A Great Restaurant Find in Dali

Thursday, July 17, 2008--Dali

I went searching for a place to eat this morning and passed a bakery I had seen before. I had noticed that their breads and pastries looked good. But when I tried to get a table to eat, the ones downstairs were full and there were none upstairs (as many places here tend to have). I walked some more enjoying the morning and exploring areas of town where I hadn't been yet. When I returned later, one of their 3 4-top tables was available. I took it and ordered the #2 breakfast. It was FANTASTIC!! The place is very clean and is operated by a woman from Germany with help from Chinese friends and employees. I had two fried eggs, two slices of bacon, 3 big slices of French bread, a large pat of butter, homemade mango-apple jam, a fruit plate (plums, mango, pineapple, banana, and apple), and a pot of coffee. UMMMM!! It was excellent quality and so tasty. I kept thinking of Arne and how much he would have appreciated it if he had been with me.

I wandered the streets then for a while. It's fun just to watch the people. Unfortunately, I find that many of the westerners seem to be frowning for some reason. I am always smiling, especially as I watch the children here. And many of the younger people touring here love to make eye contact and say hello to a westerner.

While walking about, I saw a pharmacy with a scale and used it. I am now down to 74.5 kg (164 lbs). That is still 2.5-4.5 kg (5.5-10 lbs) more than I would like to be which is a goal of 70-72 kg (154-158 lbs). But I am already down to what I weighed when I graduated from high school. Not many 63-year-olds can say that!

I returned to my room for part of the afternoon and read in my book. It's really nice here to explore part of the day and relax part of the day. And my hotel is conveniently placed so that I am within the action of the tourist street within one block of where I am staying. While out later in the afternoon, I bought the first item I have purchased on this trip--a large piece of cotton fabric printed in blue batik. It's a specialty here. And I knew I could use the fabric in various ways while traveling: as a towel if I needed one, as a beach towel to keep the sand off my body, as a sheet if I have to check into a place that doesn't seem so clean, as a cover sheet in India where they sometimes do not give a top sheet, etc. Plus, it folds and is light weight so that it does not create a problem in my luggage.

For dinner I returned to The Bakery No. 88 where I had breakfast. I ate a baba ganouch sandwich on ciabotta bread. I drank a raspberry-yogurt drink and ate a slice of mango-chocolate cake. It was all delicious.

If anyone is coming to Dali, you should definitely find this eatery. Here is a website where I am told there is a description: http://www.adayo.net/uhu/karine

Tomorrow, I am off to Kunming, my last stop in China. I will fly out of there on the 20th for Chiang Mai in northern Thailand. But I am still looking forward to 2 1/2 more days of Chinese holiday there in Kunming.