Golden Week

This week is a Golden Week, which are common vacation periods observed twice a year in China. This one is associated with National Day, a celebration of China, which is conveniently observed on Papa Dumpling's birthday. The other Golden Week is observed over the Chinese New Year, either in late January or early February. Originally we hoped to travel to Beijing this week to see the Great Wall and other sites, but were unable to arrange for a pet sitter. The dumpling children and I are happy to take things slowly (and maybe still feel a little burned out on traveling) but Papa Dumpling has had a major case of ants in his pants. He is compelled to get out and see as many sites as he can and is complaining that he has to drag us out of the house. Even at our slow pace, we have discovered a street of pet suppliers, revisited the flower market, seen the Chinese fireworks, watched the Shanghai acrobatic circus and visited one of the nearby water towns. Papa Dumpling also took his bike out and explored the neighborhood more closely,and picked up a few bulky grocery items for me. We only have one more day with Papa before he heads back to work (his office is open this weekend) so I guess we better make it count! I wonder what he's got planned?