I really am not kidding about moving here...

So today was another wonderful day in Xi'an. We started the day off at the Shaanxi Province History Museum. It is an extremely nice museum, considered to be one of the best museums in China - in fact, I have heard that it is one of the four best museums in the country! It truly was a great place, except for the multitude of Chinese tourists in the place! The Chinese are kind of funny when they travel in groups. If you happen to be taking a picture of something, the odds of a Chinese bumping you or jumping in front of your camera to get a closer look at whatever you are trying to take a picture of are VERY high. So, it can be really annoying. As long as you can work through it, you're okay.

The second stop was to the Grand Mosque. This mosque dates back to the 700s, and survived the Cultural Revolution by some quick talking by the mosque's imam. (For future reference - the Cultural Revolution is when Mao made an attempt to purge the country of anything that violated his principles. A very scary time in Chinese history. Anything religious was just one of his many targets). We weren't allowed to go inside the prayer hall, but as Mona is Muslim, she was allowed in, and she had a very nice experience. She was able to talk to the imam, and afterwards we had a FANTASTIC meal. For one, it was very cheap, and two, it tasted amazing. It was a mutton soup, and it tasted like Stove Top stuffing soup. I am not kidding, it was phenomenal. After the lunch, we wandered through the Muslim Quarter for more shopping, and then made a trip to the Daoist temple, the Temple of the Eight Immortals.

Some of us came back to the hotel early and headed back across the street for another killer foot massage. I think I may have grown addicted. Luckily for me, we are leaving Xi'an bright and early in the morning, so my foot massage addiction will come to an end. You can get foot massages throughout China, Beijing included (our next stop), but apparently Xi'an has quite the reputation for foot massages. Let me tell you, it is well warranted.

Tomorrow morning is another early wake-up call to get ready to fly to our final stop - Beijing. I have always wanted to see the Forbidden City and the Great Wall, and feel lucky and overjoyed to have this experience coming up.

For future reference - I am really not planning on moving to Xi'an. But that mutton soup and the foot massages are enough to convert just about anyone!

Location: Titan Times Hotel, Xi'an
Tooth Update: Will miss dumplings and mutton soup.
Weather Update: A little hotter today, but still very nice!