We arrived in Beijing around 10:30am yesterday, after checking into our hotel, our guide picked us up, and we headed out to see the sights. First to Tianamen Square, the largest square. It had decorations celebrating the Olympics, and Paraolympics, which are still going on. We got some great pictures, and enjoyed looking around. On a funny note, our new little four year old has to constantly go niao niao (pee pee), and this was no exception. There are not public restrooms on the square, so our guide suggested that since he was a little boy, he could go in the flowers. So Tommy got the honor of peeing on the flowers at Tianaman Square. I can't wait to tell him about that when he is older!
Next, we walked across the street to the Forbidden City. It was so beautiful, many of the buildings have been restored, and it was really amazing. Luckily for us, there were restrooms! We walked and walked, it is huge. Tommy was a trooper, and handled the day very well, considering he was a very tired boy after rising so early for the plane.
After sightseeing, our guide walked us down the famous "snack street" home of such delicacies as centipedes, silk cocoons, and lamb testicles...yummy! We saw these funny drinks that made us think of William, it looked like a Slurpee from 7-11, but it was smoking! They had dry ice in the drinks, it looked kind of cool.
Our guide recommended a famous restaurant for Peking Duck, which we wanted to try. It wasn't in the area she had dropped us off, so after a while of looking around, we decided to head back to the hotel. On the way back, we actually accidentally found it. We walked by a sign with the name on it, Quan Jude Roast Duck Restaurant, but no restaurant. Just a toy store. So I got to use one of the Mandarin phrases I learned "Naer you fan-guan?" Where is the restaurant? She kept motioning next door, which was just another shop. She finally motioned around the corner, so we rounded the corner, and there was the restaurant for Peking Duck, Rick and I laughed because it had this giant goofy looking duck out front. We said "of course, it is the one with the duck!" Makes perfect sense! We did have an excellent dinner, worth the effort of locating it!
Today, up bright and early, we headed to the Great Wall. WOW! We had a beautiful day for a climb, and climb we did. Rick made it to the top of the mountain, yay ba ba! Tommy and mom only made it half-way. Tommy was struggling with the steps. No building code back then, some are 2" rise and others are about a foot and a half! It was pretty steep going up, and it took Tommy and I longer to come down! He had to be carried part of the way on my back! There were tee shirts indicating "I climbed the Great Wall" I want one that says "I climbed the Great Wall while carrying a grumpy four-year old!"
We have packed and are ready to go home! We accidentally had the most expensive meal of our entire trip downstairs in our hotel. We went to the same restaurant where our breakfast buffet is, and figured it would be a place to get a simple dinner we can have an early night. They also had an evening buffet, so we said sure. It turned out to be even more expensive than the Peking Duck! Moral of the story, ALWAYS ASK THE PRICE! We were trying to use the last of our Yuans, so I was curious when Rick had to pull out the credit card! They don't have kid's meals, and charged Tommy full price. Beer was included, not milk though! Oops for us, oh well, we leave tomorrow, so we're done dining out for awhile! Looking forward to just eating at home.
We love you William and C.J., see you tomorrow! Love you!
Mom and Dad
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