travels to Hangzhou

Hi everybody,
I just returned from a really short trip to Hangzhou with Brian. I literally spent as much time in China as I did in airports, mainly because of flight cancellations and delays resulting in missed connections. Nonetheless, I had a pretty good time. I learned that even so called "second-tier" cities are enormous, and still fairly polluted. Cigarrette smoke is unavoidable, even in the hotels as it comes through common ductwork. There is a huge lake in Hangzhou, called West Lake, and it is really beautiful. A few years back they rebuilt a tall pagoda that is situated on a hill overlooking the lake and it is pretty spectacular. The food is much tastier than what you typically find in Beijing, but despite it's relative proximity to Shanghai, the "Shanghai dumplings" are no where as good as what you can find there.
Well, I guess that's it for the travel log of my trip. Sadly I have no cool pictures like TT. Just thinking of you all, and hoping that you're about to have or are having a wonderful holiday.