After lunch, we were walking through some hutongs to get to the next destination when we stopped here:
Fongyee said that this place was a staple in Beijing, as it had been around forever... we got
Some kind of milk custard - it came in various flavors, but we got the plain one just to see what the base tasted like.
This is a very refreshing drink on a hot day - a sweet and sour plum drink... it was so good, my wife and I would seek it out on the days following too.
Our next stop was here:
This is the Confucius Temple - not a religious temple, but a place where students go where students can "pray to Confucius" so they can do well on their exams! As both Fongyee and my wife have taken lots of exams recently, they can both relate to this place. This is a great temple - it's very serene inside, and not crowded, and there is plenty of shade... a good place to relax and organize one's thoughts.
There is also a great old Cypress tree that's over 700 years old
After our temple visit, we wandered through some more hutong looking for this tea house:
This is a great little place amidst the maze of hutongs. It's very peaceful, and they have an amazing set of teas....
We got an aged white tea:
And a pu'erh that had been in an orage (maybe tangerine) peel...
The owner of the tea place also provided us with a bunch of snacks (after that lunch and the custard, there was no room! my wife and I felt bad that we barely touched the snacks)
Thank you @Fengyi for your immense hospitality and generosity, and for taking so much time from your very busy schedule to hang out with us. Definitely one of the highlights of the trip!
