Round 2

Slept in until 4:30 a.m. today, of course, we went to bed at 9:30 pm. So, I guess it evens out. Sort of, but not really. Had breakfast at the hotel, which rates as a solid "meh", but the beds are soft. Nothing but Chinese shows on the TV. 8^)

We started out early today because of the aggressive agenda and got ready, hurried up, and then WHAM! Traffic. Like 5 pm rush hour in Houston, but this was on a Saturday. 30 minutes turned into 1.5 hours. Angela said there are about 9 million cars in Beijing now and they add another 2,000 a day. So, traffic is to be expected every day. Gas is about $4 a gallon here too. China is now the biggest consumer of energy in the world, and this is just one city. Anyways, enough lecturing, its time to get back to business...sightseeing!

Oh wait, I have yet to mention the whole reason for this trip! Our daughter! We have not forgotten about Wren. In fact we went and saw the Bird's Nest today and thought about our little beauty. On Monday she will be in our hands. Last night after I awoke Trinity from the van ride back from the Great Wall and dinner she said, "Daddy, you ruined my dream!" and I said, "What was it?" and she replied, "it was about Wren, we had just got her and you woke me up" and told her I was sorry and that was a good dream. We are counting down the days and soon it will be hours. Monday is the day.

Now back to the story...we drove by the Bird's Nest and this thing is enormous! The pictures you have seen do not do it justice, apparently they are going to modify it in the future so you will be able to walk on top of it and see the city. Pretty cool.





We pulled up to the Summer Palace and got our tickets and continued the breakneck pace. As it is summer and the name of the place is the Summer Palace, it was very green and beautiful, the foliage was lush and the lilly pad pond was in bloom.






Trinity got to exchange greetings with a sidewalk calligraphy artist. It is usually a retired man and they practice their art on the sidewalk. It was fascinating to watch.





We walked around and traveled through the long corridor that was about 700 meters (hence the name) and beautifully illustrated with Chinese history throughout. I got a shot of the Monkey King in action.





I saw this on the way through the corridor. It would seem his reputation precedes him...






At the end we came upon the infamous marble ship that the Empress Dowager spent 42 million US on back in the late 19th century. It was supposed to be for the Chinese Navy and they were subsequently defeated by the Japanese
Navy because...well because she wanted a place to picnic. Originally the ship was supposed to symbolize how Emperor and the water was the people. The people propped him up and could sink him, he traveled about at their mercy, and I guess the Empress did not share this belief.





Trinity had some more fans and was paid in popcorn.




It is overcast today and the sun is starting come out. Now it feels like August. Onward and upward to the Temple of Heaven.

The Temple of Heaven was created so that the Emperor (the son of Heaven) would have a place to worship and consul from his father. It is twice the size of the Forbidden City because the son could not have a bigger place than his father. The roof tiles are glazed blue to represent the sky (Heaven), while in the Forbidden City they are yellow to represent the Emperor. The central temple is round while the grounds are laid out on a square to symbolize Heaven and earth. Their is a huge marble walkway up the middle and this was not to be walked on as it was for the father. The Emperor would walk on the right side and his court on the left. He would go here a couple of times a year and one time was during the summer solstice. They would sacrifice animals/bulls and pray on a specific spot. Once the holiest spot in all of China! People still pray on it today, in fact, the dude before me was praying until I pushed him aside so we could get our photo op. (just kidding)







In addition the grounds are covered in pine and cypress trees, some as old as 600 years. This too was to symbolize earth.

We continued walking through and I now I keep saying this, but it is just amazing, and huge. Towards the end Trinity got a lesson on how to use the ribbon. Of course, she now has her own to practice with. But hey, it was $3, memories priceless...sold!



Trinity also had her hair done.



Back to the traffic and the silk market. The silk market gave us a tour of the silk worm life cycle and the process in which the silk is harvested and stretched. The dead worms are then eaten as it is a tremendous hit of protein, I am sure Bear Grylis would agree, but as I am not starving alone in the Chinese wilderness, I will take the guides word for it, or I could try it at the restaurant next to the hotel. Anyways, we saw how they layered and stretched the silk.





It was fascinating as the girls helped make the insides of a comforter, and then we later bought a silk stuffed comforter. see how that works? 8^) These are actually exceptional quality and very reasonable, so if in Beijing make a stop here.

Next we went to lunch and afterwards we went to the Pearl Market and shopped. The store was full of testimonial photos from the Bush-Clinton-Bush administrations, Shana at long last got her belated anniversary present. (We had agreed previously so I got a pass) On the way out we went through what I would call an indoor Chinese knock off flea market. iPhones, PS3's, watches, colognes, purses, clothes, you name it...5 stories! My brother Tom would have loved it. Next door was the toy store version. I thought I might get a good deal on some bots, but alas the prices were way too high, they also had tons of the replica cars my brother used to collect for display in his office. He would have never flown that far, but he would have been in his retail paradise-that and they had silk shirts at the silk market.

One more sight today, the Red Theater presents: Chun Yi: The Legend of Kung Fu. This was a show that was about an hour, but felt like an hour and a half because they had an air conditioning problem. It was cool, they showed some of the animal forms, and I recognized the spear form, I think my Kung fu brother, Collin could have represented well. He would have to shave his head, put on makeup and dress like a Shaolin monk to do it, but what the hey, he is committed.



Also saw the restroom from hell. Get a load of this baby. FYI- this is not the urinal.






We skipped dinner and got Chinese takeout in China. Love it. Trinity collapsed and we followed soon afterwards. Tomorrow is a catch up day and we go to the airport at to to fly to Nanning which is the city where our daughter is from. The flight is about 3 hours so it is a pretty good little jaunt. (like from Houston to San Fran) Now we roll the dice and pray that the guide is on the other end waiting. This is the part we have had no part of planning.

Overall, I would say the Tarver Tour was a success. 9 sites in two days. Angela will now sell it as a package. (live Choy Lee Fut Kung Fu demo on the Wall not included)

By the way, Angela was a phenomenal guide and I would recommend her without hesitation. If you plan to travel to Beijing get in touch with her. http://ladybugsnlove.com/





Next entry will be from Nanning!