Summer Break in China - Day 7

 

June 19, 2024

Today's focus is family. Remember, life is slow here in Jinghai, which is perfect after running hard for the last 6 days. I still have quite a few family members on my maternal side that lives in Tianjin. They all warmly came to visit us. 

We started our morning with the free breakfast at our hotel. For the price of the room here, the breakfast isn't bad. It's quite different from an American breakfast though, but they had different options of wonton and noodles which worked well for the kids.

Breakfast at Mango Hotel

Breakfast at Mango Hotel

After breakfast, Teddy and I walked around a few blocks around the hotel. The weather was pretty nice in the early morning so this was nice. There are some clothing stores and lots of coffeeshops and bubble tea places. We went in Luckin Coffee for some much needed western style coffee. The menu here is extensive. Much more than a standard Starbucks. The front entrance advertised some deals they are running, but when we ordered, only one of our drinks got the discounted price. I inquired, and the barista was patient and nice with me (even though they were always so busy), and explained that it's one per order, so always make separate orders. By the way, all the orders are made through the app, and I have to say, the app isn't that user friendly if you don't speak Chinese. You MIGHT be able to figure it out if you are very familiar with ordering coffee drinks through apps (like Starbucks app) and the drinks have pictures on each one so you have an idea what you are buying. So after this, we always placed separate order for each drink and it was very cheap. Less than $2 for specialty beverages.

Me at Luckin Coffee

Back to my mom's house, family members came over to visit us and brought gifts for the girls.

After some much needed family time (so many of my relatives have never met my kids before!), we made our way to our lunch spot, Taiwan Restaurant. This restaurant was pretty awesome. It has all the food on display so you know exactly what your dish will look like, making it easier for people who aren't familiar with Taiwanese cuisine.

They have an open kitchen where you can watch them cook, and a roasting oven for roast duck too.

Oven for roast duck

We had a huge meal, in one of their private rooms. Divine.

After lunch, I took the girls to get their hair cut and colored. Alice got her hair colored once in China in 2015 and has always wanted to do it again, so they are very excited about this. I got a simple cut also. The hair salon we chose was called "Scalp Management Center" (闪钻养发馆). 

Scalp Management Center (a hair salon)

The kids were not excited about the haircuts but they loved their color. They both chose to go with a dark red color and only coloring the underneath part, so it's subtle. 

Alice showcasing her new hair color

We had dinner at my mom's house again. She prepared us all our favorite foods. Tomorrow we will be going into town and visit the Tianjin Eye!