At the florist

 Ni hao!

 Friday was our final full day in Beijing, and after lessons, in which we did a mock HSK (Mandarin language) exam, I set off with Abi and Naomi to find a florist in order to have some bouquets made up for our Mandarin teachers and student helpers.

 On the way we found a lovely bookshop, which I think might belong to the University, where I bought some books. When we reached the florist we chose our flowers and the florist made us up some beautiful bouquets.

On the way out of BNU

At the florist

Our bouquets!

 As you can see, it was very nice and... flowery!

 Thanks for reading,

 Liz x

The fish restaurant

 Ni hao!

 On Thursday evening a large group of us went out for a meal at a fish restaurant. They served fish with a huge variety of different stuffings including noodles, chillies, mushrooms and more. I shared a fish with three friends and it was delicious.

 Before I show you the pictures from the restaurant, I want to share some photos I took earlier on of the gorgeous sunny morning from our terrace.

 Here are some pictures from the fish dinner.

Our starter, complete with simply enormous chillies!

Our fish!

 It was a really lovely evening. Thank you to Abi for inviting me along ♥

 Thanks for reading,

 Liz x

The Legend of Kung-Fu

 Ni hao!

 After I got back from Olympic Park a group of us set off for the Red Theatre to see the Legend of Kung-Fu. It was a brilliant performance and marked a sort of milestone for me in that I actively went to a spectacle that may have included loud bangs or pyrotechnics, which is a huge phobia of mine.

 However, it got to the point where I thought: am I really going to let my fear stop me doing something I really want to do? And the answer was no. So I went, and there was some loud drumming, but no sudden bangs. I was glad I went and I felt a real sense of achievement for doing so.

 Here are some photos.

 The Red Theatre

Before the show

After the show

Chun Yi, the protagonist, in the middle

 When I got back to the apartments, the moon was amazing.

 Just beautiful.

 I spent that night working on our economics presentations with Ana and co and it was nice to spend time with such lovely people.

 Overall, a really wonderful day.

 Thanks for reading,

 Liz x

The Bird's Nest and Olympic Park

 Ni hao!

 In the afternoon/evening of our last Wednesday I finally managed to visit the place I had been most determined to see: The Bird's Nest Stadium. 

 It was genuinely amazing to actually be in the presence of this building in which I had seen the amazing 2008 Olympics Opening Ceremony, and where Usain Bolt broke two world records; as well as the Aquatics Center where Michael Phelps won eight gold medals.

 The Olympic Park has its own ambiance; it felt quite calm when we were there, kind of other-worldly. We had to rush around seeing the main places, but in future if I ever get the chance I would love to go back and spend more time there.

Cauldron

Seats!

 Thanks for reading,

 Liz x