hello dali

we just returned from spending a couple days up in beautiful dali. we took the 7 (was actually 9) hour day train on the way there, and soaked up the gorgeous scenery on the way. we rumbled through countless tunnels, practiced chinese with fellow passengers that we were cozily seated next to, ate noodle bowls (of course), and played some handheld yahtzee. it was a great way to start our exit from busy city to relaxing dali. our guesthouse was nestled between the cangshan mountains and the enormous erhai lake. a close walk to the (touristy, but inviting) old town of dali made our place just perfect. we are certain we found the best breakfast (a bakery run by a german woman), and the best pizza we've had yet in china. to be honest, we did not have a single meal there that was not western! the options were so great we just had to indulge. the weather was impeccable our first day there, so we rented bikes and leisurely made our way down to the shores of the lake. it could not have been a better day. any direction we looked held a view worthy of a framed photo...we could hardly capture it. of course, jon also dragged me along on some shopping time, and we found countless cups of yunnan coffee to keep us going. time well spent.