Piao and Deng Shu

On Monday I drove down to Cleveland again, this time to spend a few days with Piao and Deng Shu, our friends from China.  Married a few months ago, this is their honeymoon.  The trip began at Doylestown, PA, north of Philadelphia, which Piao regards as his American "hometown."  He first visited Doylestown in 2008 when "Young William" brought his International Friends of the Great Wall to the U.S. to honor the centenary of my grandfather's trek along the Great Wall of China.  He visited again three years ago at the opening of an exhibit on Dr. Geil at the Doylestown Historical Society.  Friends invited him to return, and this fall he did!

After several days visiting with friends in this delightful corner of Bucks County, Piao and Sue (as we call her) hopped a plane to Cleveland to see Bob, David, Brad, and myself.  As noted, I arrived Monday.  Brad comes in from Virginia today, and we will overlap by a day.

Yesterday, while Bob and David were at work, I took Piao and Sue to the Cleveland Art Museum and Botanical Gardens.  As a teenager I used to ride my bike down to the University Circle area and spend hours prowling the Art Museum, photographing whatever interested me.  This was my first visit in about 50 years!  Alas, the Asian Collection is currently in storage as the Museum undergoes a major renovation and construction project.  But we spent a couple enjoyable hours in the European, Impressionist, Modern European, and Modern/Abstract Art galleries.

Piao checks out a fire screen at the Art Museum.

Deng Shu studied art history and interior design at
university.  The museum galleries fascinated her.

Portrait of a Man, 40-30 BCE, Roman.

Gray and Gold, 1942, by John Rogers Cox.  This painting
was a response to America's entry into WW II, when the
nation found itself at a geopolitical crossroads.

After lunch at the Museum's coffee shop (the cafeteria isn't open yet), we wandered over to the Cleveland Botanical Gardens.  Rain kept us from exploring the outdoor exhibits, but we spent a happy hour in the indoor Glass House inspecting the "spiny desert" and "rain forest" environments.  The latter includes a vast number of butterflies, almost all of which were moving too fast to photograph.

At the Botanical Gardens, only this one butterfly was
motionless (eating a banana) and photographable.

A mother and son skirt the waterfall in
the rain forest exhibit.

 After a couple hours at the motel — and for me a nice nap! — we shared a pizza dinner at Bob's and David's home.  Monday was Piao's birthday, but we finished dinner so late that we put off the celebration until last night.  Bob and David arranged for a birthday cake which included a photo of the Great Wall of China!  Great fun!  And I brought along some Presque Isle sweatshirts for Piao and Sue, and a t-shirt for the couple's baby, due in about three months.

Sue, Piao and David listen to a Victrola playing 78 rpm records.

David serves up pizza.  Piao and Sue are especially fond
of pizza from shops in Beijing.

The "Great Wall Birthday Cake" made a real hit.

Bob wanted to use one of Piao's Great Wall photos,
but the bakery couldn't make it work.  This one was
downloaded off the Internet.

Piao did an expert job cutting the cake!

Bob shows Piao and Sue a large music box which was
long resident at our grandmother's home in Doylestown.

Sue shows off the little Presque Isle t-shirt which in due
course will be worn by the couple's first child.

Today?  Flea markets! •••