Friday,
August 3, 2012
Good news….the hotel has a “gymnasium” with awesome
treadmills!!! And they are in kilometers so you think you
have gone A LOT farther and faster….even better! I knew
many of you would be worried about that so wanted to get
that out of the way first. Rest easy! (Luckily I have my
“China Mix” prepared for me by Maria to enjoy as I pounded
away!)
Breakfast buffet is complimentary but there is not your
average “continental breakfast” of hard donut and a piece
of bruised fruit! This is the full deal! French toast,
fruit, eggs, bacon, bread, muffins, yogurt, hash browns,
noodles, vegetables, and various pickled items…..not to
say we ate it all but it was there.
Our agency coordinator and the final families arrived this
am so at noon we were on the bus ready to see the sights.
It was a HOT ONE too! Not sure what the temperature was
but we went through lots of bottled water. Many of the
women carry umbrellas or wear gloves. Apparently they do
not want the sun on their skin as “tan” is not looked upon
as being “good” so they protect their skin in this way.
Smart people!
First thing we did…was hit the Peking Duck Restaurant.
This is a traditional restaurant. Our meal was served to
us ”family style” and there was lots of options: chicken,
egg drop soup, egg rolls, a ground pork which was used to
make sandwiches, fried pork, tea, rice and of course,
duck, that arrived outside of our room with the head still
attached. I tried one of the chicken which reminded me of
chicken you could get back home from a Chinese restaurant
but “richer” flavor. I also tried some of the duck, the
fried pork (or at least that is what we thought it was),
tea, and egg drop soup. (And if you know me at all, you
know what I mean when I say “tried”….) Oh and the rice!
After our bellies were full, we headed to the Temple of
Heaven. This is a huge area, which is used at various
times throughout the year to make offerings. There is a
park area right out side the temple that people gather to
play “Chinese poker”.
Next we went to a silk factory to learn how silk is made.
It was very interesting and they had various silk products
available for purchase. EmmeClaire did get a gift….one
that she will not be allowed near until MANY years down
the road (it will take that long to pay off the bill…blame
her father because once I knew the price, I was ready to
walk away, but that girl already has her wrapped around
her little finger! Push over!).
Next we headed over to Tiananmen Square and the Monument
to the People’s Heroes. This was the first time we noticed
that we were a tourist attraction. We had a few people
come stand near us, acting like they were just taking
pictures of the background, and take pictures. We had one
couple come up and want a group photo with all of us and
went and got one of the photographers that works in the
area to take a picture for them.
After our very short modeling career, we were all starting
to get a little tired and hungry. After a quick change of
shoes we walked to an area grocery store and got bottled
water. Then we went on to another traditional Chinese
dinner, Pizza Hut. We wanted to bring it back to the
hotel. Well, trying to explain that, the language barrier
really became apparent. We were amusing everyone trying to
explain what we wanted. Pizza Hut was packed. There was a
family celebrating a birthday near us. One of the
waitresses brought in a cake in a DQ box. I tried to blend
in a snag a piece but somehow they caught on……
So at this point we are ready for bed…oh wait, someone is
already snoring, so I guess that means HE is more than
ready! I won’t mention any names but I will say this time
tomorrow he will be OLDER. Tomorrow we are headed to look
for a really BIG wall…..any guesses? Anyone? Anyone? We
will also be partaking in another “traditional” Chinese
meal. We are stopping at a jade factory at some point to
learn about the different “colors” of jade. With any luck
EmmeClaire may come away from that visit with another
gift….oh heck, she does not need luck. After that we have
heard we have some shopping to do….fine, twist my arm….
Sunday morning we have a planned activity before we head
to Henan Province, aka EMMECLAIRE’S PROVINCE!!! Of course
we have to “drop” some weight in our luggage before we get
on the plane so…..
Adam: Keep an eye out for Pete Pan in the pictures!! He
seems to be enjoying his adventures. He is very quiet and
does not eat very much at all! We may need some Pixie Dust
to get us up that Great Wall tomorrow! We were so excited
to see you this am on FaceTime! I am glad you and Beans
are keeping Uncle Mike and Aunt Jill busy! We meant to
send your recorder to their house so they could see how
well you have been doing with your practicing….especially
since THEY got it for you!! Maybe Beans will let you
borrow hers! We miss you LOTS! Be good!! XOXOX |
Peking Duck Restaurant lunch
Beth enjoying the rice!!
Entrance to Temple of Heaven
Temple of Heaven
Silk factory
Tiananmen Square |
