Today our youngest turns 5! We wish we were with him today to celebrate, but will be sure to have a big feast with him on Monday!
What a fun day, today. After VERY little sleep, we got up at 0230 wishing for sunrise so that we could officially be up and get the show on the road.
At 0700, we walked across the street for a venti coffee and Starbucks (yeah!) and then made our way back to the hotel for a buffet breakfast. We all agreed to try the things that we would ordinarily not eat like jelly-fish salad (which really wasn't too bad), millet or rice congee (which tasted like watered down rice or grits), and pork and leek steamed buns...yum! Campbell, stuck with pancakes and bacon, although I did talk him into trying the congee.
At 0900 we met our guide to tour the drum tower...TOTALLY COOL! We walked up some VERY steep steps and witnessed the drumming that was used to tell time many years ago. These were the same drummers that were in the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics.
We then were whisked away in our rickshaws for a tour of the Hutong...an old Chinese neighborhood that is only passable by bicycle or foot traffic. During the tour, we saw a traditional open market and then were able to visit a family homestead and talk with one of the villagers...it really made us appreciate the total wealth of the American people...God Bless America!!
After the touring, the families in our group walked around the area of the hotel and then wandered over to a restaurant that specializes in Peking Duck...AWESOME! Finally, we are going to an acrobat show this evening around 1900. That should be fun, if we can keep Cam awake. So far, he has fallen asleep in the restaurant and on the bed after sitting for about 10 minutes. Time for another Starbucks run!
We'll post more after the show, but wanted to get a few pictures up...luckily, my wonderful husband has figured it out!
Tomorrow, we meet up withe 3 more families to tour the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, and Tiananmin Square.
We hope you all are doing well...we are still counting down the time to "Gotcha Day"!!
No comments:
Post a Comment