Travel {Teahouse 23}

     I don't need a big house,... Just a cozy one. A fireplace in the living room, those two little square windows on either side.

 

Brooke Lea Foster

Summer Darlings 

I stopped by this cafe two years ago after doing a Portraits for Paws shoot and was completely taken in by the warm inviting decor and the handmade ceramics that they were selling. The coffee was rich but expensive but I think worth it for those who preferred somewhere quiet and cozy where they can kill a few hours. 

A few weeks ago I discovered that Teahouse 23 closed. I checked their Wechat page and indeed they had a closing out sale way back in August. I'm hoping all those handmade ceramic plates, tea cups and bowls are now in good hands. 

 A few photos from that quick coffee stop, just a few months after China emerged from the first ever  COVID lockdown.

 

 

 

Travel {Daija Alley and Musings on Lockdown 2.0}

 We were willing to explore and be surprised. 

Willing to trust that there was beauty out there and love and joy. 

Ready to have our hearts touched and our souls hugged.

Meara O'Hara

 The Wanderess and her Suitcase 

Explorations and memories of walking up and down these old streets stick to memory the most.  Which is probably why I'm getting a bit nostalgic for the things that we could do two weeks ago. This is the 15th day of lockdown 2.0 (because yes, we were here for the first one too and never got to leave, which was a really bad idea in hindsight). And there's a certain kind of incredulity to all this, because this really does not have to happen. The rest of the world has moved on. It would have been funny had it not been so frustrating, haha! 

The silver lining, I guess, is that I'm finally able to post all the photos taken this year that have been languishing in my hard drive and this site will finally have the attention it sorely needs.

 

For now, some photos of our cafe hop in Daija Alley in Yuzhong District a few months back, when the weather was marvelous, people were free to walk and roam as they pleased, and we could sip our coffee with the Jialing River as our view.