Pictures Galore and Other Fun Randomness

Today we were out of the hotel and on our way to the Summer Palace by 8 am. It was a 45 minute bus ride to get to the northwest side of the city, mostly because of traffic. There seems to be traffic all day, every day and it is MUCH worse during rush hour. Since it was Saturday, the place was pretty crowded so we had to stay close to the pink flag and our tour guide, Ben.

This place is located in a beautiful part of the city and at the top the view is just gorgeous. But in order to get there you had to climb at least 300 steps. So up we went.

As we climbed, this is what we could see looking back down.

But it was worth it to see this...

When we climbed back down we walked through the longest corridor in the world. It was incredibly long and very intricate.

But then again, the whole thing was beautiful, each and every building.

M took a picture of me with the two Sara(h)s and this cool pillar.

The entire group at lunch together at a 5 star restaurant. We even got to see a wedding reception while we were there. The food was served family style and for the most part was good. I did avoid the fish soup (seen in the middle) and shrimp plate, but I ventured out with the lotus root, white rice, beef, and some sort of vegetable stuff. Eric sat to my right and he was my taster. I'd watch his reaction and then decide from there. :) Meghan sat across from me and she was very expressive also. :) We all left feeling hungry and since M had a session for the rest of the afternoon I sacrificed my only granola bar.

After lunch the partners and students separated and one bus brought the lucky partners back to the hotel. I saw this sign that made me smile. There are just about as many bikers as there are cars so they really do need these lights.

While we've been here I've pretty much refused to make any decisions. Just tell me where we're going. Tracey REALLY wanted to see a true tea house. So we found a place in one of the guide books and got a card from the concierge with the place written in Chinese. The cab driver didn't speak ANY English but the hotel people worked it out for us - or so we thought. 4 of us jumped in the cab and two feet later the driver started saying "No, no, woaieh oi etoalk foahowael." Uhhh...huh? Then he said it again, "No! aoie toawlkadf oadjahlks do lk ao". At that point I did make my first decision...'Abort! Abort!' And we were all left standing on the sidewalk not knowing what had just happened.

Not to be discouraged, Tracey suggested we walk - it was just on the other side of The Forbidden City - a 10 minute walk from our hotel. 30 minutes later we hadn't found it. Asked a local and got some hand signals from her. 5 minutes later asked another local (we had it written on a card in Chinese) and got more hand signals - still going the right way, now into a Hutong or local "neighborhood". 15 minutes later asked a shop owner. He was so excited to help us, he even drew a map on our card. No letters, just lines and an X. 15 minutes later asked another local - just keep going. Asked one more cab driver and he pointed to the building behind us. Literally we were standing in the parking lot! I was glad that he didn't tell us to get in and then drive us around the block a few times. :)

We made it...1 hour and 45 minutes after we left the hotel!! Then we were really ticked at the original cab driver that wouldn't take us because the place is so well known even George Bush Sr. has had tea there!! At this point we realized it was right behind Tienanmen Square, which is across the street from The Forbidden City and in all reality a 15 minute walk from our hotel. Lovely.

The people were very nice and helpful once we arrived. We rented a room for 90 RMB an hour and a girl came and did a traditional tea ceremony for us. We laughed and chatted while we drank our tea. So much fun and worth the 72 mile walk to get there. ;)

After our jaunt to the tea house we were starving!! Especially since lunch didn't cut it for any of us. We headed back to the hotel and getting back was even a challenge because we forgot about the flag ceremony! In Tienanmen Square it is a big deal to watch the flag go up in the morning and come down at night. The streets get blocked and people FLOCK to watch this happen. Literally there were thousands of people coming to watch! We didn't get too stuck, just had to go around the back of the square to get to our hotel but we were really hungry.

The bistro near the hotel had received a good review from another wife so we decided to eat there for dinner. The menu was good - all the comforts of home; pizza, burgers, salads (don't eat those here!), pasta, etc. I played it safe with the burger. While we waited for our food, Tracey started freaking out! She was facing the kitchen and saw our waitress DIGGING for gold...in her nose. It is a very, very common thing around here and people don't find it disgusting. EVERYONE PICKS THEIR NOSE! Our waitress was not actually in the kitchen, she was perfectly content standing by the counter just digging away. Tracey gave us the play-by-play since no one else could see her and we were laughing and completely disgusted at the same time. She watched to make sure our waitress didn't touch our food and stared at her to see if she'd stop, but no. When our plates were delivered no one wanted to touch the actual plate or use the napkin and silverware she brought us. I suggested, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!" so here is Tracey's version.

Oh, thought you might like this one...Hungry anyone? ;) Yes, these are sold and eaten here.

I have to tell you about:

The slits in kids' pants

How I thought a woman was going to offer to help me wipe in the bathroom.