Crossing a surveys courtyard outside missouri state bears shows ritzy Shin Kong Place several long blocks east of the tower, I happened to see workmen installing a sign for the mall's new Fauchon boutique, soon to bring Dijon mustard and foie gras to New China. THE WEST ENDI think of the West End, especially Haidian, as my neighborhood because that's where I lived during my language course. It is home to Peking and Tsinghua universities, the Harvard and Yale of China, as well the Old and New Summer Palaces, Incense Burner Peak , Big Bell Temple and Zhongguancun, Beijing's riotous electronics market. The Olympic Green is a 15-minute cab ride away, and a light rail line, soon to be joined by two new subways, runs through the district, providing relatively easy access to central Beijing But I often had a hard time dislodging myself from Haidian. It's airier than downtown and, on a clear day, the western mountains seem close enough to touch. Haidian's high-energy heart is the area around Wudaokou Station, which has a half-finished look, more like Tijuana than Cambridge, Mass. , lined with student-friendly cafes, movie theaters and high-rise apartment buildings. Korean restaurants predominate, although few people can resist the congee shop on Chengfu Road, where they grab a Chinese porridge for breakfast, served with their choice of sweet or savory toppings. Chengfu Road dead-ends to the west at the gates of Peking University, known to students as "Beida" and founded in 1898 by Qing Dynasty Emperor Guangxu. It was part of ill-fated reforms that were cut short when a coup d'etat elevated the ultraconservative Dowager Empress Cixi, who ruled China from behind the scenes until her death in 1908.
But the university endured, breeding scholars, artists and dissidents, and in 1952 moved from its original site on the eastern side of Beijing to park lands near the Summer Palace. The campus is one of the loveliest places in the capital, hushed by serious scholarship and verdant with trees labeled in the nomenclature of Linnaeus . Most buildings are decorated with the carved beams and painted rafters of Ming Dynasty architecture missouri southern . I often wandered around Weiming Lake and Boya Pagoda, passing intriguing sights such as the Arthur M missouri university . Sackler Museum of Art & Archaeology, the Research Center for Deng Xiaoping's Theory at the College of Marxism and the tomb of American writer Edgar Snow, whose 1936 "Red Star Over China" helped make the Communist Party's struggle to free the country from imperialism and feudalism known in the United States . To the north, a canal separates Beida from the ruins of Yuanmingyuan, often called the Old Summer Palace, built in the 18th century jqh arena . Compared with the nearby New Summer Palace, started a few decades later, it is a neglected treasure but nonetheless precious for the history that whispers around it. The first Europeans who saw Yuanmingyuan's interconnected gardens and pavilions, set on a system of man-made rivers, were so astounded by its splendors that they called it the "Versailles of the East. " But when the great powers of the 19th century began carving up China, first by treaty and then by force, Yuanmingyuan was sacked and burned. French author Victor Hugo wrote in an 1861 letter that the Old Summer Palace was destroyed by two bandits: England and France That shameful episode has long since been forgotten. But at Yuanmingyuan, I saw and understood how it fueled antagonism toward the West and helped shape China's communist future. One weekend, I absconded from my dorm room at Beijing Language and Culture University for some R & R in the Xizhimen district south of Haidian.
I got a good rate -- about $175 a night, including a munificent buffet breakfast -- at the Beijing Shangri-La . (It's part of a Hong Kong-based hotel chain that, I found, consistently does the best job in China, especially when it comes to service. )My beautiful, king-bedded double overlooked the Third Ring Road, the old CCTV tower, the Beijing Zoo with its sleepy pandas and rare snub-nosed monkeys, Purple Bamboo Park, Wutai Temple and Capital Indoor Stadium, sprucing up to stage Olympic volleyball missouri state . When I asked the concierge where to shop, he directed me to Dongwuyuan Wholesale Market, a designer knock-off gold mine across from the zoo where I bagged a stunning white lace jacket for $3. I took a boat trip from a dock near the zoo to the Summer Palace, heard a docent play a winsome Chinese air on the Marquis of Zeng's 65 chimes at the Big Bell Temple and toured the Beijing Film Studio, a now seedy 50-year-old complex where the Peking Opera was put on-screen and vintage World War II movies were made. In pretty Purple Bamboo Park, I joined old folks in their regular weekend sing-along, imagining what they had seen during their long lives in China. Down the hill by the lake, indescribably cute kids were eating Popsicles and chasing butterflies, and I wondered what they would see in China's future. Susan. spano missouri western . CACHACALOS ANGELESBrazil's 'coolest export since the bikini wax'Brazil leads the world in ethanol production, creating the biofuel from sugar cane missouri department of labor . That same cheap and plentiful ingredient goes into cachaca (kah-SHAH-sah), the rum-like spirit of the country.
It's what gives a unique kick to the caipirinha, the national cocktail, which ranks as Brazil's coolest export since the bossa nova and the bikini wax. Cachaca is the third most consumed spirit (after vodka and soju) in the world Missouri State Bears JQH Arena - missouristate . The drink began to catch on in Southern California in 2004, but like Mexico's tequila, cachaca recently has gone upscale with a handful of new luxury brands, such as Agua Luca, Cabana and Leblon. Some sip cachaca straight, and any of the aforementioned labels reward that effort, but it reaches its full potential when mixed with muddled limes and sugar in the crisp caipirinha, a cooling cocktail that nimbly straddles the sweet-sour line missouri hotels . Cariocas, as residents of Rio call themselves, pack the two outposts of Academia da Cachaca, where nearly 100 labels of the stuff are available, along with many variations of the caipirinha, to quench their thirst. Locally, drop in at Bar Nineteen12 at the Beverly Hills Hotel or Ciudad in downtown L. A universities missouri . to try a classic caipirinha made with fresh ingredients Missouri State Bears JQH Arena . Ciudad, 445 S missouri universities and colleges . Figueroa St. , Los Angeles, (213) 486-5171; Bar Nineteen12, Beverly Hills Hotel, 9641 Sunset Blvd. , Beverly Hills, (310) 273-1912. --Chris Rubin--OLALLIEBERRIESCAMBRIALove child of the blackberry and raspberryCambria, Calif. , is almost too precious, a town made of candles and butterflies.
It's what the world would look like if your grammy were in charge . But Cambria also is a prime nesting place of the underappreciated olallieberry. Underappreciated what?"We have so many guests who are surprised to learn that it's a real berry," says Marjorie Ott of the Olallieberry Inn "They think we made it up. "Well, someone did missouri labor law posters . The olallieberry (pronounced oh-LA-la-berry) is the love child of the blackberry and European red raspberry hotel missouri . Developed at Oregon State in the late '40s for use in the Northwest, the olallieberry thrived better in California motels missouri . It is found in moist, temperate zones such as Santa Cruz and around Cambria, where it's used in pies, preserves, lemonade and other sweet treats. Larger and more tart than a blackberry, the olallie holds up well in baking It has zing; it has character. So why isn't this berry more prevalent?"They are low-producing when compared to a grape or tomato plant," says Aaron Linn of Linn's Fruit Bin.
Although Linn's sells olallieberry products all year, the actual berry season is short--the end of May to the end of July. Somehow, little berry, that only makes me want you more. Linn's Fruit Bin, linnsfruitbin . --Chris Erskine--COFFEESEATTLEHot brews from the coffee capitalIn Seattle, hometown of Starbucks, coffee is a topic locals debate with buzz-induced fervor . Among the city's most beloved indie purveyors:Caffe Vita's employees locked their back-alley dumpsters when spies from other companies began making nighttime dives to find out what goes into Vita's divine espresso blend missouri . Its execs travel the coffee-producing world to establish trade with farmers jqh arena seating chart . At home, they oversee a small roasting factory and four cafes where customers can get their fill jqh arena events . caffevita . Missouri State Bears JQH Arena tickets Espresso Vivace comes up whenever you ask Seattle residents about their favorite coffee roaster Missouri State Bears JQH Arena - missouristate . There's usually a line of customers out the door waiting for its dark, rich espresso, which has won a devoted fan base. espressovivace . Lighthouse Roasters has just one location, though its owner is considering a new store in San Francisco.
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