Snow!

In only a few days, Beijing's 6-8 weeks of perfect weather came to a crushing halt with a snowstorm that impressed even us, a couple of Colorado transplants. After hearing about Denver's recent snowstorm and following it on the news, ace and i were feeling a little homesick. Last winter it only snowed two times in Beijing, and only a dusting at that. This Sunday, however, Beijing was pummeled by 8 inches of beautiful, fluffy snow, which is about 8 inches more than Beijing normally gets in a winter.

Therese woke up delighted by the vast snowscape view from our 17th floor apartment. We watched from our warm bed as fat snowflakes dancing outside our window. Joe called and somehow convinced us to leave home and watch Game 3 of the World Series at The Den. We briefly entertained riding bikes, before we saw this...

Past our front gate, we were greeted by a beautiful mix of fall colors under a blanket of fresh fallen snow.

Though laziness was very tempting, especially on the day after halloween (to be recapped later), we decided snow in Beijing was too monumental to miss. We went to Nanlouguxiang for some window shopping and photography. It turned out to be a great idea. The area was bustling with activity, but not as much as usual. Locals tend to curl up in a warm ball when the snow comes, but we met it head-on.

I was fascinated by this little red bike-taxi, abandoned for the winter, crippled with a flat tire, it's once working parts now in disarray. It reminded me of how many things goes into hibernation for the winter, in their own way. It is parked in a beautiful hutong and will probably be featured in many visitors memories and photo albums.

On Joe's recommendation of "Best Desserts in Beijing", we stopped at Alba for some refreshments and a warm atmosphere: a cup of coffee for Joe, chocolate pudding for ace, and a BLT for the new clean-shaven me.

Winter may be here, but Therese and I can think of nothing else besides a vacation in a tropical paradise. In just three days, we'll be in the Philippines, land of Filipinos. And when we come back, China will have decided it's cold enough to turn on the heat, even though it was blistering today.

~Kev