We had duck pancakes in Beijing and after getting my nails done in the Mall of The World.. i stumbled across this little gem... 6 duck pancakes for 13RMB (£2) winnniiiiiiing. It is the little things that make China life more habitable!!

A sophisticated Sunday at the Park Hyatt in Guangzhou. A charity food and wine event accompanied by some live music, salsa dancing and a raffle! There were 5 top restaurants in the area which had designed a dish to serve up whilst you went around and it was paired with a wine. There were some lovely dishes and equally incredible wines...but The Ned Sauvignon Blanc will always be my winner!! Here are some of the dishes I tried below, I would try and explain what they are but I cannot remember the lovely descriptions which is half the wow!

A lovely and different way to spend a Sunday afternoon and drinking wine for charity isn't too bad!

Instead of heading in to the city on a Friday, we went right out of the compound and found a great little bar and coffee house! It is a very small place and the owners also run the GZ grocery delivery service (keeping us happy with stress free shopping to our door)! But saying this, it does lovely prosecco, wines and beer or if you want alcohol free there are plenty of options. If you are in there in the day there are pastries and coffees and tea etc. so I am a little bit gutted I have not been there before now as we are moving into the City centre next year so this won't be our local area!

I love the quirky decor! 

In the city there are still lots of places to be explored and after school Monday Kate showed me a new mall. Sorry mum, more shopping... But it is a rather up market mall so this is where you find all your (real) designer shops! But on the top of its 3 stores, is a lovely garden area with some great restaurants. We went to Element Fresh which has a buy one get one free salad offer on a Monday so that went down a treat! Then I was proper local and got the B6 bus all the way home for 20p. Winning at life!! And a lovely start to the week.

An hour and a half drive out of Guangzhou, is the town known for its Hot Springs. Given that the average temperature here at the moment is high 30s; perhaps it was ambitious to think we would want to bathe in any hot pools!! However, it was a super cheap, lovely mini break leaving on the Saturday morning and returning Sunday afternoon. Being able to lie in the sunshine and relax and have some fresher air was fab! A friend at work organised it all and got the room for a good rate as well and we got a coach up with a few families as well. The hotel, Biquan Air Spring Hotel, was beautiful and had a lot of pools that you could go in, including the springs which included a dying and yang pool (hot and cold), lavender, green tea, sandalwood, the fish that nibble your dead skin on your feet -yum!  We found ourselves in the sun trap next to a nice pool overlooking the mountains, which is where we were most of the trip!! 

Whenever I have spoken about Party Pier on here, it is always to go to Zapatas or somewhere for a dance. Turns out it is quite lovely in the day time too, with a good view as well!! We met for a Sunday night cocktail, food and catch up before the week began...

What better way to accomplish something you never thought you would do but in Borneo?!! I mean in hindsight the 30+degree heat and the hills were maybe not the best additions to an already LONG way!! But hey, that made completing it all the more sweet (after I had taken it all in!)

When people say you are fit anyway as you are a PE teacher I do get a bit offended as I don't really think they understand the job. Yes, it probably is more active than sat in an office working, as I go from venue to venue lugging the equipment (I mean...the kids are usually doing this!) but I am not taking part exercising and getting fitter in all these lessons like the students! I am a firm believer in being a role model to young people and keeping fit and healthy but it doesn't go hand in hand with the job... you have to train, which after being active and on your feet all day is tough.

For me, running was always a cheap way to keep fit and a nice way to explore somewhere, I would not say I love it, but I do love the feeling afterwards. I would much prefer a team sport to be competitive in rather than running, hence why this was such a big challenge for me. And I had never run further than 13km (on a one off...i got lost run) before coming out to China. So for 5 weeks I tried my best to up my miles and then having a mental and physical battle with myself around the route, I completed my first half marathon in 2h 18mins. YAY! The hardest thing I have ever done in my life and I am so grateful for the ice bags, sponges, deep heat and water/gel stations along the way to get me through it!! But for me an incredible achievement and for anyone that can complete a challenge they never thought they would be able to do :-)

Now to do the next one in Phuket, Thailand in June... oh dear!

...thanks Rob for the title...