Our last night

 Ni hao!

 Our last night in Beijing was always going to be very special and rather emotional as we didn't know when we'd next be together. Therefore, we wanted it to be as wonderful as possible and to make the most out of each others' company.

 A large group of us chose to spend our evening at Lakers - it had proved to be very popular during our time in Beijing. I ordered chips and some hot chocolate.

 It was lovely - so much so that I drank about three cups of it! Some people played table football, some of us just sat and chatted, but when Gangnam Style came on, we all just had to get up and dance! 

 Here are some photos of Lakers:

Glasses hanging from the ceiling!

 After Lakers some people decided to go out clubbing but as I had to get up early the next day to catch my flight I went back to our student accommodation for my last night's sleep in Beijing.

 As April and I wandered back through the moonlit BNU campus, I reflected on how amazing this experience had been, and I felt sad that it was coming to an end. 

 Mainly, however, I felt very grateful and happy that I had been given this opportunity to travel to the other side of the world and see, hear, taste, experience in every way possible this fascinating country and culture.

 It was a lovely last night of a life-changing three weeks.

 Thanks for reading,

 Liz x

The New Year barbecue

 Hello!

 After we came back from the Great Wall of China, some of us went out to a barbecue-style restaurant in Beijing where we cooked the food on a little stove in the middle of the table. As well as hot food there was a wide choice of different cakes, which I had a lot of!

 I have to thank the lovely Hai again for being a judge of when things were cooked as she is better at it than me. Thank you, Hai!

 Here are some photos of the BBQ.

Sally ♥

 It was a nice night with good friends.

 Thanks for reading,

 Liz x

Boxing Day at Laker's

 Ni hao!

 I want to share with you some photos from my first excursion to Laker's, a bar on campus which I had often walked past but never been inside until Christmas Eve when I went there for dinner with Abi, Kasia, Sarah and April.

 It is a lovely little place and the food and drink - I had a pizza and milkshake - was delicious. We had a really enjoyable evening.

The bar

My table ♥

Beijing beer

Beautiful tea set

Books on the window sill

 I hope I've managed to capture some of the cosy atmosphere of the place; it's certainly somewhere I would like to visit again if I ever go back to Beijing.

 Thanks for reading,

 Liz x

Our first Friday - sunset and restaurant

 Hello!

 I want to share with you some photos I took on our first Friday in Beijing - the Winter Solstice. Some photos are of the Beijing sunset from our apartment terrace, and the rest are of the paper-burner dish that we enjoyed at a restaurant; a paper-burner dish was was something I had never seen before.

 Firstly, the sunset - it was truly beautiful and I love the view of the mountains beyond the city.

 That evening Abi, Scott, Sally and I had a lovely meal at a restaurant to celebrate the Winter Solstice, which is an important festival in China. It was a gorgeous evening and it so nice chatting with the others and getting to know them better ♥

 We ordered fish balls and noodles in a "paper-burner," and I was intrigued as to what this would be. We were given the food in a paper dish with a little stove burning under it - it was really amazing and something I'd never seen in a restaurant before. And the fish balls and noodles were delicious.

With flame

Without flame

The restaurant

 In the background of these pictures you can see the big glass of mango drink that we shared; we drank it out of little dishes - see left side of third photo. The drink was delicious; it was somewhere between a juice and a smoothie and was unlike anything I'd ever had before - as is the case with many things I experienced in China.

 I loved the Winter Solstice and am so glad I got to spend it in China with such amazing friends.

 Thanks for reading,

 Liz x