Food

We have arrived in Xian after a 6 hour journey on the 300 km/hour high speed train.  The train was extremely comfortable but there seemed to be a complete absence of food or drink.   Jane had a session at the 'so called' refreshments bar where all her requests for items off the menu were met with 'No we don't have that'  Rather reminiscent of the Monty Python cheese sketch.   We managed to get by with a packet of strange tomato flavoured crisps.  We were rather intrigued by an item on the menu that was translated as "Stupid Bread".  Jane wondered whether it was Thick Sliced (sorry - politically incorrect!)

After a swim and a shower we went out to get a proper meal.  We ordered a number of items off the menu expecting small portions of each to arrive  because they were quite cheap.  When they arrived,  each item was an enormous plateful and there was hardly room on the table.  Goodness knows what they thought of us ordering all this food.  It was absolutely delicious but we had to leave about 2/3 of it sadly.   The total bill including beer was under £20.

These frogs were not on the menu as far as we could see but they were in buckets outside every other restaurant in the street

Internet is absolutely dire here.  We are staying in a 5* hotel but the internet is painfully slow and intermittent.   May have to give up blipping while we are away.