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Nia Hao!

We got up around 4:30 and went to eat breakfast at 7:30. Breakfast at the Radisson wasn’t bad. We had eggs, bacon, cereal, breads, and fruit. But there were also things we didn’t recognize. One item they did have looked like Pork-N-Beans but we were chicken to try them.

We meet the group at 9:00 and got on the bus to go to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. All I can say is that obviously all 15 million Beijing residents must have decided to do today, too. It was very crowded. Three things you don’t take a picture of and that are the men in uniforms. Well someone forgot to tell this one family (not a family in our group) because the police came and took their camera and put them in the van. We learned that the Forbidden City has 9,999.5 rooms. No we didn’t visit them all. I really enjoyed the tour. We learned a lot about the different reigns of the emperors.

We left the Forbidden City and went to eat Chinese. It was very different from our Chinese food. Then we visited the Summer Palace. After visiting all the places it is a shame that the French and British came to China and burned, destroyed, and stole so much.

We visited the Pearl Factory and Silk Factory. We bought Bailey a strand of pink pearls and matching earring and Jay bought me a pair of earrings too. They showed us how pearls are made and even opened an oyster and there were about 20 pearls inside of it.
They gave each family a pearl from the oyster for our little girls.

The silk factory was also an experience. The life span of a silk worm is between 5-45 days. The guide showed us how the silk comforters are made. The stuffing inside them are 100% silk! Yes, we ended up buying one for Bailey and Corey had to get a red silk cover for himself. We also bought Bailey two outfits and a pair of silk pajamas. We can’t wait to see them on her.

After all the touring and shopping we had a Peking Duck Dinner. They did not serve the duck head but they did serve the fish head. I can say it was an experience.

Jay decided to get a massage afterwards. For an hour massage it cost $20 and he said it was worth every penny. He actually fell asleep in the middle of it. It was the end of a very busy day. Only 2 days before we get Bailey.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 18th, 2007 at 7:06 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.