, we passed one vignette after another….some groups of brass bands, some singing groups, some solo Karaoke….all out having a wonderful time!!!

This lady was busy with her needlework……

….and this gentleman was displaying his calligraphy work…..

One of my favorite lake scenes was this group of singers…..

Watch the video

It was good to see that life around the lake was as we remembered it to be!!!