Gliding Away

Near our house there is a beautiful park called Ritan Park. It is one of the few places I visited (apart from the numerous apartments) when we came here in our pre-assignment trip. It is such a wonderful place, with a crowd of people of all ages spending their day there. I promise to write more about the park, in future post. This island of greenery is transformed by each season. Today I want to share with you some local winter speciality that goes on onto the frozen lake of the park: chair skating!!!

Is it that the winter is too short to have people practice and master some skating skills? Or it is just simply a more safe and easy way to enjoy the pleasure of the ice? I am not sure! 

We headed there this morning, with good intention and a perfectly blue sky and warm winter sun. We were ready for the adventure! But our ride ended up being rather short, as Mr Noam, scared, was yelling and grabbing me the whole time!!! We landed safely after a full tour of the small lake. Noam was so happy to be back on land and having his two little feet on the ground!

After our ride on the ice and a little walk around, we paused for some warm tea in a cute little place called the Stone Boat, as it is sitting right on the water (on the third photo). Noam, as usual, grabbed the attention of the waitress and was given numerous mandarins and lots of smiles. We will be back in the summer, when a variety of local artists are invited to play on the little terrace.