Venice of the East

We celebrated our three year wedding anniversary walking the 

streets of the so-called "Venice of China". Lucky for us our anciently 

restored hotel from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) was at the heart of 

all the action on Pingjiang Street in Suzhou, China.

The weather was warmer than it's been in months but we 

stayed hydrated as we walked up and down the streets. 

When we got too hot we jumped on a bicycle rickshaw to 

bring us a few kilometers away. While perusing the streets we found 

 leather bracelets for a traditional 3 year anniversary gift of 

leather and discovered one of our new favorite foods, xiao long bao zi, 

a steamy soup dumpling with a tasty pork meatball in the center. 

This whole experience living, teaching, and traveling in China has

 been just one giant celebration of our life together and enjoying this 

time when it is just the two of us. I'm sure Andrew would agree that
this time away in China has only made our marriage stronger.

This experience will be something we can look back on and be grateful
that we took advantage of for many years to come.

Happy three year anniversary, Andrew. I love you.