Vegetable Market

This morning, Sal and I were itching to get out of the house and get some exercise. Just as I was about to load him up in the baby bjorn and hit the greenbelt for a little sweatfest, I got a text from Donna inviting us to walk with her to the vegetable market.

So, we switched gears, grabbed my wallet and passport and took the stroller instead.

We met up with Donna and walked the few block distance from our gate to the market. We can actually see the market from our balcony, I suppose that would make a good "from the 25th floor" post.

Anyways, after turning off the street, we walked through an inconspicuous dirt parking lot thingy and over the canal and into a  paved area which turned out to be "THE" veggie market. There are no signs for these things in China. No flashy billboards ( which is surprising because the Chinese LOVE their neon lights & bling) or anything. It was seriously an opening through a cement wall, which lead through a dirt lot and into a market area. I never would have known this awesomeness existed just minutes from my home, had she not shown me.

That's the sorta cool thing about China. There are surprises, both good and bad, around every corner. It's a great place for exploring, and for those who like to check out every nook and cranny, you might just find a hidden gem like the vegetable market.

For the folks back home, the best way to describe it is that it is similar to an indoor Farmer's Market.

Only, here, you can bargain--which I did not (I still struggle with their currency and coming up with the correct amount of yuan for my purchases) but still, you CAN.

And I will. In the future.

Beautiful produce

The produce looked great. Some booths looked better than others, but in general, all of the produce looked quite edible. We even found cilantro! For the equivalent of 15 cents for a huge bunch!

Awesome.

The pterodactyl shriek returns. Sal's epic meltdown.

After a half hour or so ( okay, so maybe 15 minutes) Sal had one of his epic meltdowns where he transforms from "lovely baby" to a raging pterodactyl. The ear piercing shrieks just brought more attention to his white little self and I was just dreading waiting for the paparazzi to catch that one.

I beat them to it. Out came my camera and I took a picture of the meltdown, cause, well, I didn't know what else to do. I was hoping he could laugh with me, but he didn't...and so we left.

Our poor jaloppy got a flat today.

 On our way home, we crossed paths with my beloved jaloppy, as featured in one of my "from the 25th floor" posts. And here I thought the motor would be the cause of it's broke down status....Boy was I cynical--it was a  simple flat tire. Just goes to show you, don't judge a book by it's cover. It may look ugly, but it runs like a rusty old lawnmower charm.

Wuxi walks in Wuxi.

And before I forget, we had another cutie joining us for our trip to the market. Wuxi walked almost the entire way! Not too bad for 2 inch legs!

So, now that Sal's napping, it's time for me to get to washing produce and steaming some yams.

Fun stuff.

And great discovery today.

You never know what's just beyond your front doorstep.